Pioneer beefs up Eagle Ford shale effortsJan 20, 2010Alan...

Pioneer beefs up Eagle Ford shale efforts

Jan 20, 2010

Alan Petzet
OGJ Chief Editor-Exploration

HOUSTON, Jan. 20 -- Pioneer Natural Resources Co., Dallas, completed its second South Texas Eagle Ford shale well, formed an Eagle Ford asset team, and is pursuing a joint venture with bids expected in the second quarter.

The company turned to sales its Robert Crawley Gas Unit-1 well in Live Oak County which flowed 17 MMcfd of gas with 7,300 psi wellhead flowing pressure on a 24/64-in. choke from a 5,400-ft lateral after a 16-stage frac. True vertical depth is 14,000 ft.

The Eagle Ford shale at the Crawley location, 3 miles south of Pioneers liquids-rich Sinor-5 discovery well, is 1,000 ft deeper and has a 30% thicker pay zone than at the Sinor location.

The wells goal was to test productivity towards the dry gas window in a deeper, thicker Eagle Ford shale section with a longer lateral and additional frac stages. With the highest gas rate reported to date in the play, Crawley-1 exceeded the companys expectations and confirmed that dry gas wells provide strong economics at todays prices.

Pioneer holds more than 2,000 sq miles of 3D seismic data, logs from more than 150 operated wells, proprietary core samples, and microseismic results in the Eagle Ford play. It is operating two horizontal rigs with wells in DeWitt and Karnes counties under way, both targeting liquids-rich areas.

Two asset teams will report to William F. Hannes, formerly executive vice-president business development, who is named executive vice-president South Texas operations. They are the existing South Texas asset team and the newly formed Eagle Ford shale asset team.

Pioneer named three other executive vice-presidents: Danny L. Kellum over Permian operations, Jay P. Still over Midcontinent operations in addition to Rockies, Alaska, and Barnett shale assets, and Chris J. Cheatwood over business development and geoscience-engineering technology.