Papa sent out orders to lease as much land as possible, but also as quietly as possible. By the time they were done, EOG’s land men had acquired half a million acres at $400 an acre. EOG thought it had acquired almost a billion barrels of oil. But as it began to drill, it found that it had greatly underestimated the reserves. Papa broke the news at an investment conference in 2010. “We believe horizontal oil from unconventional rock will be a North American industry game changer,” he said. Once it became apparent what EOG had done, other companies rushed into the Eagle Ford. The land price
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