A Modest Proposal For Successfully Achieving Significant European Shale Gas Production Greg Jackson Sr Consultant Unconventionals Continental Europe 1
European Shale Truths Environmental Opposition Yet there are plenty of sceptics prepared to bet that the shale boom will never cross the pond. Environmental opposition to fracking,, is stronger in Europe than in the US. Property Rights Another big obstacle is property rights. In the US, private individuals own the minerals underneath their land: in Europe, they are generally owned by the state. Resource Quality There are also real doubts about the quality of the resource. Population Density Beyond that, there is the argument that Europe is just too densely populated for intensive shale gas production. Chazan, Guy, Chevron bets on the Goldilocks of gas, London Financial Times, August 2, 2012
The Reality: Population Density 160 140 Population Density, pop./km 2 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 census.gov
Land Access Issues 4
Land Access Issues 5
Land Access Issues 120m 120m 6
Solution to Maximize Reservoir Contact 2 rows of 10 wells (20 wells per pad) 5m between wellheads 1 rig can drill the whole pad by walking 7 hour rig moves including pressure testing the BOP Holly Vinall and Curtis Heller, Efficiencies implemented to drive unconventional shal gas drilling performance in the Horn River, DEA(e) 3 rd Quarter 2012 7
Field Level Exploration Application Holly Vinall and Curtis Heller, Efficiencies implemented to drive unconventional shal gas drilling performance in the Horn River, DEA(e) 3 rd Quarter 2012 8
What It Can Mean for Europe Frack 300m 2700m 150m Legend Wellhead Toe of the well Therefore, 175m by 265m accesses 3000m in length. 3 or 4 wells per row only accesses 900-1200m. Cabot Oil and Gas can complete 2000m laterals meaning 4000m in width per pad! 12 km 2 with only 175x265m pads rather than 4 km 2 with a fewer wells. 9
Areal Picture 10
Areal Picture 11
Efficiency Gains 44 shale wells in Poland over three years 8 different operators drilling wells 2-3 wells per year on average per operator
Frack Efficiency Simultaneous operations are possible Improved efficiency Better reservoir stimulation SPE 119635 Simultaneous hydraulic fracturing of adjacent horizontal wells in the Woodford Shale SPE 116124 Case history of sequential and simultaneous fracturing of the Barnett Shale in Parker County 13
Water Consumption Reduction 100,000 bbl or more of water per horizontal Water is usually re-injected meaning 20 wells will use 2,000,000 bbl (318,000 m 3 ) Flow back 4 wells at a time This will allow simultaneous operations Significant water volumes to allow for water treatment and then re-use for later wells 14
Microseismic Monitoring Current problems: No monitor wells Must use surface seismic or treatment well microseismic 15
Conclusions 12km 2 from one pad rather than 4km 2 Drilling efficiency gains from continual work and much shorter and fewer rig moves Fracking operations will be continuous and thus save on fleet mobilization Recycled frack water could reduce total water consumption by 5-10% Guaranteed microseismic monitor wells for real-time completion quality monitoring and environmental impacts 16
Acknowledgements Thank you to Holly Vinall and Curtis Heller of Nexen for their presentation in 2012 to describe their approach in Canada Collegues at Weatherford for their support and advice 17