Sanchez Energy's Reserves Near 60 Million Barrels - Production Surges in Q4

Sanchez Energy Eagle Ford Map Jan 2014

Sanchez Energy's proved reserves are up 178% from a little more than 20 million boe at year-end 2012 to 58.9 million boe at December 31, 2013.

Reserves increased as a result of successful development in the Eagle Ford and multiple acquisitions during 2013.

In the fourth quarter alone, Sanchez grew Eagle Ford production 60% over the third quarter to 18,810 boe/d. More impressively, the company increased production year over year by 905%.

Also read:Sanchez Energy Plans to Spend $600 Million in the Eagle Ford in 2014

[ic-l]A total 32 net wells were brought online in the fourth quarter 15 additional wells are in some stage of drilling and completion.

A strong fourth quarter puts the company is a great position to reach the high end or outperform guidance of 21,000-23,000 boe/d in 2014. Contributions from the Tuscaloosa are not accounted for in guidance, so success there will only increase the likelihood of the company outperforming guidance.

“2013 was a transformative year for the Company. Our production and reserves grew tremendously as a result of successfully executing our 2013 capital plan and completing several acquisitions.”

— Tony Sanchez, III, CEO

Sanchez Energy was busy in 2013. The company made several acquisitions to supplement its acreage in the Eagle Ford and stepped out of the play for the first time by acquiring acreage in the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale.

A few highlights from 2013 include:

• March 2013 - Sanchez Acquires Hess' Eagle Ford Assets for $265 Million
• July 2013 - ZaZa Sells Eagle Ford Assets to Sanchez Energy for $28.8 Million
• August 2013 -  Sanchez Energy Pays $78 Million to Acquire 40,000 Net Acres in the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale
• September 2013 - Sanchez Energy Acquires Rock Oil's Eagle Ford Properties for $220 Million
• October 2013 - Sanchez Energy Increases Q3 2013 Production Seven Fold Over Q3 2012

Drilling in 2014 will be focused on operated properties and the company is moving forward with development at 40-acre spacing in the Cotulla, Palmetto, and Wycross areas.

Read the full operational update at sanchezenergycorp.com

Comstock Resources Fourth Quarter Delays Push Eagle Ford Growth Into 2014

Comstock Resources Target Area Map

Comstock Resources planned to complete 18 gross (12 net) wells in the Eagle Ford between November and December of 2013.

Delays in completing the wells forced longer shut-ins for adjacent wells and the new wells didn't reach first production until late in December and January.

Comstock brought 10 gross (7.3 net) Eagle Ford wells to production in the last week of December and added 9 gross (6.3 net) in early January of 2014.

Also Read: Comstock Focused on the Eagle Ford - Planning to Spend $400 M in 2014

Current production as of January 21st was 10,000 b/d of oil and the company had 23 gross (17.2 net) Eagle Ford wells waiting to be completed.

Eagle Ford Drives Comstock's Reserves Growth

Development in the Eagle Ford helped Comstock grow proved reserves to almost 22 million bbls and 453 Bcf. Comstock added 5.3 million barrels and 5 Bcf of reserves in the Eagle Ford in 2013.

Read more about Comstock's latest expansion in the region: Comstock - Ursa Reach Eagle Ford Deal Worth $66.5 Million

Overall, Comstock is reporting proved reserves of 584 Bcfe at December 31, 2013. That compares favorably to 551 Bcfe the company reported on December 31, 2012.

Read the full press release at comstockresources.com

Gulf Coast Western Planning Horizontal Buda Wells in Wilson County

Gulf Coast Western Logo

Gulf Coast Western announced in the acquisition of 3,500 acres in Wilson County, Texas.

The company will bypass expensive completions in the Eagle Ford with plans to drill 10 horizontal wells targeting the Buda Limestone.

As more wells are drilled in South Texas, operators will find opportunity in other formations. It will be interesting to see how development programs in plays like the Austin Chalk and Buda perform.

Read moreGoodrich Petroleum Buda Limestone Well Yields Impressive Results

“We believe there is tremendous opportunity in this play, given the fact that it is a proven trend and there is not a need to incur the high cost of fractionating (fracking) the wells.”

— Gulf Coast Western CEO, Matthew Fleeger

Gulf Coast Western anticipates its horizontal drilling operations to begin in the first quarter of the year, with development extending on the company's leases throughout 2014. Wells in the area have produced as much as 1,500 b/d of oil.

The primary operator for these projects will be Kaler Energy Corporation out of San Antonio.

