American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2016 - 86

SpecialReport: Marcellus/Utica Activity
With the support of our financial partners,
The Energy & Minerals Group and First
Reserve Corp., we see ourselves as a
meaningful long-term player in the Marcellus/Utica. We are focused on being a
great operator. I am proud of what the
industry has accomplished in the last 510 years, and look forward to great things
in the Utica in the years ahead."
The Gas Advantage

Range Resources has allocated 90 percent of its 2016 drilling budget to southwestern
Pennsylvania, where Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Ray Walker
reports Marcellus Shale targets range from super-rich to wet to dry gas production.
Range, which has 1.54 million acres in stacked pays in both southwestern and northeastern Pennsylvania, was running three big rigs and two small rigs in October.

make pricing more competitive. Pad
drilling has allowed Ascent to spread
fixed costs over multiple wells, and redesigning its wells means the company
has been able to eliminate a casing string.
Fisher says pad drilling also has allowed
Ascent to utilize zipper stimulations on
two or more wells at a time, which improves cycle time. He adds that optimizing
production facility designs has taken out
some cost, too. Improved geosteering
means the company is doing a better job

86 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

keeping the drill bit in the targeted window,
he contends.
Fisher points out that Ascent Resources
has been able to reduce costs while still
operating safely and with rising EURs.
"Our motto is 'Integrity First, Safety
Always,'" he states. "We are recycling
produced water, and we have a high-tech
emission control system and utilize infrared
cameras to spot leaks. Our management
team has drilled more than 10,000 horizontal wells across the United States.

Ray Walker claims natural gas is the
place to be.
"This is the first year that there will
be a decline in U.S. gas production,"
points out Walker, executive vice president
and chief operating officer for Range Resources. "Going forward, supply will be
challenged to keep up with the demand.
Most are predicting a 15 Bcf-20 Bcf a
day increase in demand from liquefied
natural gas exports, Mexican exports, industrial expansion, and power generation.
Natural gas is affordable going forward,
and it is a clean, domestic fuel."
With the projected increase in demand
for natural gas and prices creeping up
this fall above $3 for first time in months,
the Marcellus and Utica shale plays in
the Appalachian Basin are the obvious
place to be, Walker asserts.
He says Range Resources, which has
1.54 million acres in stacked pays in both
southwestern and northeastern Pennsylvania, is focusing on the Marcellus with
three big rigs and two small rigs running
in October.
"The Utica is a very complementary
play," Walker assesses. "It is clearly productive. We have 400,000 acres prospective
to the deep, high-pressure Utica.
"But it is deeper," he continues. "Comparing apples to apples, you can drill an
8,000-foot lateral in the Utica for about
$12 million for 20 Bcf plus of production.
You can drill an 8,000-foot lateral in the
Marcellus for $5 million and get 20 Bcf
plus. In other words, it costs two and a
half times more to drill a Utica well for
the same amount of production.
"It is all about capital allocation," he
says. "All our leases hold all zones by
production. So we will learn from our

American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2016

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