Texas natural gas production during July was up about 7% from the July 2012 level, and oil production was up about 30%, according to preliminary data from the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC).

Texas oil and gas wells produced 571.29 Bcf of gas based upon preliminary figures for July, up from the July 2012 preliminary total of 533.86 Bcf. July gas production averaged 18.43 Bcf/d and came from 155,654 oil wells and 91,757 gas wells.

Texas preliminary July crude oil production averaged 1.69 million b/d, up from the 1.30 million b/d average of July 2012. The preliminary crude oil production monthly total for July 2013 is 52.26 million bbl, up from 40.32 million bbl reported during July 2012.

RRC preliminary production figures are routinely revised upward once the agency receives more data from producers. The revised July 2012 production figure is 682.60 Bcf. The revised monthly total for July 2012 crude oil production is 50.76 million bbl.

Cumulative crude oil production in Texas is up 15.2% year-over-year (y/y) in 2013 through July, but the monthly incremental pace of growth fell dramatically in July, with the July y/y increase at just 2.9%, according to RRC data and NGI‘s Shale Daily calculations.

The majority of the top 10 gas-producing counties were in the Barnett Shale region in the northern part of the state. The top 10 crude-producing counties were split evenly among those in the Permian Basin of West Texas and the Eagle Ford Shale in the south. According to RRC statistics, crude production from the Permian has surpassed that from the Eagle Ford during the first half of this year by about 48%.

The Port of Corpus Christi, an outlet for waterborne crude from the Eagle Ford, recently passed a milestone in that it is now exporting more oil than it is importing. Port Executive Director John LaRue told local television station KIII-TV3 that he expects the trend to continue for the foreseeable future.

Units of Mitsui & Co. Ltd. are contributing to the production growth from the Eagle Ford. The company recently said it would be stepping up drilling activity in the play. “Based on the high profitability outlook of shale oil production assisted by the recent firm oil prices, as well as the ability to focus the development on high-productivity areas based on the expertise accumulated to date, Mitsui approved a further accelerated expansion of the project,” the company said.

The RRC issued 1,606 original drilling permits in August compared to 2,048 in August 2012, a decline of nearly 22%. The most recent total included 1,438 permits to drill new oil and gas wells, 27 to re-enter existing wellbores, and 141 for recompletions. Permits issued in August 2013 included 501 oil, 92 gas, 968 oil and gas, 31 injection, three service and 11 other permits.

Well completions have been up sharply this year. In August operators reported to the RRC 1,576 oil, 500 gas, 18 injection and three other completions compared to 967 oil, 230 gas, 34 injection and one other completions in August 2012. Total well completions for 2013 year to date are 17,221, up from 9,965 recorded during the same period in 2012, a nearly 73% increase.