Session Chair:  Jesse Sandlin, Noble Energy, Denver, CO

Drilling, completion and field development practices for conventional oil and gas plays developed slowly between the first gas well drilled in Fredonia, NY, in 1821 and the first oil well drilled in Pennsylvania by Edwin Drake in 1859 up to the present. In the “old” conventional world, wells were drilled as vertical, directional and then highly directional to reach conventional reservoir targets that could have been miles away from a well’s surface location.

During 1987 Meridian Resources began drilling and completing horizontal Bakken Shale wells. In 1981 Mitchell Energy was the first company to begin development of the Barnett Shale. By 1997 Mitchell Energy’s technical staff had determined how to commercialize unconventional shale wells in the Barnett. During the same time as Mitchell was working to figure out the Barnett Shale other companies were improving directional drilling and fracturing technologies in other reservoirs. After Mitchell turned what was always known as “source rock” into commercial shale reservoir, a new set of drilling, completion and development practices quickly evolved. By the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, companies such as Chesapeake, EOG, XTO, Range Resources and others were commercially developing tight sands and shales using horizonal wells and hydraulic fracturing.

Drilling and Completions Part One will focus on the “old” practices to drill and complete a conventional well while protecting workers, local communities, the environment, USDWs, non-producing zones, and more, all while producing the highest oil and gas recoveries that current technologies would allow.

NOTE: It is highly recommended that Drilling and Completions Parts #1, #2 and #3 be taken as a prerequisite to subsequent sessions by George King for well integrity.

DRILLING & COMPLETIONS CHANGES FROM CONVENTIONAL TO UNCONVENTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS: PART ONE
Conference Presentation
Lloyd Hetrick, LHH Engineering, PLLC, San Antonio, TX; Steve Tipton, ALL Consulting, LLC, Tulsa, OK

DRILLING & COMPLETIONS CHANGES FROM CONVENTIONAL TO UNCONVENTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS: PART TWO
Conference Presentation
Lloyd Hetrick, LHH Engineering, PLLC, San Antonio, TX; Steve Tipton, ALL Consulting, LLC, Tulsa, OK

DRILLING & COMPLETIONS CHANGES FROM CONVENTIONAL TO UNCONVENTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS: PART THREE
Conference Presentation
Jesse Sandlin, Noble Energy, Denver, CO