Goodrich Touts Tuscaloosa Marine Success Despite Soft Shale Worries
Energy companies first began targeting the Tuscaloosa for the potential there – as much as 7 billion barrels of oil, according to the Basin Research Institute, Louisiana State University. However, the idea that the Tuscaloosa might not live up to advance billing took hold as activity in the Tuscaloosa got off to a slow start, in part due to the fact that many energy companies had committed their finite resources elsewhere. A lack of activity in parts of the shale left Louisiana with few, if any, rigs running in the state, Don Briggs, Louisiana Oil and Gas Association president, said in a statement earlier this year.
The perception that the softer rock would necessarily limit production has since been disproved. Shale formations offer their own challenges, and the Tuscaloosa Marine is no different; its hydrocarbon deposits are at a greater depth than, say, the Eagle Ford. However, the softer rock does not seem to be a major hurdle for drillers in the Tuscaloosa play.
In July, an Oklahoma-based independent pulled stakes from the Tuscaloosa Marine, and some parties misread the message. Devon Energy Corp. sold its two-thirds share of 277,000 leased acres to Goodrich for $26.7 million in July, according to the companies. The price was a fraction of what equivalent acreage in the Eagle Ford formation in South Texas would go for, and it increased Goodrich’s holdings in the Tuscaloosa to 320,000 acres, making it one of the formation’s chief players.
Devon’s decision to sell was a business decision, and was made with an eye toward what was going on in the market, a spokesperson for the company told Rigzone. The company evaluated several formations beginning in 2010 and 2011, and it made sense for the company to concentrate its resources elsewhere.
“We’re in several places, including the Mississippian-Woodford Trend, the Permian Basin, the Panhandle and Wyoming. We’re competing for capital, and you can’t be everywhere,” the spokesperson said.
With Goodrich now a major player in the Tuscaloosa, the company is being watched closely by others hoping to hit the jackpot in the formation. And thanks to the continued success Goodrich is having with one of its wells, the word has been getting out.
Goodrich’s Crosby well showed the potential of the Tuscaloosa formation. The well peaked at a 24-hour average rate of 1,300 barrels of oil equivalent per day, according to Goodrich president and chief operating officer Robert C. Turnham. Within the first five months of production, the Crosby well produced 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent. The total was comprised of about 1,200 barrels of oil and 600 million cubic feet of gas per day over 5 months, Turnham told Rigzone.
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