Why the Most Valuable Land in Texas Is Soaring in Price

The Eagle Ford shale just got a whole lot more valuable. Shale drilling has been the most important trend in the U.S. energy sector over the last decade. New technology used to extract natural gas and oil from shale is singularly responsible for an explosion of U.S. natural gas reserves. But only recently have energy companies applied those tools to the biggest shale formation in Texas, the Eagle Ford. The Eagle Ford begins near the Mexican border and sweeps 400 miles northeast, almost to Houston. It's starting to boom like crazy. Early investors have already begun to reap their rewards. But the play is far from over... The giant Chinese oil company known as CNOOC just paid $1.1 billion for 30% of Chesapeake Energy's CHK Eagle Ford acreage. And it agreed to pony up another $1.1 billion to pay for all the drilling costs. That works out to about $12,000 per acre. Continue reading the article.