Hess Loses $800 Million Exiting The Eagle Ford

Hess has been in several financial headlines as activist investors are looking to dethrone the Hess family's board placements. A recent article by Christopher Helman at Forbes details the struggle for power and the changes Hess is undergoing as a company. Helman dives into Hess's Eagle Ford venture as an example of a bad investment decision that has led to the proxy fight. Helman outlines the Hess's Eagle Ford venture as follows:

  • ZaZa reports it spent $366 million on leases (120,000 acres)
  • Hess says it would spend $380 million on pipelines & infrastructure in 2012
  • Hess says it spent $10 million per well drilling 50 wells ~ $500 million
  • That is $366 million + $380 million + $500 million + ZaZa bonuses = $1.2+ billion

It was not disclosed whether or not ZaZa paid Hess anything when the company took over its portion of the Eagle Ford. You can read more about the split in the article ZaZa - Hess Terminate Eagle Ford JV.

Revenue from the company's Eagle Ford position is estimated as follows:

  • $200 million in revenue from the 4,500 boe/d producing at the time of the sale
  • $265 million from Sanchez who acquire the 43,000 net acres Hess operated in the play (Read more - Sanchez - Hess Reach Eagle Ford Deal)

That means Hess spent over $1.2 billion and recouped less than $500 million. Hess likely lost somewhere between $700 and $800 million in the Eagle Ford.

Staggering numbers when you consider the value created by many others in the play.

Read the full article at forbes.com  Page 2 of the article outlines Hess's Eagle Ford ventures.

Baker Hughes Eagle Ford Rig Count 263 on April 26, 2013

Eagle Ford Conference and Expo
Eagle Ford Conference and Expo

The Eagle Ford Shale drilling rig count settled at 263 this past week. That is the same as last week even though we reported 247 rigs running on April 19, 2013. The difference is a shift from SmithBits to BakerHughes for our rig count data. SmithBits has discontinued its rig count service. Going forward we will be reporting rig count numbers from Baker Hughes.

Due to differences in the census taken by the two companies there are slight differences in the numbers.

*Note* Baker Hughes also releases its own Eagle Ford Rig Count that covers just the 14 core counties (230 rigs). Our numbers cover a 30 county area impacted by Eagle Ford development. A full list of the counties included can be found in the table at the bottom of this article.

Eagle Ford Shale Conference & Expo

Don't forget about the Eagle Ford Conference & Expo coming up on May 1-2 in Robstown. If you haven't registered yet, you can do so here:

Eagle Ford Oil & Gas Rigs

[ic-l]The natural gas rig count settled at 29 rigs this past week. That is several more than the 17 SmithBits reported last week, but still near a low. Even using Baker's numbers, we're down about 84% from the peak of natural gas drilling in the area.

Natural gas prices were down 25 cents on the week, but still relatively strong at ~$4.15/mmbtu on Friday.

A total of 234 oil rigs are running in the region or four more than last week. The WTI crude oil price gained ground after international turmoil in Syria. WTI futures were trading at $92.75/bbl on Friday afternoon. Eagle Ford light crude traded at $90/bbl on April 25th.

Karnes and La Salle counties lead development with 34 and 30 rigs running, respectively. See the full list of drilling by county at the bottom of the page.

South Texas Oil & Gas News:

Our friends from the Texas Oil & Gas Associate and STEER contributed an article this week - Driving Safety A Top Priority For The Oil & Gas Industry

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

Eagle Ford Shale Drilling by County

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 Baker Hughes 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.

Kinder Morgan CEO Discusses Growing Oil & Gas Production

Kinder Morgan CEO, Rich Kinder, discusses growth potential at his companies. The company is now looking at new pipelines and Kinder was one of the first to expand its crude by rail capability. Kinder Morgan now has five crude to rail facilities and one of the larger terminals on the Houston Ship Channel (Galena Park).

Kinder says "I've never sold a share" because of the growth opportunity. Kinder Morgan has over $12 billion in expansion projects and has an open season for an oil pipeline to California. Kinder will convert a natural gas pipeline to oil and move oil from the Permian Basin to California. It's a $2 billion project that could initially move 250,000 b/d and could be expanded. The project reads well for the Eagle Ford as it will alleviate supply pressure in the Gulf Coast markets as well.

 

Halcon's New Eagle Ford Core Play And More - Floyd Wilson

Floyd Wilson recently sat down with Jim Cramer to discuss Halcon's development strategy across its shale plays. The company keeps to a strategy of developing infrastructure before developing assets.

“ $200 oil is no longer a risk.”

 Halcon plans significant divestitures of as much as $400 million or more. Halcon is ramping up in the Eagle Ford and Utica.

 

"Hard to say if the Eagle Ford is going to be the company's Saudi Arabia, but it is going to be big", Halcon CEO, Floyd Wilson.

He also expects the price of oil to stay volatile with our new supplies. He believes the opportunity is that oil prices might be moderate for some time.

Eagle Ford Conference & Expo May 1-2 In Robstown - Press Release

Eagle Ford Conference and Expo
Eagle Ford Conference and Expo

Don't forget about the Eagle Ford Conference & Expo that starts May 1st in Robstown.

Approximately 400 exhibitors will be on hand. Topics covered by the speakers will include natural gas vehicles, road safety & transportation, the economic benefits of the boom, and keeping oil & gas operating costs down.

You can get more information about the event at our Eagle Ford Conference & Expo page and you can Register HERE.

“Presenters will range from policymakers to safety and environmental experts.”
— Jennifer Larivey, VP of the conference

Speakers include:

  • Chip Haas, Chesapeake
  • Omar Garcia, STEER
  • David Ainsworth, Ainsworth Trucking
  • Buck Russel, Union Pacific
  • David Blackmon, FTI Consulting
  • David Porter, TX RRC
  • Blake Farenthold, US Congressman
  • Bryan Shaw, TCEQ Chairman

Eagle Ford Conference & Expo Schedule

  • May 1st at 7:30 am – Arrive at the Richard M. Borchard Fairgrounds – 1213 Terry Shamsie Blvd Robstown, TX, 78380
  • May 1st at 5-7 pm – Networking Mixer at Richard M. Borchard Fairgrounds
  • May 2nd7:30 am to 5:00 pm – Day two of the conference and expo ends with an address from Texas Railroad Commissioner David Porter

The article above was published through EagleFordShale.com’s press release distribution service. Learn more about Eagle Ford Advertising Here.