ILLINOIS TWO ZONE HORIZONTAL REDEVELOPMENT PLANNED

H. Wayne Gifford Independent producer Dallas Dallas independent plans to develop a two zone oil field under an Illinois lake with horizontal injection and producing wells. Mineral Development Inc., Dallas, has completed a horizontal well beneath Lake Carlyle in Clinton County, III. The 3502 Carlyle, completed Dec. 15, 1992, flowed 301 b/d of 28 gravity oil and no water through a 1/4 in. choke with 260 psi flowing tubing pressure from a Siluro-Devonian reef. The well averaged more than 300 b/d

Feb. 9, 1993

4 min read

H. Wayne GiffordIndependent producer Dallas

Dallas independent plans to develop a two zone oil field under an Illinois lake with horizontal injection and producing wells.

Mineral Development Inc., Dallas, has completed a horizontal well beneath Lake Carlyle in Clinton County, III.

The 3502 Carlyle, completed Dec. 15, 1992, flowed 301 b/d of 28 gravity oil and no water through a 1/4 in. choke with 260 psi flowing tubing pressure from a Siluro-Devonian reef. The well averaged more than 300 b/d through Jan. 20 with flowing pressure holding at 260 psi.

BOULDER FIELD

Texaco Inc. discovered Boulder field, in 35-3n-2w and 2-2n-2w, in the early 1940s.

The field produced more than 8.1 million bbl of oil before being plugged prematurely in 1963. The U.S. government condemned the area to enable construction of Lake Carlyle for flood control.

Mineral rights were purchased from landowners, and the field was bought from Texaco and plugged.

Boulder's main reservoirs are the Siluro-Devonian reef at 2,600 ft and Mississippian Benoist sandstone at 1,200 ft.

Sam H. Nikkel, a Dallas landman, acquired a federal lease and with several investors drilled a directional well in 1987 that reached the reef reservoir's edge.

The well produced water-free but flowed only about 25-30 b/d of oil. It had produced about 50,000 bbl of oil through Jan. 20.

The author in December 1991 convinced certain owners of the potential to develop the field using horizontal drilling. Gifford unitized the field and secured federal approval to drill.

HORIZONTAL WORK

A rig from Michigan spudded the 3502 Carlyle on Oct. 30, 1992.

MDI drilled the first 1,320 ft of hole vertically and set 91/8 in. casing at that depth.

The operator then initiated a medium radius curvature below the vertical section. Upon reaching a target angle of 87 from vertical in the direction South 77 West, nearly horizontal drilling continued to 4,906 ft measured total depth.

MDI ran 7 in., 26 lb/ft casing with Hydril 521 connections. The pipe stopped in the New Albany shale section about 300 ft short of total depth, which ultimately required the running of a 4 1/2 in. liner.

The liner was run through the shale section and into the top of the pay section to eliminate the possibility of the shale sloughing into the open hole.

The well was then drilled horizontally, at angles of as much as 90.4 from vertical, to a total drilled distance of 5,600 ft and a true vertical depth of 2,618 ft.

Circulation was lost upon entering the porous reef as the bottomhole pressure was insufficient to support a column of fresh water drilling fluid but will flow oil. After sticking the pipe several times due to cuttings stacking up outside the drillstring and behind the bit, the decision was made to terminate drilling and complete the well.

The planned horizontal displacement of 5,500 ft was not reached as a result of the lost circulation. The well was completed through 2% in. tubing with the packer set at a depth of approximately 2,400 ft, well away from the total depth drilled and about 2,200 ft into the 7 in. casing.

THE FUTURE

MDI's present plans call for the field to be developed by the drilling of one more horizontal well to the reef during 1993.

Plans have been made to have a larger separation unit on the drillsite to flow the well at a higher rate while drilling, allowing the drilling of a longer offset in the lost circulation zone.

The 1,200 ft deep Benoist sandstone is to be drilled in 1994.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Mineral Development Inc. wishes to express its appreciation to the Illinois Department of Mines and Minerals for its assistance and cooperation, and especially by Gunnar Gunnarsson. We also are most grateful for the cooperation and assistance of Bureau of Land Management and Corps of Engineers personnel.