American Oil and Gas Reporter - May 2015 - 116

SpecialReport: Mid-Continent Activity Update

The Woodford Shale is 400 feet
thick in the SCOOP, but thins to
only 150 feet in the STACK
(Sooner Trend Anadarko Canadian Kingfisher), according to
Newfield Exploration Chief Operating Officer Gary Packer.
However, when combined with
the organic-rich Meramec, the
STACK pay zone is about 700
feet thick.

gas wells in the Arkoma Basin since
2001. "We recognized the Anadarko
Basin had prolific opportunities with
stacked horizons," he recalls. "Companies
such as Devon Corp. and Cimarex Energy, which were drilling in the Cana Field,
had captured the gas window. When gas
prices deteriorated, we started to look more
broadly to see if we could apply the
skills we had learned in the Bakken and
other plays."
Newfield began searching for "oilier"
wells to the west in Stephens, Garvin and
McClain counties in the SCOOP. By
2010, however, it found it was competing
for the same acreage with other companies,
according to Packer. Evaluation of the
Woodford and Meramec led Newfield
north into the STACK play area.
"Newfield has taken a position to extend the oil window farther than anyone
else," he points out. "Our early drilling was
in the wet gas window, but we are pushing the limits of the oil window."
As Newfield began drilling in the
STACK, it received a surprise. "The early wells encountered hydrocarbons in the
Meramec," Packer offers. "We anticipated the Meramec was a limestone rock, but
we found it was organic-rich shale. That
was a surprise, and horizontal drilling in
the Meramec proved productive."
Last year, Newfield acquired 76,000 net
undeveloped acres in Kingfisher and
Canadian counties from Gastar Exploration USA. That gives Newfield 210,000
acres in the STACK as well as 85,000
acres in the SCOOP.
"Newfield has tested four horizons in
the STACK," Packer continues. "We
have participated in as many as 10 wells

per spacing unit."
The Woodford is about 400 feet thick
in the SCOOP. Packer says it thins to only
about 150 feet in the STACK, but when
combined with the Meramec, the pay zone
is about 700 feet thick overall. "It is a very
thick section," he emphasizes. "We have
targeted three intervals in the Meramec."
By the end of 2014, Newfield had completed 135 wells in the Anadarko Basin:
84 in the SCOOP and 41 in the STACK.
Packer says the company plans to drill another 100 wells this year, split evenly between the two plays.
Packer agrees that the STACK is similar to the Eagle Ford in that there are dis-

116 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

tinctive dry gas, wet gas and oil windows.
"There is a rapid progression into the dry
gas in the Cana Field," he describes.
"We are targeting STACK oil wells and
are averaging 84 percent black oil in early production. The more recent wells
drilled to the west of our position have
been 20-30 percent black oil in the wet gas
window. We leased the thickest portion of
the play in Blaine, Canadian and Kingfisher counties."
Superior Economics
Although lower crude prices impact the
company's cash flow, Packer claims
Newfield still enjoys competitive economics in its Anadarko Basin activity. "$55 is
our benchmark for planning," he outlines.
"At that price, we have a 30-40 percent internal rate of return in STACK and 35-45
percent IRR before taxes in SCOOP. I
heard an analyst say that STACK and
SCOOP were the most attractive resource
plays in the country."
One reason Newfield has been a leader
in the oil window of STACK and SCOOP,
according to Packer, is that it is the leader
in drilling 10,000-foot superextended laterals, where companies historically drilled
5,000-foot laterals.
"The dry gas window is deeper, which
can cause mechanical problems when
drilling that long a lateral," he allows.
"Moving up into the oil window, we
were able to apply the techniques we

Newfield Exploration employs 50 fracture stages per 10,000-foot lateral and has reduced its cluster spacing to 50 feet in its SCOOP and STACK wells, which Chief Operating Officer Gary Packer reports cost $7.6 million-$8.9 million and $8.5 million to drill
and complete, respectively.

American Oil and Gas Reporter - May 2015

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