Originally posted by CowboyUp:
Originally posted by gulfshorespoke:
Up you have absolutely nothing to defend the worst ever. Spare me the Bin Laden crap.
Don't forget about that sorry Obama economy!
Oklahoma poised to surpass California, Alaska in oil production, Continental Resources CEO says
By
Jay F. MarksPublished: September 18, 2014
Continental Resources Inc. seemingly knows how to keep a secret.
The Oklahoma City-based oil producer on Thursday unveiled a new oil play that it has been developing for nearly two years.
Western Oklahoma's Springer Shale is in
the heart of the South Central Oklahoma Oil Province, or SCOOP,
Continental's last big discovery.
Company officials detailed the oil-rich formation Wednesday for about 200 analysts and investors at the Skirvin Hilton.
CEO Harold Hamm said the Springer and other new Oklahoma oil plays will elevate the state as an oil producer.
He said Oklahoma is on track to surpass California and Alaska to become the nation's third-largest oil producer.
"That's something I don't think people even thought about a few years ago," Hamm said.
Will
Parker, a senior exploration geologist at Continental, said the
company's leading position in the SCOOP allowed it to capitalize on its
new discovery, which is in a shallower layer of shale.
A nice surprise[/B]
Parker said Continental completed its first Springer well early last year.
The results, more than 2,000 barrels of oil a day, sparked celebrations at the company's Oklahoma City headquarters.
"We were going from office to office and high-fiving people," he said.
Continental
drilled another exploratory well about 25 miles away to delineate the
play, then another near the original well to confirm the discovery.
"At that time, we knew we had another layer to the SCOOP," Parker said.
Continental
halted its operations at that time to amass more acreage in the nascent
play. It resumed drilling in the second quarter, with 118,000 net acres
in its portfolio.
Parker said Continental has completed 11 Springer wells so far, but kept its operations there quiet for 20 months.
He
said those wells averaged about 700 barrels of oil equivalent a day
over their first 30 days of operation, with oil accounting for
two-thirds of their output.
Parker said Continental has 11 or 12 years worth of drilling opportunities in the Springer's oil window.
Focused on oil[/B]
Oil continues to be Continental's focus, in the SCOOP and North Dakota's Bakken Shale.
The
Bakken, one of the nation's leading oil fields, remains the company's
prime resource, but Hamm is bullish about the SCOOP's potential.
"I'm now predicting our position in the SCOOP to rival our premier position in the Bakken," Hamm said.
He
said Continental already is the most active driller in Oklahoma, with
27 rigs, but he expects that figure to double in the next few years.
Continental
also continues to search for its next oil play, with a new ventures
exploration program looking at "stealth" opportunities.
Geologic
manager Tony Barrett said the program's team has grown from eight to 24
in the past couple of years, while increasing its prospective acreage to
more than 500,000 net acres.
Barrett said Continental already boasts impressive assets, but the company is still committed to developing new opportunities.
"We continue to grow this company through solid exploration projects," he said.
Barrett
said Continental is exploring seven different prospective plays, each
one identified only as a "stealth" play to avoid alerting its
competitors.
That helps keep leasing costs low, he said.
"We're not the type of operator that is going to go out and pay retail," Barrett said.
This post was edited on 9/19 2:03 PM by CowboyUp
