德克萨斯州沃斯堡 - Tall City Exploration III 已钻探了特拉华盆地潜在井位的约 10%，预计今年结束时的年化 EBITDA 将超过 4 亿美元。 

Tall City 总裁兼首席执行官 Mike Oestmann 在 5 月中旬向 Hart Energy 的 DUG Permian Basin 和 Eagle Ford 会议及展览的与会者表示，该公司迄今为止的成功源于坚持五项原则。该公司已对其迄今为止在该地区钻探的油井采取了技术方法。他说，重点是开发该盆地“东部”资源的经济井。

“我们想要做的事情抽象起来很简单，但一路上有很多困难的技术细节，”他说。 

“我们拥有 90% 的资源。我们只是触及了表面。”类似于 Tall City Exploration III 总裁兼首席执行官 Oestmann

Tall City 成立于 2018 年 8 月，由华平投资集团 (Warburg Pincus) 提供 5 亿美元资金，旨在在最佳区域租赁优质岩石和土地井，进行大型高效压裂，保持较低的运营支出和资本支出，并在情况良好时扩大运营规模进展顺利，奥斯特曼说。

“租赁优质岩石的关键是了解地质情况，”他说。 

他说，高城相信二叠纪盆地的潜力。

他说，1946 年，二叠纪盆地的 Argo Dora Roberts #1 井日产量为 70 桶，现在该地区的油井日产量为 1,000 桶。

“我们相信二叠纪仍然具有巨大的价值，”奥斯特曼说。“资源几乎深不可测。”

该公司已在特拉华盆地南部的沃尔夫坎普地区钻探了 30 口井，他称该地区产量丰富。

“他们的产量与特拉华盆地南部的其他运营商相当，”他说。“我们很好地保持在该区域内，这使我们能够进行相当不错的压裂。”

他说，在这 30 口井中，Tall City 已泵送了超过 1,200 个阶段，即约 95% 的阶段。

他说，这些井“显然是经济的，而且是可重复的。”

Tall City 还计划在今年夏天对 11 个 DUC 进行压裂。

“我们有一个有效的通用压裂配方，”奥斯特曼说。 

与此同时，他承认还有一些变量需要考虑。 

“当你进行水力压裂时，这里有无限的旋钮，你可以转动，”他说。

Tall City 也在努力降低成本。

“控制成本对我们来说是一个持续的挑战，”他说。“就像其他人一样，我们正在对抗通货膨胀。”

随着公司对该地区的了解越来越多，钻井时间也有所改善。该公司的钻机计划于 2023 年中期投入使用。

奥斯特曼说，“我们的第一口井不太好”，因为它花了大约 40 天。 

他说，现在钻井时间是原来的一半。

他说，在“相对较小的区域”钻了多口井后，就有可能优化钻井作业。他说，钻井人员利用“准确的目标”信息留在特定区域，并且能够花更多的时间进行旋转而不是纠正。 

与裂缝一样，钻探也需要做出一系列选择。

“钻井过程中存在无数的变量，”奥斯特曼说。“我们改变了钻头，我们改变了流体，我们改变了（底部钻具组合）BHA，以及很多其他东西。”

他说，在该公司库存的大约 400 个地点中，Tall City 只钻探了可用地点的 10% 左右。

“我们拥有 90% 的资源，”他说。“这只是表面现象。”

FORT WORTH, Texas—Having drilled about 10% of its potential Delaware Basin well locations, Tall City Exploration III expects to exit the year with over $400 million in annualized EBITDA. 

Tall City President and CEO Mike Oestmann told attendees of Hart Energy’s DUG Permian Basin and Eagle Ford conference and exhibition in mid-May that the company’s success to date stems from adhering to five principles. The company has taken a technical approach to the wells it’s drilled so far in the area. The focus, he said, has been on economic wells tapping “vast” resources in the basin.

“What we’re trying to do is simple in the abstract, with a lot of difficult technicalities along the way,” he said. 

“We have 90% of our resources ahead of us. We’re just scratching the surface of what’s out there.”—Mike Oestmann, president and CEO, Tall City Exploration III

Tall City, founded in August 2018 with $500 million in funding from Warburg Pincus, has aimed to lease high-quality rock, land wells in the best zones, place large and efficient fracs, keep both opex and capex low and scale operations when things are going well, Oestmann said.

“The key to leasing high-quality rock is understanding the geology,” he said. 

And Tall City believes in the potential of the Permian Basin, he said.

In 1946, the Argo Dora Roberts #1 well in the Permian produced 70 bbl/d, he said, and now wells in the area are able to produce 1,000 bbl/d.

“We believe there is still tremendous value in the Permian,” Oestmann said. “The resource is almost unfathomable.”

The company has drilled 30 wells in its Wolfcamp acreage in the southern part of the Delaware Basin, which he called prolific.

“They have demonstrated production on par with other operators in the southern Delaware Basin,” he said. “We’re doing a good job of staying within the zone, and then that sets us up to run a pretty good frac.”

And in those 30 wells, Tall City has pumped just over 1,200 stages, or about 95% of the stages, he said.

The wells, he said, are “clearly economic, and they’re repeatable.”

Tall City also has 11 DUCs that it plans to frac this summer.

“We have a general frac recipe that works,” Oestmann said. 

At the same time, he acknowledged there are variables to take into consideration. 

“There’s infinite knobs you can turn when you’re fracking,” he said.

Tall City is also fighting to keep costs down.

“Controlling cost is a constant challenge for us,” he said. “We’re fighting inflation, just like everyone else.”

Drilling times have improved as the company has learned more about the region. The company has rigs scheduled out to the middle of 2023.

“Our first well was not a good one” as it took about 40 days, Oestmann said. 

Now drilling times are half that, he said.

After drilling a number of wells in a “relatively small area” it was possible to optimize the drilling operations, he said. The drillers used “accurate target” information to stay in specific zones and were able to spend more time rotating than correcting, he said. 

And as with fractures, drilling presents its own host of choices to make.

“There are an infinite number of variables in drilling,” Oestmann said. “We’ve changed bits, we’ve changed fluids, we’ve changed (bottomhole assemblies) BHAs, and a lot of other things.”

Of the roughly 400 locations the company has in its inventory, Tall City has only drilled about 10% of what’s available, he said.

“We have 90% of our resources ahead of us,” he said. “We’re just scratching the surface of what’s out there.”