The company is drilling ahead at 20,078ft on its vertical well and is on course to reach the programmed depth of 22,000ft.
Upon reaching total depth, the well will be logged and the shale section will be evaluated utilizing Schlumberger and industry leading technology to confirm reservoir parameters and the company’s contention that an natural fracture system exists within the Haynesville Shale.
The Burkley-Phillips #1 well was developed by Mainland in order to explore the gas potential of this section in a region of Mississippi where the Haynesville is largely unexplored, except for an offset well that was drilled through a 2,000ft Haynesville Shale section by Chevron in 1981 prior to the application of modern shale gas identification and production techniques.
Mainland previously discovered and developed a Haynesville play in the East Holly Field area in DeSoto Parish, Louisiana.
Mainland confirmed the field through drilling and completing five Haynesville Shale gas wells with Petrohawk Energy and subsequently sold its interest in the Haynesville in a single transaction for over $28m to Exco Operating Company (a subsidiary of Exco Resources), while retaining 100% of the shallower zones including the Hosston, Cotton Valley, and Upper Bossier formations.
