Bossier Shale: Gastar East Texas Drilling Results

Gastar Exploration is out today, 11/19/08, updating investors on drilling results from their deep sand Bossier Shale wells. The Bossier Shale sits below the Haynesville Shale FYI.

Gastar Exploration Ltd. (NYSE GST) today announced that it has successfully drilled the Belin #1 well, a deep Bossier test, to a total depth of 18,800 feet and has logged approximately 150 net feet of pay in the middle and lower Bossier formations.

The Belin #1 well contains three pay zones within the lower Bossier formation that, based on log analysis, have the highest measured porosity -- up to 25% -- of any wells drilled by Gastar in the deep Bossier play. The well also encountered two middle Bossier sands, including the Lanier Sand, in a downdip location in a new fault block with indicated pay based on log analysis.
The well is expected to be completed and producing within 30 days. Gastar owns a 52% working interest before payout (40% net revenue interest before payout) in the Belin #1.

"The Belin #1 well has the potential to be Gastar's best well to date in terms of estimated recoverable reserves and potential flowrate in the Hilltop area," said J. Russell Porter, Gastar's President and CEO.

"We plan to complete the well in the two deepest zones first, and we expect that to be a high-rate completion. We are also very encouraged by the fact that the Lanier Sand was present and has been shown to be productive in a downthrown fault block from the Wildman Trust #3 well, where the Lanier Sand was recently recompleted at an initial rate of 21 MMcf per day."
In addition, Gastar is currently drilling a sidetrack to the LOR #7 and expects to reach total depth close to year end. Gastar has a 50% working interest before payout (37.5% net revenue interest before payout) in the LOR #7.

http://oilshalegas.com

Haynesville Shale vs Bossier Shale - Cabot ( COG )

Cabot Oil & Gas ( COG ) had some interesting comments about the Bossier Shale and the Haynesville Shale on their latest conference call 10/30/08. They are basically comparing the two formations which are on top of each other. Please note: the Cotton Valley formation is on top of that.
This is a lengthy read but well worth it! In short, they think the Bossier Shale is better then the haynesville shale despite the haynesville getting more press.

From Seeking Alpha

David Heikkinen - Asking the Questions on the Conference Call
Basically just thinking about the Bossier versus the Haynesville and trying to frame up depositional environment and consistency in the Bossier shale as you move into your acreage, I know there isn't the Haynesville and County Line, but just trying to understand consistency and kind of properties? And then next on the Lime, normally it's too tight, so is there a cutoff as far as what you're seeing with the horizontal Lime well that you drilled, just trying to understand that too?
Dan Dinges - President & CEO giving the Answers
David, we have drilled numerous deep data points that are giving us Bossier/Haynesville shale information. We are seeing the Haynesville shale, you will extend overall of Cabot acreage. It is not as thick as we would see over in Louisiana. But the properties, the gas content, so on are the same. More importantly from our perspective is that we are seeing what we're calling the middle and upper Bossier as very thick, very gas charged. We are producing a well right now from the upper Bossier shale at nearly 3 million a day.
We talked about it earlier at Trawick at the last conference call that well is actually improving. We're confident that our horizontal Bossier shale which is in the middle Bossier interval is drilled in shale that is rich in silica and quartz and in carbonate, low in clay content. This shale should stimulate very effectively, probably better fract if the efficiency that you might see in the more play rich Haynesville shale.
And I think some of the anecdotal evidence that we've seen from some of the other operators suggests that this middle and upper Bossier which may not be getting the big press that we're seeing from Louisiana is going to be a significant contributor to the entire Bossier shale play in East Texas. So right now we're very optimistic on what we've seen so far both from rock properties in the Bossier and Haynesville shale as well as the production and test rates and gas contents that we've seen to-date.
David Heikkinen
So really, just trying to summarize you guys testing the Bossier and favoring it, it's really the economics of the Bossier because it's thicker and the Haynesville thinned out. It's not that you're not seeing Haynesville. It's just thinner so your economics are better in the Bossier on your acreage probably than they would be in the Haynesville?
Dan Dinges
Well, we have seen some data that suggests now from vertical wells and I think that these are horizontal plays, we have seen some data from vertical wells from the big thick Haynesville shale, big thick 200 feet thick or more that the initial rates after frac are not all that big. I mean a million a half a day.
So you can say that where we're drilling, although it is thinner, the similar type of rates had been established by up in the Minden area with a well that was drilled by the former operator of the property that was bought. So we think that there's still a lot of upside left in the Haynesville even though it is thinner over in the Minden area.
David Heikkinen
Okay. So maybe I'm reading too much into your decision to test the Bossier and the Lime first. It sounds like you're going to test the Haynesville on your acreage as well as beyond just the vertical well?
Dan Dinges
Absolutely we are.
David Heikkinen
So can you give any thicknesses as far as what the Haynesville and Bossier are on your acreage as you move to the South?
Dan Dinges
We're seeing the Bossier and we don't break it out into the so-called Haynesville. I don't buy the terminology. It's all Bossier. It's between 750 and 1000 feet thick and it's all gas charged.

Haynesville Shale: Arkansas Columbia County - The Haynesville Shale is spreading into Arkansas!

A couple of gas companies drilling in the Haynesville Shale formation in north Louisiana have acquired permits to drill at three sites in Columbia County in south Arkansas.

The Haynesville Shale stretches across parts of Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas and holds an estimated 29 to 39 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, though the range of the formation is not fully known. The Fayetteville Shale formation in central Arkansas holds an estimated 20 trillion cubic feet.It's not clear whether the companies interested in Columbia County intend to tap the Haynesville formation, but the planned wells would go quite deep. Two wells would go 8,800 feet and one would go 11,000 feet, and one is to be horizontally drilled.

Discovery of the Haynesville Shale was announced by Chesapeake Energy Corp. on March 25. Chesapeake Energy Corp. spokesman Saire Joubert says the Haynesville Shale's close proximity to Columbia County and its unknown boundaries would lead to natural gas exploration in Columbia County.

Haynesville Shale Extending - East Texas Drilling

The Haynesville Shale is starting to be tested in other counties in East Texas. Southwestern Energy ( SWN ), a newcomer to the Haynesville Shale, will be testing Shelby and San Augustine Counties of Texas in the coming months and 2009.

For those who do not know about Southwestern Energy....these guys were the very first in the Fayetteville Shale in Arkansas. SWN is producing 500 million cubic feet per day in the Fayetteville Shale play.

This is the first i've heard this part of Texas being looked at for the Haynesville shale......keep an eye on this!

New Haynesville Shale Message Board

A new Haynesville Shale Discussion Board - Chat Forum has been made on Facebook. For anyone that would like to discuss the Haynesville Natural Gas Field...check out this site.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=17805649297

For more information on the Haynesville Shale....go to this website

http://www.oilshalegas.com/haynesvilleshale.html

Haynesville Shale

The Haynesville Shale, rich with natural gas and companies wanting to drill for it. I have read many articles in the past few months about the Haynesville Shale being hyped up. Are these people living in a geologic cave? The natural gas results coming out from the companies that are drilling at Haynesville Shale are incredible. Anyway, if you want to see detailed maps of Haynesville Shale....go here http://oilshalegas.com/haynesvilleshale.html

Also, the public companies that are drilling for the shale gas

http://oilshalegas.com/haynesvilleshalestocks.html

There sites are good information on Haynesville Shale and ever have several maps with detailed drilling activity. Go Haynesville Shale!