Supersize Me! Marcellus/Utica Well Pads Now Host Up to 40 Wells

The Marcellus/Utica Shale industry is changing underneath our feet--literally! Last time we checked, most well pads in the Marcellus/Utica sported an average of maybe 3-4 wells--with a dozen wells on a pad being "big." Something has changed, dramatically, in the gas fields of PA, OH and WV. The "new normal" are supersized well pads--holding as many as (gasp) 40 wells! We hasten to add no such pad yet exists--a pad with 40 wells drilled from it. However, there is an EQT well pad in Allegheny County (near Pittsburgh) with 38 wells permitted (9 of which have been drilled so far). EQT says it now averages drilling 17-18 wells per pad. Antero Resources is drilling an average of 10 wells per pad--up from 3-4 "just a few years ago." The trend now is more wells per pad, and longer laterals--meaning fewer well pads overall. That's good for the environment, and good for the bottom line (less money spent pushing dirt around developing pads). Here's an update on the trend to supersize well pads in the Marcellus/Utica...

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