Nov 29, 2010

DALLAS, Nov 29, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

The Board of Directors of EXCO Resources, Inc. (NYSE: XCO) ("EXCO") has approved a capital budget of $976.2 million for 2011 of which $768.9 million is allocated to development and completion activities. This capital program maintains our current level of activity reflecting our 2010 acquisitions in the Shelby Trough and expansion of our development and exploration activities in Appalachia. The resulting production growth is expected to be in excess of 40% as compared to our 2010
production levels. The capital budget, which is net of an estimated $125.0 million carry by BG Group plc (LSE: BG.L) ("BG Group") for certain drilling and completion spending in our Appalachian joint
venture area, is allocated among our different budget categories as follows:

In addition, we expect to receive approximately $73.0 million from BG Group upon election to participate in certain leasing activities and acquisitions closed prior to 2011.

We currently have 25 operated drilling rigs across our portfolio. Of our expected 2011 average rig count of 27, 14 rigs are on short term contracts which enable us to adjust our drilling program if commodity prices decline below those required to generate appropriate rates of return. Details of our plans within the various divisions are presented below:

We plan to spend a total of $757.0 million net to EXCO within our East Texas/North Louisiana JV with BG Group, of which $683.0 million will be spent for drilling and completion costs, $29.8 million for lease acquisitions, $41.8 million for operations projects, and $2.4 million for seismic data acquisition.

We are primarily drilling Haynesville shale targets, and we plan to have 22 operated drilling rigs within this JV area throughout the year. These rigs should allow us to drill and complete 163 gross (58.7 net) operated wells targeting the Haynesville shale. In addition, we plan to participate in 70 gross (7.0 net) wells operated by others. Of our 22 operated drilling rigs, 15 will drill in our Holly area in DeSoto Parish and southern Caddo Parish, Louisiana. Virtually all of our drilling in this area will be full development on 80 acre spacing utilizing multi-well pads. Seven rigs will drill in our Shelby Trough area which includes Nacogdoches, San Augustine and Shelby Counties, Texas. Drilling in this area will be focused on holding leases and delineating our acreage. In particular, we will be focusing some of our efforts in an area which has yielded initial production rates in excess of 30 Mmcf per day. Our 2011 plans are expected to fulfill all of our lease obligations. In addition, we will also be making investments in operating facilities, roads and water handling projects.

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