Mitchell Energy & Development’s gas production in NorthTexas is soaring. The company announced that its developmentprogram in the Newark East Barnett shale field is exceedingexpectations. In a little more than a year’s time, the company’sgross natural gas production in the Barnett field has doubled to172 MMcf/d. At this rate, Mitchell Energy will meet, and exceed itstarget growth of 15% this year.

“Over the last few years our estimated recovery efficiency inthe Barnett [field] has more than doubled, but we are still onlyrecovering less than 10% of the total gas in place. Light sandfracture technology has helped us tremendously in our efforts, butwe continue to look for new ways to increase reserves,” saidChairman George P. Mitchell. The light sand fracture techniquereduces total well costs by 20% the company said.

The Barnett field is about 40 miles north of Fort Worth andranges from 7,000 to 8,000 feet in depth. The overall gasaccumulation is estimated at 10 Tcf of recoverable reserves.

“We knew we had found a crucial key to unlocking the potentialof this tight gas reservoir when the results from our light sandfracture completion technology came pouring in,” said Mitchell,”but now we’re also able to use this technology to significantlyextend the life of a well and increase the amount of reservesrecovered per well. The benefits of this combination are magnifiedwhen you consider that we likely have another 2,000 to 5,000undrilled locations even after working the Barnett play for nearly20 years.”

Alex Steis

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