Warwick Energy Buys Eagle Ford's R/C Sugarkane For Undisclosed Amount

ConocoPhillips Eagle Ford Map
ConocoPhillips Eagle Ford Map

Oklahoma City-based Warwick Energy entered an agreement in early April to acquire R/C Sugarkane LLC, an Eagle Ford upstream oil and gas company. Warwick is buying R/C Sugarkane from Riverstone Holdings, LLC, a New York-based private equity firm, for an undisclosed amount.

The deal includes RC Sugarkane's non-operated working interests in 6,000 net Eagle Ford acres, with 3,000 boe/d in net production. The primary operator for the acreage is Conoco Phillips. Riverstone managed its investment in partnership with Houston-based Texas Crude Energy Inc.

“The R/C SugarKane assets are world-class oil and gas properties located in the core of the Eagle Ford Shale. The Warwick team is excited to build on the value created by Riverstone, Texas Crude and ConocoPhillips in this field. The acquisition of these assets is part and parcel to our core strategy of acquiring, consolidating and developing long lived US gas reserves, primarily in unconventional reservoirs.”
— Katherine Richard, CEO of Warwick

Riverstone acquired R/C Sugarkane in March 2010. The Warwick-R/C Sugarkane transaction is expected to close in early May.Warwick owns interests in over 5,000 wells in 13 states and is focused on on US natural gas and oil acquisition, exploration and production.

Read more at warwick-energy.com

Magellan Midstream Partners Will Spend $250 Million on Condensate Splitter

Magellan Corpus Christi Terminal
Magellan Corpus Christi Terminal

Magellan Midstream Partners announced in late March plans to build a condensate splitter and make infrastructure improvements to its' Corpus Christi terminal for $250 million. According to company officials, the splitter will be able to process 50,000 b/d of condensate, supported by a long-term commitment from commodities trader Trafigura AG.

“This agreement will provide another outlet for producers of domestic crude and condensate. We believe Corpus Christi is advantaged over other locations and these investments, along with our other assets in the area, are critical to providing long-term solutions for the producers.”
— Jeff Kopp, Trafigura AG’s director of North America oil trading.

The need for improved midstream and downstream infrastructure is growing to meet the demands of condensate production in the Eagle Ford. In 2013, the Texas Railroad Commission reported an average of 207,183 b/d of condensate from the play. In January of 2014, condensate production alone was 178,778. That's up drastically from 2011 and 2010 when condensate production was only 80,464 b/d and 18,784 respectively.

“Our Corpus Christi terminal is ideally situated to receive condensate from the Eagle Ford shale, including shipments via our Double Eagle pipeline joint venture, and to offer flexible services and a variety of market options for our customer.”
— Michael Mears, Magellan’s chief executive officer.

The project also includes construction of more than one million barrels of storage, dock improvements and two additional truck rack bays at Magellan’s terminal. Magellan pipeline connectivity between Magellan’s terminal and Trafigura AG’s nearby facility.

Magellan company officials anticipate the new splitter and infrastructure improvements to be operational during the second half of 2016.

Read more at magellanlp.com

The Vetergy Group Proudly Welcomes CSM(ret) Christopher “Ck” Kurinec to Its Elite Force - Press Release

The Vetergy Group is proud to announce that Christopher “Ck” Kurinec is joining Vetergy’s management team. Chris served for twenty-five years in the active U.S. Army with leadership assignments in both conventional Infantry and Special Operations units. In the last 17 years of active duty, he was assigned to a Special Mission Unit at Fort Bragg, NC as part of the United States Army Special Operations Command where he gained extensive leadership, operational and training experience serving in every position of leadership within the organization, including Assaulter, Sniper, Team Leader, Troop Sergeant Major, Squadron Operations SGM, and Detachment Operations SGM. He culminated his military career as a Command Sergeant Major of an operational squadron. For his exceptional bravery, Chris was awarded the Silver Star along with two other valor awards, presented with three Purple Hearts and was the very first recipient of the USSOCOM Dick Meadows Award for Heroism.

Since leaving his active duty career, Chris has continued to serve as a Wounded Warrior Recovery Advocate for the USSOCOM Care Coalition helping our most significantly wounded Special Operations Forces warriors recover from their wounds. The experience of supporting these incredibly brave wounded warriors and their families fuels Chris’ passion to help veterans find meaningful and productive solutions.

After his military service, Chris has provided performance improvement coaching to drilling crews and other supporting infrastructure in the oil & natural gas industry. Chris has learned that matching veteran skills with the energy sector is a natural path that has not been exploited with the proper amount of focus and determination. Chris’ ability to translate the diverse experience and capabilities of veterans to immediate needs in the energy sector aligns his desire with the mission of The Vetergy Group. Chris is passionate about helping veterans transfer their unique goals to the emerging demands of the energy industry that genuinely needs their skills and inherent discipline.

The profound impact of supporting each other has a unique meaning for Chris and Vetergy’s founder, David Wilbur. Chris and David met twice over 15 years in very different circumstances before they ever shook hands.

