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Permalink Reply by L Davis on July 7, 2010 at 2:41

No one seems to know why the sudden interest in the SMK brown dense along the AR/LA line. There was a well of interest in Union Parish last year and I have seen references to a fault line in the AR/LA state line area. The brown dense Is like the gas shales. The O&G industry have known about both for a long time but had to wait for technology to catch up. The technology has been great for the gas shale plays. Will it do the same for the SMK brown dense? No one knows for sure. I think the knowledge base on the brown dense will have to grow through test wells before any development (if any) will take place. Some O&G company must think they can do something with the brown because they are putting down a lot of $ for the opportunity. It is not a lot of money per acre but the quantity of acres involved. There are other companies that are also getting positions in the brown dense.

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Permalink Reply by Marc Stepman on July 7, 2010 at 3:25

I checked out Pinebelt's website. They are putting a lot of land together. They will have enough to try to get things going? I wonder who they are buying for?

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Permalink Reply by L Davis on July 7, 2010 at 3:54

I have some thoughts on what company is doing this, but will not put them on the blog as I have zero data to back up my opions. I do not want to start a rumor, but it has to be someone that has probably been big in the gas shale plays and has some ideas on how to use that technology on the SMK brown dense. Also, the company must have plenty of cash on hand for such a large project. They will probably sell some working interest to other O&G companies before the project gets going to reduce their financial exposure. Rarely does one company go 100% working interest in a major project.

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Permalink Reply by Aubrey C. Sanders, Jr. on July 7, 2010 at 4:31

I think I know a couple of companies involved. They are big and capable of developing this play.
I believe they are innovative enough to get it done, if anybody can.

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Permalink Reply by Marc Stepman on July 7, 2010 at 6:34

I have my thoughts as well but nothing to back it up. I think it is starting out like what the HS did when it was new. I think they will follow the same model as Haynesville shale. I am sure they are a major player in the industry. I think a lot of the suspects can be the big players in the shale. I agree with L Davis they will have to have a lot of Cash Flow to get all of this going or they will have a partner with deep pockets.

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Permalink Reply by Craig Cooper on July 7, 2010 at 5:09

I will only speculate on the renewed interest in the Smackover since I haven't worked it for quite a while and have no new data so take this with a 'grain of salt'. I recently retired from a major O&G company after working exploration & production during the past 35 years so feel a little more open to discuss things like this.

Though it is predominantly a limestone, like other formations the Smackover consists of a number of different facies or rock types; some of which are "sandy", some "shaley"; some zones are very tight (i.e. have little/no porosity & permeability), some zones have nice porosity & permeability. In some parts of the Ark-La-Tex the Smackover also contains organic material which serves as source for oil & gas. Often, when we'd drill into and/or through the Smackover we'd encounter significant "shows" of oil & gas. So, generally speaking, you have a nice self-contained source/reservoir/seal system; similar in many ways to the shale reservoir targets being drilled today.

In the past, successful exploration & production was contingent upon finding porous & permeable zones in the formation; i.e. conventional reservoir zones. With today's advances in drilling & completion technologies (i.e. horizontal drilling, multi-stage hydraulic fracturing), it probably isn't as important to find and drill only those Smackover zones in order to make a good well, so a much greater volume of the formation is now potential reservoir.

I suspect that renewed geologic study of the Ark-La-Tex basin(s), incorporating what has been learned from recent Haynesville/Bossier shale experiences and results from new high-quality 3D seismic data, has enabled the high-grading of areas within the Ark-La-Tex. And since the Smackover immediately underlies the Haynesville/Bossier, drilling through & testing it probably makes good sense; scientifically, technically, competitively and economically.

Given any kind of encouragement from the Smackover, it wouldn't surprise me if more "adventurous" companies drilled deeper into the Norphlet sand (which produces in offshore areas like Mobile Bay). Heck, back in the '70's we even seriously considered an exploration effort to the Eagle Mills formation which underlies the LouAnn salt!

If/when demand for natural gas resumes its increase, the Ark-La-Tex should be well-positioned to benefit.

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Permalink Reply by Marc Stepman on July 7, 2010 at 6:32

Very interesting! Technology is a great help. Making a profit with new technology may make it easier to explore and get undeveloped areas. With most of the area having 3D done with Haynesville I am sure the picture is getting clearer!

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Permalink Reply by Aubrey C. Sanders, Jr. on July 7, 2010 at 11:08

I think you are right "on target" with your insight and analyses. My comments are based upon my "onsite" observations in this North Shongaloo-Red Rock Field for about 60 years and that led me into a career as a geologist. I spent 30 years as an engineering geologist, but always was involved to some degree in oil business due to family ties and land ownership. One of my cousins (W.H. "Bill" Wise)
was credited by some as being the "founding geologist" of this field. He worked for Carter Oil Co.

I hope that members looking for info. on Smackover will read your posting. GOOD JOB!!

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Permalink Reply by Marc Stepman on July 7, 2010 at 13:51

Small World Aubrey. Carter Oil drilled a well on some of my property in Bienville Parish along time ago. I still have the Abstract that Carter Oil did on the place. I think that the Smackover may be the next big find.

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Permalink Reply by North LA on July 7, 2010 at 8:49

"There was a well of interest in Union Parish last year and I have seen references to a fault line in the AR/LA state line area."

I have counted 6 wells over the last 5 years which have been drilled to the lower Smk in Union parish and Ouachita parish over the old Monroe gas field. All the wells were drilled by the same company which is a JV associated with a larger well known company. All the wells were noted to have taken core samples and then they would be plugged but not abandoned. It will be interesting to see if these wells were scout wells for something bigger. I guess time will tell.

I also thought it was interesting that the land man who tried to lease our property told us the lease was for a wildcat well but his company is trying to basically lease all of northern Union parish. I thought with a wildcat an O&G company would try to minimize their losses by leasing one section. It doesn't make sense to try and lease over a 100 square miles and it doesn't make sense to drill 10-20 wildcat wells with the 3d seismic technology we have now.

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Permalink Reply by L Davis on July 7, 2010 at 9:23

In S AR, the area of interest is up to about 10+ miles north of the state line and covers the 5 western counties that touch the state line. Do not know if they are buying everything or just the bigger tracts as I know of some with smaller acreage that have not been called. The leasing has sort of been a west to east thing. There have been rumors that the leasing could go east to the MS line. I have not read of anything going on east of Ashley County (Crossett area). This area is probably another 100 Square miles.

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Permalink Reply by North LA on July 7, 2010 at 9:35

"Do not know if they are buying everything or just the bigger tracts as I know of some with smaller acreage that have not been called."

I only own 9 acres and they called us so I guess that's one small tract :) I hear people say they are hearing names of some companies. Would those names be EOG and CHK?

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