Goodrich Petroleum Co. reported encouraging results from another well targeting the emerging Tuscaloosa Marine shale (TMS) in Louisiana and Mississippi.
The Denkman 33-28H No. 2 in southern Amite County, Miss., had a peak 24-hr. flow rate of 1,250 boe/d, comprising 96% oil. The well was tested on a 16⁄64-in. choke. It was completed with 22 frac stages and utilized a 6,000-ft lateral. The results were noted in the company's September analyst presentation.
Goodrich holds 306,000 net acres in the TMS and is poised to be one of the most active operators in the play this year. It has earmarked $225-300 million for the formation, or 70-80% of its 2014 capital spending budget. Two rigs are operating in the play and plans call for drilling 24-32 gross wells to delineate its leasehold (UOGR May-June 2014, p. 18).
In an interview with Oil & Gas 360 at the Enercom Oil & Gas Conference in Denver, Robert Turnham, president and chief operating officer of Goodrich, said: "We're just in the early delineation phase, things have gone very well. We've proved that the play is working and now we're expanding our activity levels to as many as five rigs by the end of the year."
Turnham added that the company could next year bring on a partner and increase TMS spending to $500 million. It is also considering divesting its holdings in the Eagle Ford shale to focus more on the TMS.
TMS well costs range from $10 million for tests drilled on a multiwell pad to $13 million for tests drilled on single-well pad.
The TMS is an emerging oil play covering 2.5 million acres along the border of southern Mississippi and Louisiana. The formation is 100-250 ft thick and found at an average true vertical depth of 10,500-14,500 ft. It produces high-quality crude with an API gravity of 38-45 deg.
Other active TMS operators include Comstock Resources Inc., Encana Corp., EOG Resources Inc., Halcon Resources Corp., and Sanchez Energy Corp.