The Eagle Ford Shale is the largest single oil and gas development in the world based on capital expenditures. (Size matters, regardless of what the Internet says.) Yesterday, experts at Bisnow’s Impact of Eagle Ford Shale Summit delved into its effect on South Texas and San Antonio.
South Texas Energy & Economic Roundtable prez Omar Garcia says the Eagle Ford Shale is 400 miles long and 50 miles wide (isn't that bigger than Rhode Island?) and pushing northeastward. In 2012, its economic impact was over $61B—more than double 2011—and it supported 117,000 full-time jobs.
Halliburton southeast area VP Paul Sheppard says his firm opened its San Antonio division a year ago and now has 1,500 employees here (with 2,300 total serving the Eagle Ford). He says the Eagle Ford Shale is very large and has a very high rate of return compared to other plays, which puts it high on operators’ lists. He says rig count has held stable there, but that shouldn’t alarm you; companies are still drilling wells, and drilling them remarkably quickly. (It now takes as little as seven days; early in the play it took 30.)
FMC Technologies Eagle Ford and South Texas specialist Dale Suitor (pictured here with Brooks City Base’s Karen Dickson) says thousands of oil and gas employees go down to work in the Eagle Ford every week and leave every weekend. (And you thought you had a bear of a commute.) They’d love to stay and move their families down, so he urges developers to build housing and amenities. He strongly believes the play will continue to develop and prosper for many years. Stay tuned for our next issue, which will focus on our panelists who've answered Dale's call for development and the struggles they're facing.
Many thanks to our moderator, Bury principal Larry Heimer (whom we snapped with fellow panelist Turner Busby Development partner Walt Busby). Larry serves as the city engineer in Floresville and says it's experiencing significant growth from its proximity to the Eagle Ford. Bury is updating its wastewater collection system mapping, preparing collection system hydraulic models, and engineering studies for a wastewater treatment plant expansion that'll allow Floresville to meet those growth demands. Larry's team is also busy handling survey and engineering services for four hotels in the Eagle Ford area, including Kenedy, Pleasanton, Cotulla, and Cuero.
We snapped our sponsor Mission Rail Park’s Terry Warth, Veronica Elliott, and John Vossler. Terry tells us the park is fully operational 24/7 and has a very active railyard. Twin Eagle Frack Resources is under construction on 40 acres it bought, and LO Transport has a site in the park. The team is saving the NW corner (which is in Bexar County—the rest is in Wilson County) for manufacturers who need major power. (CPS will bring in the infrastructure.) Terry says the location is particularly great because of the stable workforce nearby.
And here are our sponsor Éilan’s Deseree Saenz and Carmen Miranda. They tell us the property is stabilized now with over 97% occupancy. Its retail space is particularly growing now. George’s Keep (a bar by the owners of Green Lantern) just opened and has been popular, and Juicer Hero is celebrating its grand opening May 31.
