Australia’s Eureka Energy Ltd. recently agreed to acquire 3,975 net acres in Burleson and Washington counties, TX, within the eastern liquids-rich fairway of the Eagle Ford Shale. The acreage potentially is within the gas condensate window as well, the company said.

The areas is known as the company’s Brioche Project; there the shale is typically about 250 feet thick, dipping gently to the Southeast, Eureka said. “It ranges in depth from 10,500 to 12,000 feet and displays the geological prerequisites seen in our existing Eagle Ford project areas [Sugarloaf area of mutual interest (AMI) and Pan de Azucar],” Eureka said.

Upon exercise of the option Eureka will hold more than 6,200 net acres of Eagle Ford shale and nearly 30,000 gross acres. Eureka also announced a share placement to raise AU$10.8 million to fund the acquisition and working capital.

The Brioche area is in the northeast part of the Eagle Ford, about 43 miles northeast of Pan de Azucar, which is in Fayette County; and 124 miles northeast of Sugarloaf AMI, which is in Karnes County.

Several vertical wells have been drilled in the general Brioche area, most of which date from the 1980s Austin Chalk exploration boom. These wells typically produced up to 50,000 bbl of oil along with up to 1.5 Bcf of gas and are likely sourced from the underlying Eagle Ford Shale, Eureka said. The Chalk is expected to provide a secondary exploration target, according to the company.

Eureka owns a 6.25% working interest in the Sugarloaf AMI. Hilcorp Energy farmed into the Sugarloaf AMI and became operator in February 2010. Hilcorp is carrying 100% of Eureka’s costs for the drilling, completion, fracture stimulation and tie-in of three new horizontal wells and the fracture stimulation of three existing wells.