Oil Rig

Here are some photos of a well being drilled on my father's ranch. They
are somewhat past 10000 feet now, headed to 14000. There was an earthquake
in the area last week which caused some problems with the pipe.

Paul

Another view.

If you want to see other pics of the rig or of site and pad preparation,
you can see them here

[www.diente.smugmug.com]

Paul

Is this the type of drill that powders the rock and does not supply a core? Do they analyze the powder (probably a slurry?), or do any tests? Or do they just drill 'till it flows?

Depending upon the bit that you use, you could get a core. Most likely they aren'y coring anything, as you tend to do a core in new areas or where you are trying to learn something specific (it is a lot slower than conventional drilling). Normally, you will end up with small chips of the rock. After they get down where they are going, they will likely run a number of different electrical/other logs with a wireline logger.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/14/2008 04:49PM by David Von Bargen.

I had my Dad ask about the cores, if we could see them or have a few, if there
was anything interesting like crystals or fossils(?). The guys there said that
the cores are packaged up and shipped out immediately, for inspection back in Houston, I suppose.

This is in a new area, so I think there will be some study done.

Of course, this info is all third hand, and the specifics change depending
upon who my Dad talked to.

Paul

"Cuttings", as the little bits of ground-up rock are called, are rarely very interesting to mineral or fossil collectors. Apart from occasional foraminifera, the only "fossils" I've seen recently were some bits of Jurassic wood when we drilled straight through a buried forest. But even that was only 1/8" chips.

The only mineral which commonly shows crystal form in cuttings is pyrite - which can be nice, but gets pretty boring after a few years...

Yes, the cuttings are "analysed". Or rather "described and interpreted", and decisions on how to proceed are often made on the basis of these interpretations.

Cores are full of important information, and the only person who gets a close look at them before they are shipped to the lab is the wellsite geologist (people like me). And even we see only the end pieces where the core is cut up into smaller pieces for transport.

Electrical and other logs are often run as LWD (Logging While Drilling) over here, with additional logs being run on wireline if there is something particularly interesting down there.

I was curious whether the "cuttings" were analyzed to follow the progress of the drilling, not as an interest collectors. Maybe sand collectors...

I asked about the cores, because I have heard stories of core samples that
had sulfur crystals. However, I've been told that sulfur isn't found in this area.

From doing an internet search, it appears that the formation of interest is called
"sugarkane".

Paul

Any storms about in your area?

and, I hope you find something (but not like this!)

Yikes......although a great pic, I don't think I'd like to see this in
our little slice of Texas.

Paul

Hi, as a working petroleum geologist I had to see what this thread was about. Imagine my surprise to see Paul's dad's name, Bordovsky. There is a Bordovsky lease well currently drilling in Karnes Co. TX and I just posted the location in my mapping program, PETRA, since it is on trend with my company's Sugarkane Field discovery. The target for this well is the Upper Cretaceous Austin Chalk, which is exposed at the surface around Austin. This is going to be a horizontal well. The oil company is listed as Burlington O&G, but it is really ConocoPhillips.

On an unrelated note, Paul, have you ever found any agates or petrified wood on your dad's ranch? I have a friend who hunts them in Live Oak Co. on the roads and in the caliche pits, and has found great stuff over the years. Access to private land for agate/wood collectors is very hard to come by, even though they only surface collect.

Hi, Stephen.

Yes, there is a lot of pet. wood on the place, some with fortification agate.
It is found on the ridgelines, and includes palm in various colors including red
and yellow, and an interesting variety called shrinkwood.

Here is a short field trip report from a few years ago.
[www.hgms.org]

One of my friends has been slabbing and selling some of the shrinkwood, and pics of it are posted on these sites.

[www.yamadori-bonsai.info]

Look under Texas. It is erroneously called snakewood on this site.
And here is another site.

[skamieniale_drewno.republika.pl]

BTW, Stephen, do you go by agentm on another forum?

Paul

Paul,
Thanks for referring me back to Scott's report. I wasn't able to go on that trip, and kicked myself when I saw what they found. I was just getting into petrified wood at the time and hadn't been anywhere but to College Station for Yegua wood. Scott Singleton recently published a report on petrified wood from Karnes Co. in Rocks and Minerals. I need to go back and read that article again to see if his samples came from your dad's ranch. I've found snakewood in Bryan and you are right, the specimens on the website are better classified as "shrinkwood" Very pretty though. I hope the Burlington/ConocoPhillips people are being careful of your dad's property and not tearing up too much countryside. I know they are very restrictive about who can get near the rig - special training in H2S, no beards, etc. My boss couldn't even get on the rigs they ran in Live Oak Co. the last couple years, and we were a carried interest partner.

