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THE BIG PICTURE�By Mark Jopling Drew Deaton�

Hydraulic Fracturing Horizontal Wells�Challenges and Rewards�

Have you ever thought about what it takes to frac a horizontal well? Ward Petroleum�has been hydraulic fracturing wells ever since its beginning, but only in the last few�years have we started using the technique on horizontal wells.�Before there is anything�

to frac, you need a horizontal wellbore properly positioned within the pay zone. Even with the best steering software�and an experienced geologist and directional drilling team, the wellbore can wander up and down from the desired�target. One of the challenges is the interval of hole from the bit to the sensor. The sensor tells the driller the angle of�the hole from vertical and the direction of the well path (i.e. north, south, east, west ). A directional driller will make�a decision to stop rotating the pipe and “slide” in order to steer the well in the target direction. While sliding you are�depending on the down-hole motor to rotate the bit, which allows you to point the tool face down the target line.�After the desired length slide is completed, the driller will not be able to see the effect of that slide until the sensor�reaches that depth. This is typically a distance of 45 – 60 feet which means he could be drilling “blind” for several�hours. After waiting for the information, the driller may find that the slide did not accomplish anything. The driller�then has to decide on making a longer slide or if it’s time to give up and come out of the hole to make a change in the�bottom hole assembly.�

The next consideration is having the right kind of�“plumbing” down hole. This can usually be accom-�plished by running a set of “swellable” packers and�ball-drop sleeves on a production liner. Once the�liner is in place, diesel is pumped instead of ce-�ment. This will help the packers to swell out to�meet the diameter of the hole and compartmen-�

talize the well so you can frac specific intervals of the lateral. We call them frac stag-�es. Running the liner usually goes well, as�long as you do a good job reaming the hole�out first. The next thing you need is a lot of water. That in itself can be a challenge be-�cause of the extreme drought we have been in this year. Typically, we stay under a mil-�lion gallons on location, if we are pumping nitrogen with the fluid. If we are pumping�straight fluid, it may take over 1.5 million gallons. While you are figuring out how you’re�going to get that much water, you are also working on finding a lot of pumps powered�by huge engines. The better frac companies are in big de-�

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October, 2011

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mand, so you have to get your name on a waiting list a month or two in advance. Once they are scheduled for a certain�day, they all converge on you and you have a “cast of thousands” on location. They all have to wear flame-retardant�clothing, no matter the weather, so they really suffer through the summer. Drinking large quantities of water is necessary�to keep from having heat exhaustion. Some work needs to be done in Washington, to allow workers to dress cooler if the�temperature is above a certain level.�

The frac jobs rarely go exactly as planned. Murphy’s law already prepares us for that, but there are varying degrees of�how far they deviate from the plan. In order to distribute the fluid to the different intervals of the lateral, you usually are�depending on a ball of a certain diameter to travel down the pipe until it reaches a seat, with a slightly smaller diameter.�In a perfect world, the ball would always travel to its designed spot and a sleeve would slide open. The new frac stage�would then be pumped out the port while the ball remains seated to isolate the previous stage. However, sometimes the�balls do not want to go to their designated spot for various reasons and coil tubing cleanout work has to be performed.�Your daylight job then turns into an “all-nighter”. Sometimes the ball does seat properly, but the pins holding the sleeve�closed do not want to shear. With enough patience and several pressure cycles, the pins will usually weaken and finally�shear.�

Once the port is open, you hope to be able to put a massive amount of frac sand out into the rock. This will prop the�rock open and allow oil and gas to travel much more easily into the pipe. Unfortunately, sometimes the formation has�other ideas. Due to the tightness of the rock and/or its shale volume, it may dictate putting no sand away or only a small�amount. You may get over-confident, as we have done in a few cases, and try to place more sand in to the zone than�what it would accept. At that point a coil tubing unit has to be rigged up and the wellbore cleaned up before frac work�can continue. Normally we are attempting to place a total of 1.5 to 1.8 million pounds of sand in a single horizontal well.�All in all, many things have to go right for a successful job�.�

