Abraxas Petroleum Corp. said a recent Eagle Ford Shale well has been performing better than expected, but its operations in the Williston Basin in North Dakota have been hampered by equipment troubles.

In the Eagle Ford Shale in McMullen County, Abraxas said the Cobra B 1H averaged 592 boe/d (95% oil) on a restricted choke over its first 30 days of production. The Mustang 1H was completed with a 19-stage completion in mid-December and is currently flowing to sales at rates above the company’s in-house type curve.

The Corvette C 1H well reached total depth at 15,049 feet in under eight drilling days in the Eagle Ford and is scheduled to be completed in mid-January. Abraxas recently spudded the Gran Torino A 1H and is currently drilling the curve at 9,600 feet.

Abraxas owns a 25% working interest in the Cobra B 1H and Corvette C 1H and an 18.75% working interest in the Mustang 1H and Gran Torino A 1H.

In the Williston Basin in North Dakota, drilling continues on the company’s Lillibridge East PAD with intermediate casing set on the 1H and 2H. The curve is currently being built on the Lillibridge 3H after which the rig will move to the 4H. Abraxas owns an approximately 37% working interest in the Lillibridge PAD.

The expected mid-December completion of the Raven 2H has been delayed by the discovery of a third-party downhole equipment failure that required remediation work, which the company said is expected to be completed soon with a revised stimulation date set for late January. The Raven 3H recently experienced similar mechanical completion issues to the Raven 2H. Remediation work will begin on the Raven 3H after the completion of the Raven 2H with an expected stimulation date in mid-February, Abraxas said. Abraxas owns a 49% working interest in both the Raven 2H and 3H.

“Although we are disappointed with the completion delays in the Bakken, operations continue to perform exceptionally well at Abraxas with well results and efficiency gains in our Bakken and Eagle Ford drilling programs consistently above expectations,” said CEO Bob Watson. “We now enter 2013 anticipating a strong and immediate production boost from our forthcoming Bakken and Eagle Ford completions.”

San Antonio-based Abraxas has operations across the Rocky Mountain, Midcontinent, Permian Basin and onshore Gulf Coast regions and in Alberta, Canada.

Last November Abraxas said it was finalizing talks to sell its 25% working interest in the Nordheim Project in the Eagle Ford to an institutional buyer for about $20 million. It separately announced that it had also agreed to sell its Alberta Basin properties and lease its mineral acres in the area for combined proceeds of $2.85 million and an overriding royalty interest of 1.25-5% depending on lease terms (see Shale Daily, Nov. 13, 2012).