TMS And CLR: The Discussion Continues -- August 5, 2021

Updates

Later, 9:53 p.m. CT: see this post. 

Original Post

In CLR's 2Q21 conference call, COO Jack Stark made an interesting remark: Continental's COO - Jack Stark - said in his introductory comments st the 2Q21 Conference Call the other day that 'exploratory opportunities' were underway that could greatly increase CLR's size. 

Could possibly be the forgotten Tuscaloosa Marine Shale. 

A tiny Australian company has drilled 6 wells there with moderate success. 

Could be interesting.

A reader suggested CLR could be thinking about the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale, which prompted a very, very long post.  

Continuing that conversation, that same reader replied.

From the reader:

Reading your TMS posts today have really fired up my imagination.

From memory, and a LOT of connecting the dots ...

TMS was determined by a local university geology department to have about 8 billion barrels recoversble oil.

 

One (of several) challenges with the TMS is the depth  ... 14,000 to 16,000+ foot depth, if I recall correctly.

 

Next biggest obstacle is the frequent 'caving in' of the wellbore as it was being drilled ... especially during the build/curve.  (Big, unexpected expenses there ).

 

Many 'unkowns' that can only be discovered through expensive, nerve-wracking trial and error include optimal landing depth, depth of curve initiation,  (and angle),  mud parameters, rate of drilling, identification of 'sweet spots', and several more.

Now, the 'good stuff' ...

Oil cut is 92% / 96% ... extraordinarily high.

 

(Bakken which is high, runs 85%/90%). -- in the early Bakken, I believe the cut ran as high as 94%;

Best part - in 2 aspects - is that the extreme depth has VERY high formation pressure which greatly 'pushes' the oil out of the rock and  into the wellbore.

 

Now, with recent advances in Gas Lift technologies (gas lift seems to be near universal in the Bakken now),  single point (relatively cheap) high pressure gas can be injected down to the curve which will zoom up to the surface bringing a ton of oil with it.

To rephrase  ... while the very deep TMS poses inherent challenges, those very same characteristics can be huge positives when considering

• getting the oil out of the rock and into the wellbore 
• having the deep gas injection prompt huge expansion/lift by which the liquids can (somewhat easily) travel 3 miles up to the surface.

As you say, I may be getting ahead of my headlights here, but I suspect the emerging technologies these past few years that have been developed in the Bakken (drilling, completions, geological assessments, artificial lift) may have produced a viable climate within which to further tackle the TMS.

As an aside, other formations such as the Rogersville, Paradox, et al may start to kindle interest for the adventurous.