hess ceo: to add 10th rig in bakken shale, see

ow Jones Newswire
Hess CEO: To Add 10th Rig In Bakken Shale, Seeing Higher Output

Dow Jones

By Ben Lefebvre

Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES


HOUSTON-(Dow Jones)- Hess Corp. (HES) said Wednesday that production increases at its U.S. shale gas fields will help it boost overall production in the near future.

Hess said it will ramp up production at the Bakken Shale, in North Dakota, adding an additional rig to the nine it already has there. The company said it expects production at that field to reach 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by the end of this year and eventually reach 80,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

The company will also start drilling in November at its Eagle Ford shale oil and gas field in Texas, Hess President of Worldwide Exploration Production Greg Hill told investors in an earnings call.

"We are building a position on 75,000 acres at Eagle Ford under contract. If we can get more acreage there, we'll do it," Hill said.

Production from those two U.S. fields, plus output from its share of the Valhall oilfield in Norway, will increase Hess' overall production by 3% in the next five years, Chief Executive John Hess told investors.

Hess said it will start test drilling in the 1 million-acre Paris Basin shale next year. The beginning of drilling in that basin had been previously scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2010.


Read more: Hess CEO: To Add 10th Rig In Bakken Shale, Seeing Higher Output - Investing - Dow Jones Newswire - SmartMoney.com http://www.smartmoney.com/news/ON/?story=ON-20101027-000494&#ixzz13cYrjpKa
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We should get a good price........strong demand for eagle Ford acreage.