Marcellus/Utica Operators Bringing On Pad Production Beyond Belief By Al Pickett Special Correspondent Bigger. Longer. Faster. These adjectives may sound like the obsessions of many a big-time college football recruiter, but in fact they describe the success independent operators are achieving in the Appalachian Basin's Marcellus and Utica shales. Operators are drilling longer laterals; they are doing it faster; and they are loading their wells with greater volumes of proppant; all of which are helping yield bigger oil and natural gas wells. And the collective output continues to grow. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates the Marcellus play is producing 47 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day. In the Utica play across Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio, EIA sets the number at almost 30 Bcf/d. "We are drilling 25 percent longer laterals for half the cost," marvels Sheldon Burleson, vice president of the Appalachia division for Chesapeake Energy. "We are taking the laterals out two miles, and we are doing it faster. We are using more proppant in our fracturing process, and using bigger stimulations because this is the highestquality rock we have seen. We also are modifying our equipment to handle the increased gas production." NOVEMBER 2017 63