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

New Standard Energy Completes Drilling Operations on its First Eagle Ford Wells

March 24, 2014 Kirk Eggleston

Magnum Hunter Resources Eagle Ford Acreage Map

Australia-based New Standard Energy completed drilling operations on its second Eagle Ford well (Peeler Ranch 6-H) in late March 2014. The first well (Peeler Ranch-5H) was completed at the end of February 2014. New Standard entered the Eagle Ford in December 2013 when the company acquired Magnum Hunter Resources' Eagle Ford assets in Atascosa County, TX.

The wells are operated on the company's behalf by Magnum Hunter. New Standard has a 98.4375 % working interest and a 72.4125 % net royalty interest in the two wells.

Magnum Hunter is a New Standard shareholder, and the companies have formed a strategic business partnership in the play. As drilling continues, New Standard will work with Magnum Hunter to identify drilling locations.

“We have had an excellent start to our Eagle Ford drilling campaign and look forward to continuing to work alongside the team at Magnum Hunter to deliver more wells within budget and on time to facilitate increased production and revenue.”

— New Standard Energy Managing Director Phil Thick

Both New Standard Eagle Ford wells were drilled in parallel lateral lengths, targeting the same hydrocarbon bearing zone in the formation. The wells will be fracked in April 2014, using the "zipper frac" method, which alternates frac stages between the two wells. According to company officials, production will begin in late April or early May. The two wells will add to the five existing wells already in production within the acreage.

Goodrich Petroleum's Eagle Ford Capital Budget Increases for 2014

March 19, 2014 Kirk Eggleston

Goodrich Petroleum Corporation plans to spend more in the Eagle Ford Shale in 2014 than previous estimates indicated. The company's total capital budget remains $375 million for the year; however, the capital budget allotted for the Eagle Ford Shale has been bumped up to $40-million. In October 2013, Goodrich's capital spending in the Eagle Ford was set closer to $30-million.

Goodrich Petroleum plans to drill 9 gross (6 net) wells in the Eagle Ford this year.

Goodrich's Eagle Ford Fourth-Quarter 2013 Operations Update

In the fourth-quarter of 2013, the company conducted drilling operations on 4 gross (3 net) wells, of which 1 gross (0.67 net) was in the Eagle Ford. A total of 7 gross (4.7 net) wells were added to production during the quarter, of which 4 gross (2.7 net) were in the Eagle Ford Shale.

At the end of 2013, Goodrich had 1 rig running in the Eagle Ford. To date, the company has 63 gross (43 net) Eagle Ford wells producting.

Goodrich's Year End Operations Snap Shot

For the year, Goodrich conducted drilling operations on 25 gross (16 net) wells and added 43 gross (24 net) wells to production across it's portfolio, which includes assets in the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale (TMS) and Haynesville Shale. The wells added to production during the year consisted of 23 gross (15 net) in theEagle Ford Shale.

At the end of 2013, the Eagle Ford represented 16% of the company's proved reserves, while the TMS and Haynesville Shales were 6% and 46% respectively. Look for Goodrich to move aggressively on it's TMS assets in 2014. The company estimates its TMS assets represent 52% of 3P resource potential across the portfolio or 4,460 bcfe (744 mmboe).

Total production was down for the year across the company's portfolio from 85,832 mcfe/d to 76,124 mcfe/d.

Matador Resources Oil Production Up 76% Company-Wide Due to Eagle Ford

March 14, 2014 Kirk Eggleston

Matador Resources had a 76% increase in oil production across its portfolio in 2013 from 3,317 b/d - 5,843 b/d. The increase was a direct result of the company's drilling operations in the Eagle Ford Shale. In 2013, Eagle Ford production also contributed ~14.9 mmcf/d, which was ~42% of the company's total natural gas production.

Matador continues to have solid results in the Eagle Ford. Look for the company to make some acreage deals in the play this year.

Matador's Eagle Ford budget for 2014 is $318 million.

Matador Eagle Ford Operations in 2013

During 2013, Matador completed and began producing oil and natural gas from 32 gross (27.6 net) Eagle Ford wells, including 25 gross (25.0 net) operated and 7 gross (2.6 net) non-operated wells. In the fourth-quarter, the Company completed and began producing oil and natural gas from 9 gross (9.0 net) operated and 3 gross (1.1 net) non-operated wells.

Drilling and completion costs went down in 2013, and are connected to refinements in the company's fracking treatments.

“Drilling times and overall well costs have continued to improve in the Eagle Ford, and several recent wells on our western acreage in La Salle County in South Texas have been drilled in as few as eight days from spud to total depth with total drilling and completion costs at or below $6 million. The latest generation of our fracture treatment design, whereby we are pumping more fluid and more proppant while using more perforation clusters and tighter fracture spacing, is also resulting in better well performance, as compared to offsetting wells treated with earlier generation fracture treatment designs. Overall, our operations group is continuing to deliver better wells for less money in the Eagle Ford.”

— Matador CEO, Jospeh Foran

Matador is also seeing positive results from downspacing. To date, the company has now drilled seven 40 to 50-acre spaced wells on its central acreage in Karnes County. Two of these wells flowed at approximately 1,100 to 1,200 boe/d (almost 90% oil), making them two of the best wells drilled by Matador in this area.