LEASE PLAY ERUPTS IN BLACK WARRIOR BASIN

Feb. 12, 1990
A Cambro-Ordovician Knox dolomite lease play is mushrooming in the Black Warrior basin of Mississippi and Alabama. Exploration Co. of Louisiana (XCL), Lafayette, La., said the play is an extension of Cambro-Ordovician Arbuckle dolomite exploration near Wilburton, Okla., in the Arkoma basin. Knox and Arbuckle are geologic equivalents. XCL has acquired lease interests lying in 18 northern Mississippi counties and two western Alabama counties in the Black Warrior basin. At its farthest point,

A Cambro-Ordovician Knox dolomite lease play is mushrooming in the Black Warrior basin of Mississippi and Alabama.

Exploration Co. of Louisiana (XCL), Lafayette, La., said the play is an extension of Cambro-Ordovician Arbuckle dolomite exploration near Wilburton, Okla., in the Arkoma basin. Knox and Arbuckle are geologic equivalents.

XCL has acquired lease interests lying in 18 northern Mississippi counties and two western Alabama counties in the Black Warrior basin. At its farthest point, the acreage is almost 500 miles southeast of Wilburton field.

Exploratory drilling in the Arbuckle-Knox play is likely to start this year and last at least 2-3 years based on the volume of leasing going on, said Danny M. Dobbs, XCL senior exploration geologist.

Production performance in Wilburton field has fueled the Knox play.

ARCO, which has 11 wells producing 20-30 MMcfd/Well from Arbuckle in Wilburton field, has purchased leases offsetting some of XCL's leases in the Black Warrior basin.

Unocal Corp. and Apache Corp. also have taken leases in the area.

Meanwhile, about 20 new field or new pay wildcats and confirmation wells are drilling or at projected depth being tested in the Arkoma basin in Atoka, Pittsburgh, Latimer, and LeFlore counties, Okla.

Objectives include Pennsylvanian Cromwell, Spiro, and Wapanucka, Silurian Hunton, and Arbuckle.

KNOX LEASING

Besides involving the same age rocks as in the Arkoma basin, XCL's Black Warrior acreage involves the same structuring mechanism, Dobbs said.

Seismic surveys covering XCL's and ARCO's Black Warrior leases reveal a large structure of about 290,000 acres that most likely will be drilled near the end of 1990. Operator of the well isn't known yet, Dobbs said.

XCL in second half 1989 acquired oil and gas leases covering 50% of the minerals underlying more than 250,000 acres and varying interests of as much as 50% in 13,500 acres along the south edge of the Black Warrior basin.

The lease spread lies in Sumpter and Pickens counties, Ala., and Kemper, Noxubee, Winston, Lowndes, Oktibbeha, Choctaw, Webster, Montgomery, Grenada, Yalobusha, Calhoun, Clay, Tallahatchie, Bolivar, Sunflower, LeFlore, Quitman, and Coahoma counties, Miss.

Depth of Knox in the area is expected to be 17,00018,000 ft. XCL obtained the leases for $10/acre with a $1 /year delay rental. The acreage was much cheaper than Arkoma acreage east of Wilburton, Dobbs said.

Knox outcrops near Birmingham, Ala. Most Black Warrior basin production is from Pennsylvanian and Mississippian age sandstones at 2,000-6,000 ft.

Maps show that Exxon Co. USA drilled a 21,376 ft dry hole in Northwest Oktibbeha County, but records from the well weren't immediately available. At its nearest point, XCL's acreage is about 100 miles southeast of the nearest Arkoma basin fields.

They are Letona field, a one well Arbuckle gas field in White County, Ark.; Quitman field, a one well Pennsylvanian Atoka gas field in Cleburne County; and a recent Arkla Exploration Co. Pennsylvanian Hale sand gas discovery, 1 Simpson, in Faulkner County (OGJ, Jan. 29, p. 28).

OKLAHOMA EXPLORATION

An unusually large number of wells is being evaluated in the southern Arkoma basin of Oklahoma.

Deepest is ARCO's 1 Ulysses in southern Latimer County, which spudded last Sept. 30 toward 20,250 ft or Arbuckle. At that depth it would be the basin's deepest hole. Site is about 6 miles south of Wilburton field (see map, OGJ, Jan. 9, 1989, p. 17).

Arkla, Marathon Oil Co., Texaco USA, and Apache also are drilling Arbuckle tests in the area to as deep as 18,000 ft.

Amoco Production Co. was starting at 1 Short Unit, a projected 16,100 ft Hunton wildcat in LeFlore County, with tools of Helmerich & Payne Inc.

Amoco, Exxon Co. USA, Texaco, and Samson Resources Co. are drilling or evaluating Spiro, Wapanucka, or Cromwell wells located in the Haileyville-Hartshorne area of Pittsburgh County.

Farther north in the basin's main producing fairway, drilling is to start this month on the first of 21 prospects developed since 1982 by Broken Arrow Petroleum Co., Scottsdale, Ariz.

Arrow Oil & Gas Inc., Norman, Okla., not affiliated with Broken Arrow, will drill Broken Arrow's Blue Mountain prospect 6 miles southeast of Kinta in far northern Latimer County.

The well is projected to 9,800 ft or Cromwell as a deeper pool wildcat in Kinta field. Cost is about $900,000.

Broken Arrow hopes 16 of the prospects, including one in Johnson County, Ark., will be drilled this year at a combined cost of $7.8 million as financial commitments are obtained.

It estimates gross reserves in the 21 prospects at more than 100 bcf of gas.

Broken Arrow and Kimco Energy Corp., Denver, plan to merge by Apr. 30 and are operating as one under an interim agreement.

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