South Texas Income on the Rise as the Eagle Ford Booms

Eagle Ford Counties' Income
Eagle Ford Counties' Income

The average income in South Texas is on the rise. Per capita income increased more than 13% across Eagle Ford counties from 2008 to 2011. I'm willing to bet the average income went up again in 2012 as even more Eagle Ford jobs were created.

Personal income in Texas has benefited from the oil boom, but residents of counties in South Texas have seen the average income grow at a rate almost ten times faster. The average income in Texas grew 1.34% from 2008-2011, but income in Eagle Ford counties grew 13.64%.

Read the full story from Jennifer Hiller at mysa.com

Eagle Ford Regional Drilling at 249 Rigs Jan 11, 2013

Comstock Resources Eagle Ford Map
Comstock Resources Eagle Ford Map

Eagle Ford Shale regional drilling fell to 249 rigs running this past week.

We know that capital spending will make the Eagle Ford the largest development in the world in 2013, but we spent time reviewing a few smaller companies' budgets.

Eagle Ford Oil & Gas Rigs

The natural gas rig count was 42 this week as gas prices fell further, but then bounced on Friday to end the week basically flat near $3.30/mmbtu.

The oil rig count was flat at 204 running in the area. WTI crude futures were trading close to $94 per barrel to end the week. Eagle Ford crude priced at $106.53/bbl on the 8th of January. Eagle Ford light crude and condensate in the area traded at $90 and $89, respectively.

There are 241 horizontal rigs running in the region. A storage well is being drilled in Zavala County and disposal wells are being drilled in Frio County and Leon County.

La Salle & Karnes counties lead development with 32 rigs running. McMullen (28),Dimmit (25), Webb (22), Gonzales (21), DeWitt (15), Live Oak (11), Atascosa (8), Fayette (8), Lavaca (8), Leon (8), Frio (6) and Zavala (6) round out the top counties in the region. [ic-c] South Texas Oil & Gas News:

Be sure to visit our South Texas Oilfield Job Listings to search openings and come back weekly for updates.

Eagle Ford 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.

Eagle Ford Shale Drilling by County

Eagle Ford Well Fracked with Propane

Frio County Eagle Ford Shale Map
Frio County Eagle Ford Shale Map

A recently drilled Eagle Ford well was completed with a propane frack. eCorp Stimulation Technologies successfully stimulated an Eagle Ford well at 5,950 ft in Frio County, TX. The completion is part of the company's efforts to minimize water usage in well completions. The test was done in December 2012 just south of Pearsall, TX. Pure liquid propane was used, with no chemicals or additives

The company is touting the well as a "success", but we'll have to watch flow rates to see if the well is successful from an economic standpoint.

Dr. John Thrash , eCORP's CEO and Chairman, stated, "We are extremely pleased with what we have confirmed with this procedure. We believe there is a certain path for sustainable shale gas development and this demonstration proves a viable "green" alternative exists for stimulating shale. We intend to extend this design philosophy and demonstrate that a total reduced impact can be achieved through other innovations in drilling and exploration technologies we are developing at eCORP."

LPGfracks will be interesting to watch across the shale plays. Using fluids native to the formation seems logical, but they're also much more expensive than water. This isn't the first well in the Eagle Ford completed in this fashion - Jadel Oil completed a well with an LPG frack in Maverick County back in 2011. Blackbrush Energy also has an exclusive agreement with Gasfrac Energy Services to complete its wells with LPGs through mid-2014.

You can read the full press release issued by the company at prnewswire.com

If you have experience completing wells with LPGs or know the API numbers for these wells, please share in the comment section below.

Highlights From Palo Alto College Oil & Gas Event

S. TX Expo Event Registration Line
Eagle Ford Event Registration Line Photo

An event called "Empower Your Industry Knowledge" was held January 9th at Palo Alto College in San Antonio. Local constituents and representatives from TCU's Energy Institute were on hand.

You can stay up to date on regional meetings at our Eagle Ford Events page.

Here are a few highlights from the meeting:

  • The Eagle Ford is still in the early stages of development
  • Landman are still working the area of understanding of the play expands
  • Expectations are for the Eagle Ford to dwarf other plays in terms of oil production
  • Almost 30% of US oil & gas spend will be directed to the Eagle Ford
  • Housing issues are still being addressed
  • Training programs are being established
  • Natural gas will gain market share and should make the Eagle Ford's gas window more valuable

Read more from Jennifer Hiller's coverage at mysa.com

Comstock Directs 3 Rigs to the Eagle Ford - Sets Capital Budget

Comstock Resources Eagle Ford Map
Comstock Resources Eagle Ford Map

Comstock Resources' Eagle Ford assets will account for almost half of the company's activity in 2013. Three of six rigs planned to work throughout the year will be active in South Texas. The other three will be working in West Texas as the company works to shift its production mix to higher valued liquids.

Comstock has set its capital budget at $430 million in 2013. Roughly 27 wells will be drilled in the Eagle Ford, 20 vertical wells targeting the Wolfbone in West Texas, 7 horizontal wells targeting the Wolfcamp in West Texas, and less than 4 net wells in the Haynesville & Bossier shales. The Haynesville wells are being drilled to hold acreage. That's a total of a little more than 58 net wells planned in 2013.

The company's 35,000 gross (28,000 net) Eagle Ford acres are largely spread across Atascosa, La Salle, and McMullen counties. The company estimates wells will produce over 500,000 boe and that its acreage has net resource potential of 78 million boe. CRK's partner KKR has the right to participate in 1/3 of the company's 28,000 net acres.