Texas Could Be the Eighth Largest Oil Producer in the World by Year End

The Eagle Ford boom is nothing new to our readers, but it is good to pause and take inventory every now and again. Did you know, if Texas continues on the same growth trajectory, the state will rank as the eighth largest oil producing country in the world. We're not a country, but we're close and Texas is on track to pass Iraq, Kuwait, and Mexico in 2014. Texas produced 2.75 million b/d in October 2013, which is the highest rate in more than 30 years.

As a whole, the U.S. is doing very well and could become the largest oil producing country in the world if the current boom is extended. The U.S. produced 7.75 million b/d in October 2013, which is the highest total in more than 25 years.

US Oil Production History

The IEA noted that U.S. oil production grew faster in absolute terms in 2013 than any other country in over two decades. The final numbers aren't quite in, but it looks like the U.S. grew production more than 15% or ~1 million b/d in 2013.

Oil Production Growth Will Challenge the Oil Export Ban

More production will put additional pressure on the oil export ban in the U.S. The Gulf Coast in particular has more capacity to refine heavy crude oil, but the Eagle Ford and other growing plays are yielding a higher quality light-sweet crude oil. That means there could be opportunities where exporting our high quality crude and importing cheaper heavy crude could make economic sense.

There are some who believe we should keep all of the oil at home, but that might come at a cost. It will be interesting to see what happens later in 2014. If we have another year like 2013 in terms of oil production growth across the U.S., it will be difficult not to make some exceptions to the oil export ban.

2013 Gulf Coast Oil & Gas Awards Finalist Announced - Press Release

Oil and Gas Awards Photo

With an unprecedented number of entries received for the Gulf Coast region for the Oil & Gas Awards this year, the organizers are pleased to announce the finalist companies selected by the judges as best in class for the Gulf Coast region.

The Oil & Gas Awards will be holding the “Conference for Excellence” during the day of the gala dinner. The Conference for Excellence will provide a fantastic opportunity for selected finalists to speak on matters important to their business and to the industry. Professionals attending the conference will have further opportunity to network with other finalists and listen to the wide variety of keynote speeches from leaders in the market. There will also be the chance to contribute to panel debates on key topics. Should you wish to attend the conference and dinner, please contact us.

2013 Gulf Coast Oil & Gas Awards Finalists

• Aggreko PLC.
• Anadarko Petroleum Corporation
• Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services
• B-C Equipment Sales, Inc.
• Baker & McKenzie
• Breitling Energy Corporation
• C.W. Lake & Associations Ltd
• C&J Energy Services
• Canary, LLC
• Castleton Commodities International LLC
• Cinco Energy Management Group
• Contango Oil & Gas Company
• Costa Verde Resources, LLC
• Crestwood Midstream Partners LP
• Dalton Trucking Inc.
• Devon Energy
• Dresser-Rand
• Dupré Logisitcs, LLC
• E&B Natural Resources Management Corporation
• Eagle Ford Shale Housing
• Emerson Process Managements' Remote Automation Solutions
• Express Energy Services
• Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP
• Gazelle Transportation Inc.
• GreaseBook, LLC
• Green Energy Oilfield Services, LLC
• Gulf Interstate Engineering
• Halbouty Energy
• Hearn Trucking, LLC
• HexArmor
• High Sierra Energy, LP
• Honeywell
• Impact Weather, Inc.
• Infinity Energy Capital, LLC
• Kase & Company, Inc.
• Krohne, Inc.
• Lake Truck Lines Inc.
• Linn Energy, LLC
• Liquidity Services, Inc.
• Liskow & Lewis Lockton Marine & Energy of the Lockton Companies, LLC
• NES Global Talent Newpark Mats & Integrated Services
• NGL Energy Partners LP
• Norton Rose Fulbright
• OleumTech
• Orion Drilling Company
• Peak Completion Technologies, Inc.
• Penn Virginia Corporation
• Petrotechnics
• Precision Drilling
• Preferred Sands
• Progressive GE
• QC Energy Resources
• Reed Smith LLP
• Renzenberger, Inc.
• Rockwater Energy Solutions
• Sage Environmental Consulting, LP
• Sanchez Energy Corporation
• Select Energy Services
• STARCON International, Inc.
• Strategy Engineering & Consulting LLC
• Sun Coast Resources, Inc.
• Supreme Services
• Technetics Group
• TEEMCO
• TETRA® Technologies, Inc.
• The Global Edge Consultants
• Total Equipment And Service
• Total Safety
• TransTex Hunter, LLC
• Trican Well Service Ltd.
• Trinidad Drilling
• VZ Environmental
• Wapiti Energy, LLC
• Willbros Group, Inc.

The selected finalists will be invited to attend the conference and the gala dinner on Tuesday, March 18, 2014 at the Westin Galleria in Houston.

For more information, please visit our website on:

http://www.oilandgasawards.com/gulf-coast-2013/ Call: +210 591 8471

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