Goodrich Petroleum Corp., Houston, earlier this month scheduled preliminary 2014 capital spending of $375 million compared with a revised $255 million in 2013, with most of the increase dedicated to an accelerated drilling program in the Tuscaloosa marine shale (TMS) play along the Louisiana-Mississippi state line.
Goodrich revised its previous 2013 capital budget upward to $255 million from $230 million, attributing the hike to the addition of a second rig in the TMS horizontal drilling play and leasehold extension payments in the year’s last quarter. The company acquired additional TMS interests in mid-2013 (OGJ Online, July 23, 2013).
TMS outlays would climb to $300 million in 2014 from $75 million this year, including an increase to five horizontal rigs running by the end of 2014 versus two at present. The $300 million would go for drilling and completions and facilities.
The 2014 slate also has Goodrich spending $30 million on drilling and completion in the South Texas Eagle Ford, down from an estimated $100 million this year, and $30 million, down from $35 million, in the Shelby trough/Angelina River Trend of East Texas, where the objectives are in the Haynesville and Bossier formations.
A further $15 million next year, down from $45 million this year, is to go for leasehold acquisitions and extensions and general corporate purposes, including working capital.