Most of the prominent shale producers are reporting increased production as they ramp up their rig counts. The top five producers in the Barnett Shale plan to hike their combined rig count 25% to 109 by year-end, reports analyst Carin Dehne Kiley of Calyon Securities (USA) Inc. At mid-year Devon Energy Corp. reported that, following its Chief Oil & Gas acquisition in June, it plans to run 30 rigs in the play by year-end (up from 25 this summer). Production net to Devon is expected to exit the year at about 710 million a dayâ€"and to reach 1 billion cubic feet (Bcf) a day by 2009. The Chief deal brought Devon more than 2,000 drilling locations. EOG Resources Inc.’s North American gas production rose 12% organically since year-end 2005. Its Barnett results are far surpassing expectations and it plans to ramp up its campaign from 15 rigs in June to 23 by year-end, with some eight pilot projects under way. First-half daily Barnett output reached 140 million cubic feet, way up from 36 million during first-half 2005. Quicksilver Resources Inc. reported net production in the Barnett of 45 million cubic feet per dayâ€"already double that of year-end 2005. Importantly, the company is expanding its footprint, as most others are doing, by testing 55-acre spacing, drilling in new counties, and using better frac techniques. For more on this, see the September issue of Oil and Gas Investor. For a subscription, call 713-260-6441.

Comments