By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, July 20 -- Operators are proclaiming more success in deep and shallow portions of the Trenton-Black River (TBR) gas play in New York and Pennsylvania.
Range Resources Corp., Fort Worth, said its first three shallow wells in New York's Finger Lakes region went on line at a combined rate of 1.6 MMcfd of gas from TBR at 3,000 ft.
Open flow figures were: 1 Harper, 3.3 MMcfd; and 1A Salerno and 3 Hughes, 1.5 MMcfd each. No treatment was needed. The wells are in Wayne County 30 miles west of Syracuse and 50 miles northeast of Glodes Corners Road field in northeastern Steuben County, NY.
Range plans to drill 2 more shallow wells in the third and fourth quarters. The company has an average 90% working interest in 106,000 gross acres in several counties and has staked locations to the east in Cayuga County.
Later in July, Talisman Energy Inc.'s subsidiary Fortuna Energy Inc., Horseheads, NY, and Range plan to spud a 12,000-ft wildcat to TBR in Bradford County, Pa. Range has an average 58% working interest in 114,000 gross acres in the deep TBR play. The two companies formed a joint venture earlier this year (OGJ Online, Feb. 3, 2006).
Talisman plans to spend $109 million this year drilling mostly horizontal wells in the Appalachian basin. It plans to participate in 40 wells.
Chesapeake Energy Corp., Oklahoma City, is one of the play's newer entrants as the result of its $3 billion purchase of Columbia Natural Resources Inc. in November 2005.
Chesapeake said it has started four 3D seismic surveys covering a combined 125,000 acres to further delineate deeper drilling opportunities including the TBR in New York and West Virginia.
