Atlas Shifting all Activity to Eagle Ford

November 17, 2015 Elizabeth Alford

Chesapeake Released 2015 Q1 — Noble Q3 2015

Atlas Resource Partners counts its Eagle Ford assets as bright spot in the company's portfolio.

After reporting a net loss of $560.9 million for the third quarter of 2015, Atlas is focused on positioning the company to withstand the current markets. Central to this strategy is shifting all development activity entirely to the Eagle Ford.

“Our sole focus in development activity is in the Eagle Ford shale where we have a substantial position. The economics there remain very attractive on a heads-up basis, and even more attractive to us through our investment partnership business.”

— Daniel Herz - Chief Executive Officer

Eagle Ford Highlights

During the third quarter, Atlas drilled and completed its first three Eagle Ford wells. Those wells are producing an average of 3,573 barrels of oil per day, and an average of 313,000 cubic feet of natural gas per day. The company has over $400 million worth of drilling inventory in the Eagle Ford at current cost of drilling.

Atlas Resource Partners is a relative newcomer to the Eagle Ford, entering the region in November 2014. The company's current Eagle Ford activity includes 22 producing wells in Atascosa County and 19 undeveloped locations.

EIA: Eagle Ford Production Plummeting

November 16, 2015 Elizabeth Alford

Oil production in the Eagle Ford is plummeting, according to new data.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released the latest drilling productivity report showing production across the shale basins continues to decline with the Eagle Ford taking a big hit.

The agency estimates that the Eagle Ford will lose 78,000 barrels of production in the month of December. The decline has been a trend since the numbers peaked in April.

Related: U.S. Oil Production Has Peaked

Marathon Oil Shifts Focus to U.S. Shale

November 12, 2015 Elizabeth Alford

Marathon Oil released its third quarter earnings this week and announced they will focus more of their attention on U.S. shale assets.

Related: Chesapeake Reports Q3 Loss

For the third quarter of 2015 Marathon had adjusted net losses of $138 million as they battle the prolonged downturn.

CEO Lee Tillman expects oil prices will remain low for a quite a while longer, so the company will continue its course of reducing costs and increasing efficiency. Marathon will also move away from conventional oil assets to focus on shale.

“Drilling efficiency remained a focus across our U.S. unconventional plays, with our best Eagle Ford rig drilling a well that averaged 3,000 feet per day in the third quarter, similar to the exceptional pacesetter performance in the previous quarter. This performance was achieved while maintaining our geo-steering accuracy to land in the target window 98% of the time.”

— Lee Tillman

Production in Marathon's Eagle Ford operations for Q3 averaged 128,000 net boed, a 9% increase above the year-ago quarter and compared to 135,000 net boed in the prior quarter. Other highlights include:

Company brought 57 wells to sales, of which 11 were Austin Chalk, six upper Eagle Ford and 40 lower Eagle Ford, compared to 52 wells to sales in the previous quarter.
Thirty-day initial production (IP) rates from the six upper Eagle Ford wells ranged from 1,050 to 1,480 net boed (57-76% liquids)
Wells drilled at an average rate of 2,000 feet per day, an 11% improvement over the previous quarter.
Drill time for an Eagle Ford well spud-to-total depth dropped to 10 days.
Company is exceeding its technical objectives with a 98% success rate geo-steering into a typical 25-foot target.

Noble Energy Cuts Eagle Ford Jobs

November 11, 2015 Elizabeth Alford

Houston-based Noble Energy plans to trim Eagle Ford jobs as it announces third quarter losses.

During an earnings call last week, Noble executives reported a $283 million net loss for the 2015 Q3 along with plans to trim capital spending and curtail exploration activity. Like many others, the company is putting these measures into place until the market rebounds enough to support increased spending.

In addition to the losses, Noble will lay off 180 jobs, including some in its Eagle Ford operations, according to Fuelfix. In April, the company cut 230 jobs.

“As we approach 2016, we intend to be cash flow neutral while maintaining long-term operational capacity,” spokeswoman Reba Reid said in a statement to Fuel Fix. “Our diverse portfolio offers exceptional investment options, and we will continue to focus capital allocation on activities that best deliver overall returns and value.”

Third Quarter Eagle Ford Highlights

During the quarter, we closed on the merger with Rosetta Resources, which established new core operating positions for NobleEnergy in the Eagle Ford and Delaware Basins.
Spud-to-rig release times averaged eight days for a 5,000-foot lateral, a reduction of approximately 30% from the average on these assets earlier this year
drilled seven Lower Eagle Ford wells
Most wells are performing materially above the 3 million-barrel type curve for the area

Real more at nobleenergyinc.com

Chesapeake Reports Q3 Loss

November 10, 2015 Elizabeth Alford

Chesapeake Energy Corporation reported its 2015 third quarter results, including projected activity for the Eagle Ford.

Related: Chesapeake Cuts 740 Jobs

In an earnings call last week, Chesapeake reported a net loss of $4.695 billion in the third quarter in contrast to a 3% year over year production increase. The company highlighted their focus on organizational and operational initiatives to face the extended low commodity price environment.

“We continue to focus on improving completion efficiency as a value differentiator at Chesapeake as measured through finding and development cost. We are drilling faster and cheaper, drilling longer laterals and enhancing our completion techniques to drive further value from each investment.”

— President and CEO Robert Douglas Lawler

For Chesapeake's Eagle Ford Shale operations, net production averaged approximately 108 thousand barrels of oil equivalent (mboe) per day, an increase of 3% sequentially. Other Eage Ford highlights include:

Average completed well costs to date in 2015 are $5.3 million, compared to $5.9 million for 2014.
Average completed lateral length of 6,000 feet, compared to 5,850 feet for 2014
Averaged three rigs in the 2015 third quarter, and the company anticipates maintaining three operated rigs through the end of the year.
Significant efficiencies with longer laterals and larger completions in the area
Expecting approximately 9% production growth this year compared to 2014
Currently have 19 wells drilled with greater than 9,000 foot laterals including two record 13,000 foot laterals