Gaines Climbs Back to 3rd in State Oil Production

Published October 29, 2012 3:19pm by Sentinel Staff

AUSTIN -- One month from falling to an unfamiliar fourth place ranking among Texas' top oil-producing counties, Gaines County saw itself climb back up one spot.

According to information from the Texas Railroad Commission on Monday afternoon, Gaines County ranked third in the state for August's preliminary production report.

According to the report, Gaines County oil wells produced 2.05 million barrels of crude oil in August, which was up from 1.94 million barrels produced in July.

Karnes County, located between San Antonio and Corpus Christi on the Eagle Ford Shale hotbed, again led the state's oil producing counties with 2.89 million barrels of oil for the month.

Andrews County, according to the report, ranked second in the report, with 2.51 million barrels of produced crude oil in the month of August.

Rounding out the state's top ten oil producing counties were: Ector, Yoakum, LaSalle, Midland, Gonzales, Upton and Martin counties.

Texas preliminary August 2012 crude oil production averaged 1,342,076 barrels daily, up from the 983,864 barrels daily average of August 2011.

The preliminary Texas crude oil production figure for August 2012 is 41,604,353 barrels, up from 30,499,770 barrels reported during August 2011.

The Commission’s estimated final production for August 2012 was quoted at being 50,378,711 barrels of crude oil and 537,924,295 Mcf (thousand cubic feet) of gas well gas.

The Texas average rig count as of October 2012, was 867, representing about 49 percent of all active land rigs in the United States.  In the last 12 months, total Texas reported production was 486 million barrels of oil and 7.2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.  

The Commission derives final production numbers by multiplying the preliminary August 2012 production totals of 41,604,353 barrels of crude oil and 455,520,616 Mcf of gas well gas by a production adjustment factor of 1.2109 for crude oil and 1.1809 for gas well gas. (These production totals do not include casinghead gas or condensate.)

Texas oil and gas wells produced 549,882,336 Mcf (thousand cubic feet) of gas based upon preliminary production figures for August 2012 up from the August 2011 preliminary gas production total of 543,112,563 Mcf. Texas preliminary August total gas production averaged 17,738,140 Mcf (thousand cubic feet) a day.

Texas production in August 2012 came from 148,967 oil wells and 94,338 gas wells.

Texas natural gas storage reported to the Commission for September 2012 was 424,283,340 Mcf compared to 385,102,434 Mcf in September 2011.  The October 2012 gas storage estimate is 443,380,900 Mcf.

The Texas Railroad Commission’s Oil and Gas Division set initial November 2012 natural gas production allowables for prorated fields in the state to meet market demand of 10,297,001 Mcf (thousand cubic feet).  In setting the initial November 2012 allowables, the Commission used historical production figures from previous months, producers’ demand forecasts for the coming month, and adjusted the figures based on well capability. 

These initial allowables will be adjusted after actual production for November 2012 is reported.

In September 2012, operators reported 657 oil, 178 gas, 34 injection and two other completions compared to 323 oil, 260 gas, 19 injection and one other completion in September 2011.

Total well completions for 2012 year to date are 10,836 up from 5,944 recorded during the same period in 2011.

Operators reported 687 holes plugged and zero dry holes in September 2012 compared to 668 holes plugged and zero dry holes in September 2011.

The Commission issued a total of 1,640 original drilling permits in September 2012 compared to 1,984 in September 2011.  The September total included 1,441 permits to drill new oil and gas wells, 44 to re-enter existing well bores, and 155 for re-completions.  Permits issued in September 2012 included 507 oil, 120 gas, 953 oil and gas, 52 injection, two service and six other permits.

TRC's August Top 10 Oil 

Producing Counties

CountyCrude Oil (BBLS)

1. Karnes2,898,709

2. Andrews2,515,111

3. Gaines2,054,168

4. Ector1,856,991

5. Yoakum1,761,818

6. LaSalle1,750,874

7. Midland1,730,888

8. Gonzales1,678,375

9. Upton1,660,429

10. Martin1,637,247

**Source -- Texas Railroad Commission