American Oil and Gas Reporter - September 2016 - 68

SpecialReport: Horizontal & Innovative Drilling
versus the standard north-south). Current
stage length is 200 feet, although PDC is
testing some tighter spacing. Brookman
notes the company also is testing sand
loading. Its typical completion uses 1,100
pounds per foot, but it is testing up to 1,800
pounds per foot.
He says 99 percent of the company's
Wattenberg acreage is held by production,
so PDC only drills wells it plans to complete and turn on line as quickly as possible.
"PDC is primarily an organic growth
company," Brookman characterizes. "We
have a very reliable, low-risk, high-return
inventory in the DJ Basin that will be the
foundation for our company for years."

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. operates approximately 11,000 wells across a variety of
basins in the Rocky Mountains, including more than 6,500 wells in the Denver-Julesburg Basin. The company is the largest private mineral owner in Wyoming with 4.2 million acres of mineral leases, including positions in the Greater Green River and Powder River basins.

Focus On DJ Basin
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation operates approximately 11,000 wells across
a variety of basins in the Rocky Mountain
region, where the company also has fee
ownership of mineral rights under approximately 8 million acres that pass through
Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. But Vice
President of Operations Craig Walters says
in today's market environment, Anadarko's
Rockies' activity is focused primarily on
the DJ Basin.
"We have one rig running and a couple of completion crews in the DJ Basin,"
he states. "That is the only rig we have in
the Rockies at this time."
Anadarko operates more than 6,500
wells in the DJ Basin, according to Wal-

ters. He says more than 1,000 of those are
horizontals that the company has drilled
since it kicked off its horizontal program
in 2010. He says he expects the company
to drill about 50 horizontal wells in the DJ
Basin this year.
As the company shifted its approach
from growth to preserving value during the
downcycle in commodity prices, Walters
says, it built an inventory of intentionally drilled but uncompleted wells. "We ended 2015 with about 230 DUCs companywide," he reveals. "A significant percentage of those are in the Wattenberg Field."
He says the company's inventory of
DUCs continues to provide flexibility
during times of market volatility.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. is testing multiple formations in Wyoming's Powder River Basin, targeting the Niobrara, Turner and
Mowry formations. As the company shifted its approach from
growth to preserving value during the downcycle in prices, Vice
President of Operations Craig
Walters says Anadarko built an inventory of drilled but uncompleted wells, ﬁnishing 2015 with 230
DUCs companywide.

68 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

Walters says Anadarko is drilling about
50 percent short laterals (4,200 feet or less)
and 50 percent middle-length or long
laterals.
"We can turn around the short laterals
quickly," he explains. "If you look at true
economics, the middle-length laterals
probably are the sweet spot, but the long
laterals are getting more attention. Our
drilling team has done a fantastic job; our
record for a short lateral is four days from
spud to rig release."
Walters credits much of Anadarko's
cost reductions and efficiency improvements to the work of its employees and a
culture of continuous improvement in all
parts of the company. He says Anadarko
has moved from sliding sleeves to plugand-perf completions exclusively in the
past 18 months. "It makes better wells,"
he insists. "We are using about 250 feet per
frac stage."
Anadarko has 350,000 net acres in the
DJ Basin, and Walters points out that the
mix of oil and natural gas varies from one
area to another. For example, he says there
is more gas near the city of Greeley, but
on average, Anadarko's wells are 60 percent crude oil and liquids, and 40 percent
natural gas.
Other Basins
Anadarko is the largest natural gas producer in Utah. That includes 78,000 acres
in its Utah Coalbed Methane project in
Carbon County and 178,000 acres in the

American Oil and Gas Reporter - September 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Oil and Gas Reporter - September 2016