Pioneer Natural Resources Eagle Ford Production Up & Costs Down

May 29, 2013 R.T. Dukes

Pioneer Natural Resources' Eagle Ford production was up to 37,000 boe/d in the first quarter.

That's an increase from 35,000 boe/d in the fourth quarter and a 2012 average of 28,000 boe/d.

Pioneer drilled 37 wells in the quarter and brought 35 of those to production. In total, the company expects to drill 130 wells at a cost of $7-8 million each this year. Those wells will be drilled with just 10 rigs compared to 12 in 2012.

Four out of every five wells will be drilled from centralized pads this year. That's up from just 45% of wells in 2012 and one reason costs continue to fall. Pad drilling saves $600,000-700,000 per well and also saves precious time.

“Our three liquids and resource-rich core assets in Texas, the Spraberry vertical, the horizontal Wolfcamp Shale and the Eagle Ford Shale, were the drivers of this significant increase.”

— Scott Sheffield, Chairman and CEO

Testing Downspacing & White Sand Proppants

Pioneer continues to test the viability of 70-80 acre downspacing and is even testing 40-acre spacing in areas. The liquids prone areas will likely call for tighter spacing. We should know results from the 70-80 acre spacing tests later in the year.

The company is also expanding the use of white sand proppant. Ceramic proppants have been used in the deeper portions of the play, but the use of white sand can save as much as $700,000 per well. Pioneer estimates it will use cheaper sand in 70% of its Eagle Ford completions in 2013.

A total of 11 central gathering facilities are in place and one more will be added in 2014. The major midstream hurdles faced when the company began developing the play have largely been eliminated.

Don't expect natural gas drilling in the Eagle Ford to pick up at current gas prices. The company indicated it is not going to get around to dry gas acreage even at gas prices of $4.25-4.50.

Read the full press release at pxd.com

Driver Safety, The Law, and Cellular Based Devices In The Eagle Ford - Press Release

May 28, 2013 Kenny DuBose

The ongoing national campaign against the use of cellular devices while operating a motor vehicle has sent out a plethora of mixed messages. Nearly 1 in 5 crashes in Texas occur while using cellular devices. On January 3, 2012 the US Department of Transportation (DOT) adopted a ban to restrict the use of mobile devices while operating a commercial motor vehicle.

The “Distracted Driver” campaign has established partial or total bans on texting while driving in over forty states, and heavy fines and civil penalties will be imposed on commercial drivers who use any hand-held device that has a phone number (FCC definition for mobile telephone) while driving. Violations will incur federal civil penalties of up to $27,750 for each offense and multiple offenses can ultimately lead to driver license disqualification.

What Do The New Rules Mean?

The new rule specifies that holding, dialing and reaching for a mobile device is unacceptable. Push-to-talk mobile telephones (if it has a phone number) are also restricted under the new rule. The restriction does not include the use of Professional Land Mobile Two-Way Radio units. Two-way radios are not considered to be mobile telephones and are not affected by the legislation.

"For many years A&B Communications has operated one of the largest wide-area communication networks in the US", says Patrick Russell General Manager.

A&B Communication's is expanding its South Texas network even further. The network was built for the oilfield service industry and has supported large, medium and small fleets through good times and bad. With the dramatic growth in Eagle Ford, we have been racing to expand coverage areas and network capacity to keep up with demand from new and previously existing fleet operators. Our network has always covered the remote unpopulated parts of Texas where cellular systems don’t go.

In addition to the “distracted driver” safety concerns, our customers demand instant access to their fleets at the push of a button. They want reliable coverage, loud/clear audio that can be heard in noisy environments, convenient installations from service people who are willing to come to them on their schedules.

“If US DoT rules are affecting your company, consider a reliable two-way radio system.”

Headquartered in Corpus Christi, A&B Communications understands the unique needs of the oilfield fleet operator. The company specializes in safe, reliable, private communications systems and devices for petrochemical refining, oilfield, medical and public safety.

For media contact or more information:

Patrick Russell[email protected]www.abcomm.net

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

High Point Infrastructure Building Eagle Ford Gathering - Gonzales

May 28, 2013 R.T. Dukes

High Point Infrastructure Partners has reached an agreement to build gathering and processing infrastructure in Gonzales County, TX. The company has reached a long-term fee-based agreement with a large operator in the area.

“We are excited to announce a long-term agreement to develop critical midstream infrastructure for a significant producer in the Eagle Ford Shale.”

— Steve Bergstrom, Chairman.

