Tioga PA: North Central Utica Well Results from Seneca Resources: 22.7MMcf

From the press release (with pictures of the flare at the bottom of the post):

March 05, 2015 04:15 PM Eastern Standard Time

WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Seneca Resources Corporation (“Seneca”), the wholly owned exploration and production subsidiary of National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) (“National Fuel” or the “Company”) has announced initial results from a recently completed well in the Utica Shale formation in Tioga County, Pa.

Seneca recently completed an exploration well, targeted for the Utica Shale formation, on a pad located within its DCNR 007 tract in Tioga County, Pa. The well had a 24-hour peak production rate of 22.7 million cubic feet (“MMcf”) of natural gas per day. The well was drilled to a true vertical depth of approximately 12,200 feet, had a treatable lateral length of 4,640 feet, and was completed over 30 stages.

Ronald J. Tanski, President and Chief Executive Officer of National Fuel Gas Company, stated, “We are very pleased with the initial production results from our first Utica Shale well in Tioga County, Pa. This well, along with wells drilled by other operators in the area, have de-risked the Utica potential of our 10,000 acres on DCNR Tract 007. We estimate resource potential on this tract alone of approximately 1 trillion cubic feet. With these strong results in hand our team is evaluating options to develop this acreage in the next few years, depending on local gas prices and pipeline take-away capacity. We have additional Utica potential not only in Tioga County, but across much of our large Pennsylvania acreage position. Our next Utica exploration well is planned for fiscal 2016."

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Permalink Reply by Tim on March 6, 2015 at 3:00am
Permalink Reply by paleface on March 6, 2015 at 3:13am

 There's a lot of orange in that flame?

Permalink Reply by wyalusing jim on March 6, 2015 at 12:39pm

does anyone know what the best Marcellus results in tioga county were?

wj

Permalink Reply by Frank Walker on March 7, 2015 at 3:41am

Gosh this is marvelous news!!  It will take years and much higher NG prices, but I cannot wait for them to commence Utica exploration in NW Bradford County.  Utica NG is here big time.  I'm certain of it!    

Permalink Reply by Tim on March 8, 2015 at 5:12am

thx Josie

Permalink Reply by G S Gass on March 8, 2015 at 6:52am

Tim, thanks for sharing.  

Looks like Seneca Resources and SWEPI have firmed up a significant Utica trend, which justifies the recent lease acquisition efforts in Tioga and Potter Counties! 

Permalink Reply by Jack Young on March 8, 2015 at 11:41am

My understanding is that Seneca has no leasing going on in either Potter or Tioga Counties. They're sticking with their fee acreage and DCNR leaseholds. Hopefully Greg will know more about Shell's efforts - I believe that they just cut back their active area and offers in both counties to bring them in line with a substantially reduced 2015 budget, But I haven't heard yet exactly what these cuts involve.

Permalink Reply by Tim on March 9, 2015 at 3:21am

Jack,

Was Shell actively leasing in Potter in 2014?  Did they record any leases in Potter?

'Substantially reduced 2015 budget' --- can you factually expand on this statement for the readers?

The Dominion auction will give all of us a data point to better understand what operators value the acreage across the Utica play.  

Permalink Reply by Jack Young on March 9, 2015 at 4:00am

I think I've mentioned this before, so apologies to those who remembered that post. Shell's agreement with Ultra gave Ultra a 90 day period to renew leases after the Shell closing, so Shell's own leasing efforts in Potter County were late and limited during 2014. Many of the 2014 deals didn't actually close until early 2015 due to year-end time constraints. Some of those leases have been recorded and some are still being processed. For those who didn't get their deals in under the 2014 budget there may be opportunities to lease in 2015, but the prices will be lower, the terms longer and the areas of interest more limited.

I'm not sure any reader would need an explanation of why almost every operator active in our area has reduced their budget for 2015 substantially. You just need to look at the gas prices being reported by Inside FERC to know that nothing in this region will be very profitable to lease, drill or produce in the short term.

Permalink Reply by Tim on March 9, 2015 at 4:31am

ty Josie

Permalink Reply by Tim on March 9, 2015 at 4:22am

Clearly, Shell was not taking on new leases in Potter in 2014, so it can hardly be a 'negative' that they are currently not actively leasing there now, besides extending their bought acreage, which is already well-known.

Again, NO NEGATIVE HERE>

In spite of lower nat gas prices in 4th Qtr of 2014, and again, not sure why I have to explain this to you again, Travis Peak and JKLM INCREASED the prices being paid in Potter County PA.  The most likely reason for the current 'pause' is many operators, both locally active, and many not currently locally active, are very engaged with the 12,000 acre auction currently ongoing.

It is of LITTLE SURPRISE that those active operators are focusing on the auction, and less focused on 'leasing'.  Once the auction is complete, we will have a very major data point of what operators believe the value of deep acreage is across the Utica.  Obviously, for such a large, contiguous tract, the price will be higher than what a single mineral owner can expect via a lease.  However, we will have the data point to understand the current Upper End of the pricing band, CONSIDERING current gas prices.

At that point, we will have a much better idea where current lease prices stand.

Permalink Reply by Tim on March 9, 2015 at 4:27am

Seneca just hit a 22.7MMcf Utica Well in Tioga County, PA.

This is VERY SOLID, long-term positive for the area.  The data on the wells continues to prove that the Northern Utica is Real, prolific, and will continue to be drilled to test the boundaries of the play.

Let's get behind the crew over in Keating and wish them luck in their drilling.  Hitting 10 foot target down 11-12,000 feet is not easy task, even with sophisticated technology.  Good luck Boys!

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