American Oil and Gas Reporter - August 2015 - 108

SpecialReport: Rockies Activity Profile
a combination of sand and ceramic proppant, but is now targeting higher IPs and
EURs by implementing a higher intensity slickwater design.
"I think the industry continues to
have a healthy debate on this subject, and
our stance leans toward stimulating with
high volumes of sand," he describes.
"The upside of ceramics is clear for
smaller stimulations, in which every
pound of proppant counts. However, our
base case design now builds longer-term
stability through a higher volume and
greater stage count."
He goes on to recount how expanding
proppant volumes beyond 6 million
pounds has instilled confidence about
pushing the trend even further. "The IP upside percentages varied, but more importantly, the upside was seen across the
board," he reveals. "We also believe we
can improve on the results we achieved at
6 million pounds and will compare highintensity 6 million-pound designs with 10
million-pound designs in the near term."
Although the high side of the industry's
completion designs has tended toward
2,000 pounds a foot in reservoirs with
thicker gross pay intervals, Hellman elaborates, the Williston's higher quality rock,
with oil concentrated in thinner pay intervals, provides a good test for an upper limit of 1,000 pounds a foot, or 10 million

pounds. "We want to validate and quantify the upside of larger volumes early, while
service costs are dropping," he says.
"Then we can better understand our new
base case design and work closely with our
vendors to secure the best pricing."
Previously, the company typically
used 25-30 stages, but the latest completions will utilize 45-50 stages in two-mile
laterals, he contrasts. Moreover, Hellman adds, WPX has drilled five three-mile
laterals, and in July was working on their
completion designs.
Confident Improvement

Bill Barrett Corp. says it continues to
gain operational momentum in its flagship
D-J Basin asset base. The company is improving overall production and individual
well results thanks to an extended-reach
lateral program, a change to plug-and-perf
completions with more frac stages, and significant changes in how it manages IP
rates, says Bill Stenzel, vice president of
engineering and planning.
Improving economics influenced the
company's second-quarter move to add a
rig in the Northeast Wattenberg, where the
Denver-based company holds slightly
fewer than 50,000 core acres among
98,188 basinwide, he reports.
Early in the play, the company completed its wells with shorter laterals that con-

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sisted of 25-30 frac stages isolated with
sliding sleeves, but Bill Barrett's quest for
better results prompted a transition to 40stage fracs, Stenzel says. Since late 2014,
the company has been utilizing plugand-perf in 9,500-foot laterals to isolate 55
stages fractured with about 1,000 pounds
of sand a foot, he says.
The gains have been exceptional, he assesses, with performance improvements
averaging 30 percent through production's initial six months. Previous 40-stage
slickwater and gel completions with sliding sleeves on 13 wells resulted in average 30-day IPs of 550 boe/d, 60-day IPs
of 453 boe/d, and 90-day IPs of 404 boe/d,
Stenzel details.
Meanwhile, Stenzel reports, the average IPs on four wells that have been completed with plug-and-perf and 55 stages on
9,500-foot laterals are 649 boe/d after 30
days, 600 boe/d after 60 days and 541
boe/d after 90 days.
About 80 percent of the company's
core holdings in the Northeast Wattenberg, where Bill Barrett has identified
2,000 locations, can be developed with
extended reach laterals that tap into
stacked pays of as many as six zones, including the Niobrara A, B and C, the
Codell, and the Greenhorn Limestone, the
company details. Stenzel says the company plans to drill 35-40 operated extend-

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108 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

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American Oil and Gas Reporter - August 2015

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