Eagle Ford Shale

A study linking seismic activity with oil/natural gas drilling activities got the attention of the newest commissioner on the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) on Thursday, and then his two colleagues jumped on the injection well-seismicity bandwagon Friday.

The count of active rigs drilling for either oil or natural gas in the Lone Star State busted below the 400 barrier in the latest Baker Hughes Inc. rig count as the rout continued in the nation’s oil patch. The U.S. crude-directed rig count fell 31 to 703 in the latest count.

Cabot Oil & Gas Corp.’s Eagle Ford Shale assets pushed its first quarter natural gas liquids (NGL) production up by more than 100% from the year-ago period, but it won’t squeeze profit margins moving forward, with a plan to curtail volumes as commodity prices remain low.

Sanchez Energy Corp. said it is targeting three separate vertical zones in a project area of the Eagle Ford Shale, after production from its first stacked development in the area exceeded expectations.

Sanchez Energy Corp. said it is targeting three separate vertical zones in a project area of the Eagle Ford Shale, after production from its first stacked development in the area exceeded expectations.

At midday Friday, after three hours of debate, Texas state Rep. Drew Darby (R-San Angelo) had fought back 10 amendments to his House Bill 40, which is intended to prevent municipalities from enacting ordinances that interfere with oil/gas drilling. HB 40 was passed to engrossment on a vote of 122-18 and faces one more vote in the House before passing to the state Senate.

At midday Friday, after three hours of debate, Texas state Rep. Drew Darby (R-San Angelo) had fought back 10 amendments to his House Bill 40, which is intended to prevent municipalities from enacting ordinances that interfere with oil/gas drilling. HB 40 was passed to engrossment on a vote of 122-18 and faces one more vote in the House before passing to the state Senate.

After opponents of legislation to limit how much Texas municipalities may regulate oil/natural gas drilling activities had been rallying for hours at the state capitol, the bill’s author pulled it from the House floor Tuesday because of discrepancies in a committee report on the legislation and for further consideration of amendments.

Oil and natural gas production from the nation’s seven most prolific shale and tight oil plays, which has been on the march for months, is expected to decline in May, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).