Eagle Ford Shale

About half of the active land drilling rigs in the United States are drilling in Texas, home of red hot oil plays in the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale. Based on preliminary Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) production figures for August, production of oil and gas in the state are up from year-ago levels.

Like the lumbering giants they resemble, oil majors take a bit more time to pivot from one target to the next, a task exceedingly difficult for North America’s top natural gas producer, ExxonMobil Corp. The pirouette to more oily targets came full circle in the third quarter in the three most strategic U.S. leaseholds, the Permian Basin and the Woodford and Bakken shales.

Sanchez Energy Corp. is in full development mode in each of its project areas in the Eagle Ford Shale and is preparing to begin an operated drilling program next year on recently acquired Tuscaloosa Marine Shale (TMS) acreage. Third quarter production was up by 710% from the year-ago quarter.

It’s not how many rigs there are in the shale patch; it’s what they’re doing. As drilling productivity continues to climb, the industry has realized a simple rig count is a poor indicator of future production. Now the Energy Information Administration (EIA) is monitoring and reporting on drilling productivity.

The average U.S. onshore drilling rig is producing 2% more wells than it did three months ago, and increasingly, rigs are targeting liquids-rich plays over those known for producing dry gas, according to Baker Hughes Inc.

More than 800 Chesapeake Energy Corp. employees were laid off on Tuesday as CEO Doug Lawler continues to make over the company that Aubrey McClendon built (see related story).

The Lone Star State's Rainy Day Fund purse has grown fat from oil and gas tax revenues, and that's expected to continue as Texas drillers drive production…

Production from the eastern United States, including the powerhouse Marcellus Shale, will help make the country the world’s top producer of natural gas this year, ahead of Saudi Arabia, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Friday.

Forest Oil Corp. struck a $1 billion deal to sell oil and gas assets in the Texas Panhandle to Templar Energy LLC as part of a deleveraging program that will allow the company to focus on the Eagle Ford Shale. One analyst called the sale a positive, but investors booed and sent Forest shares tumbling on Friday.