Murphy Oil surpassed 25,000 boe/d at the end of 2012 and annualized production averaged 15,000 boe/d. With an exit rate above 25,000 boe/d, the company is in a nice position to meet or exceed its production target of 30,000 boe/d in 2013.
Murphy is working 10 rigs and three frack crews around the clock. The company has drilled 216 wells to date and has brought 163 to production. Total time spent to drill and case wells is averaging 11-13 days across the play.
Most of the crude the company produces is moved by truck (86%) -
Roger Jenkins, COO stated "There's many places to unload the trucks, many depots, many options. We're doing very well with our crude. Murphy's land situation is not a condensate one. For black oil, 41, 42 degree API, we've been getting a $13 positive margin to WTI there for some time. And people want our crude in that area and we're doing very well with the marketing quality of crude because we have very little condensate in our business."
The company will continue to push downspacing to 80-acres across all three areas operated in the Eagle Ford. Testing down to as little as 40-acres per well might take place late in 2013.
Watch for test results from the company's first Pearsall Shale well near the end of the first quarter of 2013. Two horizontal Pearsall wells are planned in Atascosa County in the first half of the year.
Expect to see operational costs come down as the company begins drilling four wells from each pad. Pad drilling will allow for the Murphy to allocate facilities in a more efficient manner.