Photos: Wildcatter’s quest takes him to Eagle Ford Shale’s edge

The wildcatter's risky business

As oil’s largest corporation have rushed into South Texas to pump millions of barrels out of the Eagle Ford Shale, wildcatter Harvey Howell has been drilling at the region’s edges hoping to strike it big. Howell, a San Antonio geologist, hunts hydrocarbons in places no one else has found them yet or in depleted fields where others think oil is already gone.

Coming off of a recent dry hole in Frio County, Howell’s latest venture has taken him to David Holdsworth’s Tortuga Ranch in Zavala County, a land hobbled by drought, but believed to be holding riches thousands of feet below ground. The photos above are the latest in the San Antonio Express-News’ ongoing coverage of Howell’s exploits. You can read reporter Jennifer Hiller’s previous stories about Howell on FuelFix here:

Wildcatter tries to turn frustrations into black gold (April 21)

Wildcatter bets big on Eagle Ford’s fringe (Feb. 10)

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