Eagle Ford Shale

ZaZa Energy Corp. and joint venture (JV) partner EOG Resources Corp. have revised their agreement in order to further develop and expand their Eaglebine/Eagle Ford Shale East assets

After taking a more than $2 billion charge against its Canadian and U.S. liquids-rich properties in the second quarter, Royal Dutch Shell plc has decided that its Eagle Fore Shale assets would be better off in the hands of someone else.

The pressure pumping industry is becoming more efficient and learning “to do more with less,” adding overall capacity for hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations but also oversupplying the market and keeping pumping prices competitive for the next 12-18 months, according to analysts at UBS Securities LLC.

Gulf South Pipeline Co. LP is targeting growing industrial demand in the Baton Rouge-New Orleans, LA, region with a potential expansion of its system that would tap shale gas supplies from multiple basins. The project joins another targeting a similar market from rival Spectra Energy Transmission.

A report by environmental group Earthworks on the Eagle Ford Shale alleges “reckless endangerment” by regulator Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ); however, TCEQ has fired back that Earthworks is being reckless with the facts of its monitoring and enforcement of drilling, fracking and production in the region.

Calfrac Well Services Ltd.has agreed to acquire all of the operating assets ofMission Well Services LLC, a privately-held hydraulic fracturing and coiled tubing services provider focused on the Eagle Ford Shale, for $147 million. Calfrac will acquire 157,500 hp of conventional pumping equipment, along with high-rate blenders, related sand-handling and auxiliary equipment, three deep-capacity coiled tubing units with related fluid and nitrogen pumping units and a modern district facility in San Antonio. Calfrac will gain a foothold in the Texas market with the addition of locations in Houston, San Antonio and Fairfield. The company is assuming certain commitments with key suppliers of Mission and will be offering employment to a significant portion of Mission’s employees. Calfrac intends to transfer a portion of the assets to other active operating areas in the United States. With the acquired assets, Calfrac will have more than 1.18 million hp of conventional pumping capacity.

Sanchez Energy Corp. is buying up more of the Eagle Ford Shale, acquiring 11 million boe of proved reserves and 2,000 boe/d of production on 3,600 contiguous net acres in McMullen County, TX.

Crude oil prices, permits to drill and industry employment all surged in July to boost the Texas Petro Index (TPI) by 3.5 points — the largest month-to-month increase in 18 months — to a record 287.7. The previous record was set in 2008.

More than one year after creating a subcommittee to study hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and develop a consensus for best practices, ASTM International has proposed a new standard for data management and reporting that would cover oil and gas operations in shale plays.