Quicksilver Resources Inc. has completed its first well in the Horn River Basin in Northeast British Columbia. The well tested at an initial production rate of 13 million cubic feet per day.
This initial horizontal well, the D-50A well, was drilled into the Muskwa shale formation with approximately 3,500 feet of lateral and 10 stages of fracture stimulation and has averaged approximately 10 million cubic feet per day during the first month of production.
The well is being produced into a permanent sales line that connects to the Spectra pipeline to Fort Nelson. The company has committed to firm take-away capacity on the Spectra line for volumes ramping up to 100 million cubic feet of natural gas per day over the next several years.
“We are very pleased with the strong results of this initial test of our Horn River acreage position,” said Glenn Darden, Quicksilver president and CEO. “As we proceed with development of this project, we anticipate drilling longer laterals with additional stages of fracture stimulation which we expect will result in even greater production volumes per well. It is becoming clear from mapping, core analysis, and production results that our substantial acreage position is in a very good part of the basin and contains the potential for multiple trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas resources for Quicksilver.”
Quicksilver’s initial drilling results have confirmed more than 500 feet of net shale thickness in the Muskwa and Klua/Evie shale formations at a vertical depth of approximately 9,000 feet. The company has drilled a second well into the lower Klua/Evie shale with approximately 4,300 feet of lateral and expects to begin completion activities on this well late this year.
Quicksilver acquired 19 exploratory licenses covering 127,000 net contiguous acres in the Horn River Basin during the winter of 2007-2008. The company is required to drill only eight additional exploratory wells during the next three years to validate these licenses and convert them into 10-year development leases. Approximately 80 development wells drilled during the following ten-year lease term are expected to secure all of Quicksilver’s leasehold.
Fort Worth-based Quicksilver Resources is a natural gas and crude oil exploration and production company engaged in the development and acquisition of long-lived, unconventional natural gas reserves, including coalbed methane, shale gas, and tight sands gas in North America.
