New Eagle Ford Workforce Housing Coming - Press Release

Sendero Ranch Dilley

New Workforce Housing is coming to the Eagle Ford. San Antonio based developer Koontz McCombs is in the final stages of construction of its second Eagle Ford Shale Workforce Housing development. The Sendero Ranch developments are located in Pearsall and Dilley and consist of custom built one and two-bedroom cottages, which are being leased to companies and individuals working in the Eagle Ford Shale oil and gas play.

Noel Perez, City Administrator, stated “While the majority of current developers are addressing the immediate need for housing for oil field related employment, our city is currently faced with a severe shortage of affordable housing. While we certainly welcome our new neighbors with open arms, we cannot forget that we also have a need for housing to be made available to residents not involved in the oil play. Residents who are still in their current jobs and those with relatively fixed incomes. The City of Dilley encourages all developers to consider perhaps the construction of more apartment complexes as well as affordable residential housing."

The gated communities at Sendero Ranch are not your typical man camps, but are more like a traditional subdivision with each cottage having its own private driveway and covered front porch. Each residence comes fully equipped with furnishings, housewares package, cable and high speed internet, linens, and weekly maid service. In addition, the properties feature a community center with a pavilion and BBQ area, recreation room with pool table, ping-pong table, large flat screen television, and a laundry facility.

The Pearsall location opened in June of 2012 and has two-bedroom residences available for occupancy. The Dilley location will be opening in early February 2013 and will consist of 85 two-bedroom residences. Our Dilley location also features commercial and industrial lots for sale.

For additional information on the Sendero Ranch developments please contact:

Loren Gulley Vice President, Koontz McCombs 210-841-9262 www.senderoranch.net

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Eagle Ford Well Fracked with Propane

Frio County Eagle Ford Shale Map

A recently drilled Eagle Ford well was completed with a propane frack. eCorp Stimulation Technologies successfully stimulated an Eagle Ford well at 5,950 ft in Frio County, TX. The completion is part of the company's efforts to minimize water usage in well completions. The test was done in December 2012 just south of Pearsall, TX. Pure liquid propane was used, with no chemicals or additives

The company is touting the well as a "success", but we'll have to watch flow rates to see if the well is successful from an economic standpoint.

Dr. John Thrash , eCORP's CEO and Chairman, stated, "We are extremely pleased with what we have confirmed with this procedure. We believe there is a certain path for sustainable shale gas development and this demonstration proves a viable "green" alternative exists for stimulating shale. We intend to extend this design philosophy and demonstrate that a total reduced impact can be achieved through other innovations in drilling and exploration technologies we are developing at eCORP."

LPGfracks will be interesting to watch across the shale plays. Using fluids native to the formation seems logical, but they're also much more expensive than water. This isn't the first well in the Eagle Ford completed in this fashion - Jadel Oil completed a well with an LPG frack in Maverick County back in 2011. Blackbrush Energy also has an exclusive agreement with Gasfrac Energy Services to complete its wells with LPGs through mid-2014.

You can read the full press release issued by the company at prnewswire.com

If you have experience completing wells with LPGs or know the API numbers for these wells, please share in the comment section below.

Chesapeake's South Texas Campus Continues to Expand - Pearsall

Chesapeake's South Texas Campus in Pearsall is expanding further as the company completes a 300-unit housing development sometime in October. Eagle Ford housing demand far outstrips supply in this area of the play and many of the company men drive from San Antonio to work each day. The housing facility sits on a 285-acre campus where the company has almost 200,000 square feet of office space in use or under construction. In a few short years, Chesapeake has grown its full time staff from virtually zero to over 600 employees. Don't expect that trend to change anytime soon. Chesapeake has plans to spend 40% of its capital budget in the Eagle Ford in 2013.

Read more related to the new facilities being built at bizjournals.com

Karnes County Earthquake Sets Record in Eagle Ford Area

A 4.8 magnitude Karnes County earthquake rattled doors Thursday morning. (Atascosa County is now reported as the epicenter) You can view USGS data Here. It isn't the first earthquake in the area, but was larger than previous quakes. It was just 2008, which is before Eagle Ford Shale development began, when a 3.7 magnitude quake struck the area and 1993 when the largest I can remember hit the area (4.3 mag). Yesterday's disturbance is likely the largest on record for the area, but one of a dozen or so since 1990. Tremors were felt as far as San Antonio. Oil & gas drilling activity has not been linked to this event. If drilling directly led to earthquakes, West Texas would have fallen off the map a long time ago. It just so happens that oil & gas are present in areas of high tectonic activity. The Los Angeles basin is one of the most active areas in the world and also boast the most hydrocarbons per cubic ft of rock in the world.

There have been concerns that deep disposal wells where fluids are being injected into the ground could be tied to small earthquakes. It won't be clear for a long time if that might be the case here. Test are ongoing in more established shale plays in North Texas' Barnett Shale and in Arkansas' Fayetteville Shale.

No injuries or major damage was reported, and the light quake wasn't even noticed by some residents living close to the epicenter, near Karnes City. Yet small vibrations felt in San Antonio did cause occupants to briefly evacuate a downtown federal building as a precaution.

The quake struck at 7:24 a.m. The U.S. Geological Survey said it was the largest earthquake on record for the area, surpassing a magnitude-4.3 shock recorded in 1993.

Thursday's earthquake occurred in a zone that has shaken in the past. From 1990 to 2006, at least a dozen small quakes rattled this region.

"It's an area where we've seen events before," said U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Susan Hough in Pasadena, Calif. "So it's not a big surprise."

Read a full news release at nydailynews.com

Here's an interview with a geologist at ksat.com and an article from caller.com that details the total number of earthquakes expected worldwide this year.