The Conasauga Shale is a
shale gas reservoir, like the
Barnett Shale in
Texas. The shale is very hard, and until technological advancements as have been honed in the exploration and drilling of the Barnett Shale, it was too costly to extract. The Conasauga Shale is hydro-sensitive, as the shale will absorb water and swell, thereby slowing the flow of gas. Successful drilling of the Conasauga involves utilizing techniques minimizing water use and flow into the open-hole drilling techniques.
Casing is normally used only until penetration into the Conasauga, and then left open-hole so that multiple gas layers within the hole may flow to the
borehole.
Field history • Discovery: 1980s • Start of production: 2005
History and well completion The J.J. Young 34-2 #1 well in St. Clair County, Alabama (Alabama State Oil and Gas Board Permit No. 4325) was drilled as a joint venture between
Amoco and
ARCO. This well was spudded on October 30, 1984. The well was initially drilled with air to approximately when it encountered a significant quantity of gas that reportedly required closing the
blowout preventer. The engineers for both Amoco and Arco said that the J. J. Young #1 would flow over one
million feet3 of gas per day (over 28,000 m3). The well was plugged on February 16, 1985. It was discovered that Amoco did not have title to nine forties around the Young #1 well because the minerals had been severed in 1888. During the late 1980s Michigan Oil Co. acquired in this area. Before Michigan Oil could drill this prospect, they were bought out by Pan-Oak Corp in 1991. In 1993, they drilled the Young #2 well, north of the #1 well. They drilled to a total depth of and were unable to log the well. The driller reported that they had good gas shows. Dominion cemented the drill string in the hole by trying to hang cement at the top of the hole. The cement fell to the bottom of the hole sealing off the good gas zone.
Highmount Loews Corporation, controlled by the wealthy Tisch family, became a substantial leader in the Conasauga Shale in July 2007 via the purchase of natural gas assets from Dominion. A portion of these purchased assets included all of Dominion Black Warrior Basin, holder of all Dominion's Conasauga Shale assets and a fully owned subsidiary of Dominion. Loews assigned Dominion's Alabama operations to Highmount Exploration. Owners of
mineral rights within this territory desiring their natural gas reserves to be developed have the option to sign an agreement with the Gas District. Royalties provided by the District are equal to 20% of production and are higher than those reportedly being offered by the for-profit operators in surrounding areas. The Gas District has five charitable trusts for education, health care, social services, long-term care and economic development and job creation that receive a portion of the natural gas revenues to provide additional benefits for residents in the region. • Chesapeake–Energen joint venture: gross. • Highmount Exploration: unknown. The Conasauga acreage is a part of a larger purchase by Loews Corp., owner of Highmount, from Dominion in 2007.
Major development participants • Highmount Exploration (Owned by Loews Corp. Corporation) Purchased from Dominion E&P assets) • Northeast Alabama Gas District (Public Utility Gas District) •
Chesapeake Energy == See also ==