DNR Secretary Acknowledges New Tuscaloosa Marine Shale Well Production Test

Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Secretary Scott Angelle congratulated Devon Energy on the initial production results submitted to the state today of the latest well project exploring the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale (TMS) – noting a reported production test rate of 259 barrels of oil per day.

The Devon well, located in northern East Feliciana Parish, is the third horizontal well drilled and completed by the company in the TMS – and the initial production rate is more than double that of either its first completed TMS horizontal well, also drilled in East Feliciana, or its second TMS horizontal well, drilled in Tangipahoa Parish.

“I am pleased to see that Devon is committed to investing in the energy opportunities provided by Louisiana and the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale. We know that this formation has vast potential to provide domestic energy for this nation, and jobs and economic growth for this state, but it will take companies time to learn and perfect the most effective means of drawing out the oil and natural gas locked within that shale,” Angelle said. “Based on their ongoing drilling activity, and the interest expressed by Devon and other energy exploration companies in the Louisiana TMS on both sides of the Mississippi River, it would seem that the industry is beginning to recognize a very real opportunity here.”

Devon currently has ongoing drilling operations at two other Louisiana TMS sites – one in St. Helena Parish that is nearing its target depth and one in West Feliciana Parish that is nearing the point of its turn from vertical to horizontal.

The Tuscaloosa Marine Shale is believed to underlie much of central Louisiana, with potential productive areas currently being explored from Vernon to Tangipahoa parishes. The energy industry has been observing the development of the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale, believed to be primarily an oil-rich play. New processes and technology have led to rapid gains in domestic oil and natural gas reserves, making them recoverable from ultra-dense formations once thought uneconomical to produce.