Continental Resources describes its ECO-Pad approach as efficient, economical, and ecological.
While other companies are using a batch drilling approach on multi-well pads for extracting natural gas, Continental said it is the first in the United States to use the technology for drilling oil wells.
The Enid-based company said the drilling concept allows it to harvest more of a reservoir’s resources while reducing environmental impact on the surface of the land.
The ECO-Pad design involves drilling, from a single pad, four wells on two adjoining 1,280-acre spacing units. Expected benefits from the innovative approach include higher production from longer horizontal wellbores, more efficient drilling and completion, and reduced environmental impact due to the smaller surface footprint, compared with four individual drilling sites.
The concept uses a drilling rig that walks from one hole to the next on hydraulic feet. Normally to drill four wells, four locations about 4 acres each in size are built. After the first well is drilled, the rig must be taken down, moved to the next location, and reassembled. Each rig move results in about seven days of lost drilling time. The ECO-Pad approach allows the company to cut drilling costs by an estimated 10 percent as well as reduce surface impact by as much as 75 percent.
Continental completed its first ECO-Pad project in 2010 in the Three Forks and Middle Bakken formations in North Dakota.
In addition to the Continental team, those involved in the ECO-Pad development include Patrick Hladky with Cyclone Drilling, and Louis Tornabeni with Dakota Territory Consulting.
Continental plans to add about 40 ECO-Pad projects in 2011.
“The positive economic and reduced environmental impact from using ECO-Pad development will be felt for generations to come. Continental has always been ahead of their time when it comes to energy exploration and development, and this new approach just adds to that legacy,” said Brent Kisling, with Enid Regional Development Alliance.