Hawkwood Energy Acquires East Texas Eagle Ford Acreage

Brazos County Eagle Ford Shale Map
Brazos County Eagle Ford Shale Map

Denver-based Hawkwood Energy, announced in early July of 2014 its entrance into the Eagle Ford with the acquisition of producing and non-producing assets in East Texas.

The deal includes 50,000 generally contiguous net undeveloped acres and approximately 1,800 b/d of current oil production, according to company officials. Development of the acquired assets has either targeted or will be prospective for the Eagle Ford Shale and Woodbine formations. The assets extend across Brazos, Leon, Madison and Robertson Counties.

Hawkwood acquired the assets in two separate transactions for undisclosed amounts from Crimson Energy Partners III and Encana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc. The deal with Crimson was mostly for acreage in Brazos County, and Encana's assets included in the transaction were located primarily in Robertson County.

We are excited about the growing unconventional activity in the Eagle Ford and Woodbine, as well as the other long term multi-pay opportunities the area has to offer.
— Hawkwood Energy CEO, Patrick Oenbring.

Encana Divesting East Texas Assets

Encana has historically been a major industry player for natural gas production, but recently began selling many of its non-core assets to focus on liquids-rich shale fields. Some of those non-core assets were in East Texas, and in April of 2014, Encana announced the sale of approximately 90,000 net acres in Leon and Robertson Counties for $530 million. Company officials did not name a buyer for this transaction, and the deal is expected to close in the third quarter.

In June of 2014, Encana closed on its acquisition of 45,500 net acres in the oil window of the Eagle Ford in South Texas from Freeport-McMoran for $3.1 billion. This newly acquired acreage for Encana represents a new core area.

Read more: Encana Purchases Eagle Ford Assets from Freeport-McMoran - $3.1 Billion

Read more at hawkwoodenergy.com

GE - Vess Oil Acquire Woodbine & Eagle Ford Acreage From Enervest - $108 Million

Vess Oil Operations Map
Vess Oil Operations Map

GE and Vess Oil have partnered to acquire 13,000 net acres in Brazos, Grimes, and Madison counties from EnerVest for $108 million.

The acreage is producing from the Woodbine and prospective for the Eagle Ford Shale.

This is the third partnership GE Energy Financial Services and Vess Oil have entered. Previous partnerships have acquired reserves in Brazos County, TX, and Kansas. A separate Vess Oil affiliate also operates Woodbine acreage in the Kurten Field adjacent to the assets acquired here.

I am eager to launch our program and look forward to expansion opportunities predicated on demonstrable results.
— Ronnie Nutt, COO of Vess Oil

Read the full release at businesswire.com

Crimson Woodbine Well In Madison County Impresses

Crimson Woodbine Acreage Map
Crimson Woodbine Acreage Map

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

Crimson Exploration Merges With Contango Oil

Contango Oil - Crimson Exploration Combined Assets
Contango Oil - Crimson Exploration Combined Assets

Crimson Exploration and Contango Oil announced the companies will merge at the end of April. The new Contango Oil gains exposure to the Eagle Ford in several counties across South Texas.

The combined company will have the option to develop or explore Eagle Ford acreage in Dimmit, Karnes, Liberty, Madison, and Zavala counties.

While not all of its South Texas acreage is prospective for the Eagle Ford, the company has 51,000 net acres prospective for the Buda, Eagle Ford, and other conventional formations, as well as 26,600 net acres prospective for the Woodbine and Eagle Ford in Liberty County.

Contango Oil Eagle Ford Acreage Dimmit Zavala
Contango Oil Eagle Ford Acreage Dimmit Zavala

Crimson had planned development at 160-acre spacing at the company's Zavala & Dimmit acreage and believes upside exist for 80-acre spacing. Additional wells are planned in Karnes County and exploration potential in Madison County is yet to be explored.

Read the full merger announcement at crimsonexploration.com

SM Energy Expects Eagle Ford Condensate Discount - Interruptible Gathering

SM Energy Operated Eagle Ford Acreage Map
SM Energy Operated Eagle Ford Acreage Map

SM Energy expects its Eagle Ford condensate production will realize a long-term average discount of $7-8 to NYMEX prices. Oil production in the region averaged price realizations of 101% and 103% of WTI in the fourth quarter of 2012 and first quarter of 2013, respectively.

SM Energy's operated Eagle Ford production grew 15% over the fourth quarter to 51,800 boe/d. That represents 74% growth over the first quarter of 2012. The company's non-operated position (Anadarko operated) grew 3% in the quarter to an average of 16,000 net boe/d.

SM Energy's Eagle Ford Gathering Will Be Interruptible

The company's operated production has regularly exceeded 300 mmcfd in March and April of 2013. Firm transportation agreements are currently in place for 300 mmcfd and the company is confident there is adequate gathering infrastructure in place. Additional firm capacity will be online mid-year 2013 and the company believes current infrastructure will allow for growth in the interim.

SM ran five drilling rigs in the quarter and completed 28 wells. Anadarko ran nine rigs.

Expanding East Texas Woodbine & Eagle Ford Acreage

The company now has approximately 150,000 net acres prospective for the Woodbine and Eagle Ford in Walker, San Jacinto, Polk, and Washington counties. Watch for well test results in the second half of the year.

Read the full press release at sm-energy.com