Royal Dutch Shell said Wednesday that two discovery wells targeting the Utica shale formation in Pennsylvania hit pay zones with “exceptional reservoir quality.”
The Neal well was drilled to a total measured depth of about 14,500 with a lateral length of 4,200 feet.
Gee was drilled to a total measured depth of approximately 15,500 feet with a lateral length of 3,100 feet.
Shell began production of the Neal well in February, with observed peak flowback rates of 26.5 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.
The Gee well had an initial flowback rate of 11.2 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. Gee has been on production for nearly one year.
Estimated reserves at the wells have not been released yet.
The Gee and Neal discoveries extend the sweet spot of the Utica formation beyond southeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania, where previous discoveries have been made, and into an area where Shell holds a leasehold position of approximately 430,000 acres.
Both wells are located in Tioga County, Pennsylvania.
“Last year, we refocused our resources plays strategy to select fewer plays with specific scale and economic characteristics to best suit our portfolio,” Shell’s Upstream Americas Director Marvin Odum said.
Shell is currently waiting on the results from four additional Utica wells drilled in Tioga County and anticipates those four wells to start producing later this year.
