Indigo Minerals has applied to the state to form 2 Haynesville Shale Units (HA RA SUY and HA RA SUX) in the King Hill Field.  The application also includes 5 HC (Horizontal Cross - long lateral) wells.  Since the sections/units are undrilled, these 5 wells will serve as "unit wells" and, if drilled and found to be productive, will hold the leases covering those sections.  These units if fully developed would mean the drilling of 54 to 72 horizontal wells (6 to 8 wells per unit depending on how Indigo chooses to space them).

This is an area that was deemed non-economic by a handful of early wells.  However the willingness to explore these areas (and there are numerous others) is the result of the new well designs.  Though many choose to focus on the lateral length, that is more of a cost saving to the operator than a boon to the mineral owner.  Where the mineral owner does benefit is in the "high intensity" completion designs (shorter frac stages, more perforation clusters and massive amounts of sand and water).  The early Haynesville well designs pumped anywhere from 1000# to 2000# of sand per linear foot of perforated lateral.  The new designs pump 3000# to 4000# and stimulate a much larger volume of rock.  The cross unit laterals do provide one additional benefit for everyone.  The elimination of the "no perf" zone.  Prior to the approval of cross unit laterals, there could be no perf cluster (and thus no production) closer than 330 from a unit boundary.  Now as wells drill north south, they stimulate rock that never before contributed to production.  Potentially another 80 acres in a 640 acre unit equal to an additional well at 8 well per unit spacing by eliminating the no perf zones on the north and south ends of each unit.

It will be interesting to see when Indigo begins to explore this new area of interest and to follow their progress.  Use the link below to view the unit and unit well plats for this area along the Red River and Natchitoches parish lines in the King Hill Field and the Redoak Lake Field.

INDIGO%20KING%20HILL%20REDOAK%20LAKE%20UNITS-WELLS.pdf