Bill Barrett Corp., Denver, will resume its extended reach lateral (XRL) development program in the Denver-Julesburg basin during the third quarter.
The firm expects to spud as many as 12 gross XRL wells before yearend that will then be placed on initial production in first-quarter 2017. Bill Barrett’s capital expenditures for 2016 will now be at the high end of its previously disclosed guidance range of $75-100 million to account for the additional drilling activity.
“We believe that lower demonstrated well costs and operating expenses, combined with a narrowing DJ basin oil-price differential, will generate a competitive rate-of-return in the current commodity price environment,” commented Scot Woodall, Bill Barrett chief executive officer.
The firm in the DJ basin during the second quarter produced 14,176 boe/d, up 21% from its first-quarter average. The increase is attributed to the startup of production from a 16-well drilling and spacing unit, which included 15 XRL wells in Section 5-62-22 of northeast Wattenberg, which initiated production earlier than forecast.
