Eagle Ford Shale

A recent series of explosions and accidents involving crude oil trains “demands an investigation and review of our current safety practices and regulations,” said a pair of powerful U.S. Senators. Thursday the pair called on the Department of Transportation (DOT) and Department of Energy (DOE) “to quickly resolve issues with the transportation of crude oil.”

Production from the prolific Eagle Ford Shale will increase this year as operators lay down close to $30 billion to unearth more crude oil and liquids, new research is claiming.

GE Energy Financial Services and an affiliate of Vess Oil Corp. are buying about 13,000 net acres in East Texas and associated production from the Woodbine formation from an EnerVest Ltd. affiliate for $108 million.

Underlying the most recent proposal by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) to eliminate the long-standing ban on exporting U.S. crude oil are some infrastructure and regulatory bottlenecks, particularly in the West, a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee staff member for Murkowski told NGI’s Shale Daily on Wednesday.

The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) said it plans to hire an in-house seismologist, presumably to study the seismic events that have occurred in the Barnett Shale in North Texas and the Eagle Ford Shale in the southern part of the state.

Australia’s Aurora Oil & Gas Ltd., which is focused on the Eagle Ford Shale, said it projects production will grow about 47% in 2014, as it spends $455-495 million on capital expenditures (capex) and launches its largest non-operated well development program.

The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) was scheduled to hold a town hall meeting Thursday night in Tarrant County to discuss seismic occurrences in the Barnett Shale in North Texas, a phenomenon which some scientists have linked to wastewater injection wells.

Howard Energy Partners has begun construction on two liquids-handling facilities to serve South Texas production from the Eagle Ford Shale and provide expanded market access for multiple products.

Calumet Specialty Products Partners LP unit Calumet San Antonio Refining LLC has contracted with TexStar Midstream Logistics LP for TexStar to construct, own and operate a 30,000 b/d crude oil pipeline system to carry Eagle Ford crude oil to Calumet’s San Antonio, TX, refinery.