Multiple pays yield gas in western New York

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Jan. 27 -- Gastem Inc., Montreal, found gas in one sand and two shales with good thickness at its first well in a planned drilling program on 35,000 acres in western New York.

The Ross-1 vertical well in Otsego County yielded gas from Ordovician Utica shale, Silurian Oneida sand, and Devonian Marcellus shale, the company said. TD is 4,950 ft. The three zones “will be the subject of extensive programs in the coming months,” the company said.

Gas flowed on penetration of the Marcellus and was flared at modest rates from natural fractures. The organic-rich Oakta Creek and Union Springs members of the Marcellus formation showed higher permeability than anticipated and were of encouraging thickness. The Marcellus shale was not stimulated because of the present regulatory situation.

Oneida flowed at the rate of 2 MMcfd of gas on a 4-hr drillstem test and has become one of Gastem’s primary targets in the area.

A completion in the Utica shale was performed using the frac volume approved under current New York State regulations that authorize use of 80,000 gal of water. This modest vertical frac in one of the Utica’s three members resulted in a sustained rate of more than 70 Mcfd over a 24-day test.

Final results of laboratory core analysis for all formations for the determination of original gas in place and rock properties will be completed in about a month. When review work is completed, information will include recoverable volumes across the Ross property and a resource estimate for Gastem’s acreage.