By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Dec. 4 -- The giant Greater Natural Buttes area in the Uinta basin reached a milestone in September, averaging a gross 225 MMcfd of gas, said operator Anadarko Petroleum Corp.
Anadarko has more than 1,400 wells and owns and operates a 700-mile gathering system in the basin. The 2006 program called for the drilling of 270 wells, and 4,900 drillsites are in inventory.
The company, which holds 237,000 net acres in the heart of the field, is exploiting tight gas formations with 12 rigs, including 8 operated rigs.
Anadarko has drilled 3 pilot wells on 20-acre spacing to evaluate recovery potential in the field's more developed areas drilled on 40-acre units.
A slick-water completion pilot program begun in the first quarter of 2006 has grown to 61 wells and resulted in an average frac cost reduction of $100,000/well with no material effect on well performance, the company said.