Dominion Black Warrior Basin Inc. has made a remote new-field discovery in northern St. Clair County, Alabama. The find is in the Valley and Ridge province of the Cotton State, east of the Black Warrior Basin. The remarkable discovery is the first production in the county, and it's also from the Cambrian Conasauga shale, a much older interval than the Mississippian Floyd shale that has grabbed most of the industry's attention to date in the region. Currently, Dominion is applying with the Alabama Oil & Gas Board for 320-acre spacing across a 40-square-mile area. The boundaries of its proposed Big Canoe Creek Field lie between the Big Canoe Valley and Helena faults. In this tectonically complex area, which is rife with low-angle thrust faults, the Conasauga shale section is repeated and reaches thousands of feet thick. Indeed, in the heart of the proposed field, an old Amoco well, #1 J.J. Young 34-2, was still in Conasauga shale at its total depth of 9,915 feet. Dominion's first producer in the emerging area, also the first producing well in St. Clair County, was completed in 2005. The 5,970-foot #1 Dawson 34-3, in Section 34-13s-4e, initially flowed 47,500 cubic feet per day from an openhole interval between 2,170-5,892 feet. After stimulation, rates improved to 233,000 cubic feet per day. Production in June 2006 was 2.76 million cubic feet, according to the state. Last year, Dominion added a second producer, #6 Newman 27-7, in Section 27 of the same township. That well flowed 64,000 cubic feet per day from an openhole interval at 1,939-7,039 feet total depth. During June 2006, it made 2.36 million cubic feet. The company has tied its new wells into a Southern Natural Gas line that runs up the valley through its properties. For more on this, see the March issue of Oil and Gas Investor. For a subscription, call 713-260-6441.

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