PETROHAWK PUSHES TO HOLD ACRES - Upstream.com article, March 10, 2010

US gas specialist Petrohawk Energy is planning a drilling push into 2012 to secure its leasehold in the Haynesville and Eagle Ford shale plays.

The company began leasing extensively in the two plays beginning in 2008, often under three-year lease terms.

Now Petrohawk needs to sink wells to keep its acreage, Petrohawk operations boss Richard Stoneburner told the IHS CeraWeek conference in Houston.

Petrohawk will run 17 rigs on its Haynesville acreage and another four to five rigs on its Eagle Ford position.

Haynesville will take about $900 million of a $1.4 billion planned capital spend, while Eagle Ford will claim about $300 million.

That focus will then flip after 2011, when the company plans to focus more of its spending on the Eagle Ford.

Stoneburner said those spending levels are not “discretionary” because the rig count is being driven largely by the company’s need to hold acreage, but by
2012, he expects that to change.

“What happens in 2012 will be dictated by the market and won’t be dictated by need to protect our leasehold investment,” he said.

Stoneburner said the company would prefer not to follow in the footsteps of other independent shale specialists that have leverage their acreage
positions for drilling dollars through joint ventures.

“We are protective of what we think of as premiere assets,” he said. “But if we need it it is an option.”

Stoneburner declined to comment if his company had been approached with joint venture offers.

Petrohawk is currently divesting the lion’s share of its conventional assets, excluding positions in the Cotton Valley and Elm Grove plays, and plans to
wrap its divestitures by the first half of the year.

Stoneburner said he is comfortable that the company’s remaining focus on gas, which makes up more then 90% of the portfolio.

Petrohawk has begun work on its Red Hawk field, which targets liquids, but Stoneburner said the company was not ready to disclose its efforts there or
any results and oil is not going to be a focus moving forward.

“We don’t ignore it,” he said after his talk. “But I’m not going to make it a priority of our company.”


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Permalink Reply by Frank Martin on March 10, 2010 at 10:38
Skip -- Does that mean they're going to only drill 17 more wells in the Haynesville? Is that what they're calling a drilling push? That doesn't seem like a lot more. Does it? Or, am I misreading the article?
Permalink Reply by Buddy on March 10, 2010 at 10:44
Frank: I think what it means is that Petrohawk will ramp up to 17 rigs in their Hay. drilling program. If they are dedicating $900 million in drilling in the Hay. play, at $8 million per well = 112+ wells.
Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on March 10, 2010 at 10:47
Freank. It means they have budgeted for 17 rigs to be drilling continuously in 2010. I am unsure of HK's current "spud to release" average days but for a full year 17 rigs should be able to drill approximately 150 wells. From recent reports it seems clear that Petrohawk will curtail leasing and invest their available capital and cash flow in drilling wells to hold their existing Haynesville leasehold.
Permalink Reply by Henry on March 10, 2010 at 14:02
And, by my count, HK has about 150 units that are not yet permitted. They have a lot of drilling to do.
Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on March 10, 2010 at 14:10
HK will continue to apply for units where they have built sufficient leasehold. Since they made the official announcement to curtail leasing, they have nine applications. They will be concentrating on drilling through 2012.
Permalink Reply by sesport on March 10, 2010 at 18:17
Skip - A quirky hypothetical question ... do unit assignments expire like drilling permits do? I've seen on SONRIS a permit that expired and had to be repermitted. IF ( usual big if) a unit goes unproduced, is there an expiration date on that assignment?

still muddling through - 80)
Permalink Reply by Les Bamburg on March 10, 2010 at 18:34
Sesport, units do not expire like well permits. That is reason operators can apply for units well in advance of any drilling plans.
Permalink Reply by sesport on March 10, 2010 at 18:46
much appreciated, Les 80)
Permalink Reply by Frank Martin on March 10, 2010 at 10:55
Thanks!
Permalink Reply by Les Bamburg on March 10, 2010 at 15:57
Frank, Petrohawk plans to drill 110 to 120 Haynesville Shale wells in 2010. They project 42 days spud-to-spud.

Petrohawk also plans to drill 60 Eagle Ford Shale wells in 2010.

By the way, Petrohawk is currently at 15 drilling rigs in the Haynesville Shale play.
Permalink Reply by R B on March 11, 2010 at 5:18
Do you see the same scenario applying to Encana?
Permalink Reply by Les Bamburg on March 11, 2010 at 8:28
RB, EnCana says they plan to drill 100 wells in 2010 and spend $750MM. This appears to be only the EnCana operated wells and would not include those drilled by Shell.

EnCana currently has 23 drilling rigs working in the Haynesville Shale play with Shell having another 7 rigs.

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