Eagle Ford Rig Count Jumps to 48

December 3, 2016 Elizabeth Alford

**Eagle Ford Operators Put Rigs Back Online**

The Eagle Ford Shale rig count gained three this week, with our data showing 48 rigs running across our coverage area by midday Friday.

In recent Eagle Ford news, South Korean refiner, GS Caltex, announced the purchase of 1 million barrels of U.S. crude from the Eagle Ford. The company previously unloaded another 1 million barrels in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, during November.

A total of 596 oil and gas rigs were running across the United States this week, a gain of four over last week. 119 rigs targeted natural gas (one more than the previous week) and 477 were targeting oil in the U.S. (three more than the previous week). The remainder were drilling service wells (e.g. disposal wells, injection wells, etc.) 286 of the rigs active in the U.S. were running in Texas.

Baker Hughes reports its own Eagle Ford Rig Count that covers the 14 core counties. The rig count published on EagleFordShale.com includes a 30 county area impacted by Eagle Ford development. A full list of the counties included can be found in the table below.

Eagle Ford Oil & Gas Rigs

Nine rigs in the Eagle Ford region targeted natural gas this week with the commodity dropping to $3.46/mmbtu.

39 Eagle Ford rigs were targeting oil with WTI oil prices increasing to $51.68.

A total of 42 rigs are drilling horizontal wells, zero are drilling directional wells and six are vertical.

Karnes County leads this week with 12 rigs in production. See the full list below in the Eagle Ford Shale Drilling by County below.

Eagle Ford Shale Drilling by County

Eagle Ford Shale News

Eagle Ford Oil Heads to South Korea

Halcón Waiting for Crude Prices to Improve

Eagle Ford Counties #1 in Oil & Gas

What is the Rig Count?

The Eagle Ford Shale Rig Count is an index of the total number of oil & gas drilling rigs running across a 30 county area in South Texas. The South Texas rigs referred to in this article are for ALL drilling reported by Baker Hughes and not solely wells targeting the Eagle Ford formation. All land rigs and onshore rig data shown here are based upon industry estimates provided by the Baker Hughes Rig Count.

Eagle Ford Counties #1 in Oil & Gas

December 1, 2016 Elizabeth Alford

Latest stats show Eagle Ford Shale counties still rank first in oil and gas production.

Average production for oil and gas across Texas is down since this time last year, but Eagle Ford counties remain top producers, according to the latest statistics from the Texas Railroad Commission.

The Commission reported that in the last 12 months, total Texas reported production was 995 million barrels of crude oil and 8.1 trillion cubic feet of total gas. Total production for September 2016 is 71,404,018 barrels of crude oil and 561,242,466 mcf of total gas from oil and gas wells. In September 2015, production was 87,680,526 barrels and 724,241,890 mcf of gas.

Eagle Ford Production

CRUDE OIL: Five Eagle Ford counties ranked in the top 10 highest producing Texas counties.

#1-Karnes County continues to be the top oil producing county in Texas, pumping 5,095,593 barrels in September

#5- LaSalle produced 3,422,097 barrels

#6- Dewitt produced3,246,232 barrels

#8-McMullen produced 3,021,614

#9-Gonzales produced 2,949,145

NATURAL GAS: Five Eagle Ford counties ranked in the top 10 highest producing Texas counties.

#1 Webb produced 55,387,471 mcf

#3 Dimmit produced 21,963,351 mcf

#4 Karnes produced 19,877,341 mcf

#7 Dewit produced 17,928,345 mcf

#8 LaSalle produced 17,073,641 mcf

These preliminary figures are based on production volumes reported by operators and will be updated as late and corrected production reports are received.

Halcón Waiting for Crude Prices to Improve

November 29, 2016 Elizabeth Alford

Halcón Resources is still waiting for crude prices to improve before increasing Eagle Ford activity.

Halcón Resources announced its financial and operational report for the third quarter 2016. Executives commented that their primary focus for new activity is in the Williston Basin and Eagle Ford, but that they are also seeking other opportunities around the country.

This report comes just a few weeks after the company emerged from bankruptcy, where it was able to eliminate approximately $1.8 billion in debt.

For its Eagle Ford operations, Halcón reported production averaging 6,693 Boe/d. The company did not run any operated rigs in the region and no wells were put online. The company anticipates adding a rig back to the Eagle Ford area when oil prices improve.

“In our East Texas Eagle Ford area, El Halcón we’re not running a rig today. We have recently been conversing and watching what other operators that are running rigs have been doing. There’s a fairly – I won’t say new but there’s a newish application of proven frac technology being used in the area. A higher profit concentrations in the 2,500 to 3,500 pound per linear foot range and slickwater fracs with only 20% or 30% of gel. Some of these results are very promising and we expect to actually change our outlook for this area dramatically in light of what we’re seeing so far.”

— CEO, Fred Wilson

Halcón currently has working interests in approximately 80,000 net acres prospective for the Eagle Ford formation in East Texas, approximately 82% of which is HBP. The Company currently operates 112 El Halcón wells.

Q3 Highlights include:

Production averaged 34,185 barrels of oil equivalent per day (Boe/d)
Production was comprised of 76% oil, 13% natural gas liquids and 11% natural gas
Shut-in approximately 7,000 Boe/d of net production during the third quarter due to low commodity prices. This production was brought back online in early October 2016.
Total revenues of $102.5 million
Total operating costs per unit were $24.89 per Boe

Eagle Ford Oil Heads to South Korea

November 28, 2016 Elizabeth Alford

South Korea purchases Eagle Ford oil for the first time in over 40 years.

GS Caltex, South Korea’s second-biggest refiner, has announced the purchase of another 1 million barrels of U.S. crude from the Eagle Ford, according to Platt’s global division. The company has already unloaded another 1 million barrels in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, during November.

Eagle Ford crude is a hot export commodity because it contains less sulfur content than ‘heavier’ crudes. Caltex will use the light sweet crude for blending with their heavier oil.

“GS Caltex is the first domestic refiner importing crude from the U.S. mainland since the nation lifted its long-standing export ban,” a company spokesman said. “It has become more price-competitive to purchase crude oil from the United States because of low West Texas Intermediate (WTI) prices and falling shipping charges. We will continue to explore opportunities to import more from the United States and further diversify our import countries.”

In April, the U.S. senate passed the Energy Policy and Modernization Act designed to increase U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG). This is South Korea’s first purchase of US crude since Washington lifted a 40-year restriction on exports late last year.

Eagle Ford midstream companies are looking to prosper as natural gas exports overtake imports over the next 16 months. The state is currently building a massive LNG export terminal along the Gulf Coast.

In June, the U.S. Department of Energy authorized Flint Hills Resources to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) to countries that do not hold a free trade agreement (non-FTA) with the U.S. The order allows Flint to export LNG 3.62 billion cubic feet of natural gas per year over the next 20 years.

Eagle Ford Rig Count Unmoved

November 24, 2016 Elizabeth Alford

The Eagle Ford Shale rig count remained flat this holiday week, with our data showing 45 rigs running across our coverage area by midday Wednesday.

In recent Eagle Ford news, Earthstone Energy announced third quarter results last week including plans to initate the completion of its 12-well Eagle Ford inventory.

A total of 592 oil and gas rigs were running across the United States this week, a gain of five over last week. 118 rigs targeted natural gas (two more than the previous week) and 474 were targeting oil in the U.S. (three more than the previous week). The remainder were drilling service wells (e.g. disposal wells, injection wells, etc.) 279 of the rigs active in the U.S. were running in Texas.