The success of a horizontal test well in the emerging Lower Bossier Shale in Harrison County, TX, is expected to ramp-up at an initial rate of 10-15 MMcf/d once there is sufficient takeaway capacity from the region, Penn Virginia Corp. (PVA) said Friday.

The producer said it completed its first horizontal well test on the Fogle #5-H, in which it has a 100% stake, which targeted the Bossier formation in East Texas. The well had an initial production rate of 8 MMcf/d with a flowing casing pressure of 5,000 pounds, and the well reached a total vertical depth of 11,378 feet with a 3,861-foot lateral.

According to PVA, the well is connected to existing infrastructure, but sales have been limited to about 5 MMcf/d because of pipeline capacity constraints. Once there is additional takeaway capacity, which is expected by July, PVA said the well’s initial production rate could double or even triple to a rate of 10-15 MMcf/d.

CEO James Dearlove said the test well “exceeded our expectations.”

“PVA has around 53,000 net acres in East Texas, much of which is expected to be prospective in the Bossier Shale,” said Dearlove. “The additional wells we plan to drill during the remainder of 2008 should provide valuable information with respect to defining the full potential of this resource. We will continue to pursue opportunities to expand our acreage holdings in this part of East Texas, as well as our ongoing 20-acre spaced development efforts in the associated Cotton Valley play.”

PVA has drilled and completed 17 vertical test wells across its East Texas leasehold. The Radnor, PA-based producer is testing a combination of four different reservoirs below the Cotton Valley, which include the Upper Bossier Shale and the Lower Bossier Shale, which extends into the Haynesville Shale.

Based on the results of its vertical tests and the latest success from the horizontal well, PVA said it now expects to drill at least five additional horizontal Bossier Shale wells through the rest of the year.

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