Big Star’s First Wolfcamp Horizontal Well Delivers Record Results
Big Star Oil & Gas announced yesterday that their first well in the Wolfcamp shale, in Howard County, has achieved the highest reported 30-day average rate of any Howard County Wolfcamp horizontal well to date .
The well has a productive lateral length of 7500′, and was completed using a 30-stage hybrid hydraulic fracture stimulation. The well achieved a peak 24-hour IP rate of 1725 boepd (2-phase) and had a 30 day IP rate of 1469 boepd, consisting of average rates of 1358 bopd and 670 mcfd (92% oil).
According to Railroad Commission data, Big Star’s Ryder Unit A2H well produced 23% more oil and gas in its first month than the previous top horizontal Wolfcamp well, Athlon Energy’s Tubb 39 #5H. The Ryder Unit A2H is also performing significantly above the company’s 752 MBOE Wolfcamp type curve.
The Wolfcamp Shale is located in the prolific Permian Basin and is tipped to be the next leading shale play in the U.S.
Scott Sheffield, chief executive officer of Pioneer Natural Resources, who is the largest acreage holder in the Spraberry/Wolfcamp field with about 900,000 gross acres (730,000 net acres), said back in 2013 that “The Wolfcamp could possibly become the largest oil and gas discovery in the world.”
The Wolfcamp’s variety of geological zones places it as a frontrunner among the world’s largest onshore plays. Based on recoverable reserves, the Wolfcamp is second only the Ghawar field in Saudi Arabia.
“We believe this field will reach 100 billion boe recoverable reserves at some point in time,” Sheffield said.
Article continues below this message
Have your opinion heard with Shale Gas International
We accept interesting, well-written opinion and analysis articles of up to 1,500 words, that offer unique insights into the shale industry. The articles cannot be overtly promotional in nature and need to fit into at least one of our content categories.
If accepted, the article must be exclusive to Shale Gas International website and cannot appear on any other websites, publications, etc. Each article may contain up to three links to external websites relevant to the content discussed in the piece.
If you would like to contribute to Shale Gas International website, please contact us at: editor[at]mw-ep.com
Analysts have noticed that operators in the Wolfcamp Shale that have focused on the field tend to perform much better in the region than companies that have recently moved in or only spend a fraction of their drilling budgets in the play.
“It’s not based on location,” Benjamin Shattuck, an analyst with Houston energy research firm Wood Mackenzie, said last June. “It boiled down to attention to the Permian: How long have these operators been operating in the Permian and, if they hadn’t been operating in the Permian for long, how focused are they?”
On announcing the impressive results from the Ryder Unit A2H well, Bradley Cross, President and Partner at Big Star Oil & Gas, said: “We are pleased with the record results that we have been able to achieve to date. The successful drilling and completion of our Ryder Unit A2H horizontal shale well strategically positions Big Star among a small population of private, independent oil companies with the technological capabilities and resources to be a top-tier shale player in the Midland Basin.”
Big Star is currently completing two additional Howard County horizontal wells, one in the Wolfcamp A shale and one in the Lower Spraberry shale.
The company has identified 207 gross development locations within the Wolfcamp A, Wolfcamp B, and Lower Spraberry shale horizons across its approximately 11,000 net acres of Midland Basin leasehold, and is seeking additional horizontal well development opportunities in the Middle Spraberry and Cline formations.
