Uinta 与二叠纪最好的资源竞争，XCL 资源争夺

尽管 XCL Resources 承认原油中的石蜡含量存在运输障碍，但 Uinta 仍与二叠纪盆地最好的县竞争。

吉赛尔
沃伦
哈特能源

德克萨斯州二叠纪盆地是勘探与生产的聚宝盆，这已不是什么秘密。XCL Resources 油藏与开发执行副总裁 Mark Graeve 在 5 月份 Hart Energy 的 SUPER DUG 会议上表示，犹他州的 Uinta 盆地不太引人注目，但事实证明它同样具有竞争力。

格雷夫告诉人群，当 XCL Resources 最初开始寻求在美国各地开发时，该公司将业务重心从德克萨斯州和巴肯河转移出去，发现尤因塔的油井与特拉华州的油井一样富有成效。随着相互竞争的勘探与生产公司深入二叠纪盆地并寻求扩大库存，XCL、Ovintiv Inc. 和其他公司已在新兴的犹他州油气区占有一席之地。

格雷夫说，尤因塔与新墨西哥州和德克萨斯州二叠纪盆地最出产的县相比，效果很好。“如果你对 XCL 运营的每口井进行平均并将其与二叠纪盆地进行比较，就会发现我们今天与利县和洛文县具有竞争力，”他说。

Graeve 表示，XCL 的 Uinta 井的钻井和完井成本平均比二叠纪井低 20%，约为 830 美元/英尺，而米德兰盆地的同行成本约为 1,050 美元/英尺。

由于 Uinta 石油中含有蜡质石蜡，钻井成本的降低让 XCL 感到惊讶。格雷夫说：“如果你拿一罐原油并将其放在桌子上，随着时间的推移，它会凝固。”

然而，钻井成本并未受到影响，因为地下温度保持在 230 F 左右，使石蜡处于液态。

Graeve 表示，凭借具有竞争力的钻井成本，Uinta 提供了不同的成本结构细分。XCL 发现 Uinta 井的 LOE 低于二叠纪同辈井，NRI 为 80%，而不是 75%。此外，该公司的 45,000 英亩土地不包括持续开发条款或深度遣散费，这使得 XCL 在开发时可以更加周全。  

缺点与交通有关。格雷夫说，石油必须用卡车运出或通过铁路而不是管道运输。

“我们确实比二叠纪盆地公司经历了更高的差异，但在犹他州确实有一些好处，”他说。“你缴纳的税款会少一点。事实上，你钻的任何新井在前六个月都有遣散费免税期。”

石蜡：缺点还是优点？

格雷夫说，在运输美国石油公司的原油时，石蜡会带来挑战。石油不能通过管道运输，而是必须用卡车运输。他说，附近的盐湖城炼油厂是一个过度饱和的市场，因此每天有 5 万桶石油通过铁路运往墨西哥湾沿岸。

该盆地正在进行另外 65,000 桶/天的铁路扩建。

格雷夫说，一旦较重的原油到达炼油厂，它们就会提供更有价值的石油。“想想最短的碳氢链——乙烷，”他说。用甲烷生产柴油确实很难。但是，如果你采用很长的碳氢链（例如石蜡），则可以将其分解成许多不同的产品。”

格雷夫表示，尽管卡车运输和铁路运输带来了更大的差异，但在犹他州运营的好处超过了它们。

“我认为 [the Uinta] 是 48 个州最经济的地区之一，”格雷夫说。“由于愿意走出人迹罕至的道路，我们能够积累相当多的未开发库存。”

Graeve 表示，迄今为止，XCL 已在该盆地钻探了 100 口水平井。但受益的不仅仅是 XCL。

Enverus 情报副总裁 Ryan Hill 告诉 Hart Energy，勘探与生产公司在 Uinta 运营着 12 个钻井平台。在该区块的石油勘探区，有 9 座水平钻井平台正在运行：Ovintiv 运营 3 座，XCL 和 Uinta Wax LLC 各运营 2 座，Crescent Energy 和 Scout Energy 各运营 1 座。在该盆地的含气区域，Koda Resources 运营着两台定向钻机和一台水平钻机。

“如果你看看Ovintiv 的第四季度财报电话会议，他们表示，到 2022 年，Uinta 将与二叠纪盆地相媲美，成为 [Ovintiv ] 投资组合中最高的营业利润率，”Graeve 说。

原文链接/hartenergy

Uinta Rivals the Best of Permian, XCL Resources Contends

The Uinta competes with the Permian Basin’s best counties, although XCL Resources acknowledges the crude’s paraffin content presents transportation hurdles.

