Eagle Ford Shale Sees Oil Production Burn Up

Friday 27 July 2012, Amsterdam

The Eagle Ford shale play in Texas is benefiting from increasing production, as crude oil growth overtakes natural gas production, pushing up the shale’s profitability, claims the new Eagle Ford Shale in the US, 2012 - Oil Shale Market Analysis and Forecasts to 2020 report.

The report cites that several oil and gas majors have moved in on the shale play, investing millions of dollars in an attempt to reap valuable fossil fuel rewards.

Eagle Ford production showed a three-fold increase in overall production in 2011 over 2010 levels, thanks to an increase in crude oil prices over natural gas prices. Texas has seen the Eagle Ford shale churn out four times as much liquids in 2011 as compared to 2010, with production growing from 10.8MMboe to 57.5MMboe, and the profitability associated with the crude oil prices is supporting this trend.

Production booms in the Eagle Ford play have rewarded companies such as Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, Petrohawk Energy Corporation, EOG Resources Inc, Burlington Resources Inc, and Rosetta Resources Inc with high volumes of natural gas and high-quality liquids. According to the Railroad Commission of Texas, Briscoe Ranch field reported the highest gross production of around 26.2MMboe from the Eagle Ford shale during 2011.

The Eagle Ford shale in Texas has therefore witnessed a significant rise in drilling and exploration activities in 2011–2012, with many oil and gas companies continuously exploring the play in hopes of increasing their production base. A total of 4,286 drilling permits were issued in the play throughout 2011, while the first four months of 2012 have seen 1,620 drilling permits distributed already, and GlobalData anticipates that the Eagle Ford shale play will continue to see increased drilling activity during the coming years.

Tempted by such huge rewards, Chesapeake Energy Corporation was issued a record number of around 724 drilling permits in the Eagle Ford shale (Texas) during 2011, and allocated around $2,250m–$2,400m of planned capital expenditure for drilling and exploration activities in the Eagle Ford play throughout this year. This level of investment in the shale promises more activity in the future, as major companies fight it out to win a piece of the Eagle Ford shale’s resources.

Total gross production from the Eagle Ford shale increased from 0.02MMboe in 2006 to 105MMboe in 2011 at a CAGR of 435%, and is expected to reach 207.3MMboe in 2012, and stabilize at 1,386.3MMboe in 2020.

This report provides details on the operational activities in the play analyzing drilling activities, cost trends, initial production rates and well decline curves. It also provides information on production trends in the Eagle Ford shale, with forecast to 2020, and analyzes the competitive landscape of the Eagle Ford shale, detailing operations of the top five companies. The report highlights infrastructure details in the Eagle Ford shale, and provides details of the merger and acquisition activities in the play during the period 2008–till date.

This report was built using data and information sourced from proprietary databases, primary and secondary research, and in-house analysis conducted by a team of industry experts.