Entek Updates Activities in Niobrara Shale Oil Proj.

- Entek Updates Activities in Niobrara Shale Oil Proj.

Thursday, September 01, 2011
Entek Energy Ltd.

Entek provided an update on the Niobrara Shale Oil Project Appraisal Program in the Green River Basin.

Battle Mountain 14-10L – The Frontier (secondary objective) has been successfully fracture stimulated. Limited testing has been performed before completion and testing operations start on the lowest of the Niobrara Benches in the well. Test results suggest the discovery of an oil prone sweet-spot in the Frontier Formation which is part of the Mowry Shale Resource Play. The play has been a secondary target across the Company's acreage since it tested hydrocarbons at an initial rate of 1.2 MMCFD and 10 BOPD in the Focus Ranch 12-1 well and since has shown significant oil and gas shows in each well where penetrated across the acreage.

Test results suggest that the 14 ft perforated zone in the Battle Mountain 14-10 well will be capable of around 20 BOPD and over 100 MCFD. It is most likely that the production from the Frontier will be comingled with production from the Niobrara once planned completion and testing operations in the well are complete. In the future the Frontier, like the Niobrara, is likely to become a candidate for horizontal drilling. The Company will provide an update as the appraisal program continues on the potential of the Frontier and Mowry Shale Resource Play across its acreage position.

The completion program for the Niobrara (primary objective), which includes fracture stimulation and testing, will be initiated this week with fracture stimulation planned around September 15.

Slater Dome (SD) Federal 24-9DL – The well has successfully reached its total depth of 8,300 ft after penetrating both the Niobrara and Frontier Formations. The well had significant oil and gas shows while drilling and was prepared for logging, with good hole condition reported. While pulling out of hole to run wireline logs a drill string connection mechanically failed. Operations are continuing to remove the drill string from the hole prior to logging.

C&C Cattle 18-8 – Location preparation is complete. It is anticipated that the rig will be mobilized from the 24-9 location to the 18-8 location over the next week. An additional rig is on standby to mobilize to the 18-8 location if operations on the 24-9 well take longer than expected.

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Entek IDs Oil Shows at Niobrara Shale Well

- Entek IDs Oil Shows at Niobrara Shale Well

Thursday, August 25, 2011
Entek Energy Ltd.

Entek provided an update on the Niobrara Shale Oil Project Appraisal Program in the Green River Basin.

Battle Mountain 14-10L – The Frontier (secondary objective) has been successfully fracture stimulated and is currently flowing back fracture stimulation fluid. The well is being unloaded and initial testing will commence over the next week. The completion program for the Niobrara (primary objective), which includes fracture stimulation and testing, is on schedule to start in September 2011.

Slater Dome (SD) Federal 24-9DL – The well has successfully reached its total depth of 8,300 ft after penetrating both the Niobrara and Frontier Formations Formations with oil shows while drilling. The well is now being prepared for wire-line logging.

C&C Cattle 18-8 – Location preparation is complete and awaiting arrival of the rig from the SD Federal 24-9 location.

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Entek to Test Ops at Niobrara Shale Program

- Entek to Test Ops at Niobrara Shale Program

Thursday, August 18, 2011
Entek Energy Ltd.

Entek provided an update on the Niobrara Shale Oil Project Appraisal Program in the Green River Basin.

Battle Mountain 14-10L – The Frontier (secondary objective) test program will be initiated within the next 10 days. The Niobrara (primary objective) completion program, which includes testing and fracture stimulation of the potential Niobrara pay zones, is scheduled to start in September 2011.

Slater Dome (SD) Federal 24-9DL – The well is currently drilling ahead at 3,200 ft after successfully setting casing at 2,520 ft. The planned total depth of the well is 8,627 ft.

Entek holds a 55% interest in the Green River Basin Joint Venture (GRBJV) with Emerald O&G holding 45%. Entek is the operator. The GRBJV now controls close to 80,000 gross acres, approximately 60,000 net acres, covering the Niobrara Shale Oil Play.

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Entek Preps Battle Mountain Well for Testing in Niobrara Play

- Entek Preps Battle Mountain Well for Testing in Niobrara Play

Thursday, August 11, 2011
Entek Energy Ltd.

Entek provided an update on the Niobrara Shale Oil Project Appraisal Program in the Green River Basin.

Battle Mountain 14-10L – The well is currently being prepared for testing in the Frontier Sandstone secondary objective. The completion procedure, which includes testing and fracture stimulation for the potential Niobrara pay zones is currently being refined by Halliburton.
Completion operations for the Niobrara are expected to start in September 2011.

