?Marathon Oil Corp. reports it has participated in a successful step-out discovery well on the Brickyard prospect in the northeastern Anadarko Basin in Oklahoma, marking the world’s first interventionless gas-well completion.

Cana No. 1-15H is a discovery well in the Woodford shale resource play in Canadian County and was drilled to a true vertical depth of 13,177 feet and horizontally for 4,090 feet, for a total measured well depth of 17,267 feet. The well flowed at an initial rate of 5.2 million cubic feet of gas per day.

Marathon is operator and holds approximately 57% interest. Other interest-owners include Questar Corp. and Cimarex Energy.

The Cana well is believed to be the world’s first totally interventionless well completion using the EXcape completion-process technology developed by Marathon, BJ Services, GeoDynamics and Expro Group.

Marathon was able to remotely perforate, fracture-stimulate and complete each interval for production, including setting and removing isolation devices. Based on the success of the completion, Marathon plans to expand use of the technology to future Woodford shale and Alaska Cook Inlet operations.

Marathon senior vice president, worldwide exploration, Annell R. Bay, says, “Marathon is encouraged by the results of the Brickyard prospect as we continue to develop the emerging Woodford shale resource play. We are using 3-D seismic technology to better define our targets and applying advanced drilling technology to reduce drilling days and well costs, thereby improving overall well economics.”

She adds that using the EXcape technology, compared with conventional completions procedures, reduced man-hours more than 35% and completion costs 10%.

Marathon holds approximately 30,000 net acres in the Woodford with approximately 10,000 net acres in the immediate Brickyard prospect area. The company is currently drilling two additional operated wells and is participating in two nonoperated wells in the prospect. Marathon also plans to participate in 15 to 25 gross wells in the area through 2010, with an anticipated 50% overall working interest.

Comments