Yangarra Resources reported progress in developing the Belly River formation in the Chambers area of Alberta, Canada, where the company has been acquiring land and drilling wells over the past two years.
The Belly River play overlays Yangarra’s existing Cardium production in the area, allowing the company to use existing infrastructure and surface leases to support development of the formation.
Yangarra identified 40 net Tier 1 drilling locations in the Belly River based on results from 10 wells currently on production. Over the next six to 12 months, the company plans to further delineate the play across its Chambers land base, with the potential to add about 60 additional net drilling locations.
Two Belly River wells are scheduled to undergo fracture stimulation this week, and the company expects to begin drilling two additional wells in the near term.
Early development required adjustments to drilling and completion practices to maintain the wellbore within the target zone. Initial wells were completed using slickwater fracture stimulation, and the company later transitioned to a gelled fracture stimulation design beginning with the seventh well.
The tenth well incorporated a reconfigured bottom hole pump system, replacing smaller pumps used in earlier wells. After a two-week cleanup period, the well is producing more than 500 boe/d with approximately 68% liquids. Pump upgrades were subsequently applied to wells eight and nine, resulting in increased production from those wells.
