Karnes City Changed By The Eagle Ford

February 27, 2013 R.T. Dukes

To say Karnes City has changed over the past few years is an understatement. The Houston Chronicle conducted an interview with a local farmer who owns the land where ConocoPhillips drilled its first Eagle Ford well.

Change started with the growth in oilfield jobs and booming royalty checks. Today, cash is being poured into the area.

"It's been good to me. I miss that pasture, but I could have ranched here for 300 years and not have the income we do now," he said. "Anyone who owns property should be benefiting."

A few takeaways:

Karnes City was once the poorest non-border town in the state
1,200 permits have been issued in the county over the past four years
2,000 miles of pipe have been laid
As much as $70 million/month is being paid to royalty owners in the county
Traffic counts are up as much as 300% on local roads
County's tax base has jumped from $562 million to $3.1 billion in 3 short years

"A kid can leave a $40,000 overtime job at the prison and make over $100,000 in the oil field. You've got kids coming home to work here who haven't lived here in a long time," he said.

Read the full article at chron.com

Eagle Ford School Districts Prep to Send Money to the State

September 17, 2012 R.T. Dukes

School districts in the South Texas Eagle Ford Shale region are preparing to send millions back to the state in coming years. Eight local districts were added to the Texas Education Agency's list of property-wealthy districts.

The reason is skyrocketing property values. In the past two years, property values in the Carrizo Springs district have increased from $441 to $2.5 billion. Cotulla ISD has seen a similar rise.

This year Cotulla will pay in a little less than $1 million, but next year the payment could swell to as much as $15 million. The wealth is welcomed, but it comes with a host of other obstacles. Several of the disstricts employees are living in trailers on site because of an Eagle Ford Housing shortage.

Read the full story at fuelfix.com

South Texas School Districts Become Robinhood Targets

June 27, 2012 R.T. Dukes

It's a nice problem to have. Tax appraised values are rising by hundreds of millions of dollars across South Texas. Our schools will be getting better, but the state's "Robinhood" provision means they'll also be sending money elsewhere.

Robstown ISD saw an almost 20 percent increase in values from 2011, from $375.4 million to about $450 million, and London ISD's preliminary estimate came in 23 percent above 2011, rising from about $233 million to about $287 million.

Those numbers pale in comparison to districts in the heart of the Eagle Ford Shale. Karnes City ISD has seen valuations increase nearly sixfold in the past two years.