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Permalink Reply by kittycatmama on March 25, 2012 at 4:55

dbob, assume you are in Texas. Do you hear any rumors of Eagle Ford or any other formation in Duval & Jim Wells counties? I have 100 ac. there unleased--has never been leased

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Permalink Reply by dbob on March 25, 2012 at 5:33

The maps I have seen put the northern part of Duval, and the extreme northern part of Jim Wells into the Eagle Ford dry gas window.  I don't work that far south routinely, and don't have specific knowledge/rumor on the prospects for that area.

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Permalink Reply by kittycatmama on March 25, 2012 at 13:58

I have seen those maps too, but things change with updated seismic. Just curious if anyone had heard of any liquids being produced as far south as Jim Wells & Duval

Permalink Reply by Aubrey C. Sanders, Jr. on March 25, 2012 at 5:49

Whether a well is being drilled for oil or gas has very little, if any influence upon drilling time. Some of Smackover and Haynesville Sand wells are completed as gas wells but most in our area are classified as oil wells. A few are classified as gas wells. This determined from oil/gas ratio as specified by Office of Conservation in state of La.

Some of the oil is transported by pipeline, but most of the oil is hauled by trucks and only gas goes into pipelines. We are fortunate to have good pipeline network so we don't have to build much pipelines to tie in.

Perhaps some consider my posts to be too detailed. If you do, feel free to not read them. I try to post information to enlighten those who may have less knowledge about this business but are anxious to learn more.

Please note that my experience is in VERTICAL Drilling. Some wells such as in Nacatoch formation may be drilled in 1 to 2 days in Caddo-Pine Island Field.

 

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Permalink Reply by LP on March 25, 2012 at 6:02

I deeply appreciate all of the detail and specifics. I've been a member of the GHS site since its beginning and learned so much in 4 years.

It is a bit surprising how misinformed the general public is regarding energy. There are a lot of people who think that a drilling rig goes up and..... stays up....forever. I know that sounds goofy but it is true. There are even people (hopefully not many) who have no clue where the juice from their electric plugs in their house comes from. The simple basics are unknown to a lot of folks. This is why it is so easy to feed the public ridiculous propaganda and they buy it hook, line and sinker. 

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Permalink Reply by Max on March 25, 2012 at 4:48

LP, I think you're missing the point, the point of time.  Lets figure the averages:

US oil use per day- 20,000,000 barrels

Us oil import per day- 8,000,000 barrels

Average production per well in US- 60 barrels per day

New wells needed to replace imported oil- 133,333

Oil drilling rigs in US- 1200

Each rig drills 5 wells per year- 5500 wells/year

Years to drill to offset import oil- 24 years

Now, if you calculate in how many wells stop producing each year in the US, which would have to be replaced, your number of years would have to increase to keep up with demand.

The biggest reserve of oil in the US is in oil shale.  We don't have the processing equipment to turn rock into oil at this time.  Canada has been building theirs for years now, and the US would take years to be able to make a dent in the imported oil.

If you hear 5 years as being "oil dependent", then that's not true.  30 years would be more realistic.

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Permalink Reply by LP on March 25, 2012 at 5:35

That's great info, Max and I appreciate it. But just involving the mechanics of drilling a well is the specific information that I was seeking. It's good to have the additional information. For my purposes, I needed the time it takes to drill a well. All of the other factors certainly do matter in the bigger scope of things. I am aware of that and appreciate your feedback very much.

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Permalink Reply by Hale Yayuh on March 25, 2012 at 5:56

Hmmm... average oil well in USA produces 60 BOPD? Sure seems high. I thought it was about 15 BOPD.

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Permalink Reply by John Matherne on March 26, 2012 at 5:54

Max for President

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Permalink Reply by essay on March 26, 2012 at 7:23

there are lots of estimates all over the place, some say 10-20 years, but it really depends on what one means by "energy independence."  the phrase is irresponsibly bandied about quite a lot, by both sides, and such a vague concept can easily be spun one way or another, much like the dismal proposition that max laid out... and even with max's numbers, we could replace the oil we get from OPEC and the persian gulf in quite a bit less than a decade.  this alone would go a long, long way to stabilizing global prices.

now let's tweak the numbers just a bit, because frankly i'm not buying them.  say each rig is drilling 6 wells a year instead of just 5, a 16.7% increase.  say then also the rig count goes up by the same percentage, roughly 200 rigs.  the exact numbers really don't matter, but that comes out to less than 16 years.  tweak the output, since i highly doubt that a well that costs many millions of dollars is only producing 60 barrels a day and the math is pretty obvious.  we've been hearing for decades that "it'll take too long."  well, it will always take too long if you never start.  tempus fugit.

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Permalink Reply by Max on March 26, 2012 at 9:21

essay,

Yes the number of years would be reduced. The US has improved overall MPG ratios and fuel prices will encourage still a larger shift to smaller/hybrid vehicles. Since we import most of our oil from North America, the demand of OPEC's supply could be shifted to new production here in the US in just a few years.

I do wonder though, how much oil would we still buy overseas to fuel our military? I've heard estimates that the military uses half of the oil consumed in the US totals. If a ship ports in Spain, that fuel comes out of the ground from somewhere in Africa. Our presence in the Persian gulf means were fueling our needs for the military there. We're stuck in the world market, and unless we produce more oil than we use, we'll pay higher prices every time someone farts.

A crash program to convert to the fuel we do have, NG/Greenies, would save us in the long run. Everybody else in the world would still have China and India moving into motorized transportation and, drinking water from plastic bottles, thus, using what we have been consuming and more.

Someday, the world will run out of oil. Until then, oil will only increase in price. I think the US should start investing for the change now. The free market process is too slow for a conversion that is realistic, we're going to have to feel the pain now.

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Permalink Reply by essay on March 26, 2012 at 10:56

there's no way the military uses half of the oil in the untied states, i don't even have to google that.  it's in the single digits for total national consumption share, i am quite certain.

i'm also not sure how it logically follows that an actual free market wouldn't solve the problem, it seems to me that the private sector is busily finding ways to increase oil production and use the new surplus of gas despite the total lack of leadership on the issue coming out of washington.  remember, drilling on federal land is down over 1/3, deep water permits are down around half, and shallow permits are down almost 2/3's.

we're feeling the pain because steven chu and co. think we should boost gasoline prices to european levels, thereby making "alternatives" look less awful in comparison, as i have frequently noted on this forum.  here's a bold prediction max, the world will never completely run out of oil, and we'll be using lots and lots of it long after the next generation or three have are dead and buried.

i never had you pegged for a neomalthusian?

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