re: Ann: Eagle Ford Shale Quarterly Update an... you can drill...

re: Ann: Eagle Ford Shale Quarterly Update an... you can drill as many wells as you like, but the rate at which you bring wells onto production is controlled by the stimulation rate, currently 19 wells per quarter. The rate of stimulation depends on how many frac crews you have.

If the existing wells are declining more quickly than expected, then a higher rate of stimulation is required to maintain plateau.

Its clear the wells are performing worse than expected. The rate they quote in Mar-12 quarterly page 6 (~ 120,462 boe or 3,800 boepd) is lower than what they were predicting for end 2011. And according to AUT, the rate in March was unaffected by the workover program, which had finished in February, and included an additonal 3rd frac crew.

my point is that the wells are declining more quickly than expected and the numbers of frac crews is likely to be inadequate to achieve the end of 2012 year rate that AUT is predicting.