Devon Energy recently completed its fourth horizontal well in the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale (TMS) and the initial production test figures show the strongest oil production results of the company’s TMS wells drilled to date” at 384 b/d, according to the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

The newest well, located in northern St. Helena Parish, follows Devon’s successful drilling of two productive horizontal TMS wells in East Feliciana Parish and another in Tangipahoa Parish. Devon also has two other TMS well projects in progress, one in Tangipahoa and one in West Feliciana parishes, according to DNR.

“I hope to see Devon’s ongoing success in the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale repeated by the other operators who have begun to invest in the play, bringing the potential for economic development, jobs and new sources of domestic energy,” said DNR Secretary Scott Angelle.

The TMS is believed to underlie much of central Louisiana, with potential productive areas currently being explored from Vernon Parish to Tangipahoa Parish. The energy industry has been observing the development of the TMS, believed to be primarily an oil-rich play.

Last month DNR issued its first permit for a TMS well in Avoyelles Parish. The Dupuy Land Co. No. 1 well is a test well by EOG Resources and is named for the Dupuy Land Co., the largest land owner in the unit.

Encana Corp. is the largest TMS acreage holder with 355,000 net acres, followed by Indigo II Minerals LLC with 250,000, Devon Energy with 190,000 and EOG with 180,000. About a half dozen other companies also hold TMS acreage (see Shale Daily, June 28). In May Goodrich Petroleum Corp. confirmed that a TMS well had an initial flow rate exceeding 1,000 boe/d (see Shale Daily, May 24).