Sanchez Energy's First-Quarter Production Up 376% Over Last Year

April 29, 2014 Kirk Eggleston

Sanchez Energy increased its' portfolio-wide production by 376% to 18,784 boe/d in the first-quarter of 2014 over the first-quarter of 2013. The oil cut from this year's first-quarter production was 72%, with 15% NGLs and 13% natural gas. Production remained relatively flat quarter-over-quarter.

The company's current production of 21,000 boe/d is within guidance for 2014. Operations are incorporating more pad drilling, which company officials credit for current production numbers and cost savings.

“Our ability to more than triple our first quarter production year over year reflects positively on both the quality of our assets and the efficiency of our operations. Moving forward, we will continue to leverage our proprietary systems and drilling processes to drive down costs per well, reduce drill time and enhance our capital efficiencies. This strategy already has effectively reduced drill time by 40%, doubled the number of frac stages pumped per day and decreased total well costs by 30% across our Eagle Ford operations.”

— Tony Sanchez, III, President and CEO of Sanchez Energy

Sanchez Energy Eagle Ford Operations Update

Sanchez currently has six rigs running in the Eagle Ford, with 214 gross producing wells. 13 gross wells are undergoing or awaiting completion.

Marquis Project - 48 gross producing wells, 8 awaiting/undergoing completion
Palmetto Project - 57 gross producing wells, 3 awaiting/undergoing completion
Cotulla Project - 93 gross producing wells
Wycross Project - 16 gross producing wells, 2 awaiting/undergoing completion

At the beginning of April 2014, the company's Marquis project area (~69,000 net acres) had 7 wells awaiting or undergoing completion. Sanchez continues to monitor production in the lower Eagle Ford section of its' Sante-area wells in Fayette County, and plans to shift some of its' focus to other horizons, including the upper Eagle Ford and Austin Chalk in the greater Sante area. Company officials say expectations are positive for additional resource potential from these other horizons.

In the company's Wycross project area , a multi-well pad program in the first quarter lowered drilling costs to $3 million versus the previous operator's average cost of $3.3 million. The last well on this pad is expected to have a drilling cost of below $3 million according to company officials.

Abraxas Petroleum Operations Update Reveals Strong Initial Production (IP) Rate for McMullen County Well

April 9, 2014 Kirk Eggleston

San Antonio-based Abraxas Petroleum Corp. had good initial production on one of its' Cave Prospect wells, located in McMullen County, in the first-quarter of the year. In its' first 30-days, the Dutch 2H had average production of 1,093 boe/d.

According to company officials, Abraxas will shut-in the well for 60-days to drill an off-set well, when drilling is completed on its' Eagle Eyes 1H well, located in the company's Jourdanton prospect, in Atascosa County.

“The productivity of the Dutch 2H meaningfully surpassed our expectations, and we recently elected to drill the Dutch 1H to minimize operational impacts and fully develop the two well pad. We will still have another pad in inventory to drill at our Cave Prospect, the Dutch 3H and Dutch 4H. ”

— Bob Watson, President and CEO of Abraxas

Jourdanton Prospect (Atascosa County, TX)

Abraxas has a 100% working interest (WI) across its' Jourdanton Prospect. Here is a brief overview of the company's current operations in the area:

Blue Eyes 1H - 527 boe/d (30-day), 466 boe/d (60-day), 460 boe/d (90-day)
Snake Eyes IH - Completed; Well is flowing to sales
Spanish Eyes IH - Drilled to total depth of 12,346 feet and scheduled for fracking
Eagle Eyes 1H - Drilled to 7,182 feet so far; This is the company's fourth Jourdanton Prospect well

Cave Prospect (McMullen County, TX)

Abraxas has a 100% working interest (WI) in its Dutch 2H well in the Cave Prospect. Here is a brief overview of the company's current operations in the area:

Dutch 2H - 1,093 boe/d (30-day)
Dutch 1H off-set well to Dutch 2H will be drilled when Eagle Eyes 1H drilling has finished
60-Day shut-in of Dutch 2H will commence with the drilling of the Dutch IH well

Dilworth East Prospect (McMullen County, TX)

Abraxas has a 100% working interest (WI) in its R. Henry 2H well in the Dilworth East Prospect. The company plans to complete the R. Henry 2H in May when gas takeaway is available at the lease.

Abraxas is also active in the Bakken, with operations focused in McKenzie County. The company is currently doing its' first downspacing tests in the Middle Bakken.

