EOG Resources' Western Eagle Ford Acreage Looks Better & Better

November 7, 2013 R.T. Dukes

EOG Resources completed a well in Atascosa County that produced over 2,800 b/d of oil, 160 b/d of NGLs, and almost 1 mmcfd. The well is a record for EOG's Western Eagle Ford acreage.

The company also had wells in La Salle and McMullen counties that produced ~2,000 b/d or more during the third quarter.

Recent results prove new completion methods bring the Western Eagle Ford up to par with the company's prolific acreage to the east.

“EOG is consistently making the best oil wells in the best two oil plays in North America, the Eagle Ford and Bakken/Three Forks.”

— CEO William R. "Bill" Thomas.

EOG is running 25 rigs in the Eagle Ford, with 9 of those running in the western portion of the company's acreage.

EOG Eagle Ford Well Highlights

Kaiser Junior Unit #1H in Atascosa County produced 2,815 b/d of oil, 160 b/d of NGLs, and 940 mcf/d
Three wells in La Salle County came online producing oil at rates of 1,960-2,810 b/d
Five wells in McMullen County came online producing oil at rates of 1,970-2,115 b/d
Over 20% of the company's wells in the eastern portion of the play produced more than 2,500 b/d

"Because we now are achieving high growth, high rate-of-return results from our western acreage, we have effectively raised the bar for all of EOG's Eagle Ford acreage," Thomas said.

EOG Increases Company-wide Production Growth Estimates

Production guidance in 2013 has been increased again. EOG expects 39% growth in oil production, 17% growth in NGL production and company-wide growth of 9%. That's up from initial estimates of 28% crude oil growth, 10% NGL growth, and just 4% company-wide growth at the beginning of the year.

Halcon Resouces' Record Eagle Ford IP Comes From Step Out Well - Nears Acreage Target

November 6, 2013 R.T. Dukes

Halcon Resources set an initial production record from an Eagle Ford well in Brazos County that is a five mile step out from the nearest producing well. The Stasny-Honza 1H came online producing 1,262 boe/d.

Halcon has three rigs working in the area and plans to have four rigs active through 2014. The company spudded 13 wells and brought 19 wells to production in the third quarter. Net production from the area grew to 6,500 boe/d from 31 wells during the quarter. Eight wells are waiting to be completed and three wells are being drilled.

“Third quarter results were defined by continued expansion of our activities in the Williston Basin, El Halcón and other areas.”

— Floyd C. Wilson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

The company continues to work toward and optimal drilling and completion combination. The average time from spud-to-total depth decreased to 14.4 days during the quarter and the average drilling cost per foot decreased 19%. A company record was set by drilling a well with an 8,000 ft lateral in 7.3 days.

Halcon is closing in on its target of leasing 100,000 net acres in the area. The company has secured leases or commitments on 90,000 plus acres to date.

Company-wide more than 40% production growth is expected in 2014. Read the full release at halconresources.com

Magnum Hunter Resources Completes Sale To PVA - Still Targeting Eagle Ford & Pearsall

July 16, 2013 R.T. Dukes

Magnum Hunter Resources (MHR) completed the sale of 19,000 net acres in the Eagle Ford to Penn Virginia for approximately $400 million in the second quarter. The deal was for the majority of the company's Eagle Ford holdings.

Magnum Hunter retained approximately 7,000 net acres prospective for the Eagle Ford and Pearsall Shale formations in Atascosa, Fayette, and Lee counties. Two wells were completed and the company plans to explore and develop its acreage further.

MHR drilled one operated Eagle Ford well and participated in one non-operated Pearsall well during the quarter:

Peeler Ranch #4H - is operated by MHR and was drilled to a total measured depth of 15,206 feet (horizontal lateral length of 5,714 feet) and is currently waiting to be completed. Magnum Hunter owns a 98.4% working interest in the well and is the operator.
McCarty Unit A 1H is operated by Marathon Oil and was drilled to a measured depth of 17,438 feet (horizontal lateral length of 6,368 feet), fraced with 17 stages in the Pearsall Shale. The well produced 584 boepd on an 18/64th adjustable choke with 2,185 psi FTP. Magnum Hunter owns a 31% working interest in the well.

