OPEC — Eagle Ford Shale News — Eagle Ford Shale Play

The latest figures from the American Petroleum Institute (API) reveal that many individual states now outstrip whole countries when it comes to natural gas production. And, not surprisingly, Texas is on top.

Texas leads the world by producing 18.81 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, more than more than any member of OPEC. Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Wyoming, Oklahoma and Colorado all rank among the top 20 energy-producing nations in the world.

The Lone Star State also leads in crude oil production and is ranked 8th in overall global production. The Eagle Ford Shale alone accounts for more than 1.5-million barrels of crude oil per day.

“This is what energy security looks like,” Tracee Bentley, head of the Colorado Petroleum Council, said. “Thanks to innovations in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, Colorado now outpaces seven of 12 OPEC nations in natural gas production.”

OPEC’s announcement last Friday that it will stick with its policy to produce oil at a high rate, has not intimidated American shale producers.

OPEC's decision last week to not cut production was a direct assault on U.S. shale production, but its not likely to stop the U.S. shale boom. Across the board, U.S. shale production growth will slow at lower prices in 2015, but is still expected to remain high. Energy research consultancy IHS estimates U.S. shale production will grow by 700,000 b/d at an average price of $77 per barrel in 2015. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicts WTI crude oil prices will average $78 per barrel in 2015.

The shale oil boom has been made possible by advancements in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, putting the U.S. in a prominent position on the world stage once again for crude oil production.

The Eagle Ford Shale alone accounts for more than 1.5-million barrels of crude oil per day, and Texas and North Dakota, which encompasses the most active areas of the Bakken Shale, currently make up almost half of the nation’s crude oil supply.

In the Middle East, production costs are less than $30 per barrel on average, according to the Norwegian firm Rystad Energy. OPEC is betting as prices fall, higher relative costs for U.S. shale production, will put the brakes on growth. But in certain "sweet spot" areas for drilling in the Eagle Ford and Bakken Shale in North Dakota, new wells can be drilled profitably, even if crude falls to $25 per barrel, according to ITG Investment Research Inc., cited in a recent Bloomberg article.

Ultimately, nobody has a crystal ball to predict futures prices for crude oil, but with WTI now below $70, some operators in the Eagle Ford may consider scaling back their drilling programs in certain areas in 2015, and wait to see what will happen with crude oil prices.