Sage Natural Resources LLC, Tulsa, Okla., plans to shift its drilling program to oil assets in the Eagle Ford shale for the remainder of the year, suspending its Barnett shale program due to the drop in natural gas commodity price through this year’s first quarter.
The privately held company recently completed its 30-well Barnett program, drilling 30 horizontal wells targeting the Barnett shale formation in North Texas.
The 30-well program totaled 96 miles with one rig. Average lateral length was about 8,200 ft per well, with average spud to rig release under 13 days. On average, each well came in at about $745 per drilled and completed lateral foot, the company said in a release Apr. 26.
"Sage made an investment decision in October of 2020 during [the pandemic] at $2.50 natural gas pricing to drill our first eight-well pad. The investment decision made at that time, with respect to all-in capital service costs, were half of what they are today,” said Gavin D. McQueen, president and chief executive officer. Since then, the company has drilled 44 extended-reach horizontal wells in the Barnett.
Company executives remain bullish on natural gas over the long-term due to its growing global demand, he said, but the company will “save those reserves for a sunnier day,” saying the company is confident it can add oil to the company’s producing asset base.