Bout 2 miles down the road, big, new, ("3 step rig") rig owned by local, privately held, independent, Waco Oil & Gas is drilling a horizontal well for another local, privately owned independent Stalnaker Energy.
waco-trio.com
stalnakerenergy.net
They finished drilling the vertical section and cemented the casing almost 10 days ago. Cement set, the necessary window was drilled into the vertical casing and the whip stock was set. They're now drilling outward on the 1st lateral. The results of that will determine whether another lateral is attempted.
What's interesting is this is not a Marcellus or Utica well. It's not even a deep shale well. They're going after a shallow oil bearing sand known as the Berea, at approx 2,400'.
In this part of WV, the Berea is a widespread formation, but the quality of the sand - as a reservoir - varies greatly, even over short distances. Vertical wells drilled decades ago, in the immediate vicinity of the new well, provide good geological control via production records and logs which were run before those bore holes were cased, perforated and frac'd for production. So, we know the sand is of good quality, with porosity and permeability consistent with good oil recovery.
About 2-3 yrs ago, another local independent, Jay-Bee, brought in an experienced horizontal drilling contractor and went after the Berea only 2 miles further east. He ran into technical problems and had to settle for considerably less production that expected.
Right now, everyone around here is waiting to see if this new attempt succeeds.
Isopatch |
