Oil found below the Haynesville.

Is a Smackover Rush Coming?

Wouldn't it be nice if there were a "liquids rich" play below the Haynesville Shale?  The Smackover formation, which underlies the Haynesville in northern Louisiana and southern Arkansas, has been known of for a long time but drilling it was not considered economical.  But technology has advanced over the past decade and some are thinking the Smackover might be the next big oil play.  An analyst with Jefferies & Co. is now predicting as much.

That would be pretty sweet.  The Haynesville has largely been shunned in investor circles for its dry gas.  It's not that I need the attention, but another round of leasing sure would be fun.  Since the Smackover lies below the Haynesville and most leases have a vertical Pugh clause that only doesn't allow a lessee to drill below their established production, new leases would be in order for most landowners.  Can't you see it?  We can right the  wrongs of the past or get another bite of the golden apple.

A couple of weeks ago, I  noticed a Smackover completion in Webster Parish, (serial #241685).  But it might be best to sit and wait to see how things go before rushing out to buy that brand new Cadillac.  Everyone is looking for the next oil/liquids play and investment analysts love to be the first ones to make a call.  Unfortunately, they are not always right.  Let's hope this guy is...

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landownerPermalink Reply by ALongview on January 30, 2011 at 17:05
Has anyone heard of a new shale play in North Carolina?
Permalink Reply by Parkdota on January 30, 2011 at 17:07
Tony, I was thinking about Chesapeake when I posted the original info.  They've made it known they are looking for liquid rich plays so the Smackover did pop in to my mind.  I figured since I hadn't heard anything, though, that maybe it was far fetched.  I'm now real excited to see what Chesapeake does next.  Thanks for the info on them. 

landownerPermalink Reply by ALongview on January 30, 2011 at 17:10
I found this completion report interesting as Chesapeake completed in the Haynesville yet must have drilled to the Smackover as they listed it in the IP report.
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Permalink Reply by HMI on January 30, 2011 at 17:27
What happened to the notion that the bottom hole temps were to hot (400 degrees +) for there to be oil present at those depths and temps? Is this physically plausible even?

Oil & Gas ProPermalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on January 31, 2011 at 2:48

HMI, the answer to that question is contained in the actual article.  First paragraph:

 

The Lower Smackover formation in southern Arkansas and northern Louisiana "could emerge as the next new oil play," energy analysts with the Jefferies & Co. firm say in a note to investors.

 

The Smackover Brown Dense Prospect has been followed and discussed on GHS for a year.  I know this discussion makes it sound like an exciting new development but it is not.  You can read the discussions in the S. Arkansas group concerning the two wells drilled to date.  One was plugged and the other exhibited sub-economic production. There is a third permitted.  In regard to your question regarding the depth and temperature, the depth of the SMK where these wells are being drilled is less than half the depth of the formation across much of the Haynesville Shale Play.  Keep in mind the prospect is along an east/west axis approximately 12 miles either side of the LA./AR. border.  The Smackover Formation "outcrops"  (is at surface level) in Smackover, AR.  There have been producing vertical Smackover wells in these areas for 75 years.




landownerPermalink Reply by obed w odom on January 31, 2011 at 4:22
I thought the Smackover got its name from the fact that it first produced in the Smackover, AR, field, rather than its being at surface level in Smackover,

Oil & Gas ProPermalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on January 31, 2011 at 4:33
obed, you could be correct.  Formations are generally named for either the place where they outcrop or where they were first penetrated.  Regardless of which is the fact in this case, the SMK formation depth along the state line is significantly more shallow as stated than the SMK in the central and southern reaches of the HS Play.  Therefore the formation temps and pressures are significantly different.

Oil & Gas ProPermalink Reply by Les Bamburg on January 31, 2011 at 8:46
Obed, same goes for the Haynesville, Cotton Valley, Rodessa, Bossier, etc.  Heck there is even a Hall Summit & Converse.  Maybe it should have been the "Stonewall Shale". 

landownerPermalink Reply by Spring Branch,mineral owner on January 31, 2011 at 9:32
Or the Keithville Shale!

landownerPermalink Reply by JHH on January 31, 2011 at 9:41
Or the Chicken Dinner Shale... if we're lucky!
Permalink Reply by Parkdota on January 31, 2011 at 10:03
I like the Desoto Parish Shale....the area with the most rigs wins.

landownerPermalink Reply by ledlights on January 31, 2011 at 14:20
We have discovered  a lot of gas in the Eggplant and Cauliflower shales.  The Undercooked Bean shale can be extremely productive if the bottom hole pressure can be managed.  There are probably more such shales to be found along the same general trend, although in some areas there is also an unfortunate increase in H2S.  There has been some concern about Kraft Foods buying out the independents involved in those plays.  Their dressings group is interested in the wetter trends.  But all of the plays in this trend are known to contain source generating materials and are not just capture strata.  (it's been a long day)

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