Cuadrilla drills UK horizontal well for shale gas

Cuadrilla Resources Ltd., Reston, UK, said it has finished drilling a horizontal shale gas well at Preston New Road in Lancashire. The well was drilled vertically to 8,858 ft through the Upper Bowland and Lower Bowland shale. The horizontal portion extends laterally for around 2,624 ft.

Cuadrilla said it will drill a second horizontal well in the Upper Bowland shale. The first well has yet to be completed pending authorization from UK authorities.

Francis Egan, Cuadrilla chief executive officer, said it was UK’s first horizontal shale gas well.

Cuadrilla previously estimated its Lancashire assets hold 200 tcf of natural gas in place in shale (OGJ Online, Sept. 22, 2011).