Utica Shale

Rex Energy To Work Utica Shale In 2012

Rex Energy (REXX) is active in the Utica Shale in both Ohio and Pennsylvania.  The company is the operator of acreage in Carroll County, Ohio, and expects to drill and put three gross or 2.4 net wells onto production in 2012.

In Butler County, Pennsylvania, Rex Energy plans to put the Cheeseman 1H well onto production during the first quarter of 2012.  The company expects to drill three gross or 2.1 net wells into the Utica Shale during 2012, and to place one of these wells onto production.

Rex Energy Reports Success Of Cheeseman #1H Utica Shale Well

Rex Energy (REXX) reported the successful completion of the company’s first well into the Utica Shale formation.  The well was drilled and completed in the dry gas area of the play in Butler County, Pennsylvania.

The Cheeseman #1H well had a twenty four hour production test rate of 9.2 million cubic feet per day of natural gas.  The well was drilled with a 3,551 foot lateral and completed with a twelve stage hydraulic fracturing operation.

Rex Energy did not disclose the cost of the Cheeseman #1H well and said that it would discuss development plans for the Utica Shale once the company sets its 2012 capital budget.

Rex Energy - More Details On Utica Shale Development From Conference Call

Rex Energy (REXX) held a conference call on August 3, 2011, and discussed additional operational details on the company’s expanding Utica Shale position.

Rex Energy is moving a rig to drill the horizontal leg of a Utica Shale test well in Butler County, Pennsylvania.  This rig just finished a six well pad drilling operation into the Marcellus Shale and Burkett Shale in Pennsylvania.

The name of the Utica Shale well is Cheeseman and Rex Energy expects results from this well in the fourth quarter of 2011.  The Cheeseman well is eleven miles south of the Zion well drilled and completed by Range Resources (RRC)

Rex Energy said that the Warrior Prospect has approximately 80 net drilling locations based on 4,000 foot laterals, with 1,000 foot spacing between the laterals.  Union Drilling (UDRL) will construct a new rig to be used by Rex Energy to develop the play.

Rex Energy comments on Utica Shale Geology

• Utica Shale is Ordovician age and is the source rock for the overlying Silurian sandstones and Cambrian carbonates and sandstones in Ohio.
• Although the total organic carbon content from 2.4% to 3.7% is low compared to other shale plays, the thickness of the shale makes up for this. The Utica Shale in eastern Ohio is 150 feet thick and the Point Pleasant Formation is 140 feet thick.
• The Utica Shale is mature enough in the area that Rex Energy is involved with to produce wet gas.