HORIZONTAL DRILLING TECHNOLOGY ADVANCES

March 4, 1991
Horizontal drilling technology is making further advances in the Texas Austin chalk play as such drilling continues to spread in many U.S. land areas. Union Pacific Resources Co., Fort Worth, has completed a Cretaceous Austin chalk oil well with the longest horizontal well bore in Texas and what at 1 1/6 miles is believed to be the world's longest medium radius horizontal displacement. UPRC's 1 Borchers Trust, 8 miles northeast of Gonzales in Gonzales County, flowed 1,162 b/d of oil and

Horizontal drilling technology is making further advances in the Texas Austin chalk play as such drilling continues to spread in many U.S. land areas.

Union Pacific Resources Co., Fort Worth, has completed a Cretaceous Austin chalk oil well with the longest horizontal well bore in Texas and what at 1 1/6 miles is believed to be the world's longest medium radius horizontal displacement.

UPRC's 1 Borchers Trust, 8 miles northeast of Gonzales in Gonzales County, flowed 1,162 b/d of oil and 382 Mcfd of gas through a 24/64 in. choke with 440 psi flowing tubing pressure.

Horizontal displacement is 6,142 ft, true vertical depth (TVD) 6,511 ft. Other horizontal oil completions have been reported early this year and late last year in formations in Oklahoma and the Williston basin's Mississippian-Devonian Bakken play.

RECORD MEDIUM RADIUS WELL

UPRC likely will drill more long horizontal wells in the Austin chalk trend, where it plans about 100 horizontal wells this year, said William Lancaster, manager of exploitation.

The 1 Borchers Trust is a development well in Peach Creek field, midway between Pearsall and Giddings fields.

The well, producing naturally from open hole, was drilled and completed problem free for about $1.2 million.

Casing was set to the top of Austin chalk, and no liner was run.

Ensco Technology Co. provided the medium radius horizontal drilling services.

Of the 6,142 ft of horizontal displacement, all but 400-500 ft is in a 20 ft target zone in the lower part of the chalk. Drilling stopped upon reaching a lease line, said Keith Edmonds, project geologist.

"The technology is growing by leaps and bounds, and it is getting easier and easier to get farther out," Lancaster said.

UPRC has three other commercial Austin chalk horizontal producing wells on the lease.

UPRC has 17 rigs working in the bustling Austin chalk trend.

The company had 65 producing operated horizontal wells and 17 nonoperated producing horizontal wells as of Feb. 15.

The wells are producing 31,000 b/d of oil equivalent, of which UPRC's share is 17,300 b/d.

TEXAS, ARKANSAS WORK

In Northeast Texas, Great Southwest Energy Co., Bedford, Tex., will reenter 1 Strickland Unit, 21/2 miles northeast of Tenaha in Shelby County, to attempt horizontal completion at 12,563 ft TVD.

The former Amerada Petroleum Corp. drilled the well in the early 1950s. It was dry at 12,533 ft. Ensco Inc. and Devonian Inc. recompleted it twice in the 1980s for gas from Jurassic Cotton Valley intervals at about 10,900 ft. The discovery opened Hooper field.

In southern Arkansas, American Exploration Co., Houston, will attempt an open hole completion in 724 ft of Jurassic Smackover at 215 Midway Field Unit in Lafayette County,

TVD is 6,351 ft, measured depth 7,490 ft.

Maximum well bore angle is 87.9 in the high angle well.

A first attempt to build angle failed, and the operator set a cement plug at 5,696 ft.

OKLAHOMA

Union Oil Co. of California completed Oklahoma's second commercial horizontal well, and several other operators are working on horizontal projects, mostly in southern Oklahoma.

Union's 1-16 Poteet, a reentry of a vertical well in Northwest Simon field of Love County, pumped 215 b/d of 36.7 gravity oil and 14 b/d of water from Ordovician Viola open hole at 10,3551 1,280 ft.

Original vertical completion was for 82 b/d of oil from perforations at 10,194-920 ft in February 1985. Cumulative production from the vertical completion was 19,162 bbl of oil through October 1990, Petroleum Information reports.

Conoco Inc. in 1990 completed 8 Greer in Davis field of Murray County. It produced 284 b/d of oil from Ordovician Third Bromide perforations at 4,120-4,484 ft.

ESCO Exploration Inc., Tulsa, is preparing horizontal drilling attempts for Viola oil in Southeast Cornish field, Jefferson County.

Meridian Oil Inc. staked 34-1 School Land in Apache field, Caddo County. Objective is a 3,500 ft lateral section in Ordovician McLish at TVD 5,230 ft.

Jolen Operating Co., Oklahoma City, is attempting horizontal work in Mississippian Sycamore at about 9,000 ft TVD in 1 Ticer et al. in Southeast Joiner City field, Carter County,

And Bogert Oil Co., Oklahoma City, is under way at 28 Arlo in the Watonga-Chickasha Trend in Blaine County, a planned 3,558 ft lateral in Mississippian lime at TVD 8,923 ft.

NIOBRARA ACTION

The Cretaceous Niobrara play in Wyoming and Colorado is fanning out from Silo field in the Denver basin, and more action is brewing in the Sand Wash basin.

Gerrity Oil & Gas Corp., Denver, spudded 4-9H State, Laramie County, Wyo., a planned horizontal Niobrara test in Silo field.

Gerrity pointed out that eight horizontal wells have been completed in Silo field. The new location is between UPRC horizontal producers that flowed 1,462 bbl in 21 hr and 767 b/d of oil, respectively, from Niobrara on preliminary tests.

About 33 miles north-northwest of Silo field, UPRC staked 1H Hellbaum in Platte County, Wyo., 11 miles south of inactive Chugspring oil field.

Goal at the horizontal wildcat is Niobrara at TVD 8,554 ft. Site is 5 miles northeast of Chugwater, Wyo., in an undrilled township.

About 27 miles southeast of Silo field, Snyder Oil Corp., Fort Worth, is preparing to complete 20-3H Burbach, a Niobrara horizontal wildcat in Weld County, Colo., 32 miles northeast of Pierce.

Snyder will attempt completion in an open hole horizontal segment of Niobrara, Petroleum Information reported.

The surface location is about 1 mile southeast of a vertical Niobrara oil well in Hereford field.

In the Sand Wash basin of Northwest Colorado, Meridian Oil Inc. staked 43-3HD Cedar Mountain-Federal in Moffat County. Expected TVDs are 9,324 ft at Niobrara penetration and 10,980 ft at the bottom of the hole.

One-half mile west, Meridian plans to redrill 7-24R Peroulis-Federal, a noncommercial Dakota discovery.

The two wells are 8 miles northwest of Craig Dome field, nearest Niobrara oil production.

BAKKEN OPERATIONS

In recent Bakken action, Columbia Gas Development Corp. completed 1-lH Debra Rauch in Ash Coulee field, Billings County, N.D.

It averaged 346 b/d of oil and 276 Mcfd of gas from a horizontal section in Bakken last November, state reports show.

Slawson Exploration Inc. completed 1-1 2 Trident in the same field, averaging 75 b/d of oil and 54 Mcfd of gas from Bakken. Measured total depth is 13,250 ft.

Meridian completed 3321 H MOI-Roosevelt in Billings County, 5 miles northwest of Ash Coulee field. It averaged 144 b/d of oil and 33 Mcfd of gas during November 1990.

Conoco's 1 Morgan DrawFederal in Morgan Draw field averaged 117 b/d of oil and 1 b/d of water from Bakken last November.

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