“We also think once we get patterns for each area we can de-risk the play and provide a salient case for investment, whether it be an e&P company, fund or private individual to join us and support further drilling,” he said.

Added to this, Blackford says Kansas is a good place to do business since it’s reasonable from a regulatory basis.

Join the Discussion in Kansas Oil & Gas

“If you do the right things and operate responsibly, they are willing to work with you and they like to promote new business ventures coming in,” Blackford said. “so they are looking for ways to grow their economy, and that fits well with what we’d like to do.”

Blackford brings almost 30 years of energy experience to Toto Energy LLC. It includes expertise in marketing midstream development and upstream facilities and construction. But he decided to explore shale because, as he puts it, the industry is booming, and technological advances make it an exciting venture, while gaining increasing responsibility for results.

“Fracking and directional drilling weren’t a part of the game back when I was originally doing E&P, and i like to do new things and keep growing my background,” Blackford said. “This opportunity gave me a chance to see those particular sectors,” he said.

As Toto Energy’s COO Blackford is responsible for drilling and developing 100,000 acres in the Mississippi Lime play. Yorktown Capital Venture Fund IX, Roemer Interests and North Shore Energy, LLC are backing the venture, which commenced in 2010 when Lamar Roemer and his partner Northshore Energy, headed by Steve Swanson, began leasing acreage and accumulated rights to drill on 100,000 acres in nine Kansas counties. Toto Energy was conceived at the end of 2012, officially formed on March 1st of 2013, and began exploration in May.

While Toto Energy is currently pursuing new acreage north of the Oklahoma border where there has been past success, Blackford says their primary focus – since they have so much acreage under control across south central Kansas – is on drilling what they already hold.

Join the Discussion in Oklahoma Oil & Gas

“We’ve got four primary areas,” he said. “The first is SE of Wichita Kansas and the other three are west and somewhat south and north of Wichita Kansas, about an hour and a half’s drive west of Wichita. so we call it South Central or South East.”

The counties where Toto currently holds acreage includes Barber, Kiowa, Edwards, Pratt and Pawnee counties to the west, Stafford, Reno and Kingman counties in the center and Cowley to the East.

“In all of those areas we have a certain amount of acreage and we’re right now drilling a portion of that acreage to determine the potential...[and] to determine potential then set a plan for further development in each area,” Blackford said.

Toto Energy believes this approach will help them better understand geological complexities in the area, which have resulted in wells that are less repeatable when compared to other parts of the country. This has been the Mississippi Lime’s biggest problem to date as far as attracting new investment.

It’s also an issue Blackford plans to address when he delivers the keynote address during the 2013 Mississippi Lime & Chert Drilling & Completions Congress in Oklahoma City, October 29th – 30th.

“I will be speaking on completion patterns for a broad area in kansas in the Mississippi lime. it’s critical to have a completion plan to basically explore and exploit where you’re drilling,” Blackford said. “To us there are two key variables. One is the geology and the other is the completion, and if you get both of those right, you should have a successful play.”

During his address he will also delve into for certain types of reservoirs, and fracking and completion approaches they found to be most successful to date.

He added that the timing of the congress is great because Toto Energy has drilled 11 wells since May, and the event allows them to share their experience, gain some feedback from other completion experts and introduce themselves to larger industry.

He is also hopeful it will provide viable opportunities for further investments in the Mississippi lime, which he considers to be relatively low risk, since the only other significant challenge they’re facing in the area is not necessarily a bad one to have, as it’s proof of how lucrative the industry currently is. With oil prices still peaking at above $100USD per barrel, drilling is big business, which means workers have many choices. This sometimes leads to labor shortages, which can delay drilling and completion longer than the average six to seven weeks.