American Oil and Gas Reporter - August 2017 - 84
SpecialReport: Marcellus/Utica Update our safety record intact." Neal says CONSOL Energy has increased it proppant loads to as much as 4,000 pounds per lateral foot. It has increased lateral stage spacing from 1,100 feet to 1,500 feet. He says the company also is targeting 11,000-foot-plus lateral lengths, when possible. By switching from 5-inch to 51⁄2-inch OD tubulars, Neal says CONSOL Energy has reduced friction pressure, allowing it to speed its drilling mud and clean the holes quicker, which enables it to employ larger cylinders in its pumps, which he notes is one more way CONSOL has improved efficiency and EURs. CONSOL Energy's average EUR is 2.8 Bcf per 1,000 feet of lateral in its Monroe County wells, according to Neal. He adds that CONSOL also has been able to sign new contracts with pipeline carriers taking gas out of the Appalachian Basin, which resulted in better pricing from fourth quarter 2016 to the first quarter of this year. "I recently passed four pipeline projects on my way to a rig site on Highway 558," Neal comments, noting the continuous efforts to get the region's abundant gas to multiple markets. "Even at $2.50 before taxes, these wells have a 90 percent rate of return," he enthuses. "We are extremely happy with them. We have reduced our costs to $9 million a well." Pad Drilling By June, CONSOL Energy had drilled its SWITZ 16 and SWITZ 5 Utica pads in Monroe County, Oh., and the PENS 2 Marcellus Shale pad in Ritchie County, W.V., according to Neal. The company also has drilled the SWITZ 28 and SWITZ 26 pads, and moved to the SWITZ 7 pad. Neal says he expects production from the SWITZ 28 in the third quarter and production from SWITZ 26 by early in the fourth quarter. Neal says the company is drilling four wells a pad in Monroe County, and usually six-eight wells a pad in the Marcellus. "That seems to be the right mix for us," he reflects. "If you drill too many wells on a pad, it delays the time to begin receiving income from those wells." He adds that CONSOL's frac crew working on the SWITZ 28 pad was able to move to an adjacent pad 800 feet away and fracture eight wells without rigging down. Frac design optimization and improved logistics resulted in CONSOL Energy fracturing an average of 1,245 feet a day, compared with 800 feet a day in 2016. At that pace, with pads drilled and ready to fracture, a crew can complete 46 Marcellus wells a year with an average lateral length of 8,000 feet, he says. CONSOL Energy also set a record by drilling a 7,380-foot Marcellus lateral in Washington County, Pa., in only 23 hours. CONSOL Energy is targeting both the Utica and Marcellus shale in southeastern Ohio, southwestern Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Through May, the company had drilled 15 wells with two horizontal rigs. CONSOL says it is using as much as 4,000 pounds of proppant per lateral foot, and has increased lateral stage spacing from 1,100 to 1,500 feet. 84 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER "Our team is laser-focused," Neal lauds, noting the company has employees with 20-30 years of experience. "I expect we will break that record this year." Neal points out that CONSOL's guidance says it will drill 25 wells total in 2017 in the Pennsylvania dry gas window. "We are capable of doing more, but that may depend on the price," he adds. In January, CONSOL Energy finished completion activity on its ACAA 1 pad at the Pittsburgh International Airport in Allegheny County, Neal mentions. The ACAA 1 pad contains six Marcellus wells as well as one Burkett and one Rhinestreet well. "We are testing the Burkett and Rhinestreet," Neal explains. "Our results are very preliminary; we will have more to report later." Three of the Marcellus Shale wells were turned to sales in the first quarter with the remaining five carrying into the second quarter. Neal says all the wells on the airport lease are wet gas. Longer Laterals Dennis Degner, vice president for the Appalachia Division of Range Resources, contends the future emphasis in the Marcellus and Utica plays will be on longer lateral completions. "I think the continual process to make longer laterals successful and repeatable for the strongest returns will be the strategy for the next couple years," he predicts. Range drilled three laterals in excess of 15,000 feet in the first five months of 2017, according to Degner, including the longest Marcellus lateral drilled to date. That well was in Washington County, Pa. "Those three wells started producing in June," he states, "so it is a little early, but we are encouraged by the results." Drilling longer laterals faster is the end result of a number of factors. Degner lists bit selection, improved rotary steerable tools and an improved mud program among the elements that have helped Range drill faster. "On the completion side, the big leaps came between 2011 and 2015," he relates. "The increases in efficiency may come now from higher sand concentrations." Focus On Marcellus Range has 1.5 million net acres of stacked pay potential across Pennsylvania.
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