Devon Energy Reports Exceptional Q4

February 23, 2015 Elizabeth Alford

In its quarterly report, Devon Energy announced it finished an “outstanding year” as it rebounded from a $20 million net loss in 2013 to end 2014 with net earnings of $1.6 billion.

Devon's fourth-quarter total production rose 20% to 239,000 barrels per day, which represents a 48% increase from 2013.

The report credits the Eagle Ford’s prolific wells for these record numbers. Devon Energy is active in over 82,000 acres in DeWitt and Lavaca counties in Texas.

“Devon delivered another exceptional performance in the fourth quarter, rounding out an outstanding year for the company, including a significant repositioning of the portfolio.”

— John Richels, President and CEO.

ooking to 2015, Devon has significantly reduced its capital budget for next year by 20% to $4.96 billion. The company plans to slash its spending in all areas except the Eagle Ford, including a 21% cut in exploration and production. The company predicts oil production will increase 20% to 25% in 2015 and they plan to operate on 13 rigs for 2015, as compared with more than 20 rigs last year.

“With strong results from our enhanced completions and a focus on core development areas, we expect growth in oil production to be between 20 and 25 percent in 2015.”

— John Richels

In other Devon news, Chief Executive John Richels announced in December his plans to retire at the end of July. It is expected that their Chief Operating Officer, Dave Hager, will be named as his successor. Read more here.

Get the full report at devonenergy.com

Eagle Ford Rig Count Falls to 192

February 20, 2015 Elizabeth Alford

Matador Pulling Two Rigs in the Eagle Ford in 2015 — Eagle ford rig counts

The Eagle Ford Shale rig count decreased by four to 192 rigs running across our coverage area by the end of last week.

In recent Eagle Ford news, Chesapeake Energy filed a lawsuit against American Energy Partners. The suit alleges former CEO Aubrey McClendon stole confidential documents including maps of oil and gas prospects before leaving the company in 2013.

The U.S. rig count fell another 48 to 1310 rigs running by the end of last week. A total of 289 rigs were targeting natural gas (down 11 from the previous week) and 1019 were targeting oil in the U.S. (37 less than the previous week). The remainder were drilling service wells (e.g. disposal wells, injection wells, etc.) 576 of the rigs active in the U.S. were running in Texas.

Baker Hughes reports its own Eagle Ford Rig Count that covers the 14 core counties (181 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

Natural gas remained flat at 22 rigs running by the end of yesterday. Natural gas prices increased by $.14 from the previous week at $2.94/mmbtu on Friday afternoon.

The oil rig count decreased by four to 192 rigs running by the end of last week. WTI oil prices decreased by $2.14 from the previous week, trading at $50.50/bbl on Friday morning. A total of 177 rigs are drilling horizontal wells, three rigs are drilling directional wells, and vertical rigs increased by three to 12 total. Karnes (28), Dimmit (24), and DeWitt (23) have the highest rig counts this week. See the full list below in the Eagle Ford Shale Drilling by County below

Eagle Ford Shale Drilling by County

Eagle Ford Shale News

Apache Corp Reports Q4 Losses

Repsol to Aquire Talisman Energy

NAPE Energy Summit 2015

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.

Repsol to Aquire Talisman Energy

February 19, 2015 Elizabeth Alford

Talisman Energy Eagle Ford Shale Acreage Map

Talisman Energy shareholders unanimously agreed Tuesday to a deal that would finalize the sale of the company to Repsol. The deal includes includes the valuable Eagle Ford assets of of approximately 61,000 net acres of land.

In an organizational letter in 2014, the President and CEO expressed optimism for the future saying, “2013 was a turnaround year for Talisman...and they are emerging as a stronger, more predictable company with better opportunities for profitable growth.” Unfortunately the drastic drop in crude prices proved too much for the company and shares began to drop sharply in November. A December announcement of the acquisition soon followed.

