Sanchez Sells Eagle Ford Acres for $105 Million

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Sanchez Energy Corporation announced it has finalized the sale of 70,000 net acres in LaSalle and Webb Counties. 

Eagle Ford Losses Horizontal Drilling Rigs

Sanchez reported last week it closed on the sale of its 'Javelina' assets for a $105 million cash deal. Though largely undeveloped, the company previously identified the area as having the potential for greater than 450 drilling locations. 

“This transaction highlights the value creation that our grass roots leasing program has delivered. Over the last eighteen months we leased approximately 70,000, largely contiguous, net acres in the dry gas window of the Eagle Ford.  This transaction accelerates the value of the asset, while building our liquidity and providing value to our shareholders.”
— Tony Sanchez, III, Chief Executive Officer of Sanchez Energy

The Javelina acreage is located in the dry gas window of the Western Eagle Ford, in LaSelle and Webb Counties. Sanchez reported having 39,500 net acres in Javelina at the end of 2016, rising to 70,000 net acres (over 450 net locations) by the time of the sale. 

Production Strong Despite Hurricane Harvey

Like many other operators in the Eagle Ford, Sanchez was forced to suspend operations when Hurricane Harvey hit the state. Despite the storm, the company reports it is experiencing strong well results across all of its Western Eagle Ford acreage, which has led to a steady increase in production during the quarter.  

Sanchez is currently on track to deliver expected third-quarter results, producing at a rate of over 75,000 Boe/d.

Texas Oil and Gas Jobs Increase for Seven Straight Months

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218,500 Texans were employed in the oil and gas industry for August, which accounts for 54% of all industry jobs across the country. 

Many Oil and Gas Workers Still Unemployed

Last week, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reported that Texas oil and gas employment expanded in August by 1,700 jobs to roughly 218,500. This makes the seventh consecutive month that Texas has seen oil and gas job growth.

The FED indicated the increase was due to a gain of 2,200 jobs in support activities while noting that jobs for oil and gas extraction fell by 500. Other data from the FED includes:

  • Total Texas oil and gas employment has risen for seven consecutive months
  • Prices for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil rose slightly, while natural gas prices fell marginally
  • Texas accounts for 54% of the oil and gas employment across the country
  • Production impacted the increase in employment numbers; Permian production rose by 62,300 BOPD to 2.52 MMBOPD and the Eagle Ford also is growing, though the Fed reports that estimates may be revised downward on the effects of Harvey as more data becomes available
  • Natural gas exports from Texas are growing quickly- Natural gas exports to Mexico rose to 4.5 Bcf/d in June, up from 4.2 Bcf/d in May
  • Rig counts have plateaued across the state

In January, researchers at the University of Houston reported that 90% of the oil and gas workers who lost their jobs were still unemployed or had left the industry.

Eagle Ford Losses Horizontal Drilling Rigs

Eagle Ford Shale Rig Count

The Eagle Ford Shale rig count drops again as operators pull four horizontal rigs offline this week, taking the total to 86 rigs running across our coverage area by midday Friday. 

Oil and Gas Production Down Across Texas

A total of 935 oil and gas rigs were running across the United States this week, one less than last week. 190 rigs targeted natural gas (+ four) and 744 were targeting oil in the U.S. (- five). The remainder were drilling service wells (e.g. disposal wells, injection wells, etc.) 451 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

10 rigs in the Eagle Ford region targeted natural gas this week with the commodity trading at $2.96/mmbtu.

78 Eagle Ford rigs were targeting oil with WTI oil prices at $49.61.

A total of 81 rigs are drilling horizontal wells, two are drilling directional wells and three are vertical.

Karnes County leads activity in the region with 16 rigs in production. See the full list below in the Eagle Ford Shale Drilling by County below.

Eagle Ford Shale Drilling by County

Eagle Ford Shale Rig Count by County-September 22, 2017

Eagle Ford Shale Rig Count by County-September 22, 2017

Eagle Ford Shale News

Oil and Gas Production Down Across Texas

RRC Doubles Original Drilling Permits for June 2017

Eagle Ford Shale Still in Recovery After Hurricane

The Eagle Ford Shale: Hammered by Harvey

Sanchez Reduces Spending and Drilling for 2018

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.

Eagle Ford Shale Rig Count Unsteady

Eagle Ford Shale Rig Count

The Eagle Ford Shale rig count continues to waffle, with our data showing a drop last week to 88 rigs running across our coverage area by midday Friday. The total U.S. rig count is also falling. 

In recent Eagle Ford news, Texas' production of oil, gas, and condensate is at its lowest levels since February.

Oil and Gas Production Down Across Texas

A total of 936 oil and gas rigs were running across the United States this week, eight less than last week. 186 rigs targeted natural gas (down one) and 749 were targeting oil in the U.S. (down seven). The remainder were drilling service wells (e.g. disposal wells, injection wells, etc.) 452 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

10 rigs in the Eagle Ford region targeted natural gas this week with the commodity trading at $3.08/mmbtu.

78 Eagle Ford rigs were targeting oil with WTI oil prices at $49.61.

A total of 85 rigs are drilling horizontal wells, zero are drilling directional wells and three are vertical.

Karnes County leads activity in the region with 16 rigs in production. See the full list below in the Eagle Ford Shale Drilling by County below.

Eagle Ford Shale Drilling by County

Eagle Ford Shale Rig Count by County-September 15, 2017

Eagle Ford Shale Rig Count by County-September 15, 2017

 

Eagle Ford Shale News

Oil and Gas Production Down Across Texas

RRC Doubles Original Drilling Permits for June 2017

Eagle Ford Shale Still in Recovery After Hurricane

The Eagle Ford Shale: Hammered by Harvey

Sanchez Reduces Spending and Drilling for 2018

 

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.

Oil and Gas Production Down Across Texas

Downward Trend Texas Oil and Gas Production

Texas' production of oil, gas, and condensate is at its lowest levels since February.

RRC Doubles Original Drilling Permits for June 2017

The Texas Railroad Commission released preliminary production figures for June, showing the state produced 75,254,080 barrels of crude oil and 591,408,525 mcf of total natural gas from oil and gas wells.

These production numbers are at their lowest since February, though they are slightly higher than this time last year.

Texas Production from Oil and Gas Wells - Texas Railroad Commission

Texas Production from Oil and Gas Wells - Texas Railroad Commission


The state's regulatory agency reported that the total production in Texas between July 2016 to June 2017 was 995 million barrels of crude oil and 7.8 trillion cubic feet of total gas. Other June stats include:

  • Crude oil production averaged 2,508,469 barrels daily (2,428,546 barrels daily in June 2016)
  • Gas production averaged 19,713,618 mcf a day (20,142,125 mcf in June 2016)
  • Total production came from 181,062 oil wells and 91,357 gas wells

Eagle Ford Shale Production

Webb County in the Eagle Ford continues to dominate natural gas production and has produced 375, 430, 087 mcf during the first six months of 2017. For crude oil, Eagle Ford's Karnes County produced 40, 870, 819 bbls, a close second to Midland COunty with 42,794,640 bbls. 

Eagle Ford Shale Production

Top Eagle Ford Shale Counties for January-June 2017