If the operation is a success, it is up to the “patient” to not die on the operating table. Drilling and completing a horizon-�tal well unfortunately does not make you immune to having a dry hole. Horizontal wells can sometimes increase the dol-�lar amount of your dry hole risk, in a sense, because you are already committed to spending the money to complete the�well and frac it. A vertical well�,� on the other hand, will be more fully evaluated after it is drilled, before committing to that�cost. As Kevin Smith, Ward Petroleum’s Sr. Petroleum Engineer, has mentioned, a horizontal well with ball-drop sleeves�every 250’, in some situations imitates drilling a well every 250’. While it would be overkill to drill wells that close togeth-�er, the incremental cost of drilling another 250’ horizontally and fracture stimulating it may be worth it. Finding the point�of diminishing returns for sleeve placement in a particular formation is a challenge in itself. That is another reason why�the first year decline is so rapid on horizontal wells. You may have done a good job stimulating a lot of reservoir volume,�but you are not in any kind of steady-state flow yet. You are draining from the fracture system that you created, but when�you start draining more from the matrix of the rock, you can hit the wall, so to speak�.� You hope that your initial produc-�tion rate is high enough, that even with the steep first year decline, you can reach payout in a reasonable time period and�still have a sufficient production rate left over to make you glad you drilled the well.�

Our first priority is a clean environment and safe water supply. We are doing everything necessary to ensure that our�work does not disturb these resources by complying fully with all of the regulations of the Oklahoma Corporation Com-�mission. The EPA is currently studying their need to also regulate the process, but the track record for regulation by the�state has been excellent. To date we have fracture stimulated seven horizontal wells. Some have responded nicely to the�frac work and�,� unfortunately�,� some have turned out to be “money dis�posals”. It is an on�going learning process to deter-�mine which areas deserve to be developed using horizontal technology. If we can find those areas and keep our cost un-�der control, Ward Petroleum will be able to reap the rewards of this technology for many years to come.�

(See Wellbore Diagram by Drew Deaton, next page)�

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Front Range News�It is Fall in the Rockies. We have had a light freeze and the Aspen in the high coun-�try are doing their magic. And the Fall fly fishing is fantastic.� We are involved in an ongoing 3-D shoot way down in southern Colorado on�the Oklahoma border. Jordan spent time out on a Marathon well and gained some�good experience there. We are trying to make a deal for additional acreage in the�Colorado portion of the Niobrara play. I gave a lunch time talk to the Ft Collins geo-�logical club where I got to use some of the videos we made for the Enid’s Cherokee Strip Regional�Heritage Center. (Have you been over there for a visit yet??)� Jordan brought home another trophy from the annual RMAG Tennis Tournament but no�gift card purchases from the Enid Country Club gift shop! Beau, Tom, and Jordan went to Enid�and enjoyed the Ward golf tournament in excellent Oklahoma weather. Bill, Tom, and Jordan�spent a day at the Colorado School of Mines Career Day Fair and enjoyed a long day talking with�several hundred students.� I look forward to being in Oklahoma for the AAPG Midcontinent meetings the first week in�October. (I might even make it to Enid for a long enough visit to wave at the Engineers in the�parking lot.) All is well, all is well.� Jim�

Don’t be afraid of the space between your�dreams and reality. If you can dream it,�

you can make it so. ?�--Belva Davis�

It takes ten times as long to put yourself back to-�gether as it does to fall apart.�

--Unknown�

Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will�satisfy your hunger, but it won’t taste good.�

--Joe Paterno�

What’s Growin’ On?� The air is getting crisper, the days are getting shorter, and the beautiful leaves are starting to show their�stunning fall colors. Before you know it, your Halloween jack-o'-lantern will make way for Jack Frost, who'll leave�his telltale calling card all over your yard and garden. That means it's time to plant your spring-blooming bulbs and�use the fallen leaves to mulch your soon-to-be-sleeping perennial beds. You'll also want to take advantage of the�last few warm days to clean out your garage so you can park your car indoors this winter. And be sure to stock up�on garlic next time you're at the grocery store—it'll keep you hale and hearty during flu season. (Plus, it's one of the�key ingredients in my Ginger Butternut Soup recipe!)�

It’s time to plant your bulbs for beautiful blooms next spring! This year, try my secret layering trick for get-�ting twice—or even three times—the number of blooms in the same amount of space. Dig one hole about 8 inches�deep, then plant several layers of bulbs in the same spot. Here’s how:�

Step 1: Set the bulbs of the latest-blooming bulbs you’ve chosen (usually late tulips or lilies) in the bottom of�the hole.� Step 2: Replace enough soil to barely cover the bulb tips, then set in the next layer (try early and midseason�tulips, or daffodils).� Step 3: Add more soil, then set in the top layer of smaller bulbs (like snow crocuses).� Step 4: Finish by covering with a mulch of leaves, shredded bark, or wood chips, plus a scattering of moth�crystals over the top to keep critters away.� It’s that easy!�

Jerry Baker, America’s Master Gardner�www.jerrybaker.net�

Hard work spotlights the character of people: Some�turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and�

some don’t turn up at all.�--Sam Ewing�

Always end the name of your child with a vowel, so�that when you yell, the name will carry.�

