Oklahoma's Woodfood Shale Undeveloped Reserves Gain Interest

PetroQuest Energy, Inc., an independent energy company involved in exploration and production of oil and natural gas, announces its joint venture agreement with NextEra Energy Gas Producing, LLC. NextEra owns 50 percent interest of PetroQuest's undeveloped Woodford acres and proven undeveloped reserves.

The oil and gas companies plan to work in several phases. Phase 1 of drilling involves NextEra and PetroQuest sharing the costs to drill and develop in Woodford's undeveloped acreage. When they reach the funding limit of $54 million, then NextEra can decide whether to participate in Phase 2 of the drilling program that costs over $92 million. After that, NextEra has the option to decide, every six months, whether to continue participating.

PetroQuest may add another rig within 60 days and perhaps, a third well by the last quarter of 2010. The companies will monitor gas prices to control the level of activity in Woodford Shale.

The company with headquarters in Lafayette, Louisiana, has operations in Arkoma Basin, East Texas, South Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico.

MarkWest Energy and SES Holdings, LLC also have projects in Woodford Shale. Currently, Evolution Petroleum Corporation has shale wells in the Wagoner County, Oklahoma part of Woodford. Two shallow wells are in the testing stage with and without hydraulic fracture simulations. The oil and gas acquisitions and production company is applying two different fracturing processes on another well to determine which produces better results.

Gas and oilfield company, Panhandle Oil and Gas Inc., has 7 percent net revenue interest in a Woodford Shale well in Southeastern Oklahoma that produces 12,500 Mcf daily.

Newfield Energy says that the Mid-Continent region is its fastest growing area with Woodford Shale in the Arkoma Basin of southwest Oklahoma making up its largest investment in recent years owning interest in 166,500 net acres. Its working interest has averaged about 60 percent with about 100 vertical wells and 300 horizontal wells. In 2009, the company saw 26 percent increase in production over the previous year and expects to see it grow at least 25 percent in 2010.

In the first quarter of 2010, Devon Energy upped its net acres to 180,000 and 16 new wells went in production to boost its average net daily production in Cana-Woodford Shale to 73 million cubic feet of gas equivalent.

Located in Southwest Oklahoma in the counties of Coal, Atoka and Bryan, Woodford covers the Anadarko, Arkoma, Marietta and Ardmore Basins.