The Eagle Ford Shale rig count decreased by one to 270 rigs running across our coverage area by the end of last week.

In recent Eagle Ford news, after nearly four decades, the Obama administration has opened the door for U.S. exports of unrefined American oil, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). The decision was approved in a private ruling by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, and will for now allow only two companies, Pioneer Natural Resources Co. and Enterprise Product Partners LP, to export Eagle Ford condensate to foreign buyers. Shipments, which are likely to be small, could begin as early as August.

Read more: Oil Exports to Foreign Buyers Begins

The U.S. rig count increased by 15 to 1,873 rigs running by the end of last week. A total of 314 rigs were targeting natural gas (three more than the previous week) and 1,545 were targeting oil in the U.S. (13 more than the previous week). The remainder were drilling service wells (e.g. disposal wells, injection wells, etc.). 889or ~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 (214 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 one to 11 rigs running by the end of last week. Average rig counts for natural gas production in 2012 were around 82 and then dropped to around 41 in 2013. Natural gas prices fell slightly from the previous week to $4.39/mmbtu on Friday afternoon.

The oil rig count remained flat at 259 rigs running by the end of last week. WTI oil prices decreased slightly from the previous week, trading at $105.62/bbl on Friday afternoon. Eagle Ford light crude traded at $102.25/bbl on June 26th.

A total of 239 rigs are drilling horizontal wells, 13 rigs are drilling directional wells, and 18 rigs are drilling vertical wells. Karnes, La Salle, and De Witt each have at minimum 29 rigs running. De Witt County has the highest rig count this week at 32. See the full list below in the Eagle Ford Shale Drilling by County below

South Texas Oil & Gas News:

• Apache Corp. Sues Eagle Ford Oilfield Services Companies
• Oil Exports to Foreign Buyers Begins
• Drug Use Spikes in Eagle Ford Shale Counties - Video
• Comstock Reveals Results from First East Texas Eagle Ford Well

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 and/or Smith Service Co's (Schlumberger) Smith Rig Count.