Ouachita wildcat set in Central Texas

May 17, 2007
The Ouachita thrust belt in Central Texas is the site for a wildcat to be drilled starting in late May or early June.

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, May 17 -- The Ouachita thrust belt in Central Texas is the site for a wildcat to be drilled starting in late May or early June.

The site is in north-central McLennan County 1½ miles north of Waco, where the proposed depth is 3,800-4,200 ft. This is deeper than the few early-year wildcats drilled in the county, which has hardly produced oil or gas.

Three undisclosed private entities will carry Morgan Creek Energy Corp., Dallas, to production for a 25% interest.

Management's geological assessment is that "with the Fort Worth basin Barnett shale underlying thrusted and faulted Ouachita rocks, it is believed that a major gas trap may be developed," said Thomas Markham, Morgan Creek senior geologist.

"Similar relationships are seen in the Pinon field area of Pecos County, Texas," 350 miles to the west (OGJ Online, Nov. 22, 2006). "There, over 270 bcf of gas has been produced from depths to 5,000 ft. Currently, monthly production from Pinon and sister fields is in excess of 3 bcf."

Morgan Creek Energy controls 2,000 gross acres in the area, which is west of the East Texas Jurassic gas plays and south of nearest Barnett shale drilling in Hill and Bosque counties.