Hess has been in several financial headlines as activist investors are looking to dethrone the Hess family's board placements. A recent article by Christopher Helman at Forbes details the struggle for power and the changes Hess is undergoing as a company. Helman dives into Hess's Eagle Ford venture as an example of a bad investment decision that has led to the proxy fight. Helman outlines the Hess's Eagle Ford venture as follows:

• ZaZa reports it spent $366 million on leases (120,000 acres)
• Hess says it would spend $380 million on pipelines & infrastructure in 2012
• Hess says it spent $10 million per well drilling 50 wells ~ $500 million
• That is $366 million + $380 million + $500 million + ZaZa bonuses = $1.2+ billion

It was not disclosed whether or not ZaZa paid Hess anything when the company took over its portion of the Eagle Ford. You can read more about the split in the article ZaZa - Hess Terminate Eagle Ford JV.

Revenue from the company's Eagle Ford position is estimated as follows:

• $200 million in revenue from the 4,500 boe/d producing at the time of the sale
• $265 million from Sanchez who acquire the 43,000 net acres Hess operated in the play (Read more - Sanchez - Hess Reach Eagle Ford Deal)

That means Hess spent over $1.2 billion and recouped less than $500 million. Hess likely lost somewhere between $700 and $800 million in the Eagle Ford.

Staggering numbers when you consider the value created by many others in the play.

Read the full article at forbes.com  Page 2 of the article outlines Hess's Eagle Ford ventures.