EQT on schedule to drill Utica well in Wetzel County WV
From an Article by Jim Ross, State Journal, May 9, 2015
EQT Corporation still plans to drill at least one gas well in the Utica Shale in Wetzel County, and it may drill four more in its territory before the end of the year despite problems with the first well it is drilling in Pennsylvania.
Steven Schlotterbeck, EQT executive vice president and president of exploration and production, said drillers completed drilling the well with a final lateral length of 3,300 feet. They are currently running reservoir tests and plan to begin fracking in early June, he said. The well had a setback when drillers encountered pressures that were higher than expected and had to bring in a larger rig, he said.
“Despite this timing setback, we continue to be excited and optimistic about the dry gas Utica potential beneath our acreage,” Schlotterbeck said.
This year will be one of testing the Utica wells, and EQT will likely spend next year gathering and evaluating data before deciding whether to shift part of its capital expenditures from Marcellus Shale wells in West Virginia and Pennsylvania to the Utica, he said.
EQT’s first Utica well is using ceramics instead of sand underground, and that has added to the test well’s cost, Schlotterbeck said. “Our reservoir engineering at this point is suggesting that it might be possible to use sand in these wells, so that’ll be something we’re testing, probably not in these first two wells, but in subsequent wells,” he said.
As to the length of the lateral, the original plans were for it to be 3,000 to 4,500 feet. Engineers figured they needed at least 3,000 feet to get the reservoir test they really wanted, but they were willing to go as far as 4,500 feet.
“We had a lot of difficulties on this well, and the costs were pretty high, and when we got to 3,300 feet, there were some indications that more problems could be developing,” Schlotterbeck said.
EQT figures the first Utica test will cost $12 million to $17 million. For the first quarter, EQT reported net income of $173.4 million, down from $192.2 million a year ago. Operating income also was down, to $314.8 million from $356.8 million.
The company sold 145.2 billion cubic feet equivalent in the quarter, which was 37 percent more than the first quarter of 2014 and 6.2 percent higher than the fourth quarter 2014. The average realized sales price was 39 percent lower than last year, which more than offset the impact of the increase in sales volume.
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“Fight the gas companies”
Letter to Editor, Washington PA Observer Reporter, May 9, 2015
Our farm was in a quiet country setting for 18 years. In 2013, EQT Corp. started drilling gas wells all around us. I, like many residents, did not own my mineral rights, so we did not have the money to move away from all the dust, noise and pollution. We complained at the supervisors’ meeting in Washington Township, which is nearby, but we were shunned and ignored.
Our roads were never constructed for such heavy and overloaded trucks, and the repairs have been nothing more than a Band-Aid. We constantly complain about noise from engine brakes from caravans of trucks. The noise is so bad it rattles the windows in our house. Because of this, I now use medication to sleep.
This insanity has to end. But everyone we’ve contacted on the township, county and state levels tells us there is nothing they can do.
If any of these companies try to come into your communities, fight them with everything you have. Once they are there, your quiet, pristine community will be destroyed.
Robert L. Thomas, West Bethlehem Township, Washington County, PA
See also: www.Marcellus-Shale.us
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