Gonzales County

Gonzales County Eagle Ford Shale Photos

Eagle Ford shale oil and gas drilling in Gonzales county remains strong into 2012.  Since the first of the year, (as of April 18,)  there have been approximately 140 new drilling permits issued  for horizontal Eagle Ford Shale wells in Gonzales county.  EOG Resources leads the way, with the most permits issued by the Texas Railroad Commission.  Oil and gas companies drilling  the Eagle Ford Shale in Gonzales county include  EOG Resources, Marathon Oil, Penn Virginia Oil and Gas, Hunt Oil Company, Lucas Energy Incorporated,  Rosetta Resources Operating Incorporated, Tidal Petroleum, Forrest oil,  and Southern Bay Operating.  The depth of the Eagle Ford Shale in Gonzales County ranges from around 4000 feet to over 12,000 feet.  The southern edge of the county sits in the  “volatile oil window.”  Some very productive wells  have been made south of  the city of Gonzales in the Sugarkane Eagle Ford play,  which is a combination of the Eagle Ford Shale and the Austin chalk.  Well such as EOG Resources’ Mitchell Unit #2H,  which was producing 3,090 barrels of oil and 2.9 million cubic feet of natural gas per day of  initial production,  are the reason that Gonzales County is a hotbed of drilling activity. Small communities such as Nixon, Smiley and Cheapside are starting to feel the effects of the oil boom, with RV parks opening up and increased traffic from oilfield vehicles.  Below is a map of the Eagle Ford Shale in Gonzales county showing the depth of the formation and Gonzales county’s location in the volatile oil and heavy oil part of the play.

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The  photo below shows a drilling rig just southwest of the city of Gonzales, drilling a new Eagle Ford Shale well. The main street in Nixon Texas is not normally  this quiet looking.  This photo was taken on Easter Sunday. Oil and gas drilling activity is hot and heavy just to the south of Nixon  along the Wilson, Karnes and DeWitt  county lines.  With some leases about to expire in Gonzales County, oil and gas companies are drilling day and night to hold acreage, as well as bring in prolific, high-volume liquids producing wells which help boost share prices and  fund further drilling activity.

(Click on any of the photos  to view at full size.)

Below is a photo of a centralized tank battery in Eagle Ford Shale southwest of Gonzales Texas.  The twenty-four large oil tanks in this photo give some indication of how productive some Eagle Ford Shale wells in Gonzales county are.

Below, across much of Gonzales county, near town such as Smiley and Nixon,  the poultry industry  continues to be a mainstay of the economy.  After seeing all of the orange surveyors tape flying from stakes, fence posts and trees  in the area,  you get the feeling that change is coming quickly to small farms such as the one seen below.

Please check back with our site in the near future for more photos of Eagle Ford Shale activity in Gonzales, DeWitt, Karnes, Live Oak, Wilson, Atascosa, McMullen, LaSalle and other counties.

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