RRC PRODUCTION STATISTICS AND ALLOWABLES FOR APRIL 2010

AUSTIN –– The Texas average rig count as of March 12 was 585, representing about 44 percent of all active land rigs in the United States. In the last 12 months, total Texas reported production was 344 million barrels of oil and 7.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Texas natural gas production represents approximately 29 percent of total U.S. natural gas demand.

The Commission’s estimated final production for January 2010 is 29,367,280 barrels of crude oil and 598,806,421 Mcf (thousand cubic feet) of gas well gas.

The Commission derives final production numbers by multiplying the preliminary January 2010 production totals of 27,915,665 barrels of crude oil and 517,774,683 Mcf of gas well gas by a production adjustment factor of 1.0520 for crude oil and 1.1565 for gas well gas. (These production totals do not include casinghead gas or condensate.)

Texas natural gas storage reported to the Commission for February 2010 was 265,479,877 Mcf compared to 299,667,707 Mcf in February 2009. The March 2010 gas storage estimate is 254,683,285 Mcf.

The Texas Railroad Commission’s Oil and Gas Division set initial April 2010 natural gas production allowables for prorated fields in the state to meet market demand of 14,229,161 Mcf (thousand cubic feet). In setting the initial April 2010 allowables, the Commission used historical production figures from previous months, producers’ demand forecasts for the coming month, and adjusted the figures based on well capability. These initial allowables will be adjusted after actual production for April 2010 is reported.