“A project such as Piceance represents a long-term view of and commitment to energy development,” says Rich Kruger, ExxonMobil president. “The key to unlocking the potential of this large, technically challenging resource is increasing production and recovery rates from each well at lower cost. ExxonMobil scientists and engineers are working hard to improve the enabling technologies and processes to do just that.”
Natural gas is expected to be the fastest-growing major fuel source, driven largely by its increased use to generate electricity. ExxonMobil’s leases in the Piceance basin hold a potential recoverable resource of 45 trillion cubic feet of gas. “ExxonMobil is committed to developing this resource efficiently and with environmental care and sensitivity,” says Kruger.
Natural gas in the Piceance basin is trapped within rock as dense as concrete and in discontinuous zones separated by thin layers of shale. To recover the “tight gas,” ExxonMobil is applying proprietary technology and best practices.
Piceance wells completed with our proprietary fracturing technology produce significantly more than conventionally fractured wells and at less cost, says ExxonMobil’s Piceance project executive Jim Branch. “We use ExxonMobil’s proprietary Fast Drill process and Multi-zone Stimulation Technology with Just-in-Time Perforation to access up to 50 gas-bearing zones in one well, which was unheard of just a few years ago. We can drill up to 9 to 10 wells from a single pad, with less surface disturbance. Each well can recover gas located across 20 acres below ground. The cost effective process produces substantially more gas from the many zones it can tap from each well.”
