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Exploration & Development — Quick Takes
Chevron drilling its first Duvernay well in Alberta
Chevron Corp. started drilling its first well in Alberta's Duvernay formation during the third quarter, Chevron Chief Financial Officer Pat Yarrington told analysts during an earnings conference call on Oct. 28.
The Duvernay well spudded during the third quarter, Yarrington said. Earlier this year, Chevron said it accumulated 200,000 acres in the play at what it called a reasonable entry price (OGJ Online, Feb. 10, 2011).
The Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board is evaluating the Devonian Duvernay among various shale formations targeted in a 2-year, $2 million resource assessment. The Alberta government has reduced royalty rates for shale gas wells.
In response to questions from analysts, Yarrington said Chevron has "continued to add significantly in unconventional properties" over the last 18 months.
In other shale-related news, Chevron Downstream & Chemical Vice-Pres. Mike Wirth said the chemical division is contemplating building an ethane cracker on the US Gulf Coast that would utilize feedstock from the development of shale gas.
"We'll keep you advised as this project progresses," Wirth said of an ongoing feasibility study on whether to build an ethane cracker. He did not provide any additional details.
Utica shale well tests 9.2 MMcfd
Rex Energy Corp., State College, Pa., said its initial horizontal Utica shale well stabilized at 9.2 MMcfd of dry natural gas and should begin flowing to sales in January 2012.
The Cheeseman-1H, north of Pittsburgh in Muddy Creek township of Butler County, Pa., had 12 frac stimulation stages in a 3,551-ft lateral.
Encouraged by the results, Rex Energy will drill and complete more Utica shale wells in Butler County in 2012.
Meanwhile, Rex Energy has closed on its 11,000-acre position known as the Warrior prospect in Carroll County, Ohio, which is prospective for the liquids portion of the Utica shale. The company continues to lease and targets 15,000 committed acres by the end of 2011.
Rex Energy recently secured 15 MMcfd of firm capacity at Dominion's Natrium processing facility set to be commissioned in December 2012. Until commissioning, Rex will have the ability to receive interruptible service for natural gas liquids uplift through processing at Dominion's Hastings extraction/fractionation plant.
North Slope shale oil, gas potential emerging
Spare capacity in the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System could provide an outlet for the development of oil in shale formations on Alaska's North Slope (OGJ Online, May 4, 2011).
Great Bear Petroleum LLC, Anchorage, holds 500,000 acres of leases on state lands, the maximum allowed by law, acquired in 2010 and has filed an exploration plan that outlines the drilling of as many as four exploratory wells.
Wider interest in the shales could become evident at a state lease sale planned for Dec. 7 with 15 million acres on offer on the central North Slope. Alaska Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Dan Sullivan has appointed a task force to "identify potential impacts and propose plausible solutions." The Division of Oil and Gas will lead the task force with Greg Hobbs as project manager.
Great Bear has its eye on the Triassic Shublik, Jurassic Kingak, and shallower Cretaceous shales south of giant Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk River oil fields. Initial studies indicate that the shales sourced the oil in the North Slope's conventional fields.
If wells drilled this winter show promise, a pilot production project could be in operation as early as the 2012-13 winter. That would involve a small oil processing facility and the trucking of oil to Pump Station 1. Later commercial scale pad developments would also pipe natural gas to North Slope processing plants.
Ed Duncan, president and chief operating officer of Great Bear, is a 30-year North Slope veteran.
Duncan was part of a team that mapped, leased, and named the Kuvlum prospect in Camden Bay, led technical evaluation of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, planned and managed wellsite operations for Sohio Petroleum on the Kaktovik-1 well in ANWR, mapped and leased Point McIntyre field leases in 1985, and conducted regional source rock sampling and mapping across the Brooks Range outcrop belt. Later he was an exploration consultant to Unocal Corp.
Petrom connects Romania gas-condensate find
Romania's Petrom is commencing early production from a discovery well that it considers the country's top producer and the most important gas discovery in 6 years.
Petrom said the 4539 well in Totea deep field near Oltenia is making 15.2 MMcfd of gas and 423 b/d of condensate, or about 3% of the company's daily gas production. Two appraisal wells are planned.
Drilled to 3,600 m earlier this year on a 3D seismic prospect, the well has been placed on production through temporary facilities after 100 days. The company is still working at the field development plan and permanent facilities construction. Test production is to last 6-12 months.
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