Slater Dome (SD) Federal 24-9DL – The well has been spudded and is currently drilling the surface hole section at 400 ft. Casing is planned to be set at 2,500 ft before drilling the remainder of the well. The planned total depth of the well is 8,627 ft.

Entek holds a 55% interest in the Green River Basin Joint Venture (GRBJV) with Emerald Oil & Gas holding 45%. Entek is the Operator. The GRBJV now controls close to 80,000 gross acres, approximately 60,000 net acres, covering the Niobrara Shale Oil Play.

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Entek Updates Ops in Niobrara Shale Oil Proj. Appraisal Program

- Entek Updates Ops in Niobrara Shale Oil Proj. Appraisal Program

Friday, August 05, 2011
Entek Energy Ltd.

Entek provided an update on the Niobrara Shale Oil Project Appraisal Program in the Green River Basin.

Battle Mountain 14-10L

The well has reached its total depth of 7,500 ft. Wire-line logs have been run and the well has been successfully cased and cemented ready for completion.

Preliminary interpretation of wire-line logs and correlation to offset wells show that the Niobrara section in this well contains significant potential pay zones (benches), as expected. In addition the Frontier Sandstone exhibits hydrocarbon saturation and is also being considered as a pay zone for fracture stimulation and completion.

The fracture stimulation program is currently being designed with Halliburton and is expected to start in August 2011.

The rig has been released and is currently mobilizing to the next location as the completion and fracture stimulation program is being designed for the Battle Mountain 14-10L well. Entek holds a 55% interest in the Green River Basin Joint Venture (GRBJV) with Emerald Oil & Gas NL holding 45%. Entek is the Operator. The GRBJV now controls close to 80,000 gross acres, approximately 60,000 net acres, covering the Niobrara Shale Oil Play.

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ConocoPhillips Expands Presence in Niobrara Play

- ConocoPhillips Expands Presence in Niobrara Play

Friday, July 29, 2011
ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips has entered into an agreement to acquire up to 46,000 net acres of leasehold from Lario Oil & Gas Company in the Colorado counties of Arapahoe, Adams, Elbert and Douglas. This agreement represents a significant investment by ConocoPhillips in this area south and east of the greater Denver metroplex.

"ConocoPhillips is pleased to have this opportunity to participate in the emerging Niobrara exploration and development play," said Larry Archibald, senior vice president of Exploration and Business Development at ConocoPhillips. "Building on the strong relationships developed by Lario, we look forward to working with all local stakeholders as a first step in demonstrating our commitment to act as a steward of this region's natural resources."

ConocoPhillips will become operator of the acquired leases and will begin exploration efforts as soon as possible with the acquisition of a 3-D seismic survey and drilling of test wells. The company has a long track record of safe and environmentally prudent development of unconventional plays in North America and will leverage the knowledge and expertise it has gained in plays such as the San Juan Basin, Bakken, Barnett and Eagle Ford.

"Lario Oil & Gas Company is pleased to make this significant transaction with an industry leader such as ConocoPhillips," said Mike O'Shaughnessy, President/CEO of Lario. "As demonstrated by ConocoPhillips' safe and successful history of developing unconventional plays, the project will be operated with the greatest regard for the local residents and environment, and for the benefit of all parties concerned."

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Entek Drills Ahead at Niobrara Shale Proj.

- Entek Drills Ahead at Niobrara Shale Proj.

Thursday, July 21, 2011
Entek Energy Ltd.

Entek provided an update on the Niobrara Shale Oil Project Appraisal Program in the Green River Basin.

Battle Mountain 14-10L- current operation, drilling ahead at 805 ft after setting surface casing and testing rig equipment. The proposed total depth of the well is 7,600 ft.

Entek holds a 55% interest in the Green River Basin Joint Venture (GRBJV) with Emerald Oil & Gas holding 45%. Entek is the Operator. The GRBJV now controls close to 80,000 gross acres, approximately 60,000 net acres, covering the Niobrara Shale Oil Play.

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Niobrara's Slow Start Not Cause for Worry

- Niobrara's Slow Start Not Cause for Worry

Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
by Trevor Brown, Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, Cheyenne

The Niobrara oil play is off to a slow start, but state and industry officials say that is not unexpected or a reason for concern.

No oil rigs were operating in southeast Wyoming as of last Wednesday. This is down from about six in the area two months ago.

Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission Supervisor Tom Doll said many oil companies are waiting for updated seismic maps that show the underground Niobrara formation before they commit to expensive drilling operations.

