The Eagle Ford Shale

Over the past few years the Oil Field has really taken off in Texas. This recent Oil Boom
is all due to the discovery of the Eagle Ford Shale. The Eagle Ford Shale is possible the
largest economic development in the state of Texas and ranks as the largest oil and gas
development in the world based on capital investment. (Eggleston, 2014)
The Eagle Ford Shale has created hundreds of thousands of jobs and has generated
billions of dollars for the South Texas Economy. (Eggleston, 2014)
Along with all the great things the Eagle Ford Shale has brought to South Texas, it also
raises some concerns on safety. Some people fear that the extensive drilling is damaging
the earth and its environment. (Gilderman 2014) Oil Companies are always working on
ways to generate the most resources while preserving the environment. (Eggleston, 2014)
The Eagle Ford Shale is a South Texas geological formation with a large amount of oil
and natural gas. It’s about 50 miles wide, 400 miles long, and on average 250 feet thick
and buried between 4,000 and 12,000 feet below the surface of the Earth. (Munir 2015) It
spreads across the Mexican Border and all the way into East Texas. (Munir 2015) The
Eagle Ford shale contains roughly 70% of carbonate shale. The high percentage of
carbonate makes it more brittle and “frackable” which makes it ideal of drilling and
fracking. (Munir 2015) The Eagle Ford Shale is know to be Cretaceous in age, a
geological period and system from CIRCA 145 to 66 million years ago, resting between
the Austin Chalk and the Buda Lime. It is the source rock for the Austin Chalk and the
giant East Texas Field. (RRC, 2016)
In 2008 Greeg Robertson, an independent Geologist from Corpus Christi, discovered a
sample in the Warehouse of The University of Texas Research’s Campus. When
Robertson found this sample he immediately sent it off for analysis. When the results
came back he knew that he had stumbled across something that would change the Oil
Industry. (Rkingco, 2013) Robertson quickly teamed up with a Geoscientist from
Petrohawk to develop a shell play in South Texas. (Rkingco, 2013) It didn’t take long for
them to get the approval to start drilling in the Eagle Ford Shell. (Rkingco, 2013) In 2008
Petrohawk drilled an Eagle Ford well in La Salle County that had an initial flow rate of
7.6 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. (King, 2013) This well opened the door to
one of the greatest oil formations of our time. Pertrohawk discovered that they could use
hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling to produce gas from the Eagle Ford Shale.
(King, 2013) Similar drilling techniques were used by Mitchell Energy to develop the
Barnett Shell in the Fort Worth basin. (King, 2013)
There are roughly 30 counties that are currently being mined for oil & gas in the Eagle
Ford Shale. There are over 200 active operators in these 30 counties. Statistics show that
it takes approximately half a month to drill a well that it is around 2,430 meters long.
(Aleklett, 2013) Over 1000 wells are drilled ever quarter and this number grows ever
year. (Aleklett, 2013) It is expect that the Eagle Ford Shell will continue creating jobs in
South Texas all the way through 2021. As of 2014 the Eagle Ford Shale Supports over
120,000 jobs. (Aleklett, 2013) The Eagle Ford had more than a $60 billion dollar impact
on the local South Texas economy in 2012. (Eggleston, 2014)
The Eagle Ford Shale also raises some concerns for the Earth and its Environment. It is
said that in 2009 Drillers burned and wasted billions of cubic feet of natural gas.
(Tedesco, 2014) San Antonio Express News says that due to the pipeline shortage in
South Texas, companies bleed off the gas into flares that release air pollutants and
greenhouse gases in amounts that collectively rival the output of a half-dozen oil
refineries. (Tedesco, 2016)
After an Investigation the Weather Chanel reveled all the dangers that come with
releasing chemicals into the air during all phases of oil and gas development. This has
raised the awareness of many Oil and Gas companies who are working hard on
developing safer and better ways to produce Oil and Gas. (Gilderman, 2014)
Works Cited

• Kirk Eggleston, Eagle Ford Shale, Sep. 14, 2014,

http://eaglefordshale.com/news/page/3/ (accessed 10/26/2014)

• Huma Munir, Dylan Baddour, Stateimpact: What is the Eagle Ford

Shale. Jul. 10, 2015 https://stateimpact.npr.org/texas/tag/eagle-ford-shale/
(accessed 4/1/2016)

• Rail Road Commission of Texas: Eagle Ford Shale Information

Aug. 1, 2016, http://www.rrc.state.tx.us/oil-gas/major-oil-gas-formations/eagle-
ford-shale/ (accessed 4/1/2016)

• Hobart King Geology.com: Eagle Ford Shale,

http://geology.com/articles/eagle-ford/ (accessed 4/1/2016)

• Kjell Aleklett, Eagle Ford Shale – a snapshot of today’s activity,

Aug. 20, 2013 http://www.peakoil.net/eagle-ford-shale-a-snapshot-of-today-s-
activity (accessed 4/1/2016)

• John Tedesco, Jennifer Hiller San Antonio Express News: Flares in

Eagle Ford Shale wasting natural gas,
http://www.expressnews.com/business/eagleford/item/Up-in-Flames-Day-1-
Flares-in-Eagle-Ford-Shale-32626.php (accessed 4/1/2016)

• Gregory Gilderman, Weather: Fracking the Eagle Ford Shale: Big

Oil and Bad Air on the Texas Prairie, Feb. 20, 2014
http://www.weather.com/news/science/environment/fracking-eagle-ford-shale-
big-oil-and-bad-air-texas-prairie-20140220 (accessed 4/1/2016)

• Rkingco, Eagle Ford Shale Discovery, May 22, 2013

http://www.rkingco.com/industry/eagle-ford-shale-discovery/ (accessed 4/1/2016)