HOUSTON, Jan. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc. today provided an operations update. Since January 1st, 2009 the company has brought eleven new Barnett Shale horizontal natural gas wells on production. The combined daily production from these wells amounts to slightly over 31.5 MMcfe/day gross or 22 MMcfe/day net to Carrizo. President and CEO S. P. "Chip" Johnson, commented, "The initial production rates from these wells meet our expectations for core Barnett locations although right of way and permitting complications delayed them from coming on-stream in December as originally anticipated. Included in these new wells is our first 'stagger stacked' lateral well which was drilled on the Cain lease in southeast Tarrant County. This well tests the concept of placing two layers of horizontal wells in thicker parts of the shale. The well came on production and is performing as well as the other five wells on the lease, providing us encouraging early data to use in optimizing our future Barnett exploitation program. We currently have four rigs drilling in the core of the Barnett, three in southeast Tarrant County and one in Denton County."
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Carrizo's activity in the Marcellus Shale is shifting from lease acquisition to evaluation drilling. In addition to two wells drilled through the Marcellus in late 2008, seven wells are currently in the permitting stage. The company expects to initiate drilling on its acreage in March starting with a well in Clearfield, PA.
Fourth quarter 2008 average production for Carrizo was approximately 78 MMcfe/day. This rate is a new company record and represents a 20% increase over third quarter 2008 and a 28% increase over the same period in 2007. Carrizo currently has a backlog of 34 net wells drilled in the Barnett waiting on completion and connection to the gathering system, representing a collective initial production rate of 78 net MMcfe/day.
Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc. is a Houston-based energy company actively engaged in the exploration, development, exploitation, and production of oil and natural gas primarily in the Barnett Shale in North Texas and in proven onshore trends along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast regions. Carrizo controls significant prospective acreage blocks and utilizes advanced 3-D seismic techniques to identify potential oil and gas reserves and drilling opportunities. Carrizo also controls large acreage positions in other productive shale resource plays including the Fayetteville and Marcellus.
Statements in this news release that are not historical facts, including but not limited to those related to increases in production and new production, are forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations. Although Carrizo believes that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that these expectations will prove correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include market and other conditions, capital needs and uses, commodity price changes, effects of the global financial crisis on exploration activity, results of and dependence on exploratory drilling activities, operating risks, land issues, weather, and other risks described in Carrizo's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007 and its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contact: Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc. Richard Hunter, Vice President of Investor Relations Paul F. Boling, Chief Financial Officer (713) 328-1000
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