Eagle Ford Shale Rig Count Increases; Commodity Prices Down

July 9, 2017 Elizabeth Alford

The Eagle Ford Shale rig count inched up this week after waffling for weeks. Our data shows 96 rigs running across our coverage area by midday Friday.

In recent Eagle Ford Shale news, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) is predicting a 43 thousand barrel a day increase for crude oil produced in the Eagle Ford Shale for July.

Eagle Ford Oil & Gas Rigs

Eight rigs in the Eagle Ford region targeted natural gas this week with the commodity trading lower at $2.86/mmbtu.

88 Eagle Ford rigs were targeting oil with WTI oil prices at $44.23.

A total of 93 rigs are drilling horizontal wells, zero are drilling directional wells and three are vertical.

Karnes County leads this week with 23 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-July 9, 2017 — Eagle Ford Rig Count by County-July 9, 2017

Eagle Ford Shale News

Eagle Ford Oil Production Up

Sanchez Energy Sells Eagle Ford Assets

Methane Levels in Eagle Ford Water Insignificant

NAFTA Revision Could Mean Energy Independence

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 Oil Production Up; Rig Counts Slide

July 5, 2017 Elizabeth Alford

Oil and gas production for the Eagle Ford is continuing its climb, while operators have slowed bringing more rigs back into production.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) is predicting that July will show a 43 thousand barrel a day increase for crude oil in the Eagle Ford Shale over June. The agency reports that the average in was 1,325 Mbbl/d and July will be 1,368 Mbbl/d.

The EIA is forecasting increases in both U.S. oil and natural gas production through 2018.

Crude Oil production 9.3 million b/d in 2017 and 10.0 million b/d in 2018
Natural gas production will average 73.3 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2017 and 3.3 Bcf/d for 2018

This production report comes at a time when the rig count in the Eagle Ford has stalled. After a steady rise for the first half of the year, the Eagle Ford Shale rig count lost ground through June and is currently stalled at 94 rigs.

Eagle Ford Rig Count at a Standstill

July 2, 2017 Elizabeth Alford

The Eagle Ford Shale rig count remained unmoved this week, with a total of 94 rigs running across our coverage area by midday Friday.

In recent Eagle Ford Shale news, the U.S. Geological Survey released a new report showing that oil and gas production in the Eagle Ford is not significantly impacting drinking water wells.

A total of 940 oil and gas rigs were running across the United States this week, a decrease of one over last week. 184 rigs targeted natural gas (one more than the previous week) and 756 were targeting oil in the U.S. (two less than the previous week). The remainder were drilling service wells (e.g. disposal wells, injection wells, etc.) 461 of the rigs active in the U.S. were running in Texas.

Eagle Ford Oil & Gas Rigs

Eight rigs in the Eagle Ford region targeted natural gas this week with the commodity trading at $3.04/mmbtu.

86 Eagle Ford rigs were targeting oil with WTI oil prices at $46.04.

A total of 91 rigs are drilling horizontal wells, zero are drilling directional wells and three are vertical.

Karnes County leads this week with 23 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 30, 2017 — Eagle Ford Rig Count by County-June 30, 2017

Eagle Ford Shale News

Sanchez Energy Sells Eagle Ford Assets

Methane Levels in Eagle Ford Water Insignificant

NAFTA Revision Could Mean Energy Independence

Texas Railroad Railroad Commission Gains Funding

What is the Rig Count?

Sanchez Energy Sells Eagle Ford Assets

June 27, 2017 Elizabeth Alford

Sanchez Energy has sold 21,000 Eagle Ford acres to Lonestar Resources in order to shift its focus to the other side of the region.

Sanchez announced this week they will divest of non-core assets in Fayette and Lavaca Counties for $50 cash and 1.5 million shares of stock.

This recent deal is part of Sanchez' strategy to increase its focus on the growth of the Comanche, Catarina and Maverick areas of the Western Eagle Ford.

Purchase Highlights

Cash consideration of $50 million and Lonestar preferred stock that is structured to convert into 1.5 million shares of common stock;
Assets consist of approximately 21,000 net acres primarily located in Fayette and Lavaca Counties, Texas;
Net proved reserves of 2.7 MMBoe (100% developed); and
Net production of approximately 1,750 barrels of oil equivalent per day (“Boe/d”) (74% oil) from 104 gross (65 net) wells.

“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. ”

— Frank D. Bracken, III-Lonestar’s CEO

In March, Sanchez closed on a $2.1 billion deal with Anadarko Petroleum through a 50/50 partnership with Blackstone Energy Partners. The 'Comanche Transaction' increased Sanchez' total net proved reserves to approximately 340 MMBoe, a 78% increase from year-end 2016 reserves.

Methane Levels in Eagle Ford Water Insignificant

June 26, 2017 Elizabeth Alford

Oil and gas production in the Eagle Ford is not significantly impacting drinking water wells, according to a new study.

Fracking & Water Safety: New Technology

A recent study by the U.S. Geological Survey assesses the effects of oil and gas activity on water quality in several shale fields.

The article, published in the Journal of Environmental Science & Technology, tested 116 wells in the Eagle Ford, Fayetteville, and Haynesville shale formations. Of the wells that tested positive for methane, 90 percent had concentrations lower than 10 milligrams per liter. Researchers concluded that these methane levels are not enough to significantly affect drinking water, though it might take decades to fully assess the situation.

“Methane isotopes and hydrocarbon gas compositions indicate most of the methane in the wells was biogenic and produced by the CO2 reduction pathway, not from thermogenic shale gas.”

— USGS Study

In the midst of the fracking debate, many have raised concerns about the amount of water used in the fracking process and the potential danger to the depletion of our nation’s water supply.

Fracking Facts: Is Our Water Supply at Risk?

Last year, researchers from the UK announced the development of a new way to check for water contamination in order to monitor the safety of shale gas and coal bed methane extraction. Other fracking studies include:

Yale: measured well water near fracked wells concludes that ‘there was no evidence of association with deeper brines or long-range migration of these compounds to the shallow aquifers
EPA: claimed certain fracking activities that have the potential to impact drinking water resources but found no evidence that these activities have led to widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water in the United States.
John Hopkins : concluded possible adverse health outcomes associated with fracking

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