Eagle Ford Shale

Information & Statistics

What is the Eagle Ford Shale?

The Eagle Ford Shale is a hydrocarbon-producing geological formation of significant importance due to its capability of producing both natural gas and also more oil than other traditional shale plays. The shale play trends across Texas from the Mexican border into East Texas, roughly 50 miles wide and 400 miles long with an average thickness of 250 feet within Railroad Commission of Texas Districts 1 -6. It contains a much higher carbonate shale percentage, upwards to 70% in south Texas, and becomes shallower and the shale content increases as it moves to the northwest. The high percentage of carbonate makes it more brittle and therefore more conducive to hydraulic fracturing. It is Cretaceous in age resting between the Austin Chalk and the Buda Lime at a depth between 4,000 and 12,000 feet. It is the source rock for the Austin Chalk and the giant East Texas Field. The shale is named for the town of Eagle Ford, Texas, approximately 6 miles west of Dallas, Texas, where it can be seen on the surface as clay soil. An outcrop of the Eagle Ford Shale can be seen in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

Disclaimer: This data is a snapshot in time displaying production data from the RRC’s Production Data Query System (PDQ) based on the extract date.