The well was frac’d on April 29, 2010 and in mid-May flowed back at an extrapolated rate averaging 270mcfgpd while frac fluids were being lifted back to the surface. The well was completed with two isolated fracs in the Chattanooga (Devonian) shale, and one in each of the overlying conventional Mississippian age reservoirs, which include the Ft Payne Limestone, Knifely calcareous sand, and Big Lime Limestone formations.
After shutting in the well for two weeks to allow for pipeline connection and production equipment, the well was placed back on line May 29 and flowed at a rate of 124mcfgpd while maintaining a higher than normal wellhead flowing pressure of 125 psi.
Nextraction will conduct flow tests for two to four weeks to finish recovering the frac fluid and establish a normalized gas flow production rate. The well is currently bucking pipeline pressure of 75 psi, which should decrease to 20-25 psi as the pipeline compressor runs continuously and frac fluid recovery is complete. The company anticipates increased daily production rates as the well continuously produces.
The Mountain Minerals #5 well was drilled to a depth of 2,521ft, and is the first proof of concept well for the company on its 70,130 acre farm-out agreement with Vinland Energy. Vinland also acts as the contract operator for the project. The approximate cost to drill and complete the well is $320,000.
The completion of the Mountain Minerals #5 well follows the NI 51-101 resource valuation study conducted by MHA Petroleum Consultants. The report estimates volumes of undiscovered Original Gas in Place (OGIP) range from 0.419 to 2.5 trillion cubic feet of gas.
