American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2015 - 96

sate production as well.

Range Resources' Marcellus Shale division reported second-quarter net production of
1.19 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent a day, for which its Southwest Pennsylvania wells accounted for 963 net MMcfe/d. According to Range, the company brought
41 wells on line in the second quarter in Southwest Pennsylvania, of which 25 were in
the wet gas area, four were in the super-rich gas area and 12 were in the dry gas area.

pects a midstream connection by first quarter 2016. "One more pad will be stimulated after that," he continues. "We are
very happy with the results."
Neal reports the company is averaging
six wells a pad, and says the total airport
development plan incorporates six or seven pads. CONSOL's original plan was to

drill 45-47 total laterals in the Marcellus
and Burkett formations, he says, but the
company is seeking approval from the Federal Aviation Administration and the appropriate local authorities to switch some
of the laterals to the Utica zone.
He says the Marcellus wells at the airport are a wet gas, offering some conden-

Stacked Pays
While deep Utica dry gas is gaining attention, the Marcellus continues to generate eye-popping production as well. October marked the 11th anniversary of
when Range Resources completed the
Renz No. 1 well in Washington County,
Pa., the well that touched off the play.
Range Resources remains one of the
biggest players in Pennsylvania, with a 1.56
million acre leasehold. According to Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Ventura, Range has Marcellus production in northeastern Pennsylvania, but
is focusing its efforts on southwestern
Pennsylvania, where stacked pays allow for
multiple development opportunities at
1,000-foot spacing and later with 500-foot
spacing.
Range says it has 330,000 acres
prospective for wet gas and 195,000 acres
in the dry gas window of the Upper Devonian, 330,000 wet gas acres and 310,000
dry gas acres prospective to the Marcellus, and another 400,000 acres in the dry
gas window of the Utica/Point Pleasant
play. "We have potential up and down the
stratigraphic column," says Ventura. "We
have 900,000 acres prospective to the dry
gas and 660,000 acres in the wet gas. It is
like a portfolio within a portfolio. Dry gas
economics are better today, but we will
continue to drill across all three areas."
Range Resources' portfolio in southwestern Pennsylvania also sits atop the region's best infrastructure, he adds.
As he considers the Marcellus and Utica plays' best attributes, Ventura emphasizes the basics. "We are in the commodity business," he observes. "There are always going to be pricing cycles. You want
to be a low cost producer with a high quality asset. The Marcellus is the country's
highest quality gas play, and when combined with the Utica, is potentially the
world's largest gas field. The good news
is we have the largest acreage position in
the country's lowest cost and highest
quality play."
Improving Efficiency
According to Ventura, boosting efficiency while trimming capital expenditures has
been one secret to Range's growth. "We
are continuing to drill progressively longer
laterals," he details. "We are averaging
6,000-foot laterals in 2015. Next year, it
will be 6,900 feet. We have moved our
stage spacing ever closer. We have continued optimizing sand concentration and we
are putting the drill bit in a better landing
location. The Marcellus is 80-120 feet thick
in Southwest Pennsylvania, so lateral

96 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2015

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