"You want to get as much data as possible so you don't drill a $3 million to $4 million dry hole," he said. "My expectation is (the companies) want to have another tool of using that additional science to have a better opportunity to drill a productive well."

Texas-based Global Geophysical Services spent much of the spring using trucks and other seismic equipment to map areas beneath the surface of 831 square miles of land in Laramie County.

John Robitaille, vice president of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming, said it can take some time before the 3-D seismic maps are analyzed and sold to the oil companies.

"I can tell you it is some pretty technical data that they receive back," he said. "It then needs to be plotted and made into a format that is readable for the various geologists so they can get their plans made and know where they want to drill.

"And, of course, getting everything in place and lining up a rig takes all sorts of time as well."

Robitaille said he expects the activity to pick up in the fourth quarter of this year. In addition, up to three rigs are expected to return to Laramie County later this month.

According to the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, 21 wells have been drilled to date in southeast Wyoming for the oil play -- 18 in Laramie County, two in Goshen County and one in Platte County.

Doll said although the companies are currently hesitant to drill, they are moving forward with other preparations, including obtaining drilling permits.

The Oil and Gas Conservation Commission issued 73 permits for drilling in Laramie County for the first quarter of 2011 and 60 in the second quarter.

In the second, third and fourth quarters of 2010, a combined 64 permits were issued here. Data from the first quarter of 2010 are not available.

Laramie County planner Gary Kranse said he estimates 1,500 drilling permits will be issued during the next five years here.

Both Doll and Robitaille said the relatively low number of wells that have been drilled so far is not a sign the oil play is a bust -- at least not yet.

"I wouldn't be too concerned because this is a slow-moving play," Robitaille said. "It is still very much in the exploratory phase of knowing where to drill."

A representative for Chesapeake Energy, which has announced a large stake in the oil play, would not comment on the specifics of why there has not been more drilling.

But John Dill, director of corporate development and government affairs for the company, agreed this exploratory phase can take some time before increased activity begins.

"It is also a very complex geology, and Chesapeake is only just beginning the process of exploring this vast, complicated play," Dill said in an email. "What may appear to be slow development of this extraordinary resource is primarily due to its size, complexity and the early stages of this effort."

Doll said there is too little information yet to determine how successful the play will be in the end.

This is because of the low number of commercial wells and rules that allow companies to keep their results confidential for up to six months.

"We just haven't seen enough drilling rigs and enough activity to really know if there is a play yet," he said.

Another reason for the oil play's slowdown could be because of increased activity in North Dakota, Doll said.

He said the Bakken oil play is gearing up to have 170 active drilling rigs and up to 290 by the end of the year. That could leave a shortage of equipment and workers for activity here.

"They claim that they are using many new rigs, so that may not be a problem," Doll said. "But my concern is: Where are you going to get the drillers, roughnecks and (fracking) crews who are trained to do the sophisticated work?"

Kranse added that companies could be taking time to develop the right formula for fracking the Niobrara shale.

Hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, involves injecting a mixture chemicals and water into the earth to extract oil.

Copyright (c) 2011, Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, Cheyenne

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IHS: Niobrara Resource Potential Not Yet Proven

IHS: Niobrara Resource Potential Not Yet Proven

Friday, April 29, 2011
Rigzone Staff

Despite enthusiasm by exploration and production (E&P) companies and investors, successful development efforts to unlock the Niobrara horizontal oil play's resource potential has been limited, and more time is needed to further delineate its true potential as a resource play, according to a special report by IHS.

IHS studied the performance of a few modern horizontal oil wells present in the Niobrara and compared initial production rates of these wells against initial production rates for median-producing oil wells in the core of the Bakken/Three Forks shale play.

According to IHS, the median Bakken horizontal well completed since 2009 in the play's core averaged about 230 b/d of oil in its six month online. Two modern Niobrara horizontal wells matched or exceeded that oil production level, with the remaining 10 wells producing between 10 b/d and 190 b/d. In their sixth month, five of these wells produced 70 b/d of oil or less; three produced between 100 b/d and 125 b/d; and the remaining two wells produced approximately 185 b/d.

While enthusiasm for the Niobrara is likely tied to the success of the Bakken/Three Forks play, study author and IHS principal energy equity analyst Sven Del Pozzo noted that definitive conclusions of the Niobrara potential can't be made at this early stage, since fewer than 20 modern horizontal Niobrara wells in the DJ and North Park basins have 365 days of IHS production history, "and just 10 of those have a meaningful oil cut."

