Saratoga Resources Inc. (ticker: SARA) is an oil and gas exploration and production company concentrating on abundant, low-risk drilling opportunities located in the transition zone off the coast of Louisiana. In some places, including the company’s Grand Bay field, approximately 64 stacked pay sands exist with wells that have been producing for over 50 years.
Saratoga currently owns and operates approximately 10,820 gross/net acres in 10 fields. Saratoga has a 100% working interest in virtually all wells. These fields have a combined 40 gross/41 net productive wells. In addition to the producing wells, the Company also owns and operates five production platforms and over 100 miles of pipeline infrastructure.
Going Horizontal
Horizontal wells in the Gulf of Mexico were first drilled in the early 1990s. ExxonMobil (ticker: XOM) took the technology over to West Africa, mainly Equatorial Guinea and also into Angola where they were drilling 70 degree and higher angles in order to make 15,000 BOPD wells.
It hasn’t been until recently that companies like Energy XXI (ticker: EXXI) started to actively drill horizontal wells on the shelf again.
Drilling horizontal wells in the Gulf of Mexico is different than the onshore resource plays. The key with drilling horizontal wells in the Gulf is managing effective pressure draw-downs to more efficiently drain the reservoir and obtain the incremental barrel of oil from the ground.
Energy XXI was one of the only companies out in front of drilling horizontal wells in the Gulf of Mexico.
Until now…
Saratoga announced on July 2, 2013, the company will spud its first horizontal on July 4, 2013.
The SL 1224 #25 “Rocky” well in Breton Sound Block 32 field is located in South-Eastern Louisiana in a protected in-bay coastline on state leases. The drill with take place in 13 feet of water depth and will be drilled at a 70 degree directional pilot hole to 7,582 feet MD/5,829 feet TVD, or just past the objective 5,800 feet sand, when 7-5/8” casing will be set.
Drilling is expected to take three weeks and an additional week for the completion of the well. Saratoga is about 30 days behind schedule due to rig availability but once completed, the project will cost $7 million.
Thomas F. Cooke, Chairman and CEO of Saratoga, said in the news release: “There have been four previous horizontal completions in Breton Sound 32 field, one in Main Pass 25 field and one in Grand Bay field. All of these wells recovered 2.5 times to 3 times more hydrocarbons than a vertical completion in the same reservoir and initial production rates were up to 3 times higher with higher rates sustained for a longer period before decline set in.”
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