A question in my mind is what maximum thickness (of a Utica Shale deposit) can be fractured by a single lateral, say in the middle of the deposit ?
Ashtabula is supposed to be between 300' and 350' thick.
It seems to me that a thicker deposit may need a multi-tiered set of laterals to do the fracturing job thoroughly enough to recover the maximum amount of resources.
Anybody else curious / or have an answer ?
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I talked to a guy that works for the state and he was saying in the South hot spot where the shale is deep the thinking is to do the multi tiered laterals. Don't know if he was correct but it makes sense. The depth of the shale might or might not mean anything, there is more to the equation than depth.
I know.
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Ohio Geological Survey Projected High Yield
I note also if all of the early Ashtabula County Clinton wells got their oil from reservoirs / pools originated by the Utica Shale (like the geologists have told us in their published reports) then the Utica throughout Ashtabula County (like a big sponge) should provide plenty of oil and natural gas (just maybe not as Wet north of the Projected High Yield boundary.
Don't let the landmen beat you up - get as much as you can for your land's natural resources.
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Having thought about this one for awhile and with the benefit of comments from others who have posted and others that I've had opportunity to speak with - I'm beginning to see how the mechanics of fracturing might work.
It appears that they can fracture the source rock (shale) between the laterals (which may be 1000' or more apart).
It looks to me like if each lateral can reach out and fracture something like 500' (horizontally) in each direction, than it's also probable that each lateral would be capable of reaching out 500' (vertically) up and down. That would mean that a 300'-350' thick Utica layer might not pose much of a problem insofar as fracturing it all is concerned.
Then the geo pressure pushes the resources through the fissures and into the bore and up the vertical to the surface and recovery.
Multi-tiered laterals may be the exception perhaps dependent on the consistancy of the source rock (shale).
Just my best guesses on how the mechanics may work generally and I could be wrong. Historically, I've had occasion to be wrong before !
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