Some strong guidance from Eric below. Key points - plans to add...

Some strong guidance from Eric below. Key points
- plans to add 10,000 - 20,000 acres in the Eagleford in the next 12 months
- expects to achieve daily production of 8,000-9,000 boepd this month (much earlier than previously forecast)

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Sundance Energy’s Eagle Ford Shale Acreage May Almost Double
2014-09-09 23:52:50.96 GMT


By James Paton
Sept. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Sundance Energy Australia Ltd., an explorer focused on the Eagle Ford shale formation of Texas, expects its acreage in the region to almost double as competition for assets declines.
Sundance plans to add 10,000 to 20,000 net acres in the Eagle Ford within 12 months, boosting its holdings from about 20,000 acres, Managing Director Eric McCrady said in an interview yesterday in Denver. The company, whose shares trade in Sydney, is seeking to snap up undeveloped acreage mainly through leases or partnerships, he said.
“We are seeing good opportunities to acquire undrilled acreage that seem to be rationally priced,” he said. “We’re not seeing as much opportunity to buy producing assets as there seems to be a bit of a gap between our price expectations as a buyer and the sellers’ expectations.”
Sundance is expanding in the Eagle Ford as shale drilling boosts U.S. oil production to a 28-year high. Some U.S. drillers may need to sell assets to repay debt, which is increasing across the shale industry, potentially creating opportunities for companies such as Sundance, McCrady said.
“Over time, there has to be a delevering of the industry,” he said.
Sundance has risen 34 percent this year in Sydney, closing at A$1.335 on Sept. 9 and valuing the company at about A$733 million ($675 million). The company had $80 million of debt at the end of June, according to a statement in July.
The company expects to achieve a daily production rate of 8,000 to 9,000 barrels of oil equivalent this month, earlier than it expected, and to increase output next year, he said. Sundance in July forecast it would reach that output goal by the end of the year.