American Oil and Gas Reporter - March 2017 - 49

SpecialReport: Shale Resource Science
Super Long Laterals
"If you drill laterals shorter than 10,000 feet," Tolmachev explains, "your rate of return (in the Utica condensate window) has
trouble competing with the dry gas. But with laterals in excess
of 12,000 feet, the entire calculus changes and makes it competitive with dry gas."
The lateral lengths of the 24 Utica and Marcellus wells that
Eclipse expects to drill this year in Ohio will average 13,300 feet.
The 11 super laterals, with horizontal reaches in excess of 15,000
feet, include two wells with laterals longer than 19,000 feet,
Tomachev predicts.
"We have experience with the Purple Hayes," he adds. "We
clearly understand the risks and parameters of drilling a lateral
that long, and also understand how to do it very efficiently."
During the past 10 months, Tolmachev says Purple Hayes'
production has remained flat with only a shallow decline, producing 6 MMcf of natural gas and more than 1,200 barrels of
oil a day, despite the company's aggressive pressure management
program.
The success of the Purple Hayes super lateral was the result
of "very diligent engineering upfront," from the drilling mud used
to directional drilling, casing design and wireline, Tolmachev describes. "You cannot assume what works on a shorter well will
work on a longer lateral," he explains. "Preplanning and using
the most advanced engineering techniques were the reasons for
the Purple Hayes' success."

Moving Forward
About 41 percent of Eclipse Resources' total lease acreage is
in the Utica's dry gas type-curve area, with 38 percent in the condensate area and 8 percent in the rich gas area. The remaining 13
percent is in the Marcellus condensate area.
Tolmachev says evaluating its Utica dry gas wells using the
third-generation completion design is ongoing, but the company lists its dry gas initial production rate of 19.5 MMcf/d with
an EUR of 1.9 Bcfe per 1,000 feet. That is based on a lateral length
of 13,000 feet with well costs averaging $935/1,000 feet.
Eclipse uses an average well spacing of 750 feet in the rich gas/condensate windows and 1,000 feet for dry gas wells, although Tolmachev
claims that may "be a moving target, depending on commodity prices."
"We are not resting on our laurels," he contends. "We always are
moving forward. In fact, we are piloting the first re-frac of a Utica
Shale well this year."
He adds that his preference is to drill with the toe up, which
allows the produced fluid to gravity drain toward the heel.
"The further you go, you want to make sure all stages are producing," Tolmachev points out. "We did testing that shows that
all stages completed in the Purple Hayes are contributing. The
Utica is pretty simple structurally. If you land in the right section, it is not hard to stay in the sweet spot."
He says the company plans to test its Generation 4 frac design
this year to further optimize sand use and use diversion techniques
and engineered flowback methods.
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MARCH 2017 49

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American Oil and Gas Reporter - March 2017

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