Apache Corp. is planning a 235 sq mile 3D seismic survey in a lightly drilled area of the northern Texas Panhandle to explore for oil in the Pennsylvanian Canyon Wash formation.
The company has 75% interest in 122,000 acres south of shallow production in Panhandle field. The area has only 23 penetrations.
Gunn Oil Co., Wichita Falls, Apache’s partner in the acreage, completed the Bivins-401 vertical Canyon Wash discovery well in March 2010 in Oldham County flowing 720 b/d of oil. It produced 42,000 bbl in its first 9 months on line and has estimated ultimate recovery of 175,000 bbl.
Apache’s Bivins Ranch acreage is in Oldham, Potter, and Hartley counties north of another Canyon Wash field that has 51 wells that are expected to recover an average of 160,000 bbl/well.
Apache believes the Canyon Wash formation, at 9,200 ft true vertical depth, could be amenable to horizontal drilling. The company plans to implement a multirig program by 2012 in this area, known as the Cimarron arch that separates the Anadarko and Dalhart basins.
Apache sees potential ultimate recovery of 343,000 boe/well, 87% oil, at $3 million/well and as many as 100 drillable locations in 2012-15.
Alan Petzet | Chief Editor Exploration
Alan Petzet is Chief Editor-Exploration of Oil & Gas Journal in Houston. He is editor of the Weekly E&D Newsletter, emailed to OGJ subscribers, and a regular contributor to the OGJ Online subscriber website.
Petzet joined OGJ in 1981 after 13 years in the Tulsa World business-oil department. He was named OGJ Exploration Editor in 1990. A native of Tulsa, he has a BA in journalism from the University of Tulsa.