SAN ANTONIO—E&P companies must deal with the new energy reality: low commodity prices linger, but an oversupply of oil and gas is offset by lower costs and better well designs. E&Ps just need to behave prudently and find new opportunities, speakers said at Hart Energy’s recent DUG Eagle Ford Conference & Exposition.

The Eagle Ford may be down, but it is not even close to being out. Early findings from a new study by the University of Texas’ Bureau of Economic Geology, unveiled at the conference, indicate the play holds 10 billion barrels (Bbbl) of recoverable oil and 34 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of recoverable gas at current prices.

The play will support the drilling of 80,000 more wells if today’s technology is used. And,about 1,000 drilled but uncompleted wells also await completion in the near term, the UT study found.

One undaunted serial entrepreneur who is jumping back in is Gary Evans, chairman and CEO of Energy Hunter Resources Inc. He formed the new Dallas-based company immediately after leaving Magnum Hunter Resources Corp. (NYSE: MHR) when it emerged from voluntary bankruptcy in May. The latter had 50 Eagle Ford wells producing.

Evans is not one to look back. “I’ve been told many times that low oil prices fix low oil prices, and I still believe that,” he told DUG Eagle Ford attendees. “I am very bullish on South Texas and also on natural gas.”

“The new energy reality is that we have to run our companies more efficiently than in the past. Our rig count probably will never be as great, given our new efficiency per rig. The new norm is going to be lower leverage … less than 2.5x [times] EBITDA, and there is plenty of capital around. I do believe the Eagle Ford has a bright future, as far as picking up some of that capital,” he said.

Energy Hunter just opened a divisional office in Houston to supplement its home base in Dallas. Following a private placement with friends and family, the company’s initial investment was about $1 million in some Eagle Ford leases in Karnes County, Texas. These were assigned probable reserves by Netherland, Sewell & Associates Inc. approaching $20 million in value, the new company said.

Targeting Eagle Ford and Permian assets, Energy Hunter has reunited many of the Magnum Hunter executive management team, including Kip Ferguson, Brian Burgher and Jason Wilson.

“I do think we are on the way to becoming mended. Cost-cutting is definitely lifting all boats,” Evans said as he detailed the industry’ woes, ranging from high debt to low rig counts to bankruptcies.

Evans said he feel this is a very good time to start a new company as companies place assets on the market and drilling costs have declined. Energy Hunter will focus on the Eagle Ford and Permian Basin.

“I am telling you right now I believe there are just as good opportunities in the Eagle Ford as in the Permian. You just have to realize what you can do in this price environment and what makes sense.”

He cited a Bloomberg dataset that indicates two Eagle Ford counties are profitable at $30/bbl: Dewitt and Karnes. Gonzales County’s breakeven cost was about $40/bbl.

Evans said Energy Hunter will be doing bite-sized property acquisitions using industry contacts and friends. “We’re staying away from the data rooms.”

The Karnes County acreage the company recently bought went for $2,500 an acre, “but the day I closed, I was offered $25,000 an acre for it. It was brought to us from a pumper in the field who told me about a lease that was coming due.”

There are eight rigs operating in Karnes County at the moment, the most of any county in the broader Eagle Ford swath through South Texas.

Evans and the new company’s management team are very familiar with the Eagle Ford. The former E&P company he founded in 2009, Magnum Hunter Resources, sold its Eagle Ford assets in 2013 for $401 million, generating an 80% internal rate of return. Prior to that, the same team grew a predecessor company that they sold in 2005 for $2.2 billion. They hope to repeat those successes again. On September 16, Energy Hunter Resources filed with the SEC to raise up to $50 million in a Regulation A+ offering before year end.

Leslie Haines can be reached at lhaines@hartenergy.com.