AAPG EXPLORER Marcellus from page 34 and drilled the fourth horizontal test <strong>of</strong> the Marcellus. This time, they moved the landing <strong>of</strong> the horizontal well 20 feet higher in the section. Immediately following this discovery the company drilled and completed three more successful horizontal wells in a row, each more productive than the fourth. That provided the breakthrough needed. That well tested at 3.2 million cubic feet a day, the company’s and industry’s first commercial horizontal Marcellus well. Range Resources announced those results in late 2007, and in 2008 the Marcellus Shale play went into overdrive. Some predicted the Marcellus would become the biggest producing gas field in the United States. In 2012, it did. “I thought my strength was in my conviction,” Zagorski said. “I feel very blessed to have been given the opportunity to be part <strong>of</strong> the early pioneering <strong>of</strong> shale gas.” Maybe I’m Amazed When industry people talk about finding successful approaches to get high production from a reservoir, they <strong>of</strong>ten call it “unlocking the play.” The Marcellus had been unlocked, but developing it was far from easy. “There were no experienced crews up here,” Zagorski said. “It was a real challenge. “One <strong>of</strong> the critical breakthroughs was Range started a technical <strong>of</strong>fice here in Southpointe, Pa., in 2007, led by Texas Barnett shale veteran Ray Walker, now Range’s COO, from Fort Worth. This <strong>of</strong>fice was then staffed with people who were focused specifically on developing the Marcellus,” he added. In the end, shale play development proved an old exploration home truth once again. To get good oil and gas production, go where the oil and gas is. “I’m a big proponent <strong>of</strong> looking at old gas shows,” Zagorski said. “It seems to me the bigger and more consistent the gas shows, the better the reservoir.” “The reason I think the Marcellus and other recent shale plays got missed is that, prior to the Barnett, it was believed that there had to be natural fracturing for shale plays to produce commercially, like the Big Sandy Field in Kentucky and West Virginia. In that field they were using various stimulation designs, early on shooting with explosive followed by various frac methods, most <strong>of</strong>ten nitrogen foam fracs,” he said. The new approach to unlocking shale production with large-scale water fracs and horizontal drilling “seems so simple now, but it was largely untested and counterintuitive up until 2004 with the Barnett play successes,” he noted. Range Resources now claims between 26 trillion and 34 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) equivalent <strong>of</strong> resource potential in the Marcellus Shale, and another 12-18 Tcf in the Upper Devonian shales above the Marcellus. Zagorski hadn’t seen that coming. “Initially, in my studies, I couldn’t get my estimate <strong>of</strong> the prospect potential to the company past a half a Tcf, or even a Tcf,” he said. He’s amazed, even dazed, at where successful development <strong>of</strong> the Marcellus Shale has led. “All that work I had done in various plays and prospects over the last 30 years,” he said, “we can achieve in a matter <strong>of</strong> months now. “It really is amazing.” Levant from page 36 facilities are limited in places and there are commercial issues to be resolved, such as export approvals and more. The reservoirs are capable <strong>of</strong> delivering high rates <strong>of</strong> production. “Someone commented that it’s like having a Ferrari, but you have to drive it through a school zone,” Needham quipped. Even before these enormous discoveries, the U.S. Geological Survey considered the hydrocarbon potential <strong>of</strong> the Levant Basin to be significant enough to undertake an assessment <strong>of</strong> undiscovered oil and gas resources. The study, which was released in March 2010, estimated a mean 1.7 billion barrels <strong>of</strong> recoverable oil and a mean 122 Tcf <strong>of</strong> recoverable gas in the Levant Basin province. Now that Noble has discovered over 37 Tcf, just in the Oligo-Miocene reservoirs in the basin, it’s time to ask what’s on tap for an encore. “We’re drilling an exploration well in Israel called Karish,” Needham said. “After that, we plan to drill an appraisal well <strong>of</strong>fshore in Cyprus. “We’re also looking at a deeper oil play,” he said. “We hope to drill a well to test that concept probably late in 2013 or early 2014.” EXPLORER Halbouty Award from page 30 says, “geologists are the greatest people in the world.” Who sometimes need to be reminded why they’re doing this, <strong>of</strong> course. After all, even the most skilled and experienced <strong>of</strong> geologists have challenging days. And when that happens, his advice is to remember two things. First, remember the basics. “My advice to anyone in the petroleum business these days is to understand the geology, geophysics and engineering <strong>of</strong> the play,” he said, “and then develop it in an environmentally and socially responsible fashion.” To those entering the pr<strong>of</strong>ession, he says, read the books, build your net, learn how to “push back,” maintain your technical skills, remember your employee may be your boss someday, maintain balance in your life and support your pr<strong>of</strong>ession.” The second piece <strong>of</strong> advice: “Enjoy what you do!” EXPLORER EXPLORER 38 MAY 2013 WWW.AAPG.ORG
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