Crude Production Rises in Eagle Ford and Across U.S.

June 8, 2017 Elizabeth Alford

Crude oil production in the Eagle Ford and across the U.S. is at its highest level in over a year, according to data from the Energy Information Administration.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported this week that oil production has increased to levels not seen since early 2016.

In 2015, oil production in the Eagle Ford hit a high of 1,701,168 bb/d and then began a 2-year decline. But things are looking up and the EIA is reporting that June oil production will be at 1,280,979 bbl/d, the highest level since March 2016.

Oil production across the U.S. is seeing similar results. For March 2017, production was at 9,098, 000 bbl/d, the highest since April 2016.

April '16: 8947
July '16: 8711
Sep '16: 8567
Jan '17: 8858
Mar '17: 9098

The Texas Railroad Commission reported that Karnes County was the biggest Texas producer in March, producing 6,969,260 bbls of crude. Other Eagle Ford counties in the top ten included Dewitt, La Salle and McMullen. For the last few month, Midland County edged out Karnes for the top spot, but fell back in March to second place.

Eagle Ford Rig Count Unmoved; Texas Increases by 5

June 4, 2017 Elizabeth Alford

The Eagle Ford Shale rig count remained unchanged this week, with our data showing 99 rigs were running across our coverage area by midday Friday.

In recent Eagle Ford News, the Texas Railroad Commission reported that Karnes County resumed its top spot for oil production volumes for March 2017.

A total of 916 oil and gas rigs were running across the United States this week, an increase of eight over last week. 182 rigs targeted natural gas (three less than the previous week) and 733 were targeting oil in the U.S. (11 more than the previous week). The remainder were drilling service wells (e.g. disposal wells, injection wells, etc.) 463 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

Eight rigs in the Eagle Ford region targeted natural gas this week with the commodity trading at $3.00/mmbtu.

91 Eagle Ford rigs were targeting oil with WTI oil prices at $47.66

A total of 96 rigs are drilling horizontal wells, zero are drilling directional wells and three are vertical.

Karnes County leads this week with 22 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 Rig Count by County-June 2, 2017 — Eagle Ford Rig Count by County-June 2, 2017

Eagle Ford Shale News

Lonestar Increases Eagle Ford Holdings in 'Transformational' Deal

Eagle Ford Oil Production Back on Top

Eagle Ford Shale Gaining Strength through 2017

Carrizo Invests Heavily in the Eagle Ford Shale Play

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.

The Eagle Ford Shale drilling rig count has had its ups and downs, marking the rise of the region's shale development and the decline brought on by low crude prices.

Lonestar Increases Eagle Ford Holdings in 'Transformational' Deal

June 2, 2017 Elizabeth Alford

Lonestar Resources is making major inroads into the Eagle Ford with new acquisitions.

Related: Lonestar Announces Strong Q1

Lonestar announced this week that is will purchase 30,210 gross acres in the Eagle Ford Shale region of south Texas. The $116.6 million deal will include properties in Karnes, F+Gonzales DeWitt, Lavaca and Fayette Counties.

“The acquisitions announced today are transformational for Lonestar. We have scaled our business with Eagle Ford Shale properties that are located in our core area which our technical team understands extremely well. We plan to increase our Eagle Ford Shale drilling rig activity from 1 rig to 2 rigs no later than January 1, 2018, which will allow us to scale our drilling program and obtain a dedicated frac spread, which we believe will afford us greater economies of scale, cost savings, and better precision and timing of execution. In summary, we are acquiring high-quality Eagle Ford properties located in our core area that significantly increase the size and scale of our Company.”

— Lonestar’s Chief Executive Officer, Frank D. Bracken, III

The acquisition will make a huge impact on Lonestar's value by increasing oil and gas production by 39%. The purchase increases the company's lease holdings by 59% and its drilling locations by 70%.

Through the rest of 2017, Lonestar plans to spend $62 to $72 million on drilling and completion operations. The company already has an eye on a drilling plan 2018 that will include 18 gross / 16 net wells, costing of $85 to $95 million.

During a first quarter earnings call, Lonestar executives reported a 15% production growth during the three months ending March 31, 2017. The company also reduced Lease Operating and Gas Gathering Costs ("LOE") by 15% during the quarter, compared to $3.5 million over Q4 2016. Executives expect production to grow at an accelerated rate through the rest of 2017.

Eagle Ford Oil Production Back on Top

May 31, 2017 Elizabeth Alford

Karnes County, in the Eagle Ford Shale, resumed its top spot for oil production volumes for March 2017.

Related: Eagle Ford Gains Strength

The Texas Railroad Commission (RRC) produced the March production statistics last week, showing the state produced 77,262,815 barrels of crude oil and 608,006,175 mcf of natural gas from oil and gas wells. This was very close to the preliminary volumes report for March 2016, which was 77,702,710 barrels.

Karnes County led the state in oil production, producing 6,969,260 bbls. Other Eagle Ford counties in the top ten included Dewitt, La Salle and McMullen. For the last few month, Midland County edged out Karnes for the top spot, but fell back in March to second place.

Production Highlights

Total production for the last year was 980 million barrels of crude oil and 7.9 trillion cubic feet of total gas.
March 2017 crude oil production averaged 2,492,349 barrels daily, compared to the 2,506,539 barrels daily average of March 2016. (preliminary)
Total gas production averaged 19,613,102 mcf a day, compared to the 20,592,813 mcf daily average of March 2016. (preliminary)
Currently 177,719 oil wells and 90,804 gas wells operating in the state.

Things have been looking up in the Eagle Ford. During the first quarter of 2017, the Texas Railroad Commission (RRC) reported a spike in the number of drilling permits issued. The agency granted 3257 new drilling permits, more than double the number of this time last year.

Eagle Ford Shale Rig Count Contracts

May 27, 2017 Elizabeth Alford

The Eagle Ford Shale rig count contracted this week, with operators pulling two rigs from production. 99 rigs are running across our coverage area by midday Friday.

In recent Eagle Ford News, Earthstone Energy, Inc. has resumed its Eagle Ford development program and announces plans for rest of the year.

A total of 908 oil and gas rigs were running across the United States this week, an increase of seven over last week. 185 rigs targeted natural gas (five more than the previous week) and 722 were targeting oil in the U.S. (two more than the previous week). The remainder were drilling service wells (e.g. disposal wells, injection wells, etc.) 458 of the rigs active in the U.S. were running in Texas.

Eagle Ford Oil & Gas Rigs

Nine rigs in the Eagle Ford region targeted natural gas this week with the commodity trading at $3.24/mmbtu.

90 Eagle Ford rigs were targeting oil with WTI oil prices at $49.82