Niobrara Shale

Ultra Petroleum - More Niobrara Details

Here is more information on Ultra Petroleum’s (UPL) new leasehold position that is prospective for the Niobrara formation.  These additional details were derived from the question and answer period during the recent conference call.

• Ultra Petroleum is continuing to look for additional acreage to lease and is not content with a 100,000 net acre position.
• Niobrara well costs are estimated at between $4 million and $4.5 million each, and the depth of the play is approximately 1,000 to 1,500 feet shallower than acreage in Laramie County, Wyoming.
• No way to currently estimate the infrastructure investment needed to transport and process production out of the area.
• Well spacing may go from 320 acres down to 160 acres, and none of the acreage is on federal land.  The company also has deeper rights on the leasehold.
• The Niobrara acreage has groundwater present and the company expects to have rights to use this groundwater during development.
• Using a EUR of 250,000 BOE per well.

Warren Resources - Niobrara Shale Summary

Warren Resources (WRES) reports that the company has an 80,000 net acres position that is prospective for the Niobrara Shale. The company said that the acreage is located in the eastern Washakie Basin in Wyoming. This is outside of the area that its peers are currently developing.

Warren Resources said that the Niobrara Shale is at depths of 4,000 to 10,000 feet on its acreage, and the company plans to drill one well there in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Whiting Petroleum - Niobrara Shale Update

Whiting Petroleum Corporation (WLL) issued an operational update regarding the company’s activities in the Niobrara Shale, where the company has assembled 39,000 net acres in Colorado and 32,000 net acres in Wyoming.

Whiting Petroleum Corporation said that it would continue to lease acreage in Colorado, and will drill its first Niobrara shale well during the first half of 2011.

In Wyoming, Whiting Petroleum Corporation is developing the Hatfield prospect, located in Carbon County, Wyoming. The company said that it would spud two vertical wells here before the end of 2010, and released the following details on the prospect:

• Niobrara Shale Depth - Approximately 3500 feet.
  

• Estimated Ultimate Recovery (EUR) - 100,000 to 125,000 barrels oil equivalent (BOE) per well.
  

• Well Costs - Between $1.0 million and $1.5 million.
  

Whiting Petroleum Corporation said that the wells drilled in 2010 into the Niobrara Shale will be vertical test wells, and if successful, the company would initiate a horizontal drilling program on 160 acre spacing.