Three of these wells have been turned into line and have achieved an average initial rate of production of around 5 Mmcfe over a 24-hour period. During the remainder of 2009, Atlas Energy plans to turn into line an additional 12 horizontal Marcellus Shale wells, including the five horizontal wells already drilled and cased. All of these wells will be drilled as joint ventures, through Atlas Energy’s drilling programs or with industry partners. Upon closing of the recently announced merger with Atlas America, Inc., Atlas Energy intends to start a horizontal drilling program in the Marcellus Shale solely for its own account. Atlas Energy intends to drill at least 24 horizontal Marcellus Shale wells for its own account during 2010.
Richard D. Weber, president and chief operating officer of Atlas Energy, noted that Atlas’ success in horizontal drilling complements its industry-leading position in vertical Marcellus production: “After pioneering the two-stage frac technique for vertical wells, we now lead the industry with an average initial 24-hour rate of production of 2 Mmcfe per day. With one of the leading technical and operating teams in the Marcellus Shale and 546,000 Marcellus acres, 274,000 of which are largely delineated in the sweet spot of southwestern Pennsylvania, we now expect the same leading results from our horizontal program.”
Atlas Energy Chief Executive Officer Edward E. Cohen noted that “I am very proud of our greatly-strengthened Marcellus drilling and completion teams which have achieved this incredible result so early in our now greatly expanded horizontal Marcellus program. We were pleased by our first two Marcellus horizontal wells, whose results were quite satisfactory as initial efforts, but the present success — coming so early in our program — augurs, I believe, Atlas’s emergence as a major player in the horizontal development of the Marcellus Shale. We now look forward to early announcement of the results from our next 5 horizontal wells already drilled and cased…we are truly excited.”
