Eagle Ford Rig Count at 94

October 17, 2015 Elizabeth Alford

The Eagle Ford Shale rig count fell by four, ending the week with 94 rigs running across our coverage area by midday Friday.

In recent Eagle Ford news, the Texas Railroad Commission Chairman weighs in on the the congressional vote to repeal oil export ban, saying it is an important step closer to energy independence.

A total of 787 were running across the United States this week. 192 rigs were targeting natural gas (three more than the previous week) and 595were targeting oil in the U.S. (10 less than the previous week). The remainder were drilling service wells (e.g. disposal wells, injection wells, etc.)351 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. 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 below.

Eagle Ford Oil & Gas Rigs

Natural gas rigs in the Eagle Ford are at 12 this week as natural gas prices traded at $2.43/mmbtu, a $.06 decrease from the previous week.

The oil rig count is at 82 and WTI oil prices ended the week at $47.26, a decrease of $2.92 A total of 85 rigs are drilling horizontal wells, two are drilling directional wells, and seven are vertical rigs. Karnes County leads the region in development with 22 rigs 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

Eagle Ford Town Thrives Despite Oil Crisis

Is Fracking Safe?

Karnes County Leads U.S. Oil Drilling

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.

Is Fracking Safe?

October 15, 2015 Elizabeth Alford

The controversy over fracking safety continues as two new studies make news this week.

It's very difficult for the average person to know what's true when it comes to the safety of hydraulic fracturing (fracking). It often feels like we are being manipulated as special interest groups on all sides of the argument use facts, figures and dog-and-pony shows to try and sway us to their way of thinking. This leaves people like you and me with the task of slugging through the data in order to make an informed decision.

And it's not easy.

A quick Google search for fracking safety returns hundreds of articles and opinion pieces, each citing their own research to defend their position. This week, two new studies have been added to the equation.

Epidemiology recently published results from a John Hopkins study on the possible adverse health outcomes associated with fracking. Researchers looked at nearly 11,000 births in Pennsylvania and found that expectant mothers were 40 percent more likely to give birth prematurely if they lived in the most active areas of fracking drilling and production. These women were also 30 percent more likely to have a high risk pregnancy that can include high blood pressure or excessive weight gain.

“Our research adds evidence to the very few studies that have been done showing adverse health outcomes associated with the fracking industry.”

— Brian S. Schwartz, Professor at the Bloomberg School. "

Another study from Yale researcher that measured well water near fracked wells concludes that 'there was no evidence of association with deeper brines or long-range migration of these compounds to the shallow aquifers'.

In June, the EPA released its own study that saying there are certain fracking activities that have the potential to impact drinking water resources but found no evidence that these activities have led to widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water in the United States.

© Graphicsdunia4you | Dreamstime.com

Eagle Ford Town Thrives Despite Oil Crisis

October 14, 2015 Elizabeth Alford

Chesapeake Released 2015 Q1 — Pleasanton, TX is Thriving

Over the last year, the decline in oil prices has caused a wave of bankruptcies, restructuring and budget cuts for oil and gas producers and the industries that serve them. But one Texas town in the heart of the Eagle Ford is reporting a thriving economy.

Related: TX Economic Index Down

Officials in Pleasanton, an oil boom town in Atascosa County, have come together to show off their resilience in the face of rough times in the oil patch. A local newsman is reporting that business is up from this time last year and can be seen in a myriad of indicators:

Sales tax increases of 3.64%
A new building program for the Pleasanton Independent School District
The city is expanding water service out to Interstate 37
An extension plan for the Pleasanton Municipal Airport runway from 4,000 to 5,002 feet.
A new well-designed Pleasanton Civic Center
H-E-B has completed a new store
Atascosa Health Center is completing its new building
Plans to build a new fire station with EMS facilities and AirLIFE for 24/7 operations

Other signs of the town's health include construction of two new huge apartment projects, development in several subdivisions and new businesses moving into the area including five hotels and several big name restaurant chains.

Across the state, the Texas Economic Activity Index continued to decline with Comerica reporting a ninth consecutive drop in the index since late last year.

“We expect the drag from low oil prices to continue into 2016, hitting the large Houston economy particularly hard.”“We expect the drag from low oil prices to continue into 2016, hitting the large Houston economy particularly hard.”

— Robert Dye, Chief Economist at Comerica Bank

Oil Export Ban on Its Way Out?

October 13, 2015 Elizabeth Alford

Japan Eyes Eagle Ford Natural Gas — Oil Export Ban

Texas Railroad Commission Chairman weighs in on the the congressional vote to repeal oil export ban.

The U.S. House of Representatives Friday voted 261-159 to lift the 40-year-old Federal crude oil export ban. Though not enough votes to overturn a presidential veto, this is a good direction for many who have supported lifting the ban.

“I commend the U.S. House for voting to overturn the Federal crude oil export ban and hope the Senate and White House will support this effort as well. Our inability to compete in the international marketplace makes our oil supply and demand especially vulnerable to volatile OPEC practices. Lifting the Federal crude oil export ban would spur new American energy production, foster economic growth and job creation, and take us one step closer to energy independence.”

— Railroad Commission Chairman, David Porter

The export ban on all petroleum products was imposed during the 1970s as a way for the government to control prices during a time of scarcity. But times have changed and since 2008, U.S. crude oil output has increase by 81%. This record production is beginning to overtake the industry’s ability to economically process these growing volumes and producers and analysts are raising their voices to advocate for a repeal on the anachronistic law.

In July, Porter testified before the U.S. Agriculture Committee asking for Congress to immediately lift the ban on the outdated policy, arguing it is bad for Texas and the whole economy. IHS reported that lifting the export ban could create hundreds of thousands of additional U.S. jobs and add billions to the U.S. economy.

Further increases in domestic oil production
Lower gasoline prices
964,000 additional jobs
Benefits to manufacturing and service-related sectors in every state
Strengthening national security and America’s position in the world

Karnes County Leads U.S. Oil Drilling

October 12, 2015 Elizabeth Alford

The Eagle Ford's Karnes County leads the nation in new oil production.

Related:Eagle Ford Rigs Now Below 100

New data released from DrillingInfo shows that Texas counties dominated oil production for September, with three of the top ten counties being from the Eagle Ford Shale Play.

Those of you who follow EagleFordShale.com's weekly Drilling Rig Count, know that Karnes County has dominated production for many months. In September their numbers spiked and 30 percent of all activity in the Eagle Ford came from Karnes County. Of the 98 rigs running across the region last Friday, 23 were from Karnes.

Though Karnes County was ahead of others, they actually saw a decrease in the amount of new oil production capacity with DI reporting September numbers of 30 Mbbl/Day. Karnes' new gas production capacity increased 18.6 percentto 97 MMcf/Day.

Other Eagle Ford counties are not sharing in the same prosperity. LaSalle County dropped from 20 rigs in June to 9 rigs in last week and DeWitt County fell from18 rigs in August to only 11 in October.

Overall new production capacity across the nation is down 1% to 672MBOE/day with producer, EOG bringing in 30 Mbbl/Day.