HAYNESVILLE SHALE GAS COST CUTS LURE DRILLERS FROM MARCELLUS

Note:  The media is beginning to recognize the increase in Haynesville drilling even if they continue to mistakenly  think that some of that activity occurs in Arkansas.  One day they may understand that not only is there no Haynesville Shale wells in AR, there are none within twenty miles of the state line.  SP

by Naureen Malik  7:38 AM CDT March 11, 2015 bloomberg.com

 (Bloomberg) -- Natural gas output from the Haynesville deposit in Louisiana, which lost the crown as the nation’s biggest source of gas from shale two years ago, is growing again as drilling costs decline.

Chesapeake Energy Corp., the biggest U.S. gas producer after Exxon Mobil Corp., said it’s scaling back production at the Marcellus deposit in Pennsylvania to focus on Haynesville, while Comstock Resources Inc. is testing a process called “refracking” to get more gas from Haynesville wells that were previously hydraulically fractured.

Gas flows from Haynesville have climbed 7 percent from a four-year low in July, government data show. Output is still down 33 percent from a 2011 high as producers migrated north to the Marcellus, the biggest shale-gas region, to take advantage of low costs and higher yields.

“The companies that are becoming increasingly more active in the Haynesville are getting better at cost reduction,” Teri Viswanath, director of commodities strategy at BNP Paribas SA in New York, said in a March 9 telephone interview. “We are hearing about refracking, and a couple of companies have done this as a way to improve returns out of the play, but we’ve also heard that the efficiency gains have gotten better.”

Spot gas at the Henry Hub in Erath, Louisiana, traded at $2.79 per million British thermal units Wednesday, compared with $1.65 for Marcellus gas in Pennsylvania at the Dominion North Point/Leidy hub, according to the Intercontinental Exchange. Henry Hub gas has been at a premium to the Dominion hub since February 2014.

Production Gain

Haynesville gas production will rise 79.5 million cubic feet a day to 7.13 billion in April from March, the most since August 2013, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Output at Marcellus wells will rise 74.5 million a day to 16.8 billion. Production growth at the Haynesville deposit, which also straddles Texas and Arkansas, will exceed Marcellus for the first time since October, when Marcellus production dropped. Haynesville lost its crown as the biggest U.S. shale-gas producer in 2012.

The break-even cost for new Haynesville gas wells has fallen to about $2.30 to $2.40 per million Btu from $4 two years ago, Moses Rahnama, an analyst at London-based consultants Energy Aspects Ltd., said in a March 10 e-mail.

Haynesville is also rebounding because supplies can be sold into a Gulf Coast market where new industrial plants are opening and liquefied natural gas exports are scheduled to start later this year, Rahnama said March 5.

New Demand

Chemical and fertilizer producers will spend about $35 billion this year through 2022 in Louisiana on new projects that rely heavily on gas, Deren Gursel, an energy analyst at Wood Mackenzie Ltd. in Boston, said in a March 10 e-mail.

“There are many unfinished wells in some of these legacy plays that require less investment and will produce reasonable volumes,” Rahnama said.

Comstock will drill 14 new Haynesville wells while testing whether “it may be less expensive” to refrack 10 existing producing wells, Chief Financial Officer Roland Burns said in a Feb. 10 conference call.

Companies hydraulically fracture shale deposits by injecting water, chemicals and sand at high pressure into wells to open fissures and release the gas.

Chesapeake is drilling longer horizontal wells and stacking them, Jason Pigott, executive senior vice president of southern division operations for Chesapeake, said in a Feb. 25 call with analysts. Some well lengths this year will be 7,500 feet to 10,000 feet, costing about $9 million to $11 million.

“One of our lowest-cost wells” was drilled in the Haynesville for about $6.3 million, Pigott said. “The teams are really just crushing it there on costs.”

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by P.G. on March 11, 2015 at 12:15

A bit off topic, but what does it sound like (noise wise) when they are fracking or re fracking a well?
All last week been hearing an anoying noise like a compressor or blower running. Heard it even in the house. The nearest well in that direction is over 2 miles away.

Haven't heard it this week.

Permalink Reply by JHH on March 11, 2015 at 14:22

Sound like Winner-Winner-Chicken Dinner!

Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on March 11, 2015 at 14:25

It bodes well for a future of steady development across much of the play area.

Permalink Reply by jscottrx on March 16, 2015 at 2:20

Haynesville: The "proving fields" of the Shale Gas Revolution.

                         - the "multi-well pad"

                         - the "re-frac"

                         - the horizontal "stack"

- { -_-} .

Permalink Reply by Bobi Carr ("parker") on March 16, 2015 at 4:32

I haven't heard anything about horizontal stack in the Haynesville.

Permalink Reply by jscottrx on March 16, 2015 at 5:36

                            /\/\/\ correction /\/\/\

disregard the       - the horizontal "stack"        entry in my above post.

apologies to the community for behaviing as a fool, careless posting.

unacceptable behavior. and thank you Bobi for bringing attention to this.

my love and passion for Haynesville, blinds me.

Permalink Reply by Steve P on March 16, 2015 at 10:41

what is "stacking" of wells?  The article quotes someone from CHK that mentions stacking, but not necessarily related to Haynesville.

Permalink Reply by jscottrx on March 16, 2015 at 11:50

Permalink Reply by Bobi Carr ("parker") on March 16, 2015 at 11:10

No problem.  I was just curious.  I hadn't heard of stacked  production in the Haynesville.

Permalink Reply by dbob on March 16, 2015 at 12:51

Bobi,

There are stacked laterals in several locations on the Texas side.  

Permalink Reply by Bobi Carr ("parker") on March 16, 2015 at 14:06

Thanks Dale,

Wow.  That is neat to know.  

I wonder if they will give it a try in Louisiana?

Permalink Reply by Henry on March 17, 2015 at 0:11

Stupid question....  Are you all talking about stacking laterals solely within the Haynesville formation?  Or are you talking about stacking laterals into the Haynesville and Bossier formations?

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