The author said he doesn't necessarily disagree with the expectations of E&P companies that experience will enhance both well performance and predictability in the Niobrara. However, Del Pozzo said those who have cited the Niobrara play's best wells as indicative of future results are being a bit premature due the variability and lack of production data.

"The Niobrara is situated at various depths and has diverse rock properties as it spans multiple basins, making it very risky to generalize about its prospectivity at this stage," Del Pozzo said. In comparison, the Bakken's production is predictable over a wide area, compared with the Niobrara, where well performance still varies considerably, even in the same field.

The Niobrara play extends from Wyoming and Colorado into Nebraska and Kansas.

Horizontal Drilling Boosts 2010 Oil Production

Horizontal drilling activity in the Bakken and other U.S. oil shale formations helped boost U.S. oil production. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported this week that U.S. oil production grew in 2009 and 2010 after experiencing declines in all but one year from 1986 to 2008.

While the 2009 production increase resulted from deepwater Gulf of Mexico activity, EIA attributed the 2010 growth to oil shale drilling. "Operators are combining horizontal wells and hydraulic fracturing – the same technologies used to significantly boost shale gas production – to do the same for oil," EIA said.

Total oil production in North Dakota has approximately tripled since 2005 thanks to development of the Bakken play, which extends into Montana and parts of Canada. North Dakota Bakken production has increased from less than 3,000 b/d in 2005 to over 230,000 b/d in 2010, and the Bakken's share of North Dakota oil production rose from about three percent to about 75 percent during the same period of time.

Shale plays known primarily for gas production also are seeing an acceleration of oil-focused drilling as strong oil prices has prompted producers to switch their focus from shale gas to shale oil. In Texas, oil production from the Barnett shale play has more than tripled from 2005 to 2010, while Woodford shale oil production in Oklahoma passed the 4,000 b/d mark in 2010, up 42 percent from 2009 and nearly three times 2008 volumes.

The Eagle Ford oil shale play in Texas, which had negligible production in 2005, approached 30,000 b/d in 2010. Oil production from Appalachia's Marcellus shale more than doubled in 2010 from a year earlier and has grown nearly thirteen-fold since 2007.

The Baker Hughes rig count currently shows more active oil-directed rigs than gas-directed rigs. Natural gas rigs generally accounted for between 80 percent and 90 percent of the total weekly rig count during most of the 2000s. However, the number of rigs targeting oil deposits climbing began climbing significantly in mid-2009.

The importance of horizontal drilling to increasing oil production is also underscored by the Baker Hughes rig count data, EIA noted. Horizontal rigs comprised less than one-third of oil-directed rigs in September 2008; since then, the number of horizontal oil rigs has tripled, increasing that share to about 46 percent.

The increase in crude oil prices relative to gas prices is one factor responsible for the shift towards oil-focused drilling. The crude oil-to-natural gas price ratio, which through mid-2009 averaged over eight from 2000 through mid-2009, has since risen considerably. EIA noted that, when the Brent crude spot price in dollars per barrel is divided by the Henry Hub spot price of gas in dollars per MMBtu, oil is five times more valuable than gas on an energy-equivalent basis.

Marathon to Sell Stake in Niobrara Shale Play

Marathon to Sell Stake in Niobrara Shale Play

Wednesday, April 06, 2011
Marathon Oil Corp.

Marathon Oil has signed an agreement with Marubeni Denver Julesburg, a subsidiary of Marubeni Corp., under which Marathon will assign a portion of its interest in the Niobrara shale play within the DJ Basin of southeast Wyoming and northern Colorado. Under terms of the agreement, Marubeni will receive a 30 percent undivided working interest in Marathon's approximately 180,000 net acres in the DJ Basin for a total consideration of $270 million, or $5,000 per acre. The companies expect to close this transaction by April 28, 2011.

"Marathon is pleased to partner with Marubeni as we prepare to explore and evaluate the full potential of this emerging, liquids-rich resource play," said Dave Roberts, Marathon's executive vice president, Upstream. "Our significant acreage position in the DJ Basin reinforces our strategy of targeting unconventional, oil-focused resource plays in the U.S. that provide low-risk, scalable growth opportunities. It also allows us to apply expertise developed over the past several years in other unconventional shale plays such as the Bakken formation in North Dakota."

Marathon began leasing acreage in the DJ Basin in 2010. The Company is currently acquiring 2-D and 3-D seismic data and expects to participate in eight to 12 gross exploration wells by the end of the year. Marathon will be operator of the jointly owned leasehold.