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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant 15 hours ago

In a discussion with a friend at the Office of Conservation I discovered something that surprised me.  The 330' No Perf zones we have touched on are not regulations of the DNR/OOC.  It seems they are industry standard operating procedures that were common in the era of conventional E&P and have been carried over to the horizontal drilling era of unconventional E&P.  In that earlier drilling era I feel sure the reason was to avoid mineral trespass - drainage outside the area leased or unitized.  Ryan, you seem to infer that frac cylinders do not propagate much north and south but horizontally east to west in these north/south axis laterals.  Would I be correct in assuming that?

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Permalink Reply by Ryan Howrish 15 hours ago

That is my opinion, yes.  In the Haynesville and Bossier, with wells drilled in a N-S / S-N azimuth, fractures predominately grow perpendicular to the wellbore and vertically.

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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant 14 hours ago

I thought that was your opinion.  So, do you know why HA operators not drilling up to or very close to those north and south unit boundaries in H wells? Seems a waste of gas.

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Permalink Reply by Ryan Howrish 1 hour ago

To the best of my knowledge, it is a regulatory requirement that no perforation can be within 330ft of any unit boundary unless there is approval for cross-unit laterals.  In addition to Statewide Order 29-E, many permits I looked at clearly state that no perforation can be within 330ft of any unit boundary, with no distinction between perforations measured perpendicular or parallel with the wellbore.  The image below is a screenshot of three permits approved in the last three years that contain the provision of no perforation within 330ft of a unit boundary. 

Perhaps these can be challenged and it will take someone proposing the first and last take points to be within ~150ft of a unit boundary perpendicular to the wellbore and presenting a technical case supporting that position.

There are also individual Haynesville orders, such as 917-L, that clearly state that no perforation can be within 330ft of an existing unit line.

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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant 36 minutes ago

Thanks, Ryan.  I think that is a good place to begin a discussion of what change in the regulations might open up all that un-stimulated rock to production and monetization for mineral owners, the state and HA operators.  I will reach out to some of my contacts to see if the state would have any objection.  Do you think the HA operators would be supportive of that effort?

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