Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by EastTexasFarmer on May 5, 2023 at 9:31

Aethon's well completions are more intensive than BP America's completion designs per Black Stone Minerals. Also, BP America's wells have been in production longer and production has declined more significantly compared to Aethon's recently completed wells due to reservoir depletion.

Note that BP America withdrew from Black Stone's joint venture development agreement but retained well bore ownership of BP wells within the "Laceyville Field"). BPX (as a BP America subsidiary) assumed the operating role for these wells mid last year.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by DCT on June 9, 2023 at 0:11

East Texas Farmer.....  every time you make a post on this forum.... I learn something.  The original 2 BPX Titan wells (really 3 but one collapsed?) are now producing a minimal amount of gas.  I guess time and production has caught up with these wells.  Questions.....will BPX or Aethon most likely go in and re-frack these wells back into higher production?  The new Aethon Titan wells have really produced some high numbers but they also are falling fast in production.  How many times can an old well be re-fracked?  Heard anything about what Aethon's plans are for the Laceyville Field?

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on June 9, 2023 at 2:56

Suggestion.  When asking questions or seeking input that is location specific, it is better to post in the appropriate sub-group.  In this case, the Angelina County group.  I'll post a link below.  When you post on the main page your hoping the right people see it before it moves down the list of threads and off the main page.  When you post on a sub-group page, every member of that group gets an email notifying them of the new discussion or reply.  They may not have been on the website in months or in some cases years but they will get the email with a link to your new post..

https://gohaynesvilleshale.com/group/angelinacounty

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Rock Man on June 9, 2023 at 3:34

Pulled the two monthly production graphs (Log Scale) from ENVERUS for the 2HR and 2HB laterals - similar declines / but what was done to these wells in mid 2022 to increase total production?  Possible ReFrac?

More subtle earlier production increase on both wells (early 2020) probably tied to operator installing tubing - this will increase production due to having a decrease in production pipe diameter downhole (wells produced up casing prior to tubing installation).

Also looked at the two newer Aethon Titan laterals - 29 to 33% decline as of March 2023 from Max Monthly gas rate. This occurring over a 5-to-6-month period.

23.6 to 26 MMCF per day to 16.8 to 17.7 MMCF per day rates.

Personally, I have never heard of any well be re-frac'd multiple times. I have to assume that mechanics and economics impact that apparent fact.

Production decline is the norm for these wells / this reservoir as you know - sort of like a balloon with a pinhole. Gas rates decreases over time as reservoir around the lateral is pulled down and depleted.

No idea on Aethon plans - I am sure that it is all tied to economics / and with gas prices where they are today, the urgency to drill on HBP acreage is not first and foremost. If Aethon has undrilled units with expiration dates pending, I would expect to see those units drilled up to get them HBP.

Attachments:

• Titan 2 HR Prod Graph.pdf, 15 KB
• Titan 2 HB Prod Graph.pdf, 15 KB

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on June 9, 2023 at 3:42

Aethon likes re-fracs and brags about the cost and increased production in their AFEs (Authorization For Expenditure) to Working Interest owners.  Those letters include some detail on how the re-fracs are done.  A liner is required to fit inside the final casing string so that new perforations can be shot.  Obviously this is a limiting factor due to the diameter of the final casing string and the diameter of the liner.  For this reason I suspect that only one re-frac is possible.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Rock Man on June 9, 2023 at 3:47

Skip - that makes sense. Earlier re frac ideas of trying to stimulate existing perforations without setting and cementing new casing / liner were less than ideal as to economic success.

Thinking one can set 4" slim hole liner inside 5.5" casing to get a "new" cemented lateral and then frac that "new" wellbore to get viable production uptick.

The aforementioned HR and HB wells sure look like re-frac "successes" - timing may have been right to take advantage of gas prices prior to most recent price drop.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on June 9, 2023 at 7:56

At the 2022 National Association of Royalty Owners - LA Chapter convention, I was one of the presenters.  A portion of my presentation was devoted to re-fracs with specifics from those Aethon AFEs.  The AFE letter that I used then stated that Aethon had done 49 re-fracs to date.  Much of Aethon's LA Haynesville leasehold was acquired from Questar.  Questar stopped drilling new Haynesville wells several years before they sold to Aethon.  During that several year period Questar did a number of re-fracs.  I think that data helped Aethon come up with their own re-frac formula.  As part of my presentation, I made the case that wells that were good candidates for re-fracs were those with low stimulation and that the proppant loads were the key to understanding which were the best candidates for Aethon's re-frac formula.  I compared a number of wells by different operators based on the pounds of proppant per linear foot of perforated lateral.  It makes sense that low proppant loads resulted in under stimulated laterals.  Now Haynesville/Bossier operators are using more intensive frac formulas to up space their wells.  I see a number of newer alternate unit well groups that reduce the six wells per unit (governmental section) to five.

• ▶ Reply