Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Joe Aldridge on September 24, 2011 at 1:57

I still think the long laterals are a problem in AC. I would assume that they drilled the lateral down-dip in the formation. If you drill into the basement on the lateral then you may pick-up more water. AS I've said long laterals in AC will be a problem.

Permalink Reply by bulldog on September 24, 2011 at 2:21

The only way to make the play profitable will be longer laterals or well designed duals. The cheapest part of the well is the lateral section. It drills the fastest and adds more of the crucial surface area contacting the Chalk. On a $ spent/ft drilled or $ spent/EUR basis it is the most important part of the well. Longer the better. This concept has been proven across multiple shale plays.

 

With that said, I don't see a problem with longer laterals when drilled in the updip more hydrocarbon rich portion of the Chalk. I would agree that the laterals need to be stage acidized much like shale wells are completed with stage frac jobs. This would ensure that any drilling induced damage is removed prior to production.

 

It appears that Nelson is setting their well up in this fashion.

Permalink Reply by dbob on September 24, 2011 at 3:43

Bulldog

 

The high water cut, 2bbl water per bbl of oil, isn't ultimately that significant of issue.  Maybe not as desirable, and maybe it takes time to get the infrastructure in place in a given area to handle high volumes.

 

Permalink Reply by Joe Aldridge on September 24, 2011 at 4:20

dbob,

I think you need to look at what depth the tail of the latereal ended up at. If its down dip then that could be a problem especially if they lost mud into the upper fractures.

Permalink Reply by Joe Aldridge on September 24, 2011 at 4:17

BD,

This is not a shale play. You can build a wall cake in sand and shale. You can not do that in fluid filled voids - natural fractures - without filling them with mud and plugging them. As far as the economics are concerned these wells should produce 2000 barrels a day with a short lateral and and a clean completion. At 2000 bbls per day the well pays out in 120 to 180 days. I don't see where that you are coming from with the thing about economics of the play. These well should last 15-20 years. And as for Nelson/Pryme they are doing short laterals. Under 5000 ft.

Permalink Reply by Old Scout on September 24, 2011 at 5:03

This brings me to the bigger question: Is the Dominique 27 sufficiently viable to justify Anadarko's stake and will it keep them and others coming back for more. At what point does Anadarko fold up their tent in the Avoyelles/St. Landry area?

Also, regarding the economics of this well.... if provisions were already in place and budgeted for water/oil separation, does a higher-than-expected water/oil ratio push it closer to being prohibitive? You have to think they knew it was coming and was no real surprise.  As a non-geological guy, I'll go out on a limb and say that water/oil has been around since Rockefeller, and efficiencies have made it less of an issue over the years. 753 is 753. It all depends on the cost of water.

Permalink Reply by bulldog on September 24, 2011 at 7:08

The high water production isn't a surface issue its a reservoir issue. Water takes the place of hydrocarbon in the formation and increases the hydrostatic pressure in the wellbore raising the bottom hole flowing pressure. When the FBHP is increased the surface pressure is decreased. All of this results in lower recovery efficiencies and lower EUR's.

 

Water production isn't as big of a problem in the western part of the play b/c there is a higher GOR which helps lift out the produced water.

 

Anadarko will take all of this in to account and move back up dip towards the shelf and make great wells with their long 8000'+ laterals.

Permalink Reply by dbob on September 24, 2011 at 7:47

Thanks!

 

Permalink Reply by Old Scout on September 25, 2011 at 5:03

Putting on my non-geological hat again and playing devil's advocate for a moment....

I want to address the subject of seismic data and the accuracy and dependability of same. Anadarko obviously had faith in available data at the time they gave the D27 the go ahead. In light of what we know today, I think it can safely be said that it's pretty much a crap shoot and all the slick seismic information gathering doesn't necessarily guarantee a high ROI. What I'm saying is that until we see what their next move is - North, South, East, West - I think it's a safe bet that the area is still in discovery mode and any land holdings in reasonable proximity to the D27 is still fair game. Question: is seismic data gathering bringing up the rear when compared to lateral technology? Might be a stupid question, but from what I'm seeing, it has it's limitations.

Permalink Reply by Joe Aldridge on September 24, 2011 at 9:35

OS,

This is exactly what I've been saying: If these companies don't get it right soon then they will start going home. I think they are bringing technology and techniques that are used in shale and applying  them to Chalk. The two types of formations have no similarity. 

Now about the water. It has to be disposed of and that means injected back into a salt water bearing sand. So you have to have a deep disposal well to take it to. There is expense involved. Also, there is the weight of the water in the fluid column in the well. That limits to some degree the amount of production that can be produced from a well that is making a good amount of water.

Permalink Reply by William C. Morrison on September 25, 2011 at 6:21

In reply to Old Scout, first did you watch the West Virginia game?  Second all seismic data has its limitations and must be confirmed by actual wells.  Thirdly there are injection wells all over the place, there must be at least 5 of them in Pointe Coupee alone.  And a company has already applied for a license to dispose of "fracking fluids" in Pointe Coupee.  I would be concerned however with the sheer volume of water and the expense to haul it to disposal sights.  I live atop the Barnett Shale and see water trucks all the time here.  One can see at least three disposal sites along I-20 corridor.

Permalink Reply by Old Scout on September 25, 2011 at 6:35

That's it in a nutshell - how much of a nuisance (financially) is water.

Yes - I watched the game. Did you this??... LSU Leaps to top of AP Poll

 

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