The Eagle Ford shale formation in South Texas runs from the US-Mexico border north of Laredo in a narrow band extending northeast for several hundred miles to just north of Houston. It is located directly below the Austin Chalk. The average thickness of the Eagle Ford shale is about 475 feet. The more active part of the region is mainly in McMullen, Maverick, Dimmit, La Salle, Karnes, Live Oak, and Atascosa counties. The formation produces both natural gas and oil, but it is the oil-producing and gas condensate areas that are hottest right now.
Houston-based Apache Corp. and EOG Resources are two of the largest lease-holders in the Eagle Ford. Other major players include Petrohawk, Swift Energy, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Murphy Oil, Chesapeake, Cabot Oil & Gas, and Pioneer Natural Resources.
Record Eagle Ford permits issued in December, Chesapeake most active
Jan 3, 2011
The number of Eagle Ford shale permits issued at the end of 2010 jumped with a record 209 permits issued in December, noted Jefferies & Co. Inc. |
Best Energy Services to open Eagle Ford office in Carrizo Springs
Dec 23, 2010
Houston-based Best Energy Services Inc., a well service/workover provider in the Hugoton Basin, said Dec. 23 it will open an office on Jan. 1 in South Texas to serve operators in the Eagle Ford Shale play. |
Petrohawk sells Fayetteville Shale interests for $650M
Dec 23, 2010
Houston-based Petrohawk Energy Corp. said Dec. 23 it has completed the sale of its natural gas assets in the Fayetteville Shale, located primarily in Cleburne and Van Buren Counties, Arkansas, to XTO Energy Inc., a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, for $575 million. |
Koch to build 16-inch pipeline for Eagle Ford crude
Dec 16, 2010
Koch Pipeline Company LP will create the capacity to move an additional 120,000 barrels per day of Eagle Ford crude in late 2012. On Dec. 16, Koch received final shareholder approval to build a new pipeline into Karnes County, Texas. |
Regency Energy to expand midstream assets in Eagle Ford shale
Dec 14, 2010
Regency Energy Partners LP has announced a series of expansion projects along its rich gas gathering system in south Texas to meet increasing producer demand in the Eagle Ford Shale. |
Second Eagle Ford well outperforms first for Goodrich Petroleum
Dec 13, 2010
Houston-based Goodrich Petroleum recently announced results on its second Eagle Ford shale well, established a 2011 preliminary capital expenditure budget, and issued production guidance for 2011. |
Velocity Midstream begins Eagle Ford condensate gathering system construction
Dec 7, 2010
Velocity Midstream Partners LLC has begun construction on the initial 53 miles of its oil and condensate gathering system for Rosetta Resources Inc. and other producers in the liquids rich Eagle Ford Shale. |
American Standard adds Bakken, Three Forks acreage
Dec 2, 2010
American Standard Energy Corp. has agreed to purchase additional Bakken and Three Forks acreage including partial interest in 26 additional gross wells, of which 15 are currently producing, 10 completing and one drilling. |
Antero Resources closes Oklahoma midstream sale to Cardinal
Dec 1, 2010
Antero Resources has closed the previously announced sale of its midstream assets, located in the Woodford Shale area of the Arkoma Basin, to Cardinal Midstream LLC for $270 million.
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Marathon Oil buys into Eagle Ford Shale
Nov 29, 2010
Building on its strategy to target unconventional, liquids-rich resource plays, Marathon Oil Corp. has completed an agreement with Denali Oil & Gas for entry into the Eagle Ford Shale formation. |
Burleson Cooke opens San Antonio office
Nov 18, 2010
The energy law firm of Burleson Cooke has opened a new office in San Antonio that will focus on serving companies with interests in the Eagle Ford Shale play. |
PXP completes Eagle Ford acquisition
Nov 17, 2010
Plains Exploration & Production Co. (PXP) has closed its previously announced acquisition of interest in nearly 60,000 net acres in the oil and gas condensate window in the Eagle Ford shale play. |
CNOOC, Chesapeake close Eagle Ford shale deal
Nov 16, 2010
Chesapeake Energy Corp. and CNOOC Ltd. have closed on the project cooperation that gives CNOOC International Ltd. a 33.3% undivided interest in Chesapeake's 600,000 net oil and natural gas leasehold acres in the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas. |
Swift increases public offering, announces 2011 CAPEX plans
Nov 15, 2010
Houston-based oil and gas producer Swift Energy has increased the size of its previously announced public offering and announced its preliminary 2011 capital expenditure plans. |
eCORP International names Harris COO
Nov 12, 2010
eCORP International LLC has added Thomas G. Harris to the senior management team as COO and a member of the eCORP Board of Managers. |

The “natural gas revolution” is changing global energy dynamics, including the outlook for energy security in the United States and elsewhere. In his keynote speech to the annual 31st annual CERAWeek Executive Conference in Houston, Peter Voser, CEO of Royal Dutch Shell plc, outlines what the industry and policymakers must do to ensure society fully leverages the many benefits of natural gas. He calls for well-targeted and robustly enforced regulations to ensure tight and shale gas production meets the highest standards. He also urges the industry to do a better job of listening and responding to public concerns about the environmental and operational challenges associated with gas production.
Read the full speech by Peter Voser here.

The total value of US oil and gas mergers and acquisitions increased significantly in 2011 due to continued investment in US shale plays and related infrastructure, sustained interest from foreign buyers, and private equity entrants deploying capital in the energy industry, according to an analysis of energy M&A data by PwC US. A major trend in the energy sector driving the increase in deal value throughout the year was a shift towards more investments in oil and liquid plays as natural gas prices remained depressed amid hitting a 10-year low in 2011.
Read more here.
Can the shale gas r
evolution currently taking place in the US be repeated elsewhere? Although significant volumes of unconventional gas deposits are present in Poland, France, Germany, Hungary, Sweden, Turkey, and the UK, shale gas developments are running many years behind their counterparts in the US. Skeptics have pointed out that differences in geology, taxes, public acceptance, environmental regulations and other factors in Europe vs. the US make for a tougher environment in which to develop unconventional resources.
Read the article by Bart J. A. Willigers of Palantir Solutions Ltd. here.