Swift Energy Reveals Initial Production Rates for Six Eagle Ford Test Wells

March 25, 2014 Kirk Eggleston

Swift Energy tested three Eagle Ford wells in the Fasken area of Webb County, with average initial production (IP) rates of 22.1 mmcf/d. The Company has identified an additional 50-60 undeveloped lower Eagle Ford locations in the Fasken area and expects future well costs to be approximately $7.5 million. The company is currently in the negotiations process for a joint venture in this area to accelerate development.

Swift Energy also tested three wells in McMullen County, with average IP rates of 1,212 boe/d. In the fourth-quarter of 2013, Swift tightened frac stage intervals and used higher volumes of fluid and proppant in Eagle Ford well completions. The IP rate for a McMullen County well completed using this technique in the fourth-quarter of 2013 was 1,608 boe/d. Similar IP rates from the most recent test wells indicate the company is continuing to utilize this strategy as it refines its process for well completions.

“We are very pleased with our continuing operational improvements in these two key areas of our Eagle Ford acreage. The repeatable results in these areas provide a more predictable production growth profile, which is essential to our near term objectives of reducing financial leverage and increasing our liquidity profile.”

— Terry Swift, CEO of Swift Energy

Swift Energy Eagle Ford IP Rates Per Well in Webb County

Fasken BD 14H - 20.6 mmcf/d
Fasken BCD 10H - 22.5 mmcf/d
Fasken AB 9H - 23.3 mmcf/d

Swift Energy Eagle Ford IP Rates Per Well in McMullen County

PCQ EF 14H - 1,302 boe/d
PCQ EF 15H - 1,292 boe/d
PCQ EF 16H - 1,042 boe/d

Comstock's Best Eagle Ford Wells Came Online in McMullen County in 2013

February 17, 2014 Kirk Eggleston

In 2013, Comstock completed 63 gross (42 net) Eagle Ford Shale wells, including six wells (3.8 net) drilled in 2012. Completed Eagle Ford Shale wells had an average initial production (IP) rate of 780 boe/d.

Best Producing Comstock Wells - McMullen County, TX

Comstock's best wells in the Eagle Ford were drilled in McMullen County, TX. Average boe/d results for the six best wells are listed below:

Gloria Wheeler C #3H - 1,340 boe/d
Gloria Wheeler C #1H - 1,219 boe/d
Gloria Wheeler D #4H - 1,113 boe/d
Gloria Wheeler A #4H 1,066 boe/d
Gloria Wheeler D #3H 1,054 boe/d
Gloria Wheeler C #2H 1,025 boe/d

All six wells produced more than 1,000 boe/d.

Comstock Company-Wide Drilling and Expenditures

During 2013, Comstock spent $343.6 million on its continuing development and exploration activities and $137.0 million on acreage acquisition costs. Comstock drilled a total of 75 horizontal oil wells (51.6 net) and two horizontal natural gas wells (2.0 net) across the company's assets.

Of the $137 million spent on acquisitions, the company spent $66.5 million on 70% of Ursa Resources’ interest in Eagle Ford assets in Burleson and Washington counties. The deal included one well producing 433 boe/d and 32,000 gross (20,000 net) acres.

Comstock had ~6,300 b/d of crude oil production in 2013. That's up 29% from 2012 when production was ~4,900 b/d. Oil and gas sales increased by 7% in 2013 to $422.6 million from $394.6 million in 2012.

Comstock 2013 Highlights

63 gross (42 net) Eagle Ford Shale wells completed
75 horizontal oil wells (51.6 net) and two horizontal natural gas wells (2.0 net) drilled
Average Eagle Ford completed well had an IP rate of 780 boe/d
Highest producing well was drilled in McMullen County - Gloria Wheeler C #3H - 1,340 boe/d
Spent $343.6 million on its continuing development and exploration
Invested $137.0 million on acreage acquisitions
Crude oil sales volume grew to ~6,300 b/d

BP's Eagle Ford Shale Position Reaches 450,000 Net Acres - 6 Tcfe

February 9, 2012 R.T. Dukes

BP's Eagle Ford acreage position has swelled to 450,000 net acres, with potential reserves of 6 trillion cubic feet of gas equivalent or 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent. That's a big jump from the rumored 100,000+ acres the company was thought to have just a little over a year ago.

The company acquired its position over the past two years through multiple deals that also involved its operating partner Lewis Energy. Lewis has 10 rigs active across the area and with higher natural gas prices the companies would probably be doing much more. Approximately half of the company's acreage is situated in the dry-gas window of the play.

This will be an interesting development to watch. BP and Lewis have committed significant capital to the area and the gas-condensate portion of the acreage provides development opportunity for BP in an onshore U.S. portfolio that is very much dry-gas weighted.