Exploratory Well Costs

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2011

Notes To Financial Statements [Abstract]

Suspended Well Costs [Text Block]

8.      Exploratory Well Costs

EOG's net changes in capitalized exploratory well costs for the six-month period ended June 30, 2011 are presented below (in thousands):

			Six Months Ended
			June 30, 2011
Balance at December 31, 2010		$	99,801
	Additions Pending the Determination of Proved Reserves		21,923
	Reclassifications to Proved Properties		(28,294)
	Charged to Dry Hole Costs		(19,444)
	Foreign Currency Translations		1,245
Balance at June 30, 2011		$	75,231

The following table provides an aging of capitalized exploratory well costs at June 30, 2011 (in thousands, except well count):

		At
		June 30,
		2011
Capitalized exploratory well costs that have been capitalized for a period less than one year	$	10,945
Capitalized exploratory well costs that have been capitalized for a period greater than one year		64,286	(1)
Total	$	75,231
Number of exploratory wells that have been capitalized for a period greater than one year		4

(1) Consists of costs related to a project in the Sichuan Basin, Sichuan Province, China ($27 million), an outside operated, offshore Central North Sea project in the United Kingdom (U.K.) ($22 million), an East Irish Sea project in the U.K. ($9 million), and a shale project in British Columbia, Canada (B.C.) ($6 million).  The evaluation of the Sichuan Basin project is expected to be completed in early 2012.  In the Central North Sea project, the operator and partners are currently negotiating processing and transportation terms with export infrastructure owners.  The operator submitted a revised field development plan to the U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and anticipates receiving approval of this plan during the first quarter of 2012.  In the East Irish Sea project, EOG submitted its field development plan to the DECC during the first quarter of 2011 with regulatory approval expected by the end of 2011.  In addition, EOG is in the process of designing and constructing the infrastructure for the project in anticipation of final regulatory approval.  In the B.C. shale project, EOG drilled four additional wells during the first six months of 2011 to further evaluate the project.  The related well completion activities are expected to commence in 2013.