IP 30 of 12.9 MMcf/d from Mancos shale – highest in 14 years: BP
BP (ticker: BP) announced a discovery in New Mexico today, with strong results from a natural gas well in the Mancos Shale in the San Juan Basin.
The NEBU 602 Com 1H well targets the Mancos Shale with a 10,000’ lateral in San Juan County, New Mexico. The well had a 30-day IP rate of 12.9 MMcf/d, which is the highest achieved in the past 14 years in the San Juan Basin, according to BP.
This well was drilled on acreage that BP purchased from Devon in late 2015, when the company bought 33,000 gross acres and 480 wells. BP operates the San Juan assets through its Lower 48 division, which has about 3,900 wells in the area.
“We are delighted with the initial production rate of this well,” said Dave Lawler, CEO of BP Lower 48. “This result supports our strategic view that significant resource potential exists in the San Juan Basin, and gives us confidence to pursue additional development of the Mancos Shale, which we believe could become one of the leading shale plays in the U.S.”
Mancos shale in Colorado is second-largest U.S. gas basin
The Mancos Shale certainly has a large amount of gas available, according to an estimate made by USGS last year. USGS reports that the Mancos in the Piceance Basin in western Colorado holds about 66.3 Tcf of gas. This estimate makes the Mancos in the Piceance the second-largest gas basin in the U.S., second only to the 84 Tcf in the Marcellus.
However, one of the largest players in the area recently exited. ConocoPhillips closed the sale of its San Juan Basin on July 31. Private Hilcorp Energy paid $3 billion for Conoco’s assets, including 1.3 million acres and 124 MBOEPD of production.
