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Permalink Reply by Frank Walker on November 15, 2010 at 9:19am

In terms of the Marcellus, the natural fissures and fractures tend to run roughly northeast to southwest. The horizontals are drilled with the objective of intercepting the natural fractures at right angles. This provides and facilitates the maximum drainage of each DU (drilling unit). I believe your take on the direction of the horizontals is correct. The above has the effect of causing the DUs to lie roughly northwest to southeast, which is to say their long sides lie in that way.

Regarding the Utica, I do not know fracture direction.

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Permalink Reply by John Weightman on November 15, 2010 at 9:28am

Frank
Thanks for the information. At some point one starts to look at the direction of the proposed horizontal and their property in an attempt to figure out where they stand as far as units go.
thanks again

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Permalink Reply by Nicholas Hunley on November 17, 2010 at 5:06am

To add to what Frank has said about the units (and he's correct), some companies aren't forming their units based upon drainage. Let's forget about the ones that are just drilling verticals and moving on to HBP the acreage, but also, especially this early in the play, some companies are drilling one horizontal and holding 1200 acres. This is not based upon drainage, whatsoever. By the time anybody can do anything about it, drilling companies will have come back to drill increased density wells (or other wells from the same pad) so it gives them time to make hole and move on without worrying about expirations. A lot of leases don't even mention that a company must form a unit based upon drainage, so you've got some oddly shaped units already recorded, especially in areas where there are many lessees in a small area.

But yes, if you've got a block of contiguous leases, the easiest and best way to form a unit is to draw the box NNW to SSE.

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Permalink Reply by Frank Walker on November 17, 2010 at 10:40am

Nicholas I have to agree and I'm glad you replied. My earlier answer was quite theoretical. I ignored HBP practicalities. Sad but true, the threat of bonus loss can be a more powerful layout motivation than a wish to optimize drainage.

Here where I live, though, HBP does not seem to be messing things up too badly. The DU layouts have held pretty well . . . but they might be drilling only one well on an eight well pad before moving on. Candidly, with gas prices as low today as they are, this does not bother me a bit.

Patience wins the prize.

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Permalink Reply by Tim Hale on November 25, 2010 at 2:14pm

The units are usually a box around the lateral and a 1000' in all directions

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