Abraxas Petroleum Raises '14 Capex, Deepens Eagle Ford Focus - Analyst Blog

Abraxas Petroleum Corp. AXAS – upstream energy firm – declared that it will invest roughly $190.0 million capital during 2014, higher than the company's previous expectation of $160.0 million.

Abraxas Petroleum revealed that it will allocate a considerable amount of the projected capital toward drilling operations in the Eagle Ford shale. The Eagle Ford program includes drilling of two remaining wells in the Cave region in McMullen County, an extra well in the Dilworth East area of McMullen County and three more wells in the Jourdanton region of Atascosa County. Abraxas Petroleum will also invest significant capital in acquiring more acres in the Eagle Ford shale.  

Apart from increasing the budget, the company also updated the 2014 production guidance.  Total output is now expected between 5,800.0−6,000.0 barrels of oil equivalent per day (Boe/d), higher than 5,500.0−5,700.0 Boe/d projected previously.

In a separate press release, Abraxas Petroleum declared that in order to increase its liquidity for supporting drilling operations in the Eagle Ford, it has started offering 10.0 million shares to public. The offering's net proceeds will also be utilized for normal corporate activities.

San Antonio, TX-based Abraxas Petroleum is primarily involved in the exploration and production activities of oil and gas resources in the U.S and Canada. The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), which implies that it is expected to perform in line with the broader U.S. equity market over the next one to three months.

Meanwhile, one can also look at better-ranked players in the same industry like Athlon Energy Inc. ATHL, Encana Corp. ECA and Ultra Petroleum Corp. UPL. All the stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).