Typically, two horizontal wells are drilled into the sands, one above the other.
The two companies have also agreed to join forces to develop up to 86 horizontal wells in 2013, 120 in 2014, and 165 in 2015.
The KKR money prompted Hilcorp to add four more horizontal rigs, bringing its total to six and allowing it to drill over 40 horizontal wells.
You drill two horizontal wells and inject steam into the upper one, draw bitumen by gravity into the lower well and bring it to the surface.
Recent data now suggest that many of these deep multistage horizontal wells are declining at greater than anticipated rates of 80% to as much as 90% in the first year.
The report suggests that any shale gas development outside of the United States is likely five to ten years away, primarily because many of the countries that could benefit from shale production do not have the specialized equipment needed to drill and frack horizontal wells.
Recent shale gas wells are primarily horizontal and need artificial stimulation, like hydraulic fracturing, to produce natural gas.
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Shales are tough to drill, necessitating wells with lots of horizontal laterals snaking their way into thin pay zones.
The Lipsky home in Parker County, Texas sits atop an area in the vicinity of horizontal fracking lines from two gas wells about a mile below the surface.
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Currently, there is an enormous need to create uniform regulations regarding horizontal gas drilling (or fracking) so that more wells and pipelines can be built, which will create jobs and lead to energy self sufficiency.
Progress in horizontal drilling, which allows more oil to be produced from fewer wells, is another boon for the Arctic.
Horizontal drilling can offer many advantages to the gas extraction process, allowing wells to be drilled in several directions from one pad.
These wells, once costly to produce, are now profitable due to the new horizontal drilling techniques being deployed across many basins.
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But XTO, with a smaller capital structure than the supermajors', is happy to invest in the neglected fields, using new techniques of 3-D imaging, horizontal drilling and so-called fracture stimulation--blowing open rock formations by injecting mudlike fluids down wells to get at big methane reservoirs.
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