Oil bust changes pecking order of top drillers
The historic, ongoing oil crash is changing the pecking order of the top 10 drillers in the Texas oil patch.
The price of West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark for crude oil, remains below $30 a barrel — a price that’s causing a dramatic drop in drilling permits and notable changes to the rankings for the top 10 drillers in the state.
Houston oil company EOG Resources is poised to take back its status as the No. 1 driller in Texas from Exxon Mobil.
EOG has filed 175 drilling permits with the Railroad Commission so far this year compared to 105 filed by Exxon Mobil.
With 151 drilling permits, Midland oil company Diamondback Energy also has surpassed Exxon Mobil as did Irving oil company Pioneer Natural Resources with 144 filings.
Houston oil company Occidental Petroleum, which sometimes goes weeks without filing new drilling permits, fell from No. 3 to No. 6 with 96 permits so far this year.
Oklahoma-based Chesapeake Energy hasn’t filed any new drilling permits since April 15 but managed to stay in eighth place with 61 filings.
Permian Basin
Fort Worth oil company Double Eagle Development plans to drill seven horizontal wells on four leases in Midland County. The wells target the Spraberry field at total depths ranging from 9,000 to 9,500 feet.
Eagle Ford Shale
Houston exploration and production company Marathon Oil recently laid off 200 employees but plans to drill three horizontal wells on three leases in Karnes County.
The wells target the Eagleville field of the Eagle Ford geological layer down to a total depth of 23,000 feet.
Haynesville Shale
Dallas oil company Aethon Energy plans to drill four horizontal wells on its Hudson lease in San Augustine County. The natural gas wells target the Carthage field of the Haynesville geological layer down to a total depth of 14,000 feet.
Barnett Shale
There were no horizontal drilling permits for the Barnett Shale for a secondstraight week but Bridgeport oil company Kokomo Energy plans to drill a vertical well in Eastland County. The well targets several geological layers down to a vertical depth of 4,000 feet.
Conventionals
Corpus Christi Brine Services plans to drill six vertical wells on its Legacy Brine lease in Duval County. The six injection wells target the San Diego Southwest field of the Yegua geological layer down to a vertical depth of 6,600 feet.