Construction will begin in mid-2013 and the facilities will be operational in early 2014. When completed, the pipelines and gathering facility will have capacity of 95,000 barrels of oil per day and 15 mmcfd of natural gas.

Watch for High Point to leverage this development into other midstream projects in the area.

High Point is the General Partner of American Midstream Partners. You can read the full press release at americanmidstream.com

Eagle Ford Regional Rig Count At 262 May 24, 2013

May 27, 2013 R.T. Dukes

Goodrich Petroleum Eagle Ford and Pearsall Activity Map

The Eagle Ford Shale drilling rig count decreased by two to 262 rigs running this past week. That is right in line with the average number of rigs that has been working in 2013.

We highlighted Goodrich Petroleum's quarterly results last week and noted the company's drilling time. It takes the company ten days to drill an Eagle Ford well, 13 days spud to rig release, and 20 days spud to spud. Drilling alone was over 20 days when the company first started developing the Eagle Ford. Read the full summary at Goodrich Petroleum's Eagle Ford Drilling Time Down To Ten Days

Goodrich isn't alone. Many operators have lowered their drilling time by ~50% or more in the past two years. That has allowed larger operators to drop rigs while still drilling the same amount of wells.

*Note* Now quoting Baker Hughes. Baker Hughes also releases its own Eagle Ford Rig Count that covers 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 Oil & Gas Rigs

[ic-l]A total of 35 rigs are targeting natural gas. That's roughly half the number of rigs Baker Hughes had designated for targeting natural gas at the beginning of the year.

Natural gas prices were up a little to more on the week to $4.25/mmbtu. It's been a rocky May for natural gas prices. The commodity has traded up, then down, and is now back up to four and a quarter.

A total of 226 oil rigs are running in the region. WTI futures were down from the past two weeks to ~$94/bbl. Eagle Ford light crude traded at $90.75/bbl on May 22nd.

Karnes and La Salle counties lead development with 37 and 32 rigs running, respectively. See the full list of drilling by county at the bottom of the page.

South Texas Oil & Gas News:

Our friend Devorah Fox also contributed an article titled Defensive Driving 101Be sure to visit our South Texas Oilfield Job Listings to search openings.

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.

Defensive Driving 101 For Commercial Drivers

May 24, 2013 Elizabeth Alford

Commercial drivers face many challenges every day. You’re under a lot of pressure to transport goods on time, without damage and without risking your own safety or the safety of those with whom you share the road. Getting around the Eagle Ford Shale region would be easy if commercial vehicles had their own highways to maneuver through but unfortunately you have to share the roadways with everyone else. You’re a trained and professional driver but the same can’t be said for other road users. This means that you have to drive defensively. Be alert and aware of your surrounding at all times.

Here are a few helpful tips to keep you and those around you safe:

Seeing The Road & Surroundings

To be a safe driver you need to know what’s going on all around your vehicle. Not looking properly is a major cause of accidents. Seeing ahead and watch for traffic. Be alert to accidents waiting to happen. Be aware of the effect that road conditions have on your vehicle’s performance.

Watch the sides and rear of your vehicle. Make sure your mirrors are adjusted to give you the best view. Pay attention to traffic, lane changes, turns, merges, tight maneuvers and understand what you see.

Be on the lookout for distracted drivers who are on the phone or moving around in their vehicle and not paying attention to the road. They could get themselves in trouble that could involve you. Identify developing problems quickly and be ready to respond to any potential hazards such as:

tight turns
vehicles stopped on the road or driving too slowly.

Communicating With Other Drivers

You certainly don’t want your actions to take other drivers by surprise and cause them to overreact. Communicating your presence efficiently keeps everyone safe. Signal your intentions promptly. Slow gradually. Avoid making sudden maneuvers.

Managing Space & Distance

To be a safe driver, you need space all around your vehicle. When things go wrong, space gives you time to think and to take action. To have space available when something goes wrong, you need to manage space. While this is true for all drivers, it is very important for large vehicles. They take up more space and they require much more space for stopping and turning so maintain a generous following distance. Be aware of the traffic to the sides and rear of your vehicle as well as in front.

Commercial vehicle drivers put in a lot of miles. Spending all that time on the road, it’s easy to fall into a routine and get complacent. Sometimes you have to make a point of being in the right frame of mind to drive. When you pretrip your vehicle and get ready to roll, pretrip yourself as well. Make sure you’re alert and paying attention. Don’t drive if you’re too fatigued or impaired to respond. Your safety and the safety of everyone else on the road depend on your knowledge and professionalism.