Forest has completed another 20+ MMcfd well.
DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul. 13, 2009-- Forest Oil Corporation (NYSE:FST) (Forest or the Company) today announced results from its second horizontal Haynesville Shale well in Red River Parish, Louisiana. The Driver 13-1H (100% WI) produced into the sales line at a rate of 20.3 MMcfe/d with 6500 psi flowing casing pressure in early July 2009. This prolific well was drilled and completed with a horizontal leg of 3,500 feet and a ten stage frac for a total well cost of approximately $9.0 million.
Forest holds approximately 11,050 net acres in Louisiana prospective for the Haynesville Shale and has identified 110 additional potential horizontal locations on this acreage. Forest intends to maintain a one-rig drilling program in Red River Parish for the remainder of 2009 and an additional rig in other prospective areas in the play.
H. Craig Clark, President and CEO, stated, “We are very pleased with the results from this Red River well. Our drilling and completion design delivered a well with results which are at the high end of the range for initial production per lateral length and number of frac stages for only $9 million. We intend to further improve costs and efficiencies as we expand upon our drilling effort in the play. Further, we intend to allocate a horizontal development rig to Red River Parish for the foreseeable future to exploit our acreage position. Our second rig will work both Texas and Louisiana properties in the future.
“Forest intends to continue its current horizontal drilling effort in the Haynesville Shale and the Texas Panhandle Granite Wash areas in order to refine its drilling and completion techniques. When costs and commodity prices improve to more attractive levels, Forest intends to deploy a rig count commensurate with its size and scale focused in these areas.”
Estimated Net Sales Volume for the Three Months Ended June 30, 2009
For the three months ended June 30, 2009, Forest’s average oil and gas net sales volume is estimated to be 520 MMcfe/d, representing a 3% increase compared to 505 MMcfe/d in the corresponding 2008 period and a 5% decrease compared to 550 MMcfe/d for the three months ended March 31, 2009. As forecasted, net sales volumes decreased from the three months ended March 31, 2009 due to a significantly reduced rig count. Forest operated only four rigs in the second quarter of 2009 and continues to defer significant investments until drilling and completion costs are reduced to acceptable levels to support a larger drilling program at current natural gas prices.