The company reported a $1.59 billion loss in the fourth quarter of 2014, and fell shy of its expected capex by $.2 billion. Additionally, the company reported that it would cut 300 jobs due to falling production and rising operating costs.

“This deal creates significant and immediate value for Talisman stakeholders,” said Chuck Williamson, Chairman of Talisman’s Board of Directors. “Importantly, the deal underscores Repsol’s strong belief in the high quality portfolio that Talisman has worked hard to develop. Repsol is a world-class operator with a solid track record and the financial capability to continue the development of these assets within their international portfolio. I am proud of the company that our employees, past and present, have built and I believe this transaction represents new opportunities for them in Canada and around the world.”

Highlights:

All-cash price of US$8.00 (C$9.33) per Talisman common share delivers significant and immediate value to Talisman common shareholders.
The $8.3 billion deal includes assumed debt of $4.7 billion
The transaction received the unanimous approval of Talisman's and Repsol's boards of directors.
Repsol and Talisman will create more competitive and more diversified global energy company, producing over 680 mboe/d, have refining capacity of 1 mboe/d, and have a presence in over 50 countries with 27,000 employees.
The transaction is targeted to close in the second quarter of 2015.

Talisman boasts that its Eagle Ford interests are among its most valuable assets. Currently, they are activity in the following Texas counties:

Chesapeake Sues American Energy Partners

February 18, 2015 Elizabeth Alford

Chesapeake Eagle Ford Acreage - Drilling Map — Chesapeake Eagle Ford Drilling Map

Chesapeake Energy, a major producer in the Eagle Ford, has filed a lawsuit against former CEO Aubrey McClendon’s new company, American Energy Partners. The suit alleges McClendon stole confidential documents including maps of oil and gas prospects before leaving the company in 2013.

The suit was filed on Tuesday in Oklahoma County District Court and relies on a forensic audit of Mr. McClendon’s emails that are said to contain evidence of wrongdoing.

“It is beyond belief that the company that I co-founded 25 years ago and where I worked tirelessly to build it into one of America’s largest and most successful oil-and-gas producers has now decided to add insult to injury almost two years to the day after my resignation by wrongly accusing me of misappropriating information.”

— Mr. McClendon

McClendon founded Chesapeake in 1989 and came under scrutiny multiple times throughout the past several years as his position magnified. He was named one of the few eagle Ford Billionaires in 2013.

Apache Corp Reports Q4 Losses

February 17, 2015 Elizabeth Alford

Apache Corporation Logo

Apache Corporation announced this week that it plans to reduce its Eagle Ford rig count from 12 (December) to four by the end of the month. Further reductions include plans to operate one to two rigs in the Eagle Ford during 2015. These cuts are part of the bigger forecast for the company that includes a 70 percent reduction in rigs companywide. Read more about Apache Corp. in the Eagle Ford

The company reported a fourth-quarter 2014 net loss of $4.8 billion compared to a profit last year of $174 million. Despite huge losses and future uncertainty, the report claimed that the company is exciting the year with “strong operational momentum”. Additional Apache news for 2015 includes a capital budget of $2.1 to $2.3 billion and estimated production to remain flat.

This announcement came only a few weeks after former Apache president and chief executive officer, Steven Farris stepped down from his position. The abrupt announcement on January 20, 2015 followed Ferris’ 25 years of service to the company. The new leadership faces tough decision in the midst of the current oil price uncertainty and where to focus its resources.

“Since our Nov. 20th North American Update, oil and gas prices have decreased substantially, prompting us to act quickly and decisively to reduce activity levels and reset our well cost structure. We have reduced our rig count from an average of 91 rigs in the third quarter of 2014 to an estimated 27 rigs by the end of this month. We have also reduced our frac crews by approximately 50 percent during the same time period and are delaying some well completions until service costs decrease materially.”

— John J. Christmann IV, Apache's Chief Executive Officer and President

Read full press release at apachecorp.com