Goodrich Petroleum Corp. said it encountered a problem during hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations at a well in the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale (TMS) in Mississippi, but it is moving forward with two additional wells targeting the play.

In a statement Thursday, Houston-based Goodrich said it had successfully fracture stimulated 17 stages at its Huff 18-7H-1 well in Amite County, MS, and had started to receive flowback at expected fluid rates “when the well became plugged with frac-related debris at a frac plug approximately 500 feet into the lateral.”

Goodrich said the debris would need to be cleaned out before resuming flowback, a procedure that would delay completion results until after Jan. 1, when flowback has resumed and the peak rate achieved. The company has a 97% working interest (WI) in the Huff well.

Shares of Goodrich fell 8.44%, from $17.30/share to $15.84/share, during trading Thursday morning on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock closed at $16.42/share at the end of the day Thursday, and had climbed to $16.87/share during midday trading on Friday. On Friday, the Times-Picayune of New Orleans said delays at the Huff well were a disappointment to investors.

“It could be a big deal to the people who are investing with Goodrich, but I don’t think it’s a big deal,” Don Briggs, president of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association (LOGA), told NGI’s Shale Daily on Friday. “I’m not sure exactly what the results are, but I know that they’re very bullish on the TMS, and a lot of people are hoping that they’re going to be very successful with it. But all of these shale plays are different; some of them are tougher to understand than others.”

During a conference call to discuss 3Q2013 earnings on Nov. 5, Goodrich COO Robert Turnham said the company had drilled the Huff well with 5,400 feet of usable lateral, but had encountered another problem: a stuck drill pipe.

“The completion delay is frustrating, but the drill time for the curve and lateral of 12 days is very encouraging for the play,” Turnham said, adding that Goodrich could save $1 million in drilling costs. “[Consider] that we normally drill the vertical portion of the well and run intermediate casing in less than 25 days.”

During the Q&A session, CEO Walter Goodrich added that the Huff well “would’ve been a record had it not been for the stuck drill pipe.

“In terms of stuck drill pipe, it happens in the business from time to time. We don’t get overly concerned about one inch since it’s a stuck drill pipe. We think that that’s something that we will certainly be addressing and do everything we can to mitigate in the future. We don’t look at that as a systemic issue out here with quite a few wells drilled without having that particular problem.”

Goodrich also announced Thursday that it is near total drilling depth on another well targeting the TMS — Weyerhaeuser 51-1H-1, located in St. Helena Parish, LA — and is currently running intermediate casing in preparation of drilling the lateral on its CMR 8-5H-1 well in Amite County. The company holds a 67% WI in the Weyerhaeuser well and a 100% WI in the CMR well, with latter expected to be completed in January.

In October, Goodrich announced plans to increase the number of rigs targeting the TMS from two to five, and said it would spend about $300 million on drilling and completion activities, plus facilities and infrastructure, in the play in 2014 (see Shale Daily, Oct. 16). The company has more than 300,000 net acres in the TMS.