Drillbits

Still, No No Brainer

Last evening, I took an opportunity to attend a joint meeting of the Pittsburgh Association of Petroleum Geologists and the Society of Petroleum Engineers to listen to a talk by Dan Steward, author of The Barnett Shale Play - Phoenix of the Fort Worth Basin-A History (2007-Fort Worth Geological Society & The North Texas Geological Society).

I had hoped Dan's talk would further illuminate the path to the Marcellus. I'm sure it did for those who had not read his book but for my thinking, as blogged in this Tuesday's Drillbits, little was changed. Responding to audience questions, he did convey that due to the shale's characteristics, the Marcellus, notwithstanding the acreage difference, should be a much better play than the Barnett. Among the many transferrable lessons from the Barnett, however, are those urging caution.

There are already some early successes, notably Range and Atlas, but a few good holes don't make a bonanza. Relatively speaking, the biggest winners in the play for a while may well be the thousands of landowners getting $2,000-$3,000/acre for the rights to drill.