Giselle
Warren
Hart Energy

It’s no secret Texas’ Permian is an oily cornucopia for E&Ps. But less in the limelight—and proving to be just as competitive—is Utah’s Uinta Basin, said Mark Graeve, XCL Resources’ executive vice president of reservoir and development, at Hart Energy’s SUPER DUG conference in May.

When XCL Resources first began looking to develop across the U.S., the company pivoted away from Texas and the Bakken, finding the wells in the Uinta to be as productive as wells in the Delaware, Graeve told the crowd. As competing E&Ps drill deeper into the Permian and look to expand their inventories, XCL, Ovintiv Inc. and others have staked a claim in the emerging Utah play.

The Uinta compares well with the most prodigious of the Permian’s producing counties in New Mexico and Texas, Graeve said. “If you average every well XCL operates and compare it to the Permian Basin, we’re competitive today with Lea and Loving counties,” he said.

XCL’s drilling and completion costs for its Uinta wells average 20% less than Permian wells at approximately $830/ft, compared to Midland Basin peer costs at around $1,050/ft, Graeve said.

Cheaper drilling costs surprised XCL because of the presence of waxy paraffin in Uinta oil. "If you take a jar of the crude oil and set it on your desk, over time it'll solidify," Graeve said.

However, drilling costs were unaffected because sub-surface temperatures stay at around 230 F, leaving the paraffin in a liquid state.

With competitive drilling costs, the Uinta offers a different cost structure breakdown, Graeve said. XCL found Uinta wells’ LOE is less than Permian peers and the NRI is 80% instead of 75%. Additionally, the company’s 45,000-acre position does not include a continuous development clause or depth severance, allowing XCL to be more thoughtful about development.  

The drawbacks relate to transportation. The oil has to be trucked out or moved by rail rather than by pipeline, Graeve said.

“We do experience higher differentials than a Permian company would, but there’s some real benefits of being in Utah,” he said. “You pay a little bit less in taxes—in fact, you have a severance tax holiday for the first six months [on] any new well you drill.”

Paraffin: drawback or perk?

Paraffin present challenges when the Uinta’s crude is transported, Graeve said. Instead of being able to move the oil via pipeline, it has to be trucked. And nearby Salt Lake City refineries are an oversaturated market, so 50,000 bbl/d goes to the Gulf Coast via railroad, he said.

Another 65,000 bbl/d of rail expansion is underway in the basin.

Once the heavier crude oils get to the refineries, though, they offer a more valuable barrel, Graeve said. “Think about the shortest hydrocarbon chain—methane,” he said. “It’s really hard to produce diesel from methane. But if you take a very long hydrocarbon chain—like a paraffin—you can break it into many different products.”

Despite higher differentials that result from trucking and rail, Graeve said the benefits of operating in Utah outweigh them.

“We think [the Uinta] is one of the most economic areas in the Lower 48,” Graeve said. “By being willing to go…off the beaten path, we’ve been able to amass pretty significant undeveloped inventory.”

To date, XCL has drilled 100 horizontal wells in the basin, Graeve said. But it’s not just XCL reaping the benefits.

E&Ps operate 12 rigs in the Uinta, Enverus’ Ryan Hill, vice president of intelligence, told Hart Energy. In the oil prospective area of the play, nine horizontal rigs are running: Ovintiv operates three, XCL and Uinta Wax LLC each run two and Crescent Energy and Scout Energy each operate one. In the basin’s gassy area, Koda Resources operates two directional rigs and one horizontal rig.

“If you look at Ovintiv’s Q4 earning calls, they said that in 2022 the Uinta matched the Permian for the highest operating margin in [Ovintiv’s] portfolio,” Graeve said.