Eagle Ford Rig Count at 32

Eagle Ford Rig Count
Eagle Ford Rig Counts

The Eagle Ford Shale rig count dropped this week, ending with 32 rigs running across our coverage area by midday Friday.

In recent Eagle Ford news, a national non-profit that helps oilfield families in critical need of financial assistance has opened a new chapter to serve families in the Eagle Ford.

A total of 403 oil and gas rigs were running across the United States this week, down nine from last week. 85 were targeting natural gas (two less than the previous week) and 318 were targeting oil in the U.S. (the same as the previous week). The remainder were drilling service wells (e.g. disposal wells, injection wells, etc.)173 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 dropped to four this week as natural gas prices dipping to $2.05/mmbtu.

The Eagle Ford rigs targeting oil fell this week to 28 with WTI oil prices climbing to $47.991, a $1.78 increase this week. A total of 31 rigs are drilling horizontal wells, zero are drilling directional wells, and three are vertical rigs.

Karnes County leads development in the region with 9 rigs running this week. See the full list below in the Eagle Ford Shale Drilling by County below.

Eagle Ford Shale News

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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.

Read more at bakerhughes.com

H2S Gas Found in Higher Concentrations - McMullen Co. Wells

McMullen County, TX includes some of the best development areas for the Eagle Ford Shale, but wells in the county have been found to yield higher concentrations of H2S gas compared to other areas. According to experts, early Eagle Ford well results indicated the reservoir was a relatively sweet, yielding low concentrations of H2S gas, at less than one percent. Well results from some McMullen County wells, however, have yielded H2S gas concentrations greater than four percent.

In October of 2014, Patricia DuBois, a Staff Geologist at Murphy Exploration & Production Co., and Dr. Huzeifa Ismail, a Consultant at Maxoil Process Solutions, conducted an SPE Study Group to further discuss the reasons why McMullen County wells have higher H2S concentrations. It was found deep faults intersect the wellbores of wells with higher H2S gas concentrations. Mapping of these features ultimately allowed for the prediction of areas with high H2S. An economic model was then developed based on the expected H2S concentration and production forecast to direct long term drilling and completions strategy and selection of H2S treatment options.

For more on SPE Study Groups visit spegcs.org

RRC Adopts New Pipeline Permit Rule

Texas Railroad Commission (RRC) commissioners have adopted pipeline permit rule amendments designed to clarify how a pipeline operator may be classified by the commission as a common carrier*. Common carrier pipelines in Texas are pipelines which are contracted to carry crude petroleum, gas or carbon dioxide for hire. The rule amendments require pipeline operators to verify their claim to be a common carrier when applying for a T-4 Permit to operate a pipeline or when renewing, amending or canceling an existing permit.

“The Commission’s T-4 Permit to Operate is a permit to operate a pipeline in Texas. It does not change the rights of a property owner nor does it grant eminent domain powers to a pipeline operator. Our new rules require an attestation from the operator of their knowledge of Texas eminent domain laws and the Texas Landowners’ Bill of Rights.”
— Commissioner, Barry Smitherman

The adopted rule amendments take effect on March 1, 2015, and include the following requirements:

  • permit applications must now include additional information including requested classification and purpose of the pipeline or pipeline system as a common carrier, a gas utility or private line operator;
  • permit applications must include a sworn statement from the pipeline applicant providing the operator’s factual basis supporting the classification and purpose being sought for the pipeline;
  • if applicable, the pipeline operator must submit documentation such as a contract or tariff for third-party transportation in the case of a common carrier, along with any other information requested by the Commission;
  • the pipeline T-4 permit, if granted, shall be revocable at any time after a hearing if the Commission finds that the pipeline is not being operated in accordance with state laws and Commission rules and regulations.
  • the applicant must acknowledge the eminent domain provisions in the Texas Landowner’s Bill of Rights.

Common carrier - a common carrier offers its services to the general public under license or authority provided by a regulatory body.

Read more at rrc.state.tx.us

SPE-GCS Shale Study Group to Be Formed in 2015

The Society of Professional Engineers' Gulf Coast Section (SPE-GCS) hopes to form a new group in 2015 to examine shale technologies, and collaborate with industry professionals on ways to make shale more sustainable.

“This group will help disseminate information on new technologies, new services, best practices, benchmarking, lessons learned, safety, regulation, etc., said the group’s organizer, Kim Thames, by email. “The group aims to bring together the best shale expertise and ultimately become SPEI’s leader in shale knowledge.”

It's yet to be determined how group participants will meet, but Thames notes it will be similar to other SPE Study Groups, with monthly meetings, lunch and learns, networking, sporting events, etc. In-person meetings will be in Houston, TX.

If you are interested in getting involved in this new group as a supporter or in a leadership position, contact Kim at kim.thames@bhpbilliton.com to have her add your name and SPE member number to the petition.