"It all gets back to the geology," said Vince Matthews, director of the Colorado Geological Survey. "The Niobrara has really big potential, but we've seen these finds hyped before."
From the article, you can see that the media is pushing and selling the potential of the Niobrara, covering multiple topics (mapping, success stories, economics, China's position, geokinetics, background information). The Jake well is one of the success stories for the Niobrara formation, producing 1,558 barrels of oil a day in 2009. This well made everyone excited about the Niobrara and its potential as an unconventional reservoir. But, the article makes this well look really good because it compares it to a monthly average of 300 bbls/month. The article also does not discuss about the different levels of thermal maturity throughout the Niobrara, producing gas or oil. The Niobrara may be a very extensive formation, crossing into multiple states, but there is a heterogeneity of hydrocarbon potential throughout the formation. This is why it is important to understand the geology and why the companies involved are more on the conservative side, mapping and taking necessary steps towards development.
From the article, you can see that the media is pushing and selling the potential of the Niobrara, covering multiple topics (mapping, success stories, economics, China's position, geokinetics, background information). The Jake well is one of the success stories for the Niobrara formation, producing 1,558 barrels of oil a day in 2009. This well made everyone excited about the Niobrara and its potential as an unconventional reservoir. But, the article makes this well look really good because it compares it to a monthly average of 300 bbls/month. The article also does not discuss about the different levels of thermal maturity throughout the Niobrara, producing gas or oil. The Niobrara may be a very extensive formation, crossing into multiple states, but there is a heterogeneity of hydrocarbon potential throughout the formation. This is why it is important to understand the geology and why the companies involved are more on the conservative side, mapping and taking necessary steps towards development.
I also read this article and thought that it was interesting that they used the production numbers from 2009. I'm no expert but I'm sure these numbers have fallen since then. I know that since then they have drilled over twenty addition wells in the same area and sure that they have not all been this great. Have you found any information on more recent production numbers of the Jake or surrounding wells?
ReplyDeleteI know the COGCC can tell you what the recent production is out of the Jake well and surrounding, but I don't know off the top of my head.
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