RRC PRODUCTION STATISTICS AND ALLOWABLES FOR AUGUST 2010

AUSTIN –– The Texas average rig count as of July 16 was 659, representing about 43 percent of all active land rigs in the United States. In the last 12 months, total Texas reported production was 347 million barrels of oil and 7.4 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 May 2010 is 30,685,258 barrels of crude oil and 579,704,949 Mcf (thousand cubic feet) of gas well gas.

The Commission derives final production numbers by multiplying the preliminary May 2010 production totals of 28,809,744 barrels of crude oil and 530,622,379 Mcf of gas well gas by a production adjustment factor of 1.0651 for crude oil and 1.0925 for gas well gas. (These production totals do not include casinghead gas or condensate.)

Texas natural gas storage reported to the Commission for June 2010 was 390,128,897 Mcf compared to 402,657,936 Mcf in June 2009. The July 2010 gas storage estimate is 395,595,546 Mcf.

The Texas Railroad Commission’s Oil and Gas Division set initial August 2010 natural gas production allowables for prorated fields in the state to meet market demand of 15,911,370 Mcf (thousand cubic feet). In setting the initial August 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 August 2010 is reported.