The Eagle Ford Shale is arguably the largest single economic event in Texas history, and in November, the play reached a milestone of 1-billion barrels produced, according to energy research consultancy Wood Mackenzie. In the past seven years, the Eagle Ford Shale has drastically changed the landscape of South Texas in both positive and negative ways. Oil wealth has injected billions of dollars into the coffers of land owners with subsurface mineral rights, and Eagle Ford counties though an increase in ad valorem property taxes. However, damage to infrastructure (i.e. local county roads) and environmental concerns have also come with the territory as the Eagle Ford has been developed.
Overall, the Eagle Ford has been a positive force for economic growth in Texas, yielding an $87-billion economic impact in South Texas, and supporting more than 155,000 full-time jobs in 2013, according to the Univ. of Texas at San Antonio's Institute for Economic Development.
Read more: UTSA: Eagle Ford Shale Economic Impact - $87 Billion
Eagle Ford Moving Forward in 2015
Despite a dip in oil prices, Wood Mackenzie reports the lion's share of industry Lower 48 development capital will be in the Eagle Ford in 2015 at $30.8-billion. That's almost double the amount companies plan to spend in the Bakken Shale, the country's next most significant shale play. Expect much of that capital to be funneled into roughly 10% of the Eagle Ford Shale, which accounts for about 50% of the play's total production.
Eagle Ford Facts at the 1-Billion Barrel Mark
- 4 years of gasoline for every licensed driver in Texas from the Eagle Ford
- More than 10,000 Eagle Ford wells have been completed
- The Eagle Ford accounts for 16% of U.S. oil production
- Drilling pipe used to date in the play would reach 1.25 times around the world
- The Houston, TX Astrodome could be filled 6 times by the volume of proppant used in the Eagle Ford