EOG, SM, Magnolia Ramp Up Austin Chalk Development for NatGas Growth
As Tier 1 Eagle Ford inventory declines, EOG, SM and Magnolia are accelerating development in the overlying Austin Chalk to sustain South Texas output.
Natural gas production from the Eagle Ford region is expected to grow from 6.8 Bcf/d in 2024 to 7 Bcf/d in 2026, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
South Texas producers see expanding LNG export demand looming on the horizon and are building up gassy portfolios on the Gulf Coast.
The Eagle Ford basin is still synonymous with the Eagle Ford Shale bench, which boomed with horizontal development in the late 2000s.
But it’s the Austin Chalk bench, overlying the deeper Eagle Ford, that’s driving the basin’s growth today.
Since 2020, Austin Chalk natural gas production has nearly tripled to 1.8 Bcf/d, per EIA data. Austin Chalk oil production has grown by 26%, or 26,000 bbl/d.
Eagle Ford gas still makes up 73% (5.5 Bcf/d) of the region’s natural gas supply.
EOG Resources continues to test and delineate the Austin Chalk in its South Texas Eagle Ford program.
The company’s natural-gas focused Dorado play in Webb County, Texas, spans around 160,000 net acres, EOG said in investor filings. EOG completed 21 net Dorado gas wells last year and plans to complete 25 more in 2025.
RRC data show that a considerable amount of EOG’s Dorado gas comes from the Austin Chalk.
Of the roughly 475 MMcf/d (gross) EOG produced in Webb County in 2024, nearly 74%—350 MMcf/d—came from Austin Chalk wells.
Most of the remaining 125 MMcf/d came from the Eagle Ford Shale.
EOG owns 160,000 net acres in the South Texas Dorado gas play, which centers around Austin Chalk development. (Source: EOG)
24-hour IPs for EOG’s recent Dorado Austin Chalk wells have ranged between 20 MMcf/d to 24 MMcf/d, per RRC figures.
EOG has global visions for its Austin Chalk gas. The company has signed gas sales contracts linked to Brent, JKM and Henry Hub prices to diversify revenue for its Dorado gas.
EOG has also started service on a 1-Bcf/d gas pipeline, Verde, which connects the Dorado field with the Agua Dulce gas trading hub.
Outside of Dorado, EOG has landed a handful of Austin Chalk laterals in the Karnes Trough, RRC data shows.
Private, San Antonio-based E&P Lewis Energy Group, founded by industry veteran Rod Lewis, is another top South Texas gas producer.
Lewis Energy began targeting the Olmos and Escondido tight gas formations before the Eagle Ford Shale took off in 2008. But Lewis started development of the Austin Chalk in 2019.
Lewis’ gross operated Eagle Ford gas production averaged 573 MMcf/d in 2024; Austin Chalk production averaged 90 MMcf/d.
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