Anadarko Petroleum Corp. stepped up production in Wattenberg field in Colorado during the second quarter. The rise was attributed to the success of its horizontal drilling program and the start-up of a gas processing plant.
"The growth in the Wattenberg field has been nothing short of exceptional," Al Walker, chief executive officer of Anadarko, said during a presentation of second-quarter results.
Net sales volumes from both horizontal and vertical wells in Wattenberg field increased 59% from the year-earlier period to 169,000 boe/d, comprising 76,000 b/d of oil, 36,000 b/d of NGL, and 339 MMcfd of gas (see p. 4 figure). Higher-margin liquids volumes were enabled, in part, by the start of the Lancaster gas processing plant and lower line pressures in the field.
Field-wide recovery of NGL increased as production was diverted from less-efficient refrigeration plants to the Lancaster plant for cryogenic processing. Lancaster was processing 290 MMcfd in July and recovering 42,000 b/d of NGL.
System pressures were kept low by the addition of 140 MMcfd of field compression during the first half of the year. The company plans to add a further 80 MMcfd of compression capacity before the end of the year to maintain system pressures and keep pace with expected production increases.
Also credited for the production growth was Anadarko's horizontal drilling program, which utilized 14 rigs and drilled 103 operated wells in the field. The program produced 121,000 boe/d during the second quarter, a 134% improvement from the year-earlier period.
Anadarko also continued to improve the efficiency of its operations. The amount of time needed to drill and complete a short-lateral well has fallen by 6 days since the first quarter of 2012 to 8.7 days.
Wattenberg is one of the most prolific oil fields in Colorado. The legacy field was discovered in 1970. Production has been boosted in recent years by the utilization of new drilling and completion techniques to unlock previously underexploited zones, notably the Cretaceous Niobrara shale and Codell sandstone.
Anadarko is the largest producer in Wattenberg field, which generates the strongest rates of return in the company's US onshore portfolio. The company allocated $579 million to Wattenberg during the second quarter, and it accounted for 24% of company-wide spending.