In this rapidly evolving environment—where horizontal drilling has become the norm and natural gas has been forsaken for oil—multiple shale plays are dominating the US exploration and production landscape. I’ve had the opportunity to closely track many of these trends from their infancy during my years as Managing Editor for IHS. Over the last year or so, the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale has drawn significant interest to eastern Louisiana and western Mississippi.

Encana success opens the door

Encana Oil & Gas opened Alfred C Moore field in mid-2011, testing a Mississippi discovery—the 1H Board of Education in Amite County—for an initial daily potential of 373 bbls of 37.7-degree oil, 119,000 cu ft of gas and 534 bbls of water from acid- and fracture-stimulated perforations at 11,977-14,900 ft in the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale (TMS). The horizontal lateral reached a total depth of 16,500 ft, or a true vertical depth of 11,992 ft. Log tops included the Eagle Ford Shale at 11,019 ft and Tuscaloosa Marine Shale at 11,815 ft. Encana had assumed operations of the well from Encore Operating, which originally drilled the 1H Board of Education in late 2008.

On the heels of Encana’s discovery, Devon Energy listed the TMS alongside several new venture areas (including the Utica Shale and Niobrara) when announcing a mid-year budget increase in 2011. By September, Devon had secured 250,000 acres of mineral leases in the play, according to the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources.

Shortly after forming its new ventures group, Devon completed its first TMS discovery to open a new pool in Louisiana’s Beech Grove Plantation field in East Feliciana Parish. The 1 Beech Grove Land Co “68H” flowed 120 bbls of 42-degree oil, 100,000 cu ft of gas and 312 bbls of water per day from perforations at 14,275-17,013 ft. The horizontal well was drilled to a total depth of 17,153 ft (13,737 ft TVD).

Several TMS fields have been opened since late 2011:

• Encana’s Alfred C Moore, Amite County, MS
• Devon’s Beech Grove Plantation, East Feliciana Parish, LA
• Encana’s Chipola North, St. Helena Parish, LA
• Devon’s Fluker, Tangipahoa Parish, LA
• Devon’s Ethel, East Feliciana Parish, LA
• Encana’s Horseshoe Hill, Wilkinson County, MS
• Devon’s Richland Plantation, East Feliciana Parish, LA
• Devon’s Liverpool Northwest, St. Helena Parish, LA

Westward expansion under way

Although the TMS play has predominantly been centered along the Louisiana/Mississippi state line, recent activity extends the play westward into central Louisiana’s Avoyelles and Rapides parishes.

EOG Resources has already begun operations at its first horizontal well in Avoyelles Parish—the 1 Dupuy Land Co “20H”—which was preceded by a couple of vertical holes. Proposed total depth is 16,768 ft (11,408 ft TVD). The company also continues to acquire acreage. At the Louisiana state lease sale in June, EOG was the most active bidder, picking up five Avoyelles Parish tracts covering 2,653 acres for a combined price of $2.06 million. EOG’s newly acquired tracts are in the vicinity of its current TMS activity.

In Rapides Parish, Halcón Resources spud its first TMS well in September. Its 1 Broadway “H” is being horizontally drilled to a total depth of 19,500 ft (14,500 ft TVD). Halcón recently announced that it has about 70,000 net acres leased or under contract in Rapides and Avoyelles parishes with a goal of reaching 150,000-200,000 net TMS acres in the play.

Halcón’s venture is not far from an Eagle Ford Shale discovery completed last year in western Rapides Parish. The Louisiana DNR considers the Eagle Ford Shale and TMS to be part of the same overall trend. The DNR named Indigo II Louisiana Operating’s 1 Bentley Lumber “34H” as the first horizontal well completed in the trend. Designated a new pool discovery in Flatwoods field, this producer had an initial daily potential of 324 bbls of oil, 154,000 cu ft of gas and 240 bbls of water.

Future potential

As Encana and Devon continue to explore and develop their TMS leaseholds, the extent of the play is expected to grow. Devon just recently reported a horizontal western Tangipahoa Parish discovery flowing 384 bbls of oil, 105,000 cu ft of gas and 192 bbls of water daily.

Additional operators have already begun to join the TMS play. Goodrich Petroleum recently drilled its first operated TMS well, after participating as an interest holder in multiple Encana-operated wells. The 1 Denkmann “33-28H” is located in Mississippi’s Amite County, and the company is already drilling a second horizontal TMS well in neighboring Wilkinson County.

This article was published by S&P Global Commodity Insights and not by S&P Global Ratings, which is a separately managed division of S&P Global.