The Tuscaloosa Marine Shale

Play History
The Tuscaloosa Marine Shale (TMS) play is located across a 2.7 million acre area encompassing Pike, Amite, Concordia, and Wilkinson Counties, Mississippi and East Feliciana, West Feliciana, East Baton Rouge, Washington, Livingston, Tangipahoa, Avoyelles, and St. Helena Parishes, Louisiana. The play is located updip to 3.5 TCFE from the deep Tuscaloosa Trend. Historically, the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale has been known as one of the source rocks for the Tuscaloosa sands. The play has evolved through three periods of activity since the early 50s. The first well that may have produced some oil from the TMS was the Humble #1 Spears well drilled in 1951 in Amite County, MS, as a Tuscaloosa sand test. Completion records are incomplete, and it is likely that the fracs attempted in the shale may have actually fracked into the field oil sands. As a result of his chronicling TMS shows in over 50 area wells throughout the 1950-60s, as well as the supposed TMS production in the Humble well, Alfred C. Moore, a Mississippi wildcatter & geophysical engineer, worked up the first regional project targeting the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale, beginning in 1969. A former Sun Oil geophysical engineer, Moore sold it to colleagues at Sun Oil in 1970 for $25,000. Moore had worked for Sun in the 1940-50s, and partnered with them in Lower Tuscaloosa sand wells drilled in the McComb field area during the 1950-60s. He later called the project, The South Slope Project, in comparison to Alaskas North Slope discovery of the day, and speculated of a nearly 50 billion barrel in-place resource. In late 1971, Sun Oil drilled the Sun #1 Spinks well in Pike County, MS, coring over 310 of the TMS at Moores urging. It was subsequently plugged as non-commercial, after perforating just 24 of TMS and fracking with 30,000 lb. of sand & gelled diesel oil at up to 6,200 psi. Conventional core revealed silt inclusions, crossbedding and fracturing with heavy oil shows, and more than forty percent of the core had fractures. Undaunted, Moore then sold the project to Callon Petroleum in 1972, who partnered with Middle South Utilitiess System Fuels, in funding the next leasing and drilling effort. The partnership drilled the Callon #1 Cutrer well in Tangipahoa Parish in late 1974, which was eventually junked and abandoned after running an uncemented liner through the TMS. In early 1975, they then drilled and cored 120 of the TMS in the Callon #2 Cutrer well, which they fracked and produced from 60 of TMS perforations until 1991. This well was eventually plugged and abandoned, due to poor economics of the time. They fracked it with about about 80,000 lbs. of sand & gel oil, but the tubing ruptured at about 15,000#, causing the frac to screen out. During its lifetime, the well produced 2500 BO from the TMS. Permeabilities from the core ranged from .01-.06 millidarcies and

porosities 2.3-8%. Moore then sold the project one last time, to Texas Pacific in 1977 who drilled the Texas Pacific #1 Blades well in late 1977, also in Tangipahoa Parish, but the TMS was not diamond cored. That well has produced 24 MBO from the TMS over the past 30 years from 134 of perforations, and is still producing a few barrels per day. After four wells in 7 years, it would be more than a decade before another test targeted the TMS, and although Moore lived almost another 20 years, the partnerships leaseblock of 10 year leases expired, and his grand vision of 1,000+ producing wells from the TMS was not to be realized during his lifetime. Over a decade before horizontal drilling became practical, Moore had caused the drilling of four vertical wells targeting the TMS, and seen two wells put on production at non-commercial rates. In the 80s, two wells blew out in the shale (Exxon #1 Jackson 4-14 Amite Co., MS and the Amerada Hess #1 Montrose Plantation, Wilkinson Co., MS). Following these wells, the play went dormant until the late 90s when the Basin Research Institute published a detailed study of the play and stated that it had potential reserves up to 7 billion barrels. Dr. Chacko John led the writing of this extensive study and published it in late 1997. In 1998, UPRC drilled the #5 Richland Plantation in E. Feliciana Parish, LA. The well IPd 117 bopd and 42 mcfgd and produced 4 MBO of 38.2 gravity oil. The Worldwide #1 Braswell 24-12 was drilled in 1998 in Pike County, MS originally as a vertical lower Tuscaloosa well which tested wet. In May of 1999, this well was drilled and re-completed as the first horizontal well in the TMS. Although the well faced numerous drilling problems, and it would not flow all day during early tests, it continues to produce at a low rate through casing. It has produced 12.7 MBO to date and is currently producing at a rate of 2 bopd. This well encouraged Petroquest to drill the Lambert H-1 in Amite County, MS as a horizontal well for the TMS in 2000. . The well IPd at 54 bopd and produced 11.6 MBO over nine years. The well currently produces 1 bopd. The play then went dormant again until 2004, when Worldwide Companies drilled the #1A Spears in Amite Co., MS. It has produced 11.8 MBO to date. The well is currently producing 1 bopd. In 2005, Encore Operating acquired a large block of acreage from Orion Energy and initiated an aggressive leasing program across Amite County, MS. In December, 2007, Encore expanded their leasing program across the Feliciana Parishes. Encore reported that they mapped a silt in the shale of sufficient integrity to drill a horizontal wellbore. The companys first horizontal well, Joe Jackson 4-13H, twinned the Exxon #1 Jackson 4-14 that blew out in the shale in 1982. A lateral length of 1650 was obtained and three frac stages were performed. Drilling and completion challenges resulted in significant cost overruns and delays, but the well initially averaged 74 bopd on pump. It produced 25.8 mbo over the first two years of production and has cumd 28.8 mbo to date. The well TDd at 15560 MD. Encore immediately spud its second well, the Richland Plantation #1. The well drilled much more quickly, reached a lateral length of 3100, and has averaged 14 bopd over the first two years with cumulative production of 10.7 mbo. The well was fracture stimulated in three stages.

A third well, the Weyerhaeuser #1, was drilled and cased to just beyond 17,000 ft measured depth and was completed in the wells 4,100 lateral. The well is located in St. Helena Parish. On 11/8/08, the Weyerhaeuser #1 recorded an initial potential of 323 bopd, 1 mcfgd, 360 bwpd, 3800 sitp, 3100 cp, 12/64, 20% bs&w, and 38.7 gravity. Perforations were 14750-15100, 15600-903, 16200-703. The well has produced 27 mbo. Encore drilled a fourth well, the Board of Education 1H, in Amite County in the fourth quarter of 2008. Encore did not complete the well due to the pending Denbury acquisition. Encana has recently taken over operatorship and will likely commence fracking and completion operations. Axis Operating LP spud the fifth recent well in the play in September, 2009 in Wilkinson County, Mississippi. The company did not drill a lateral hole nor did they complete the well. The company filed bankruptcy in May, 2010.

Kirk Barrell (Thanks to Clint Moore for assistance on his fathers early history in the play)