South Texas holds 'hidden reserves'

摘要

Operators below the rich-gas line are not crying over dry Eagle Ford shale gas. Instead, they are counting silver linings behind other opportunistic pay zones. Some 4,000 Eagle Ford shale aficionados gathered in San Antonio, Texas, in October 2011 for Hart Energy's Developing Unconventional Gas Eagle Ford conference to talk about one of the world's most prominent shale gas plays. But notably, three operators took the stage to talk about other hydrocarbon zones in South Texas - because the economics are better than the Eagle Ford. Better than the dry-gas window, at least, where these operators hold the majority of their interests south of the more-favored rich gas/condensate and oil zones of the Eagle Ford shale. With natural gas prices remaining depressed, producers have focused their attention and public hype on Eagle Ford zones with liquids, which deliver higher rates of return.