Eagle Ford Shale Regional Rig Count at 271 - May 4, 2012

Oil Drilling Rig
Oil Drilling Rig

The Eagle Ford Shale drilling rig count fell seven rigs to average 271 working units this past week. That's below the April average of 274 rigs, but not large enough to think it is a trend. Marathon will have at least two more rigs coming into the area, so the ramp up in drilling isn't over yet. The most active operator in the play has led the region for over 8 months now. Chesapeake has 34 rigs active with 12 in Dimmit County, 10 in La Salle, 6 in McMullen, and one in each of DeWitt, Frio, Webb, and Zavala counties. We'll breakout each of the top operators in the coming weeks.

Eagle Ford Oil & Gas Rigs

The natural gas directed rig count rose two rigs this week to a total of 70. Henry Hub futures prices were trading at $2.29/mmbtu as of Friday afternoon. Natural gas storage numbers were more positive this week and the market responded. Oil directed activity fell 9 rigs to 201 as oil prices took a licking on the back of bad economic news on Friday. Prices fell below $100 and were trading around $98.50 per bbl at the end of the day.

254 horizontal rigs are running in the region. Karnes County leads development with 43 rigs. La Salle (39), McMullen (28), Dimmit (28), Webb (26), DeWitt (24), Gonzales (23), Live Oak (11), and Frio and Zavala counties with 8 rigs each make up the top Eagle Ford counties.

Many companies began reporting earnings this week and we'll have more news for you in the coming days.  Here are the highlights from this past week:

If you are headed to San Antonio/South Texas, visit our Eagle Ford Hotels page. We've negotiated discounted rates with hotels that are welcoming the Oil & Gas Industry.

Come back weekly for updates or sign up for alerts.

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

Eagle Ford Rig Count Flat at 278 - April 27, 2012

Drilling Rig
Drilling Rig 9

The Eagle Ford Shale drilling rig count held flat at a record of 278 working units week over week. That means the month of April was the most active in the history of the Eagle Ford. An average of more than 274 rigs were running the entire month. The top 20 operators control almost exactly 80% of the rigs, with the top five running 47% of all rigs in the region.

Eagle Ford Oil & Gas Rigs

The natural gas directed count fell to 68 rigs this week. Future prices for Henry Hub were trading at $2.17/mmbtu as of Friday afternoon. That's a nice bump from last week, but that's largely due to contracts rolling into the next month.  Oil directed activity jumped three rigs to 210  and oil prices were trading at $104.50 per barrel (WTI) early in the afternoon.

A record 264 horizontal rigs are running in the region. Karnes County leads development with 44 rigs. La Salle (38),  McMullen (28),  Dimmit (27), Webb (27), DeWitt (26), Gonzales (25), Live Oak (12), and Frio and Zavala counties with 8 rigs each make up the top Eagle Ford counties.

Quarterly earnings reports started this week and we'll get even more news next week:

If you are headed to San Antonio/South Texas, visit our Eagle Ford Hotels page. We've negotiated discounted rates with hotels that are welcoming the Oil & Gas Industry.

Come back weekly for updates or sign up for alerts.

Drilling Rig Count by Operator

hat 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

Eagle Ford Production Surpasses 2 Bcf/d and 500k b/d

The EIA's latest numbers show the Eagle Ford is blazing through expectations.  The play is on pace to have more development drilling and higher production than many expected just a few short months ago. Highlights from the report include:

  • 856 wells started in the first quarter of 2012 (100%+ increase over 2011)
  • On pace for more than 3,000 wells started in 2012. With added rigs and drilling efficiency gains, 3,500+ is likely
  • 500,000 bbl/d of crude and condensate produced in April
  • Eagle Ford natural gas production has eclipsed 2 Bcfd (U.S. produced 83 Bcfd in Jan. 2012)

Read the entire update at eia.gov

Overall, drilling starts are up from less than 50 per month at the beginning of 2010 to more than 350 in March of 2012. Wow!

Eagle Ford Rig Count Soaring Through Records - April 20, 2012

drilling rig
drilling rig 8

The Eagle Ford Shale drilling rig count rose four rigs to 278 working units. That eclipses the previous regional record of 275 set in mid-march.  That's the rig count for the entire area, but from looking at operators and locations we've likely surpassed 250 rigs targeting the Eagle Ford alone. The other 10% of rigs are targeting formations other than the Eagle Ford proper.

Eagle Ford Oil & Gas Rigs

The natural gas directed rig count fell one rig to 70 running this week. That's on the back of hitting 11 year lows today in the natural gas spot market. I know that sounds like a broken record, but we've hit new lows for Henry Hub prices in three of the past four weeks. Oil directed activity jumped five rigs to 207.  That surpasses last weeks record of 202.

Future prices for Henry Hub were trading at $1.92/mmbtu as of Friday afternoon. Oil prices have gone almost unchanged the past three weeks $103 per barrel (WTI).

260 horizontal rigs are running and we have 1 storage well being drilled in La Salle County. Karnes County leads development with 44 rigs. La Salle (40), Webb (30), McMullen (27), Dimmit (26), DeWitt (24), Gonzales (23), Live Oak (11), and Atascosa, Frio, and Zavala counties with 8 rigs each make up the top Eagle Ford counties.

News highlights this week included:

If you are headed to San Antonio/South Texas, visit our Eagle Ford Hotels page. We've negotiated discounted rates with hotels that are welcoming the Oil & Gas Industry.

Come back weekly for updates or sign up for alert.

Drilling Rig Count by Operator

While missed in the census this week, Lewis Petroleum has indicated it has 11 rigs running.  That means the actual rig count is 280.

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

Eagle Ford Rig Count At 274 With New Oil Drilling Record - April 13, 2012

Drilling Rig
Drilling Rig 7

The Eagle Ford Shale drilling rig count jumped back to 274 working this past week.  For the second week in a row, it looks like Webb County led the way in terms of change. The county added back six rigs in the last week.  Last week looks to be just a blip in the rig count statistics. One of two things likely accounted for the drop last week.  The rigs were either in some stage between wells and not counted, or there was a mistake in the census last week. We did confirm Lewis Petroleum's rig count statistics from last week were just a blip on the radar.  The company contacted us to say that they still have 11 rigs working and have additional rigs ordered. That means the actual rig count is 277 rigs (3 higher than this weeks reported number).

Eagle Ford Oil & Gas Rigs

The natural gas directed rig count grew 4 rigs up to 71 running this week. The bounce was largely attributable to Webb County where 5 rigs were back in the rig count statistics. DeWitt with 17 and Webb with 19 lead the natural gas focused counties. Oil directed activity jumped to 202 rigs and set a new record in the Eagle Ford.

Natural gas prices look to be on a path to $1/mmbtu. Future prices for Henry Hub were trading at $1.97 as of Friday morning. That's a new low, again, for those keeping track. Oil prices remained flat right around $103 per barrel (WTI).

258 horizontal rigs are running and we have 1 storage well being drilled in La Salle County. Karnes County leads development with 43 rigs. La Salle (40), Webb (29), McMullen (27), DeWitt (26), Dimmit (25), Gonzales (23), Live Oak (11), and Atascosa (10), make up the top Eagle Ford counties.

News highlights this week included:

If you are headed to San Antonio/South Texas, visit our Eagle Ford Hotels page. We've negotiated discounted rates with hotels that are welcoming the Oil & Gas Industry.

Come back weekly for updates or sign up for alerts.

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