Gulf Coast Oil & Gas Award Nominations Due December 12th - Press Release

December 6, 2013 R.T. Dukes

Don't forget to have your Gulf Coast Awards nominations in before next Thursday, December 12th.

The Awards champion excellence, and whilst there are guidelines, what the Judges really want to know is what makes your company a leader in its field.

There is no right or wrong way to put an entry together.

All the categories listed below are awarded in the region:

Award for Drilling Excellence
Award for Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility
Award for Excellence in Environmental Stewardship
Award for Excellence in Health & Safety
Award for Excellence in Well Completion
Award for Geophysical Excellence
Construction Company of the Year
Corporate Consultancy of the Year
Engineering Company of the Year
Future Industry Leader
General Industry Service Award
Industry Leader
Industry Supplier of the Year
Law Firm of the Year
Manufacturer of the Year
Midstream Company of the Year
New Technology Development of the Year
Oilfield Services Company of the Year
Operational Consultancy of the Year
Recruitment Agency of the Year
Risk Management Company of the Year
The Oil & Gas Financial Journal - Transaction of the Year
The TEEMCO E&P Company of the Year
Trucking Company of the Year
Water Management Company of the Year

Get more information at oilandgasawards.com

Conference For Excellence Planned

The awards ceremony will be preceded by a 'Conference For Excellence' during the day of each of the regional Awards Gala Dinners. Companies that are selected as finalists and attending the Gala Dinners, will be invited to attend the conference for free and have the opportunity to speak.

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

Oil & Gas Growth Expected in 2014 - Dallas Fed

December 5, 2013 R.T. Dukes

The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reported that oil & gas companies in the 11th district, which includes Texas, expect further growth in 2014.

Texas respondents indicated particularly strong activity levels in energy, which means the Eagle Ford Job market will remain robust.

The Fed also noted demand for oilfield services was steady even though the rig count had fallen in response to more wells being drilled per rig.

“The Eleventh District economy expanded at a moderate pace over the past six weeks. Manufacturing activity increased overall, with demand weakening in only a few industries.”

Other economic highlights from the region included:

Refining and petrochemical contacts reported extreme difficulty finding engineers and construction workers. They also noted rising wages
Manufacturers of construction related products reported slightly higher demand
Chemical production in the Gulf Coast region was up
Refinery utilization rates were down with the fall maintenance season
Winter fuel standards are pulling prices down at refineries, but margins remain healthy
Business relocations to Texas fueled demand for non-financial services
Railroad contacts said U.S. cargo volumes grew strongly during the reporting period and noted chemicals shipments were robust
"A contact noted Houston may be close to having too much office development in the works."
Drought conditions continue to ease

The highlights came from the Dallas Beige Book, which summarizes recent economic conditions in the Eleventh District.

Read the full beige book at dallasfed.org

Newfield's Eagle Ford Production Is Set to Surge at Year-end

December 4, 2013 R.T. Dukes

Newfield Exploration's Eagle Ford production grew 9% from the second quarter to the third quarter to average 8,200 boe/d. Fourth quarter production is expected to surge to more than 12,000 boe/d as well pads in the West Asherton area come online.

Growth in the last few months of the year puts Newfield on pace to grow production 70% year over year. The company's production is approximately 56% oil, 19% NGLs, and 24% natural gas.

Newfield is drilling horizontal laterals that range from 5,000-10,000 ft in the West Asherton Field in Dimmit County and has been able to drive well costs down approximately 20% to $7.3 million.

“We have even greater confidence in our ability to hit our corporate level targets and we intend to deliver on our promise of doubling liquids production from our four key plays by the end of 2015.”

— Lee K. Boothby, CEO

Newfield Plans Fewer Wells, but Strong Growth in 2014

Newfield lowered its operated rig count from two to one in the third quarter.

The company plans to drill fewer wells next year, 20 in 2014 compared to 36 in 2013, but still expects play-wide production to grow 30%.

Read the company's third quarter press release at newfield.com

Forest Oil Will Double Oil Production in 2014 - Securing Eagle Ford Acreage

December 3, 2013 R.T. Dukes

Forest Oil Eagle Ford Acreage Map Year-end 2013

Forest Oil expects to grow company-wide production by 11% next year, with oil production growing 90-100%.