“I’m on the long list of folks who have had to bail him out of trouble,” David says with a smile as he reminisces on a night when enemy combatants near the city of Haditha in the Al Anbar province of Iraq had engaged Chris’ unit during OPERATION Iraqi Freedom. “I was leading a section of F/A-18s overhead to provide close air support to the ground operations when the call came for help. Fortunately because of the sensor technology we had available and the proficiency of our aircrew, we were able to deploy a Laser Maverick into the enemy position, confuse the enemy and allow Chris’ unit to regain the offensive. I’d always believed the weapon shacked the target,” David recalls describing a direct hit, “until Chris and I first made the connection working in the oilfield on the North Slope of Alaska.”

“That’s not exactly true” Chris says, “the Maverick came in high and missed the target, but actually managed to hit the opposition on the run as they fled their bunker.”

After their reunion on the North Slope, Chris and David retraced their careers and discovered several other encounters they had had over their many years of service. “It just reminds you that intersections between our lives and those we come in contact with are not accidental,” David said. “There’s definitely a bigger picture and a Divine appointment.”

“There is a natural symmetry between working for the Department of Defense and in the Oil & Natural Gas Industry,” says Chris. “As a veteran, you protect the American way of life…as a worker in the Oil & Natural Gas Industry, you are responsible for helping to create the American way of life.”

The Vetergy Group is honored to have Mr. Kurinec, a true American hero, join our team.

Contact: Traylor Lovvorn Toll Free: 844-VETERGY (838-3749) Houston, Texas 77005 [email protected]

www.vetergy.com

About The Vetergy Group

VETERGY is fully committed to the mission of delivering reliable human performance to the oil & natural gas industry through a proven manpower supply channel that is globally deployable. We recognize the urgency for this demand and can scale to meet the market call. For more information, visit VETERGY at vetergy.com or call 844-VETERGY (838-3749).

Eagle Ford Rig Count - 268 - Alta Mesa Sells EFS Assets - $173 Million

Alta Mesa Eagle Ford Acreage Map
Alta Mesa Eagle Ford Acreage Map

The Eagle Ford Shale rig count increased by seven to 268 rigs running over the past week.

In recent Eagle Ford news, Memorial Production Partners announced this month that it purchased Eagle Ford assets from Alta Mesa Holdings for $173 million. The deal includes 15,200 (800 net) acres in Karnes County, with 99-percent of the assets already held by production. According to company officials, Memorial will gain an interest in 117 non-operated wells, with average net production of 1,650 boe/d. Approximately 80-percent of current production is oil.

Read more: Memorial Production Partners Buys Eagle Ford Assets in $173 Million Deal

The U.S. rig count increased by six to 1809 rigs running over the past week. A total of 318 rigs are targeting natural gas (8 less than last week) and 1,487 are targeting oil in the U.S. (14 more than last week). The remainder are drilling service wells (e.g. disposal wells, injection wells, etc.). 866or ~48% 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 (223 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

The natural gas rig count decreased by 5 to 19 rigs running this past week. Average rig counts for natural gas production in 2012 were around 82 and then dropped to around 41 in 2013. Over the past week, natural gas prices stayed relatively flat at $4.49/mmbtu on Friday afternoon.

The oil rig count increased by 12 to 249 rigs running over the past week. WTI oil prices increased, trading at $101.55/bbl by the end of the week. Eagle Ford light crude traded at $98.25/bbl on March 28th.

A total of 229 rigs are drilling horizontal wells, 22 rigs are drilling directional wells, and 17 rigs are drilling vertical wells. Karnes, La Salle, Dimmit, McMullen and Webb counties each have at minimum 25 rigs running. Karnes County has the highest rig count this week at 34. See the full list below in the Eagle Ford Shale Drilling by County:

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 Shale Drilling by Count

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.

Lucas Energy Farms Out Eagle Ford Acreage for $1 Million

Lucas Energy Leasehold Map
Lucas Energy Leasehold Map

Houston-based Lucas Energy announced in March 2014 that it will farm out ~400 Eagle Ford acres to a private independent operator in exchange for $1-million. The acreage is located on the company's Karnes County leasehold.

Lucas held back on Eagle Ford development in 2013 as it went through a restructuring process. In 2014, company officials indicate the focus has shifted to development.

Read more: Lucas Energy Reverses Production Declines With Austin Chalk Workovers

“This agreement demonstrates our previously-announced strategy to develop our Eagle Ford reserves in South Texas,” said Anthony Schnur, CEO of Lucas Energy. “The final terms and conditions are currently being negotiated and are subject to the final signed joint operating agreement. Once finalized, we hope to commence drilling by the end of the calendar 2014 second quarter. Also, in anticipation of increased drilling activity in the Eagle Ford, the Company sold out of the recently-announced 8% participation proposal in Madison County, and received $156,000 for our interests.”

Lucas Terms of Eagle Ford Farm Out Agreement

The operator (farmee) will drill an initial horizontal well in exchange for a 75% working interest. Lucas (farmor) will retain a 25-percent carried working interest, under which the operator will bear 100-percent of the drilling costs, estimated at $2-million. In the remaining acreage, Lucas will retain a 75-percent working interest and the operator will have a 25-percent working interest.

Read more at LucasEnergy.com