EOG Resources has a Nabors Industries rig drilling a wildcat Pearsall well in Burns Ranch’s Indio Tanks Field in southern Frio County, Texas, in a half-county stepout from its Eagle Ford Shale development east of there.
EOG received the permit on May 31 and Nabors rig #1205 spud the two-section wildcat on June 25, according to Texas Railroad Commission (RRC) files and J.P. Morgan Securities analyst Arun Jayaram.
The well, Burns Ranch #1H, about six miles east of Dilley, Texas, has a permitted depth of up to 12,000 ft. The Early Cretaceous system’s Pearsall underlies the Late Cretaceous’ Eagle Ford.
EOG’s lease has Pearsall rights where Texas American Resources, the leading operator in the area, doesn’t, said Troy Gieselman, Texas American’s senior vice president, land.
Texas American has 9,000 acres with Pearsall rights adjacent to the EOG leasehold. “So we’re hoping they make a great well,” Gieselman told Hart Energy.
Overlying the EOG leasehold, Texas American has rights to the base of the Buda Formation immediately under the Eagle Ford.
EOG’s next-nearest rig drilling in South Texas is about 30 miles east of the Burns Ranch #1H wildcat, according to J.P. Morgan, citing Enverus data. Its next-nearest permit is about 20 miles east.
While the EOG wellhead is in Frio County, the lateral’s terminus is in La Salle County, Texas, according to RRC files.
EOG did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
Alongside it is a Texas American horizontal, Burns Ranch T #132H, that is landed in the Briscoe Ranch-Eagle Ford Field at some 7,300 ft. It travels opposite of the EOG well, kicking off in La Salle and coming to a toe in Frio.
Texas American brought that two-section well online in December of 2018. It’s made 818,467 bbl of oil through April, the most recent month for which production data was available from the RRC.
Another nearby Texas American well, the 1.5-section Burns Ranch #180H, is producing from the Eagleville (Eagle Ford-1) Field at 7,900 ft. Brought online by Carrizo Oil & Gas in October of 2016 and bought by Texas American from Callon Petroleum in November of 2021, it has produced 1.7 MMbbl of oil through April.
J.P. Morgan’s Jayaram described the Pearsall wildcat as “intriguing.”
EOG ‘stealth play’
EOG has acknowledged in public comments it has a “stealth play” underway but has not identified it yet. Industry members have suggested it is referring to its wildcatting in southern Dawson County in the northern Midland Basin.
First Reserve Corp.-backed Texas American is the primary operator in the Frio-La Salle area. The 34-year-old company, led by David Honeycutt, president and CEO, sold its first iteration of Texas American, which produced in Frio and Atascosa counties, to Venado Oil & Gas in 2018.
Jayaram reported in a research report earlier this month, “We have not observed a lot of activity in Frio County by the industry over the past two years, with Enverus data indicating only 67 horizontal completions by all operators in the county since 2022.”
Only six permits have been issued for wells in Frio County this year, according to RRC data. Operators, in addition to EOG pulling a permit in the county recently, are Blackbrush Oil & Gas and Crescent Energy (operating as Javelin Energy Partners).
Meanwhile, operators have taken 150 permits so far this year for wells in La Salle County, including by Crescent Energy (operating as El Paso E&P), Repsol Oil & Gas USA and Lewis Energy Group.
Recommended Reading
Report: Leak Detection and Repair Work Growing Globally
2025-01-20 - Natural gas trends are boosting the companies that monitor and repair leaks, a consulting firm said in a report.
Oklo Signs MOU with RPower for Phased Power to Data Centers
2025-01-20 - Oklo and power generation company RPower will work together to provide a phased natural gas-to-emissions free approach to power data centers
US Drillers Cut Oil, Gas Rigs to Lowest Since December 2021, Baker Hughes Says
2025-01-17 - The oil and gas rig count fell by four to 580 in the week to Jan. 17.
Talos Energy’s Katmai West #2 Well Hits Oil, Gas Pay in GoM
2025-01-15 - Combined with the Katmai West #1 well, the Katmai West #2 well has nearly doubled the Katamai West Field’s proved EUR to approximately 50 MMboe gross, Talos Energy said.
Formentera Joins EOG in Wildcatting South Texas’ Oily Pearsall Pay
2025-01-15 - Known in the past as a “heartbreak shale,” Formentera Partners is counting on bigger completions and longer laterals to crack the Pearsall code, Managing Partner Bryan Sheffield said. EOG Resources is also exploring the shale.
Comments
Add new comment
This conversation is moderated according to Hart Energy community rules. Please read the rules before joining the discussion. If you’re experiencing any technical problems, please contact our customer care team.