American Oil and Gas Reporter - May 2016 - 77

SpecialReport: Mid-Continent Activity Profile
acres in the heart of the historical Kern
County Field, which has produced more
than 100 million barrels of oil equivalent.
But Brunner contends the field has been
underexplored because of piecemeal development by small, competing companies
without 3-D data.

(the Mississippian Lime) that didn't pan
out," Brunner reveals. "We are reprocessing
36 square miles of 3-D to refocus on a
shallow vertical program. We will be
drilling our first well in the third quarter
or early in the fourth quarter."
He calls the Pearsonia a low-cost con-

"We picked up 106,000 acres to take advantage of an area
that was the focus of a deeper horizontal play that didn't
pan out. We are reprocessing 36 square miles of 3-D to
refocus on a shallow vertical program."
STEPHEN BRUNNER
President, Petro River Oil

"We are permitting and shooting approximately 60 square miles of new seismic in both plays," he states. "We believe
there are multiple opportunities with
stacked pays. The Kern County Field is
shallower than Grapevine; we will drill
to 4,000-8,500 feet. Because of the downturn, we believe we can complete the
wells for close to 60 percent of what it
cost three years ago. We expect applying
new 3-D data will illuminate numerous
undrilled opportunities. We plan to drill
our first well in the fourth quarter or the
first quarter of next year, if the analysis
is ready."
Brunner calculates primary recovery
alone from previously untapped areas
could yield up to an additional 50 percent
of the oil and gas already produced from
the field. He also notes that both Petro
River and Horizon are fully funded for
the first year of operations, and neither
company has any debt.
Brunner says he anticipates estimated
ultimate recoveries from the Kern County
Field at 200,000-300,000 boe per well,
while the Grapevine Field could realize
EURs of 1.0 MMboe-1.5 MMboe per
well.
Pearsonia West Project
Petro River Oil is using the same strategy in Oklahoma: drilling vertical wells
in relatively shallow conventional legacy
reservoirs using modern 3-D seismic surveys.
"We picked up 106,000 acres in Osage
County to take advantage of an area that
was the focus of a deeper horizontal play

ventional project surrounded by 800 million barrels of historical production. Petro
River plans to drill five vertical wells
this year at a cost of $300,000 a well.
"It is fairly shallow, just 3,000-4,000
feet," he adds.
The company is targeting the Mississippian-aged Chert formation and Pennsylvanian-aged formations. Brunner estimates EURs at 50,000 boe per well. He
calls the Osage County field a "prolific
producing area," but says Petro River is
using the new 3-D seismic to find over-

Carboniferous basin in Europe."
There are several reasons, according
to Brunner, why the Larne Basin has not
been tested. One is the geopolitical situation that existed with the Irish Republican
Army. Another reason is that shallow
volcanic rocks are present, making it difficult to image below.
"Seismic technology has caught up,
though, and the IRA is no longer an
issue," he allows.
Brunner says an affiliate was drilling
a salt storage well that encountered material natural gas shows, mitigating source
risk. Petro River's partners acquired 400
kilometers of proprietary 2-D seismic
data and interpretation. A drilling rig was
to be on site this month to commence
drilling the Woodburn Forest No. 1 well,
and Brunner says he believes the company
will have results in early June.
The depth is 6,000 feet, and Brunner
claims the first target could yield an EUR
of 40 MMboe.
"But that is not the primary purpose
of the test well," he insists. "This is the
first direct test of the Carboniferous source
rock. We believe we have structure and
traps; we want to prove we have the
source. The group is spending $5 million
on this first well to prove the presence of
an active petroleum system in the basin.
If it is successful, it will allow us to
move into exploration and development."
Brunner says the Larne Basin has

"We have a group of investors and share a philosophy that
we have to replace reserves. So we decided to drill the
well, even with depressed commodity prices."
ROBERT STEWART
President, Stewart Producers Inc.

looked traps.
"The economics are robust," he exudes.
Larne Basin
Petro River Oil's most unique project,
however, may be the one it is developing
in the Larne Basin near Belfast, Northern
Ireland.
"We have 130,000 acres, both onshore
and offshore, with our partners," Brunner
reports. "Larne is the only unexplored

broad similarities to the prolific, nearby
East Irish Sea Basin, which also has a
Carboniferous source, and has produced
more than 220 million barrels of oil and
4 trillion cubic feet of gas. Brunner says
he believes the play will produce both
oil and gas, which is especially beneficial
in Northern Ireland, where gas prices are
much higher than in the United States.
"This kind of exploration is really
unique, but the economics are robust,"
he contends.
MAY 2016 77

American Oil and Gas Reporter - May 2016

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