Ring Energy Inc., Midland, Tex., has initiated drilling operations on its first new horizontal well in 10 months. The Badger 709 B #6XH was spud Dec. 2, 2020, on Ring’s Northwest Shelf (NWS) leasehold in Yoakum County, Tex. The well will be a one-and-a-half-mile horizontal San Andres oil well drilled to a vertical depth of 5,000 ft.
After drilling the Badger #6XH, the drilling rig will move to another horizontal San Andres location currently under construction with plans to drill another well after the New Year, said Paul D. McKinney, chief executive officer and chairman, in a Dec. 4 media statement. The wells will be paid for from cash surplus on hand, he said.
While rod conversions, downhole workover projects, surface work on storage facilities, and compressor improvements continued in NWS and the Central basin platform, drilling had stopped earlier in the year due to the drop in commodity prices.
The company restored production to 9,219 boe/d (88% oil) in third-quarter 2020, within the company’s guidance range, increasing third quarter net daily production 70% compared to second-quarter 2020, and within 15% of first-quarter 2020 net production ( OGJ Online, Mar. 10, 2020; Apr. 24, 2020; July 23, 2020).