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Introducing the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale

By: Steve Maley (Diary)  |  February 7th, 2012 at 05:00 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

Around these parts, we have a word that aptly describes shale formations: ubitquitious. (sic)

Every conventional oil and gas basin must have a hydrocarbon source, and that source is a shale. And since shales are low in permeability, we’re finding that the source rock still contains plenty of hydrocarbons, if you can figure out how to get the stuff out.

One of the newly-emerging plays is the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale, which is being explored in a wide arc that cuts across central Louisiana and southern Mississippi.

Although the promise of the Marine Shale has yet to be proved, there is reason for optimism: if you follow that arc to the west, roughly parallel to the Texas coast, you’re smack-dab in the middle of the Eagle Ford trend of south Texas, currently the site of one of the hottest oil drilling plays in the country. The Tusc is equivalent in age to the Eagle Ford, and the newest well just tested almost 800 barrels of oil per day.

Yes, the shales are indeed ubiquitious.

Tuscaloosa shale promising

St. Helena well’s initial production spurs interest

The Encana Weyerhauser well, completed in November, averaged 784 barrels of oil per day and 309,000 cubic feet of natural gas, according to Encana’s filing with the state Department of Natural Resources. …

Around two dozen wells have been drilled or are being drilled in the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale, an oil-rich formation that covers Louisiana’s midsection. Energy companies have leased more than 1 million acres in the formation, but so far the firms aren’t sharing much of their early production figures.

Kirk A. Barrell, president of Amelia Resources, of Texas, said before the formation can be considered economically viable, 10 to 20 wells will have to be completed.

“You need the initial (production) rates for 10 to 20 wells, but you also need to get 12 to 15 months out and see what the decline of that rate is,” Barrell said.

Barrell has a blog called The Tusacaloosa Trend:

Sources indicate that Devon will be adding a 2nd rig to the TMS play soon. Encana, who has been rumored for weeks to be adding rigs, now appears to be slowing down the plan. Several sources indicate that it is for corporate reasons relating to very depressed natural gas prices and not the TMS results. The initial rates on the Weyerhaeuser 73H-1 and their record drilling time and lateral length on the Anderson 17H-1 are very encouraging. Sources indicate that after 5-6 completions, a full operational plan will be implemented.

It is worth noting that RedState’s editor, Erick Erickson, attended high school in Jackson, LA. Jackson is in East Feliciana Parish, right in the heart of the Marine Shale play. Considering that Erick’s younger years were spent in Abu Dhabi, we should not be surprised if eventually oil and gas leasing action heats up in and around Macon, GA.

Cross-posted at stevemaley.com.


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COMMENTS

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  • http://impudent.edublogs.org/ kyle8

    for exploration companies putting in wells in that area.

  • jakeofalltrades

    when continents are practically made of the stuff. Plus, it can be manufactured from air and water if need be.

    Even liberals can be feedstock.

  • Death_of_the_Donkey

    and getting closer to energy independence.

    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-07/americans-gaining-energy-independence-with-u-s-as-top-producer.html

    • jakeofalltrades

      which would also make us energy-independent.

      • acat

        (Cheshire grin)

        • jakeofalltrades

          I mean, have you seen what happens to Obamafruit when TOTUS goes on strike?

  • citizenkh

    most drilling and production folks don’t get into type of crude for types of refineries. These shale plays are all producing light sweet crude which is far better than Alaskan North Slope crude and as good as the best Saudi and Middle Eastern crudes for making distillates like gasoline, diesel and naphtha.

    They also produce more gases during the refining process which go to making things like the synthetic alcohol in mouth wash (I once tore down the unit that turned ethane into SD alcohol for “Scope” during course of tearing down a refinery for Shell).

    If only we could get the Keystone XL in place to bring HEAVY CRUDE down to refineries presently importing Venezuelan crude to fit their delayed coker units for making fuel and anode grade petroleum coke, we’d be set.

    BTW, has anyone noticed that the refineries which were importing Middle Easterner crudes are being shut down in NJ & PA?

  • goodolboy

    before 1910. It seems that anytime someone wants to stop the use of the best source of energy the world has known they holler “peak” oil and come out with some “expert” graph. Here’s my take on it. Oil is continuing to be produce by reactions within the earth’s core and moving upward. This business about oil being the result of decaying dinosaurs or other prehistoric animals is just not feasible. Just think about how many animals would have had to go thru the process of becoming a tanker full of oil and then try to imagine how many it would have taken to fill all the oil tankers that have been loaded over the years. There is no way there has ever been that many prehistoric animals much less the number required to go through the transformation process to become oil. Another thing is oil deposits are being found well below the deepest layers of organic matter deposits. So the next time you hear someone talk about “peaking” oil just hit them with these points and watch their squirming reactions…sort of like Obama without a telepromter.

  • http://www.twitter.com/AWG9_yoyo yoyo

    DUDE!

    (inside joke)