Eagle Ford Shale Drilling Rig Count - October 28, 2011

Drillingl Rig 5

The Eagle Ford Shale drilling rig count added five rigs jump to 245 active drilling rigs. That brings near the record of 247 set two weeks ago. Best estimates peg ~ 200 of the rigs targeting the Eagle Ford formation, while the remainder target other formations. The number of natural gas rigs working decreased 1 rig to 110. That's down 15 from just two weeks ago.  Seven oil rigs were added during the week to bring the total to 135. Webb County (35) jumped Karnes County (32) and leads the region in terms of active drilling.

Chesapeake Energy (28) and EOG Resources (24) are the only operators with more than 20 rigs active in the play.  BHP (Petrohawk) made the biggest jump of any operator over the past week by adding three rigs to a total of 14.  That above BHP's average of 13 over the past few months.

Operators are now reporting earnings in full force.

• Cabot Oil & Gas Q3 Operations Update
• Hess Encouraged in the Eagle Ford

Here's a recap of other news from this past week:

• Barges Moving Crude to Houston and Port Arthur
• Pioneer Permits a Long Lateral in Live Oak County
• KinderMorgan Acquires SouthTex Treaters for $155 million
• Oilfield Job Creation is Outpacing Expectations

Stay tuned each week for an update on the South Texas rig count.

Drilling Rig Count by Operator

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 SmithBits and not solely wells targeting the Eagle Ford Shale. All land rigs and onshore rig data shown here are based upon industry estimates provided by the Baker Hughes Rig Count and/or Smith Service Co's (Schlumberger) Smith Rig Count.

Drilling Rigs by County

Eagle Ford Shale Drilling Rig Count - October 21, 2011

drilling rig 4

The Eagle Ford Shale drilling rig count decreased seven rigs to 240 active drilling rigs. That brings us below the record set last week. Approximately 200 of the rigs are targeting the Eagle Ford formation, while the remainder target formations such as the Austin Chalk, Buda Lime, and Pearsall shale. The number of natural gas rigs working decreased a whopping 14 rigs. That reflects the current softness in natural gas prices, which is trading at $3.60 per mcf.  Six oil rigs were added during the week to bring the total to 128. Webb County contributed the bulk of the changes. Five rigs in the county shifted from gas to oil. Operators are telling us $90 oil is attractive and sub $4 natural gas is not.

One injection well is being drilled in Gonzales County and horizontal wells account for over 90% of drilling with 211 of the 240 rigs in the South Texas region.

Chesapeake Energy (27) and EOG Resources (22) are the only operators with more than 20 rigs active in the play.  36 companies have two or more crews running.

Earnings season has kicked off, so we heard results from a couple of Eagle Ford companies this week. The earthquake near Karnes County topped headlines on Thursday and Friday

• El Paso's Eagle Ford assets might be on the market
• KinderMorgan and Copano Energy announced their rich gas gathering system is running
• The Eagle Ford Task Force issued advice for trucks and pipelines
• Austin Exploration readies to spud a Burleson County Eagle Ford well

Stay tuned each week for an update on the South Texas rig count. 

Drilling Rig Count by Operator

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 SmithBits and not solely wells targeting the Eagle Ford Shale. All land rigs and onshore rig data shown here are based upon industry estimates provided by the Baker Hughes Rig Count and/or Smith Service Co's (Schlumberger) Smith Rig Count.

Drilling Rigs by County

Eagle Ford Shale Drilling Rig Count - October 14, 2011

Drilling Photo

The Eagle Ford Shale drilling rig count increased six more rigs to 247 active drilling rigs. That's jump from the Eagle Ford era record of 241 hit last week and the 239 we hit twice over the past two months. The number of natural gas rigs working increase one to 125, while adding five oil rigs (122). Horizontal wells account for 215 of the 247 rigs drilling in the South Texas region. La Salle and Gonzales counties added two rigs each and no other county added or dropped more than one rig.

