Tuesday, December 16, 2014WASHINGTON, Pa. -- Range Resources says it believes the company’s Utica/Point Pleasant well in Washington County, has achieved the highest initial production rate of any horizontal well drilled in the Appalachian Basin. The company made the announcement at the same time it released a 2015 capital spending budget of $1.3 billion -- a decrease of 18% from its 2014 budget.
Range said its Claysville Sportsman's Club No. 1 well achieved an average 24-hour test rate of 59.0 billion cubic feet per day against simulated pipeline pressure and conditions during the initial flow back. The well was drilled and cased to a true vertical depth of 11,693 feet with the 5,420-foot horizontal lateral completed with 32 frac stages. Initial calculations indicate a 0.88 psi/foot pressure gradient. This initial production (IP) rate equates to a 10.9 billion cubic feet per day IP rate per 1,000 foot of lateral.
“We believe this is a record for any horizon drilled in the Appalachian Basin and also represents the highest IP rate of any Utica well. Range believes this well confirms its geological interpretation and enhances the value of Range's stacked-pay acreage position in southwest Pennsylvania. The well is owned 87.5% by Range,” the company said in its announcement.
Added Range CEO Jeff Ventura in a prepared statement, “We are very excited about the initial test results of our Utica/Point Pleasant well. Given our 400,000 net acre acreage position in the area, coupled with existing well control and 3-D seismic, we believe this translates into significant potential. Being able to drill additional Utica wells on the same locations as our Marcellus wells should further enhance our capital efficiency for many years to come.”
Citing improved capital efficiencies from its Marcellus activities, Range said it delivers year-over-year production growth in the 20% to 25% range despite the reduction in its capital budget. The 2015 capital budget includes approximately $1.065 billion for drilling and recompletions, $155 million for leasehold and renewals, $55 million for pipeline tie-ins and facilities and $25 million for seismic and other. By division, the 2015 capital budget is approximately 92% directed to the Marcellus, Southern Appalachia 4% and Midcontinent 4%.
As previously announced, Range said it will increase the lateral lengths and the number of frac stages for its 2015 Marcellus wells to average 6,200 feet with 31 frac stages, or approximately 200 feet between stages.
Range has a current leasehold position of approximately 400,000 net acres in southwestern Pennsylvania that it considers as prospective for the Utica/Point Pleasant.
SOURCE: Range Resources
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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