Devon officials say technology, geology make their gas play different
JEFF GEARINO Southwest Wyoming bureau | Posted: Saturday, October 25, 2008 12:00 am
ROCK SPRINGS - Geology and technology - including employing less intrusive horizontal drilling - will make any future gas play on Little Mountain unique and unlike the intense development of the nearby Jonah and Pinedale Anticline fields, according to company officials involved in developing the area around the mountain.
Devon Energy Co. officials say they expect to reduce their footprint on the mountain through proper planning, going the extra mile to protect resources, and spending the extra buck.
"It's all about being a good neighbor," said Chip Minty, Devon's senior external communications specialist. "You will not see that Jonah intensity at all in our play."
Company officials said during a media tour of the area Wednesday they are taking the right steps and measures to minimize their environmental impacts from their small exploratory wildcat drilling project near Little Mountain, a popular Sweetwater County recreation area.
Located about 45 miles south of Rock Springs along U.S. Highway 191 South, Little Mountain lies east of the Flaming Gorge Reservoir and west of the area known as Adobe Town.
The area supports thriving populations of trophy elk and mule deer and is considered by many to be one of the premier hunting spots in Wyoming, if not the entire country.
The area also provides habitat for several trout populations, including the Colorado River cutthroat trout and other fish species.
The Oklahoma-based Devon received federal permission last year to drill two exploratory wildcat wells - known as Rubicon wells 105 and 106 - on their leases near Little Mountain.
The company drilled the first Rubicon well at a depth of around 15,000 feet last month and expects to begin drilling another well in the fall of 2009, according to company plans.
The company also conducted three-dimensional mapping operations in the area in August to better pinpoint gas reserves.
"The seismic data and the core samples from the wildcat wells … should help us identify the best potential drilling locations and allow us to drill the fewest wells with the least impacts," Minty said.
Groups such as the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and Trout Unlimited worry that the company's drilling plans could lead to a full-field development scenario much like the Jonah and Anticline fields, which could threaten wildlife, recreational and water resources in the area.
A loose coalition of churches, conservationists, blue-collar workers, hunters and anglers, formed last year, believes energy development on the mountain could affect a wide range of species and undo the fruits of millions of dollars worth of volunteer habitat restoration work completed over the past decade.
Shale formations
Randy Bolles, Devon's supervisor of regulatory affairs, said the shale formation that Devon expects to tap for natural gas reserves is unlike the tight sand gas formations to the north in the Jonah and Anticline fields.
He said the gas in the Jonah field is captured in underground pockets within the tight sand formation, much like the holes in Swiss cheese. The geology requires numerous, closely-spaced vertical wells in order to recover the gas reserves, said Bolles.
"It's an unfair comparison to Jonah," Bolles said.
"This area has its own, unique and special geological structure, which gives it the potential to drill the wells using horizontal, or directional drilling, from a limited number of well pads," he said.
Horizontal, or directional drilling, allows for multiple wells to be drilled in varying directions from a single surface location. Bolles said that means fewer drill pads will be required during the life of the project.
Fewer drill pads results in less surface disturbance, less vehicle traffic and their accompanying emissions, and less clustering of production equipment, he said.
But directional also costs more, which the company is willing to pay, said Bolles.
Company officials said they're cognizant of the concerns of area residents about the impacts of the project to hunting and angling on the mountain.
Devon has gone, and will continue to go, the extra mile to protect those resources, said Devon western division regulatory advisor Dru Bower-Moore.
"In sensitive areas like this, you have to take the extra special measures to protect the habitat and we know that," she said.
"There's been a lot of concerns we're going to be the next Jonah … and we're committed to not being like that," Bower-Moore said.
She said the company had their approximately 42,000-acre Rubicon lease area designated by the Bureau of Land Management as a federal unit. The designation will allow the company more flexibility in their well placement.
Bower-Moore said the company plans to employ closed-lop drilling systems on all of their wells to protect water resources in the area.
Other environmentally sensitive steps include using the latest generation of drilling rigs that have much stricter emission controls than conventional rigs.
The company's seismic work has been completed on about 42 square miles within the unit. The company plans on completing the remaining 18 square mile within the project area.
Bower-Moore also noted the company's voluntary steps taken this summer to minimize the projects environmental impacts, including leaving the project area early and waiting until next year to complete the seismic work at a cost of about an extra $1 million to the company. The company agreed to a Wyoming Game and Fish Department request that no siesmic activity be conducted after Aug. 31 to avoid conflicts with hunting seasons.
Contact southwest Wyoming bureau reporter Jeff Gearino at (307) 875-5359 or gearino@tribcsp.com
Last we knew: Devon Energy Co. this summer began drilling the first of two wildcat natural gas wells within their Rubicon Unit located just west of Little Mountain, south of Rock Springs.
The latest: Company officials outlined their development plans for their leases in the Little Mountain area during a media tour Wednesday.
What's next: Devon is expected to complete their second wildcat well in the fall of 2009. The well will help the company determine the extent of oil and gas resources in the unit.]]->