American Oil and Gas Reporter - October 2020 - 42

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Palo Pinto, Schleicher and Wichita counites
in Texas, but Val Verde County is the
biggest asset we have ever had," Sahota
says. "We knew with the 20BU No. 1
that we had hit big time, but it has been
amazing to see our geologic model proved
up by drilling."
Drilled to a total depth of 12,650 feet,
the vertical discovery well penetrated 70
feet of gas-bearing Strawn. Following
acid stimulation, the well tested at 5
million cubic feet a day. The company
has identified more than 70 high-graded
Strawn locations on its initial 13,000
acres alone, which also is prospective
for the Canyon above the Strawn and the
Ellenburger underlying it.
A Big Thing
The Sahota Carson 20BU No. 1 was
one of several potential Strawn drilling
locations identified from 3-D seismic
data analysis by William J. Purves, president at Dallas-based Highlander Energy
LLC and a consulting geoscientist. Presented with multiple options, Sahota
says he asked Purves to select the single
most prospective location to drill the
first test well.

"Dr. Purves picked out the 20BU. We
cut the pad and started drilling, hoping
to see gas below 12,000 feet. But the
closer we got to 12,000 feet, the slower
the rate of penetration. We were averaging
four feet an hour at one point. I was so
frustrated. I was worried about how much
money we were spending every day," he
recounts. "I called Purves and he told me
that was normal. We were in a hard rock
cap, but that once we got through it, ROP
would jump. A little later, the driller
called and said the bit had drilled 200
feet in a very short time and that pressure
was starting to build. We knew we had
the formation at that point."
The structure the well had penetrated
was exactly as the 3-D model had predicted, including the gas and condensate
reserves. "I called Purves. He said, 'I
told you!' My family was so excited. We
all started celebrating," Sahota recalls.
More celebrations were to follow,
starting with the BU19 confirmation well,
which repeated the same scenario of slow
ROP followed by a rapid increase as the
bit reached the Strawn. Another delineation
well also found pay, further confirming
the geoscientific model.

Barron hired Albert McDaniel, a consulting petroleum engineer in Flower
Mound, Tx., to evaluate the project's
upside potential and appraise the reserves.
"He estimated that we had 417 Bcf on
the original 13,000 acres. He also said
the drilling risk is low enough that we
should consider it is more of a development (as opposed to an exploration)
project," Sahota states. "That makes it
even better."
Barron maintains its own fleet of
drilling and workover rigs capable of
working to depths of 20,000 feet. As it
continues to drill new wells to develop
the acreage, Sahota says the company is
constructing a gas sales line to Enterprise
Product Partners' nearby pipeline connection at Johnson Draw. The condensate
gives the produced gas a premium valuation, maximizing development and production economics, he notes.
"This discovery is a big thing to my
company. It's a big thing to my family.
It's also a big thing to our employees,"
Sahota concludes. "We employ about
130 people. We owe our success to them.
We have always paid our people top
wages and salaries, and this opportunity
in Val Verde County will let us continue
to do that for a long time to come." ❒

GAS STORAGE. . . . .
FROM PAGE 21

Barron Petroleum is ramping up a drilling program to develop a condensate-rich gas discovery in the conventional Strawn formation in the Val Verde Basin in Texas. The Sahota
Carson 20BU No. 1 discovery and offset delineation wells were drilled on Barron's initial
13,000-acre Val Verde County leasehold, which is estimated to hold reserves totaling 417
Bcf of gas (74.2 million boe). The company has since acquired another 12,000 acres in
the area, and plans to drill at least 40 vertical development wells in Val Verde County over
the next 12 months. Barron Petroleum holds a 100% working interest in the project.

42 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

five-year average. Oct. 2 gas storage in
the Midwest Region was 63 Bcf more
than a year ago.
In the Mountain Region, EIA says,
gas storage was 236 Bcf on Oct. 2, 12.9%
above the five-year average and 20 Bcf
more than the 216 Bcf stored on Sept. 4,
which was 11.3% above the five-year
average. Gas storage in the Mountain
Region was 34 Bcf more than a year ago.
Gas storage in the Pacific Region
was 318 Bcf on Oct. 2, 2.6% above the
five-year average and 10 Bcf more than
the 308 Bcf stored on Sept. 4, which
was 3.7% above the five-year average.
Pacific Region gas storage on Oct. 2
was up 23 Bcf from a year ago.
In the South-Central Region, gas
storage levels on Oct. 2 were 1.322 Tcf,
21.5% above the five-year average and
up 79 Bcf from the 1.243 Tcf in storage
on Sept. 4, which was 21.7% above the
five-year average. The Oct. 2 gas storage
level for the South-Central Region was
up 275 Bcf from a year ago. ❒

American Oil and Gas Reporter - October 2020

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