Paper: Evolution of a Horizontal Drilling Program

The recent development of the Bryant - G- Devonian Field (BGDF) has been a significant success for Texaco in the Permian Basin. The field had been producing about 2.0 MMCFGPD with 100 BPD associated condensate production. Through the application of enhanced reservoir imaging and horizontal drilling technology, production was increased to about 60.0 MMCFGPD and 2600 BCPD with expected recoverable reserves being increased by 300 percent. An additional benefit realized by this program was the increase in loading at the Texaco operated gas plant which processes the liquids from this gas stream. During this ongoing program about 50 horizontal laterals have been drilled, either as re-entries from existing wells or from "grass roots" new wells, some with single laterals and some with multiple laterals. As this was the largest package of deeper (>10,000") horizontal wells Texaco had developed in the Permian Basin, the learning curve was relatively steep and often times bumpy. The discussion to follow will outline some of the progressions followed to bring our drilling practices to their current form.