Sales volumes from the Eagle Ford will drive growth. The company expects production from South Texas to more than double to 6,250 boe/d in 2014.

Forest is planning to spend 77% of its $290-310 million capital budget in the Eagle Ford.

A budget of ~$230 million includes the drilling of 80 gross (40 net) Eagle Ford wells. Forest will operate three rigs in the Eagle Ford and one in the Ark-La-Tex Basin.

“Following the completion of the Texas Panhandle asset sale, we are focused on the development and expansion of our Eagle Ford operations along with attention to our asset positions in Ark-La-Tex and the Permian Basin.”

— Patrick R. McDonald, President and CEO

Well Costs Fall & Forest Looks To Add Acreage

Forest Oil Eagle Ford Pad Drilling Graphic

Well costs fell 10% in the third quarter to $5.75 million. The company expects additional savings through pad drilling, centralized production facilities, and continued optimization of completions.

Forest will transition to development drilling early next year once its acreage position is held-by-production.

Once acreage is held, Forest will focus on determining the optimal drilling density and well spacing for each area of the field.

Mr. McDonald further stated, “...We are presently seeking opportunities to add acreage to increase the scale of our Eagle Ford resource development opportunity.”

Read the full press release at forestoil.com

Eagle Ford Regional Rig Count 265 - Comstock Adds Eagle Ford Acreage - Thanksgiving Week

December 2, 2013 R.T. Dukes

Comstock Resources East Texas Eagle Ford Map

The Eagle Ford Shale rig count increased by two rigs to 265 running during Thanksgiving week. The natural gas rig count held at an Eagle Ford era low of just 23 and the oil rig count matched a high with 241 rigs drilling for liquids.

The biggest announcement of the week was Comstock Resources reaching a deal with Ursa Resources for 20,000 net acres and ~400 boe/d in Burleson and Washington counties. Read more in the article: Comstock - Ursa Resources Reach Eagle Ford Deal for $66.5 Million

The U.S. rig count increased two rigs from 1,761 to 1,763 running over Thanksgiving week. A total of 367 rigs are targeting natural gas (2 less than last week) and 1,391 (4 more than last week) are targeting oil in the U.S. The remainder are drilling service wells (e.g. disposal wells, injection wells, etc.). 834 or 47% of rigs active in the U.S. are running in Texas.

Baker Hughes rig count is quoted here. Baker Hughes also releases its own Eagle Ford Rig Count that covers the 14 core counties (227 rigs). The rig count published on EagleFordShale.com includes a 30 county area impacted by Eagle Ford development. A full list of the counties included can be found in the table near the bottom of this article.

Eagle Ford Oil & Gas Rigs

[ic-l]The natural gas rig count held at 23 rigs running over the past week. That's almost half the average of 42 rigs that have been targeting natural gas so far in 2013. Natural gas prices were up about fifteen cents during the week and were trading around $3.90/mmbtu on Friday. With gas prices approaching $4, I suspect the natural gas rig count is near a theoretical bottom in the Eagle Ford.

The oil rig count increased 2 rigs to 241. That matches the all time high set in July of this year. WTI oil prices were trading around $93/bbl to end the week and Eagle Ford light crude traded at $89.25/bbl on November 29th.

A total of 231 rigs are drilling horizontal wells, 16 rigs are drilling directional wells, and 18 rigs are drilling true vertical wells. Karnes, DeWitt, La Salle, Gonzales, McMullen and Webb counties all have between 25 and 32 rigs running. See the full list of drilling by county below.

South Texas Oil & Gas News:

Be sure to visit our South Texas Oilfield Job Listings to search openings and come back weekly for updates or sign up for alerts - Daily or Weekly Email Alerts

Eagle Ford Shale Drilling by County

Eagle Ford Operated Rig Count By Company

SmithBits no longer reports its operated rig count, but we'll have updated number for you from a new source soon. Until then, you can reference our numbers from mid-April. There has not been a significant change in the overall rig count since this date:

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.