todd1956 is who got me into fnrc---this is his latest post about southern utica-------------His post is an answer to a question posed on the IV BRY board and goes as follows: Not sure if this was a question directed a myself or what the point of the post is but if you are asking are we testing the point pleasant which is the calcareous lower section of the Utica the answer is two fold.
We drilled the strat test well and decided to go to the basement which is a half mile below the Utica / PP which was our original prospective target. We encountered several shales which are similiar to the Devonian/Marcellus/Utica organic source rock formations of current exporation. We feel that we have cut a zone of possible organic shale production worthy of testing that to this date has not been tested or produced here in southern OH that lies well below the Utica / PP. Tuesday we will simultaneously run DFIT pressure tests on this new exploratory zone near TD and the Utica/PP . We anticipate 30-60 days of pressure monitoring while waiting on the corresponding core analysis which will be tied to the logs and make a decision as to whether we go horizontal in a new frontier zone or not.
As to decline rates in shale wells, a prudent operator learned decades ago that the more pressure you hold on the shale well the slower it declines and the higher cumulative production one receives in general. However the rate of return of invested cash is slowed proportionately. Any decline rate can be achieved by choking the well but IMO the bottom line has always been payout at an acceptable rate when compared to the risk and then the total return before abandonment. But that is old school oilfield thinking.
News 
Market Data 
Discover 
