The Eagle Ford Shale rig count increased by six to 275 rigs running across our coverage area by the end of last week.

In recent Eagle Ford news, amid a drop in oil prices, Eagle Ford-focused Sanchez Energy, has seen a sharp dip in its stock price, falling nearly 35% in the past month to ~$18.50. According to the investment research firm, Zacks, the Houston-based company's earning picture suggests the slump may continue.

Despite its 30-day earnings consensus moving lower over the last 30-days, Sanchez returned excellent third quarter production results.

Read more: Sanchez Energy Stock Dips, Despite Good Q3 Production

The U.S. rig count increased by 9 to 1,927 rigs running by the end of last week. A total of 332 rigs were targeting natural gas (four more than the previous week) and 1,595 were targeting oil in the U.S. (5 more than the previous week). The remainder were drilling service wells (e.g. disposal wells, injection wells, etc.). 906 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 (216 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 three to 16 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 decreased by $.16 from the previous week to $3.61/mmbtu on Friday afternoon.

The oil rig count increased by nine to 259 rigs running by the end of last week. WTI oil prices decreased by ~$2.00 from the previous week, trading at $81.08/bbl on Friday afternoon. Eagle Ford light crude traded at $78.75/bbl on Oct. 24th.

A total of 248 rigs are drilling horizontal wells, 15 rigs are drilling directional wells, and 12 rigs are drilling vertical wells. Karnes, La Salle, Dimmit, and McMullen each have at minimum 25 rigs running. Karnes County has the highest rig count this week at 37. See the full list below in the Eagle Ford Shale Drilling by County below

South Texas Oil & Gas News:

• Clayton Williams May Reduce Eagle Ford Drilling Program - 2015
• Sanchez Energy Stock Dips, Despite Good Q3 Production

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.