--Bill Cosby�

Money isn’t the most important things in life, but it’s�reasonably close to oxygen on the “gotta have�it”�

scale.�--Zig Ziglar�

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Registration�Cheryl and Lynn�

Larry Jenkins�Tournament Organizer�

Evan Ward’s Team� Wally Gilbreath’s�Team�

Larry Jenkins�Team�

Gil Tompson’s�Team�

Beau Ward’s�Team�

Mark Jopling’s�Team�

Tom Taylor’s�Team�

Gary Hunter & Jordan Rievelle’s�Team�

Drew Deaton’s�Team�

Dave Rippee’s�Team�

Kent Clingenpeel’s�Team�

Kevin Smith’s�Team�

And the winners are.......�

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November�S� M� T� W� T� F� S�

1�All Saints�

Day�

2� 3� 4� 5�

6�Daylight�Savings�

7� 8� 9� 10� 11�Pay Day�

12�

13� 14� 15� 16� 17� 18� 19�

20� 21� 22� 23� 24�Thanks-�

giving�

25�Pay Day�

26�

27� 28� 29� 30�

2011� OCTOBER�BIRTHDAYS�Rosie Pomeroy 10-06�Terri Houska 10-08�Wally Gilbreath 10-14�Mark Jopling 10-22�Kent Clingenpeel 10-24�Rodney Layton 10-26�Susan Hessel 10-28�

ANNIVERSARIES�Mary Kruger 10-13� 30 years�Stuart Houska 10-15� 3 years�Gilbert Tompson 10-17� 28 years�Judy Martin 10-17� 23 years�Rosie Pomeroy 10-23� 30 years�Ginny McCoy 10-31� 10 years�

Ward Petroleum� Christmas Party�

December 10th�Oakwood Country Club�

October�S� M� T� W� T� F� S�

1�

2� 3� 4� 5� 6� 7� 8�

9� 10�Columbus�

Day�

11� 12� 13� 14�Pay Day�

15�

16� 17� 18� 19� 20� 21� 22�

23� 24� 25� 26� 27� 28�Pay Day�

29�

30� 31�

Veteran’s�Day 11-11�

NOVEMBER�BIRTHDAYS�

Jody Kuberskey 11-07�Drew Deaton 11-05�Steve Eckert 11-15�Patricia Vilhauer 11-19�Gilbert Tompson 11-21�Mary Kruger 11-24�Jim Evans 11-24�

ANNIVERSARIES�Jim Evans 11-08� 18 years�Brenda Brummal 11-16� 30 years�Amanda Hills 11-17� 3 years�

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Jill Parker, LeaAnn Strait’s daughter, will be recognized as a Rising Star Award recipient by�the Oklahoma State University College of Human Environmental Sciences during homecom-�ing festivities with a Celebration Luncheon on Friday, October 28. Rising Star Award recipi-�ents are recognized for their outstanding and significant accomplishments within the first�ten years of their careers. Jill is the Oklahoma Relationship Manager for Alliance for a�Healthier Generation. The Alliance was founded in 2005 by the American Heart Associa-�tion and the William J Clinton Foundation and works to address one of the nation’s leading public health�threats – childhood obesity – and to empower kids nationwide to make healthy lifestyle choices. The Alli-�ance works to positively affect the places that can make a difference in a child’s health: homes, schools,�doctor’s offices and communities.�

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Visit Ward Petroleum�on the web!�

www.wardpetroleum.com�

S’mores on a Stick�

All you need is...�

marshmallows�chocolate�graham crackers, crushed�lollipop sticks�

Directions-�

Melt chocolate in a glass measuring cup or�bowl in the microwave at 1/2 power, stirring every 30 seconds. Insert�candy sticks into marshmallows (it’s easier to leave marshmallows on�countertop while inserting stick). Dip marshmallows into the choco-�late, allow to drip off, sprinkle or dip with crushed graham crackers.�Eat them as soon as you would like or place on waxed paper to dry.�

Enid Office�502 S. Fillmore�P O Box 1187�

Enid, OK�73702�

Phone: 580�234-3229�Fax: 580�234-6237�

Ft. Collins Office�215 W. Oak�Suite 901�

Ft. Collins, CO�80521�

Phone: 970�449-4636�Fax: 970�449-4632�

Email: judyb@wardpetroleum.com�

Ward Chili CookOff Winners!!�Jody Kuberskey 1st Place,�

Judy Martin 2nd,�Pat Douglas 3rd�

Allison Angleton�

Lynn Combs�

Carol Fleig