Eagle Ford Counties Dominate List of Top Oil Producing Counties in Texas

Top Oil & Gas Producing Counties in Texas

The Eagle Ford dominates the latest list of the top oil & gas producing counties in Texas. The Eagle Ford contributes the majority of production in the top three oil producing counties and five of the top 10 producers in the state.

Texas oil production has grown approximately 20% since this time last year. I don't think anyone can deny we're in the midst of an oil boom

Preliminary data for July from the Texas Railroad Commission shows the top counties produced the following:

• Karnes County  ~146,000 b/d
• La Salle County ~104,000 b/d
• Gonzales County ~83,000 b/d
• Dimmit County ~67,000 b/d
• McMullen County ~60,000 b/d

Dimmit County is the only county in the area to make the top ten gas producing areas as well. Also, it's important to remember the numbers are preliminary. Production figures are often revised upwards by as much as 10% in later months.

Read the full monthly press release at rrc.state.tx.us

Eagle Ford Shale Well Map - TX RRC - August 2013

Eagle Ford Shale Well Map

An updated Eagle Ford well map from the Texas Railroad Commission shows the number of natural gas wells producing in the play has doubled since January.

Over a 210 day period between January 7, 2013 and August 5, 2013, a little more than 7 oil wells and 4 gas wells have come online per day. A total of 1,537 oil wells and 954 natural gas wells have been brought to production.

Oil production from the play is up more than 60% year over year to more than 650,000 b/d. Don't be surprised to see the Eagle Ford surpass the 1 million b/d mark sometime in 2014. Notable items include:

• 5,367 permits approved
• 4,045 oil wells online and producing
• 1,883 gas wells online and producing
• More than 11,000 permits have been issued in the play to date

Data from the RRC is always a little delayed, so the numbers reflected are not be 100% accurate. The RRC is at the mercy of companies reporting data in a timely fashion. I suspect we have well over 6,000 producing Eagle Ford wells today.

Eagle Ford Oil Output Surpasses 600,000 b/d In May

Eagle Ford Shale Well Map

Eagle Ford oil production crossed 600,000 b/d for the first time in May 2013. Initial reports to the Texas Railroad Commission total more than 580,000 b/d. With revisions and late reporting almost every month has been revised upward by 30,000-50,000 b/d.

The U.S. produced 7.3 million b/d of crude oil in April, so the Eagle Ford accounts for more than 8% of all oil produced across the country. The Eagle Ford is quickly gaining on other shale plays and will likely match and surpass Bakken production sometime in the next two years.

Gas production from the Eagle Ford has held relatively flat. The Eagle Ford has averaged a little more than 2.1 Bcf/d of natural gas production so far this year.

As of July 3, 2013, a little less than 4,000 oil wells and almost 1,700 gas wells were producing from the Eagle Ford. More than 10,000 permits have been issued in the play since 2008.

Remember, liquids reported by the TX RRC are measured at the wellhead. Additional condensate and natural gas liquids will be gathered further downstream in separators and processing plants. Industry analysts estimate the Eagle Ford is producing closer to 900,000 b/d of crude oil, condensate, and NGLs.

Eagle Ford Shale Well Map - TX RRC - May 2013

Eagle Ford Shale Well Map

An updated Eagle Ford well map was published by the RRC in mid-May.

Over a 98 day period between February and May, an average of almost 8 oil wells and almost 5 gas wells came online per day. It is obvious higher gas prices have been welcomed during the first half of the year.

The number of gas wells online has grown by almost 50% in just over three months.

Between February and May:

• 768 oil wells came online – 3,462 producing
• 448 gas wells came online – 1,443 producing
• 5,497 permits had been approved and were pending development
• More than 10,402 well permits have been drilled or are pending. Permits expire after two years, so many more have have been permitted over the past five years.

Data from the RRC is always a little delayed, so the numbers reflected are not be 100% accurate. The RRC is at the mercy of companies reporting data in a timely fashion. I suspect we have well over 5,000 producing Eagle Ford wells today.

Eagle Ford Oil Production Surpasses 500,000 b/d - Up 100%

Buy Eagle Ford Maps

Eagle Ford crude oil production surpassed 500,000 b/d in February 2013. Initial reports from the Texas Railroad Commission peg production at ~470,000 b/d and a normal revision next month should put production near 520,000 b/d. That represents growth of approximately 100% over February 2012 production levels of ~270,000 b/d.

For reference, January 2013 production was revised up by almost 90,000 b/d in just one month, but normal revisions range from 40,000-60,000 b/d.

“A little more than 7 million b/d is produced across all of the US, so the Eagle Ford accounted for more than 7% of US supply in February.”

On the other end of the spectrum, natural gas production held virtually flat compared to a year ago at ~1.8 Bcf/d. 

“Industry analyst estimate the Eagle Ford is producing more than 800,000 b/d of crude oil, condensate, and NGLs ”

Remember, liquids reported by the TX RRC are measured at the wellhead. Additional condensate and natural gas liquids will be gathered further downstream in separators and processing plants. Industry analyst estimate the Eagle Ford is producing more than 800,000 b/d of crude oil, condensate, and NGLs.