Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by William C. Morrison on July 24, 2012 at 2:49

That sounds better than the action out of LaCour #43.  At least they are testing and checking, not just pressing on into oblivion.

No doubt Austin Chalk is ideal for horizontal development but how to do it properly is the question.  Some have suggested shorter laterals, that may be more reliable.  I think Anadarko was reaching for the merry go round gold ring, and missed and fell off at the same time.

And as Hermione said, "And now we wait."  Abd Harry Potter;s answer was, "And now we wait."  Got two more years on the lease and two renewals to wait through.

Permalink Reply by Rock Man on July 24, 2012 at 3:13

Don't think that this is a drill stem test. Appears to be a casing shoe test to determine if they have a good cement job thru the bottom of the casing that will support (hold up under) the mud weights that are planned to be used for the rest of the well.

The procedure / sequence you have included seems to point to this operation. Shoe test is basically pressuring up on the well and doing a leak off test to determine quality of cement bond at the shoe (base of the casing)

If shoe test is sufficient to support planned mud weight, they will drill ahead.

If not, they will do some cement squeezing to try to establish cement integrity and then test the shoe again

Permalink Reply by Rock Man on July 24, 2012 at 4:06

Joe, even though this is not normally noted on SONRIS or other reports, testing the casing shoe is a starndard drilling process with respect to any surface or intermediate casing point situation.

This prevents issues such as losing the well due to cement break down and potentially damage to fresh water aquifers behind the casing in question.

Just good well safety practices - John Q Public should know this it may alleviate some of their concern about drilling and frac'ing damaging shallow water sources.

In Texas, RRC reps "witness" this work. Figure the same is done in Louisiana by some agency.

Permalink Reply by Joe Aldridge on July 24, 2012 at 3:51

Mark,

I was hopeful they were doing more than that. But Your explanation seems reasonable. I have not seen any other company do this in the past when drilling out of casing and cement and  into chalk. Was hopeful that it meant more.