American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2021 - 48

SpecialReport: Marcellus/Utica Update
Ascent Resources Utica Holdings is running four rigs and one stimulation crew this year
to support 60-65 new well spuds and 65-70 wells turned onto production on its 340,000acre
position. The company has cut cycle times on rig moves in half while doubling daily
frac stage counts over past couple years.
87% of the position held by production.
However, the company continues to keep
an eye out for attractive acquisition targets
in the basin and elsewhere, Yankowsky
divulges.
" With our cost structure and operating
ability, we are the premier operator and
logical consolidator in the Utica, but that
is not to say we do not look across the
Lower 48, " he says.
In addition to longer laterals, efficiencies
have been achieved from a deep tophole
rig program that strictly drills intermediate
sections down to the curve before
horizontal rigs drill the lateral, Yankowsky
explains.
Cycle times on rig moves have been
cut in half over the past couple of years,
with well costs in the $550-$575 per
lateral foot range ranking as the lowest
in Appalachia, he says. A contiguous
land position has allowed the company
to steadily increase lateral lengths to
13,000-15,000 feet and achieve a record
of 18,431 feet, according to Yankowsky.
Ascent says it expects to drill a record
lateral in the 23,000-foot range before
the end of the year.
Dry gas well spacing is 1,000-1,250
feet with liquids-rich well spacings a little
tighter at 800-1,000 feet, he explains. Frac
designs include 1,300-1,400 pounds of
sand and 25-30 barrels of fluid per lateral
foot on dry gas wells and 1,500-1,550
48 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER
Greylock Energy operates more than 4,000 wells on 900,000 acres in eastern Kentucky,
West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Although most of its wells are conventional, dry gas
from the Marcellus Shale on its 110,000-acre position in Pennsylvania accounts for 85%
of Greylock's total production.
pounds of sand and 30-35 barrels of fluid
per lateral foot on liquids-rich wells.
Frac crews have gone from averaging
7.0-7.5 stages a day a few years ago to
15.5-16.0 stages a day, and the average
daily stage counts continue to rise,
Yankowsky points out.
The company has seismic data on
70% of its acreage to aid geosteering
and drilling teams that have achieved
99% or greater success rate in steering
laterals within the target zone, with a
typical target of 20-25 feet.
Ascent continues to work to minimize
emissions, replacing gas-powered pneumatics,
which account for about 30%-40%
of emissions, with air pneumatic devices
on 170 total pads, Yankowsky reports.
The company also is working to reduce
diesel consumption by using buy-back
gas and CNG via dual-fuel systems.
Ascent also is relying on longer laterals
to reduce surface impact and truck traffic
in the communities in which it operates.
" Our goal is to use 100% of our produced
water in our completion operations and
we have sharing agreements with other
operators to help us achieve this goal, "
he comments.
Ascent also is working with the American
Exploration & Production Council, The
Environmental Partnership, and the ONE
Future Coalition to drive improvements
and reduce emissions, Yankowsky says.
Scaling The Business
Although Henry Hub futures were
well above $5 in late October, futures
prices were stuck in the low $3/MMBtu
range out to 2023, notes Kyle Mork,
president and CEO at Greylock Energy
LLC. The longer-term price outlook uncertainty
calls for a measured approach
to planning, he says.
" You have almost a 50% reduction in
strip prices going out less than two years,
so the question for all of us is, 'How is all
of this going to settle out?' " Mork asks.
" We are going to have to see what happens
this winter, obviously. Of course, we all
love to have higher prices going into
winter, but where does it go from here? "
Launched in 2017 when ArcLight
American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2021

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