I don't go by that name on any other forum. I use singingstone or stone_singer48 (I play guitar and sing, as well as collect minerals).

Any chance of getting an invite to any AGMS field trips to your dad's ranch? My significant other, Sigrid, is a lapidary and collected a lot in West Texas when she lived in Midland. Since she's been here, I've gotten her interested in petrified wood. Check out my flickr.com site under stone_singer48 for pictures of the 300 lb. stump she found in Bryan.

Steve

Hi paul is there any chance to get a couple of small pieces of thoes cores i am a collector of cores from all over if i could i would send you the postage thanks bob.

Hi, Steve.

Conoco has treated my dad pretty well, and taken care of the place. And you are correct, in that we have to stay away from the rig, or at least I do.

Well, you just missed a trip on the 19th, to an uranium mine, and then out
to my dad's ranch. Pics posted here. Some cool opalized wood found at the mine.

[diente.smugmug.com]

We will do another trip there sometime, and I'll let you know.

Paul

Hi, Bob.

I don't know that we will ever get a core sample, but if we do, I'll save a few pieces for you.

Come to think of it, I know of an institution that I heard is looking to get
rid of some cores. Let me check into it, and see if maybe I can get some samples.

Paul

Paul,
Thanks. Scott suggested that Sigrid and I join the AGMS so we would know about your field trips and get invited. He's done that, and we both think it's a good idea. Sorry we missed your recent trip but we were in Colorado that weekend visiting family and collecting - rocks (literally) out around Gypsum on the Eagle and Colorado rivers. Pretty country with lots of rock exposed, but not much in the way of minerals other than some re-crystallized gypsum masses.
I hope you can help Bob on the cores from somewhere else, because there's a snowball's chance in hell that Burlington (ConocoPhillips really) will let any slip through their fingers. The zone they would be coring has not produced in this area and they would be carefully looking for porosity and fractures, both important in any production of oil and gas.
On another note, I'm not above asking for some "scout" information. Has your dad seen any flares while this well has been drilling? That would indicate gas shows, and is important information. We'll get ConocoPhillips to share it with us eventually, but there's this dance that goes on...... If you've been in the oil industry you'll understand it.

Paul,
Just thought you and your dad might like to know. Burlington has just permitted another well on trend with the one on your dad's land, about 6.25 mi. E-NE of the 1-Bordovsky. It's just over the Dewitt Co. line and is called the Butler A304.

Thanks paul that would be great bob.

Hi, Stephen.

That might be a good idea to join up with the AGMS. I think there is a field trip
planned in a couple of weeks to Clifton, but I don't know if we are leading it, or
if we are tagging along with someone else.

The information is pretty sparse from Conoco, as they told my folks it would be.
I told him
he could ask to see the daily logs, but he hasn't done that. I've not heard
any news lately.

And I think you are right about the cores. Since the sugarkane is a new play, I'm
sure they will take plenty of time to study everything. When do you think the Kennedy will be fracc'd? And do you have any news on the Kunde?

Thanks for the info on the Butler. I'll pass that along to the folks.

Paul

7.8mmcfge/pd for baker family trust in live oak if that helps

Paul,

The original well, the Kunde 1, is just perking right along, producing a decent amount of gas and liquids from a vertical hole.
That's good news about the Baker Family Trust well. I'm a mushroom here (they keep me in the dark on most stuff) since I'm a consultant, so I hadn't seen the dailies on the Baker. It's about time Burlington completed one of those horizontal wells! They've been puttering about for many months now.

I'll talk to Sigrid about joining the AGMS next week when we get back from California. Going to see some redwoods, wine country and ocean scenes. We've got a field trip planned to the Jasper area for Miocene petrified wood at a location Scott Singleton is researching on 5/10, so we're tied up that weekend as well.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/05/2008 05:36PM by Stephen C. Blyskal.

I understand the Kunde 3 well is flowing without fraccing at the moment on a very small part of the horizontal. Then there is the Kunde 2 well to do something with.
Is the Kenedy well being played down?
This whole discovery looks massive on possibly 3 zones.

Is Kenedy about to blow her top, anyone?

I hope so..! Is there anyone on the ground with a better idea of what is actually happening?