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Permalink Reply by Jack Straw on March 10, 2013 at 8:23am

RE: "Is it just a scheduling issue that drilled verticals sit waiting to be fracked for a few months or longer?"

Are you sure that you mean "vertical well"? If you are referring to Marcellus or Utica Shale wells, they are not normally fraced until after the horizontal portion is drilled (as it is the long horizontal portion that makes the economics of the shale plays viable).

 

If you indeed intended to refer to vertical wells, then there are a number of reasons these might sit as "suspended" wells:

Waiting on another (more suitable) rig to come in to drill the horizontal leg.

To hold acreage in a manner that they spend the least amount possible (at this point in time), and yet satisfy terms of a lease.

They may wish to defer the costs of proceeding until they have sufficient funds budgeted to proceed.

They may wish to defer the costs of proceeding until commodity prices improve.

They may wish to take time to evaluate data/samples from the vertical well to determine the best way to proceed with the horizontal portion.

They may have a (temporary?) cash flow problem, or wish to dedicate their current cash elsewhere.

And ... there are doubtless other possible reasons that I have not immediately thought of.

 

All IMHO,

                 JS 

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Permalink Reply by Kathleen on March 10, 2013 at 10:46am

I should have been clearer, it is the vertical wells drilled before the horizontal drilling.
So the same rigs are not used for the horizonal that they use for the horizonal?
Months ago after the vertical portion of a well was finished and taken down I saw what looked like a much smaller rig (no flag) on a pad but it was only there for a few days, 5 max. I never found out what that was but now I wonder if it was the horizonal drilling rig.

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Permalink Reply by Jack Straw on March 10, 2013 at 11:50am

RE: "So the same rigs are not used for the horizonal that they use for the horizonal?"

Often a single rig will drill the entire well, vertical portion and horizontal.

However, a less capable (and therefore significantly cheaper) rig  can be used to drill the vertical hole, with a more capable rig subsequently (at a later date) coming in to drill the horizontal portion. A number of operational and strategic factors might lead to arriving at such a decision, some of which were previously noted. Also, this might be done to save money, or this might be done as a way of drilling more wells with the mix of rigs available.

 

JS 

 

 

 

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