H.C. "Kip" Ferguson, President, commented, "This combo Pearsall/Eagle Ford area has always been of interest to our team. The right depth, gas-to-oil ratio, and completion style will be required to optimize the potential for these formations. The Pearsall Shale is different in composition to the Eagle Ford Shale. It is composed of more silica with interbedded organic shale and limestone. We believe that our Pearsall Shale acreage is located within the wet gas to rich condensate window of the play, which is ideally located between the Charlotte fault trend eight miles to the north and the Karnes fault trend to the south. Our internal technical analysis, core samples, our McCarty Unit A 1H well, and recent third-party well results in the area, indicate potential for both Eagle Ford Shale and Pearsall Shale productivity on this Atascosa County acreage.

Crimson Woodbine Well In Madison County Impresses

June 11, 2013 R.T. Dukes

Crimson's latest Woodbine well came online at an impressive rate of production.

The Nevill-Mosley #1H came online at 1,164 boe/d or 1,021 b/d of oil and 77 b/d of NGLs, and 392 mcfd. The well was drilled 15,192 ft, including a 6,041 ft lateral, and was completed with a 22-stage fracture completion.

Allan D. Keel, CEO, commented, “The initial success of the Nevill-Mosley further validates the quality of assets Crimson holds in the Woodbine formation.

Crimson has approximately 19,000 net acres in in Madison and Grimes counties targeting the Woodbine. The company estimates more than 490 remaining drilling locations remain. Wells have estimated EURs of 300-550 mmboe, with production weighted 75% or more to oil and NGLs. Average well costs are estimated at $7-7.5 million.

Crimson is also drilling a well, the Beeler #2H, in Dimmit County that is targeting the Buda formation.The well is being drilled to a total measured depth of more than 11,100 ft and will include approximately 4,000 ft of horizontal lateral. Production results are expected in May.

In late April, Crimson & Contango Oil & Gas announced a merger agreement. The new company will be known as Contango Oil & Gas

Read the full press release at crimsonexploration.com

Chesapeake Eagle Ford Drilling Time Improving - Rig Count Down

May 2, 2013 R.T. Dukes

Chesapeake's Eagle Ford well drilling time is down from 25 days a year ago to 18 days in the first quarter of 2013.

The company is running 15 rigs in the play now, but plans to drop the rig count to 13 in the second half of the year. Chesapeake also believes they will be able to drive drilling times down by another five days.

Thirteen rigs drilling wells in 13 days is comparable to 25 rigs drilling wells in 25+ days. All that to say, the rig count is almost one-third of the 30+ the company operated at the peak, but they will be drilling wells at rates much more comparable to 2012 levels. That's the magic of improving operational efficiencies. More with less.

“We are pleased to raise our 2013 oil production guidance by 1 million barrels (mmbbls), largely as a result of improving performance in the Eagle Ford Shale, where we are drilling longer laterals, achieving better-than-expected well performance and encountering improved gathering system pressures along with fewer gas processing constraints. ”

— Steven C. Dixon, Chesapeake’s Acting CEO

CHK's Eagle Ford Production Continues To Climb

Chesapeake's Eagle Ford production grew to 75,000 boe/d net (166,000 boe/d gross operated) in the first quarter. That's 20% more than the fourth quarter and 225% more than one year ago. Approximately 65% of production is oil and the remainder is almost evenly split between NGLs and natural gas.

Approximately 650 wells were producing at March 31, 2013. 887 have been drilled, but 34 are awaiting pipeline connection and 203 are in various stages of completion. 111 wells were completed in the quarter at average IPs of 950 boe/d. 300 additional wells will be completed by year-end when the company's acreage is expected to be fully held by production.

Chesapeake is still in the process of selling acreage in the northern portion of its Eagle Ford holdings. I expect we'll hear more later in the quarter.

Three wells noted were:

Gates 010-CHK-A TR3-J2H in Webb County, TX achieved a peak rate of approximately 3,110 boe/d, which included 930 b/d oil, 1,160 b/d of NGL and 6.1 mmcfd
PGE Browne G 4H in Webb County, TX achieved a peak rate of approximately 1,840 boe/d, which included 770 b/d of oil, 570 b/d of NGL and 3.0 mmcfd
Sultenfuss Unit 6H in Dimmit County, TX achieved a peak rate of approximately 1,360 boe/d, which included 1,260 b/d of oil, 60 b/d of NGL and 0.2 mmcfd.

Read the full press release at chk.com