Chesapeake Energy (29) and EOG Resources (23) are the only operators with more than 20 rigs active in the play.  68 companies have an active drilling crew in the region.

The Eagle Ford oil and gas conference in San Antonio brought more than 4,000 people to the convention center. Here are my notes from the conference- H2S, Labor & Pipeline Shortages, Rising Service Costs Define 2011

• We introduced the Eagle Ford Shale MarketPlace
• There Aren't Enough Crude Pipelines and Railcars in the U.S.
• No Drilling, but Alice Texas Booms

Stay tuned each week for an update on the South Texas rig count.

Drilling Rig Count by Operator

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 SmithBits and not solely wells targeting the Eagle Ford Shale. All land rigs and onshore rig data shown here are based upon industry estimates provided by the Baker Hughes Rig Count and/or Smith Service Co's (Schlumberger) Smith Rig Count.

Drilling Rigs by County

Eagle Ford Shale Drilling Rig Count - October 7, 2011

Drilling Rig Photo

The Eagle Ford Shale drilling rig count jumped five to 241 active drilling rigs. That's higher than the Eagle Ford era record of 239 that we hit twice over the past two months. The number of natural gas rigs working increase six to 124, while losing one oil rig to fall to 117. Horizontal wells account for 210 of the 241 rigs drilling in the South Texas region. Webb and Gonzales counties saw the largest jumps in the week by adding three and four rigs, respectively. Several rigs moved around in the play, but no county lost more than two rigs during the week.

Chesapeake Energy (29) and EOG Resources (21) are the only operators with more than 20 rigs active in the play.  23 companies have more than two active drilling units.

Be sure to visit the site frequently next week as we'll provide more updates than normal, while attending the oil & gas conference in San Antonio on Tuesday (Oct 11) and Wednesday (Oct 12). You can also follow us on Twitter @EagleFord_Shale.

Eagle Ford News from the past week:

"Double" was the key term - Koch's staff in S. TX and Eagle Ford production are expected to double in 2011. Nothing short of biblical prophecy would have predicted a Beeville, TX, career fair would have 1,000 open jobs and 2,000 visitors seeking employment.

• GeoResources Operations Update - Well results, 2012 drilling, and the Austin Chalk
• Gulf Coast Refineries Are Benefitting From Eagle Ford Crude

Stay tuned each week for an update on the South Texas rig count.

Drilling Rig Count by Operator

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 SmithBits and not solely wells targeting the Eagle Ford Shale. All land rigs and onshore rig data shown here are based upon industry estimates provided by the Baker Hughes Rig Count and/or Smith Service Co's (Schlumberger) Smith Rig Count.

Drilling Rigs by County

Eagle Ford Shale Rig Count - September 30, 2011

Drilling Rig Photo

The Eagle Ford Shale rig count dropped 3 rigs to 236 active drilling rigs. That's down from an Eagle Ford era record of 239 last week. The number of natural gas rigs working dropped 3 to 118, while the oil rig count remained flat at 118. Horizontal wells account for 210 of the 236 rigs drilling in the South Texas region. La Salle and Dimmitt counties were the only two to add any rigs, while Gonzales County accounted for most of the lost rigs with 5. No other county lost more than 1 rig.

Chesapeake Energy (29) is the only operator with more than 20 rigs active in the play.  12 companies have more than five active drilling units.

The week was highlighted by another international company entering the Eagle Ford - GAIL-Carrizo Announce Joint Venture. Other news included more bullish oil production forecasts from across the U.S and a third party pipeline failure in Webb County that forced Swift Energy to shut in production:

• Swift Energy - Webb County Pipeline Failure Halts Production
• Addressing Road Maintenance Is Important Early

Stay tuned each week for an update on the South Texas rig count.

Drilling Rig Count by Operator

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 SmithBits and not solely wells targeting the Eagle Ford Shale. All land rigs and onshore rig data shown here are based upon industry estimates provided by the Baker Hughes Rig Count and/or Smith Service Co's (Schlumberger) Smith Rig Count.

Drilling by County