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Permalink Reply by PA roughneck on May 6, 2013 at 7:32am

Brian,
  that's a common occurrence here in the Marcellus/Utica where well bores may be just a thousand feet or so apart. Idea is to not allow any 'communication' between well bores. If a well is being drilled adjacent to a producing lateral, the producing well's fractured formation 'may' provide a conduit for either the gas to head to the well bore being drilled or for drilling fluids in the well being drilled to head for the producing well.
  As a driller, I'd rather deal with the possible gas/oil pressures a shut in well might give me while drilling a well adjacent as opposed to dealing with potential loss of our drilling fluids to the well beside us. Lack of fluids in that hole can lead to a 'kick' or even a blow out- no telling what they do to production equipment on the other well when they surface!
   Hope this helps,
                                            roughneck

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Permalink Reply by Jo on May 6, 2013 at 11:11am

Hi Brian

This happens when the price of gas is not what the company wants, they will cap it until the price per MCF or MCF/BBL goes up.  Has to do with production and demand.  They are in the business to make money.

Joan

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Permalink Reply by Brian Dean Walters on May 7, 2013 at 2:05am

Thank you for your input Joan. I appreciate it and I can agree that they want to control production to get the most money per barrel.  I also found out since I posted my question that they are bringing in the drilling rig very soon to drill the other wells and it is against the law to have a producing well active while they are drilling other wells.  So I have been told by Chesapeake.   

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