Written by Shane Huffman, Geologist
In this
modern period of unconventional shale plays, the industry again has shifted its
attention to the Appalachian Basin, this time to explore the Utica Shale. During the last three years, operators have applied
their exploration efforts to the more oil-prone and liquids-rich shale plays. Much like the Eagle Ford Shale in southern
Texas, the Utica has three distinctive windows for exploration: a dry gas
window, a liquids-rich gas window, and an oil window, making the shale an economically
attractive target for the industry (See Figure).
The recent focus of exploration activity for the Utica Shale has been primarily in eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania where the formation reaches depths of 3,500 feet along the western margin and deepens eastward to 10,000 feet.
The Utica Shale is an organic,
carbonate rich black shale deposited in warm oceans that extended from Quebec
to Tennessee during the Late Ordovician period (443 – 490 million years
ago). The formation lies between 2,000 and
4,000 feet below the Marcellus Shale and has been a major source rock for oil
and gas in the deep reservoirs in the Appalachian Basin. The thickness of the Utica varies from less
than 100 feet to more than 500 feet. The
primary pay target is the lowermost 120 to 140 feet of the formation known as
the Point Pleasant.
The Ohio Department of Natural
Resources estimates potential recoverable reserves from the Utica Shale to be between
1.5 and 5.5 billion barrels of oil and between 3.8 and 15.7 trillion cubic feet
of natural gas. The vast reserves of oil
and natural gas estimated by the industry and state geologists have been called
a “game-changer” for American energy independence and could even surpass the
energy potential in the Marcellus Shale.
In the wake of the evolving
play, ABARTA Oil & Gas has positioned itself to benefit from the
development of this natural gas resource.
In the spring of 2012, ABARTA Oil & Gas entered into a partnership
with Medina Fuel Company and Rex Energy to jointly explore and develop approximately
6,400 acres in Guernsey, Noble, and Belmont counties, Ohio, known as our
Warrior South Project. Warrior South
falls in what has been deemed the “sweet spot” of the Point Pleasant as it lies
in the liquids-rich gas window.
Rex Energy serves as the project
operator and to date has drilled a total of 8 wells, all of which are currently
producing. The project has added
significant volumes to our reserves and is proving to be a successful venture
with an additional 6 wells planned for 2014.
