The Eagle Ford Shale rig count decreased by one to 260 rigs running across our coverage area by the end of last week.

In recent news, Houston-based BHP Billiton may soon get the green light to export condensate from the Eagle Ford Shale. According to the Houston Chronicle, BHP President Rod Skaufel confirmed the company has applied for an export permit with the U.S. Commerce Department (US DoC).

Read more: Eagle Ford's BHP Billiton Seeks to Export Condensate

The U.S. rig count decreased by 17 to 1,896 rigs running by the end of last week. A total of 330 rigs were targeting natural gas (nine more than the previous week) and 1,564 were targeting oil in the U.S. (25 less than the previous week). The remainder were drilling service wells (e.g. disposal wells, injection wells, etc.). 888 or ~48% of rigs active in the U.S. were 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 (200 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 increased by three to 13 rigs running by the end of last week. Average rig counts for natural gas production in 2012 were around 80 and then dropped to around 40 in 2013. Natural gas prices increased slightly from the previous week to $3.85/mmbtu on Friday afternoon.

The oil rig count decreased by four to 247 rigs running by the end of last week. WTI oil prices stayed relatively flat from the previous week, trading at $93.57/bbl on Friday afternoon. Eagle Ford light crude traded at $90.50/bbl on August 21st.

A total of 247 rigs are drilling horizontal wells, four rigs are drilling directional wells, and nine rigs are drilling vertical wells. Karnes, La Salle, De Witt, and Webb each have at minimum 25 rigs running. Karnes County has the highest rig count this week at 33. See the full list below in the Eagle Ford Shale Drilling by County below

South Texas Oil & Gas News:

• Eagle Ford's BHP Billiton Seeks to Export Condensate
• Murphy Hits Record Eagle Ford Production in Q2 2014
• Pioneer Addresses Eagle Ford Exports in Q2 2014 Report
• Eagle Ford Flaring Impact on South Texas - Video

Be sure to visit our South Texas Oilfield Job Listings to search openings and come back weekly for updates.

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.