Drilling Rig Count Falls 7 on Thanksgiving Week - November 25, 2011

November 25, 2011 Kenny DuBose

The Eagle Ford Shale drilling rig count fell 7 rigs over Thanksgiving week to a total of 257 running. We're still running at a higher rate than any time before last weeks 264 number. Approximately 210-215 rigs are targeting the Eagle Ford formation. Even with the dramatic drop in stock prices over the past week, oil prices have held relatively strong (WTI futures at $96 per barrel). That bodes well for the Eagle Ford. Strong oil prices will help shield South Texas from any broader economic downfall. Natural gas prices rebounded a bit, but we expect continued weakness as gas will likely be injected into storage through the middle of December. The natural gas rig count held flat at 101. Oil rigs accounted for the entire drop this week with a loss of 7 bringing us to a total of 155.

One rig continues to drill a Webb County disposal well. Webb (41) still leads the region, while La Salle (34) , Karnes (30), DeWitt (20), Dimmit (20), and Gonzales (20) counties together account for two-thirds of Eagle Ford drilling. Chesapeake Energy (31) and EOG Resources (26) are 10 rigs are more ahead of the third most active driller, ConocoPhillips (16).

News highlighted throughout the play this past week included:

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 formation. 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

16 Rigs Added To Set New Record - November 18, 2011

November 18, 2011 Kenny DuBose

The Eagle Ford Shale drilling rig count jumped 16 rigs over the past week to reach 264 rigs. The previous week held the Eagle Ford era record and this past week beats the record by sixteen. Approximately 210 rigs are targeting the Eagle Ford formation. The strength in drilling is the direct result of a resilient oil price, close to $100 per barrel and continued success across the play. While natural gas prices weakened throughout the week (<$3.50/mcf), we only lost one gas rig (101). Strength continued in the oil rig market with 17 rigs moving into the region. That's the single largest jump we've seen since Eagle Ford development began in earnest. Actually, two years ago at this time there were not 17 total rigs active in the entire play.

One rig continues to drill a Webb County disposal well. Webb (41) becomes the first county to eclipse 40 active rigs, while La Salle (36) , Karnes (30), DeWitt (22), Dimmit (20), and Gonzales (20) counties together account for more than 65% of Eagle Ford drilling. Chesapeake Energy (31) and EOG Resources (26) are 10 rigs are more ahead of the third most active driller.

News highlighted throughout the play this past week included:

Small Business Development Center Opens in Carrizo Springs

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

Drilling Rig Count by Operator

What is the Rig Count?

Drilling Rigs by County

Eagle Ford Shale Drilling Rig Count - November 11, 2011

November 11, 2011 Kenny DuBose

The Eagle Ford Shale drilling rig count jumped 5 rigs to 248 over the past week. That's one above the 247 rig record we hit in the middle of October. Approximately, 200 rigs are working in the Eagle Ford formation, that's up from less than 20 just 18 months ago. As long as the economy holds together, we should continue to see more active drilling units targeting the play. We lost 4 natural gas rigs to bring us down to 102 active. With natural gas futures prices hovering around $3.60 that trend isn't likely to change soon. In the continued shift from gas to oil, 9 rigs moved to drilling liquids in the region. We also have one disposal well being drilled in Webb County. Webb (37), La Salle (32) , Karnes (30) and DeWitt (22) counties account for more than 50% of Eagle Ford drilling.

Chesapeake Energy (28) and EOG Resources (24) lead the more than 60 operators that have active programs in the shale.

News throughout the play this past week included:

Operator News:

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

Drilling Rig Count by Operator

What is the Rig Count?

Drilling Rigs by County

Eagle Ford Well Permitting Up - Reaches 1,000 Producing Wells

November 7, 2011 R.T. Dukes

Eagle Ford permitting has risen more than 150% over 2010 and the producing well count likely surpassed 1,000 in early October. That's a quick trip to 1,000 producing wells. There were virtually ZERO in 2008. With 770 producing wells at the beginning of September and ~ 200 active rigs drilling in the play, we likely eclipsed 1,000 producing wells sometime in early to mid-October.

Permit numbers increased by roughly 150 percent, totalling 2,522 permitted wells. That number is up from 1,010 drilling permits issued last year, and up more than 9,000 percent since 2008.

As of Sept. 1, 300 oil and 470 natural gas wells are operating in the 16-county shale rock play, according to the Texas Rail Road Commission,

Read the entire news release at ibtimes.com

Eagle Ford Shale Drilling Rig Count - November 4, 2011

November 4, 2011 Kenny DuBose

The Eagle Ford Shale drilling rig count dropped two rigs to average 243 for the prior week. We're holding steady with an estimated 200 of the rigs targeting the Eagle Ford formation, while the remainder target other formations such as the Pearsall, Olmos, and Austin Chalk. Four natural gas rigs dropped off to bring us to a count of 106. We're down almost 20 rigs from just less than a month ago. The decline in gas rigs has been completely offset by the increase in oil rigs, now at 136. We also have one disposal well being drilled in Webb County. Webb (37), Karnes (32), and La Salle (32) counties lead the region in terms of active drilling.

Chesapeake Energy (29) and EOG Resources (24) continue to lead the pack of major operators. EOG announced record Eagle Ford well results from the play this week. The company has now brought on multiple wells at more than 3,000 boe/d.

Oil & gas companies were reporting earnings this week, so there is a lot of Eagle Ford news to digest:

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.