Columbia Gas and the United States Department of Energy (DOE) have successfully completed field work on a horizontally drilled Devonian shale well located in Martin County, Kentucky.

The Berea Sandstone has long been and continues to be a favorite drilling target in many producing areas of the Appalachian Basin. However, its low permeability makes it necessary to fracture stimulate the Berea to obtain economic production rates. The Haysi Field located in western Virginia has responded well to various hydraulic fracture stimulations using a wide range of frac fluids and proppant densities. The initial fracture systems pumped utilized fresh water with linear gels as the fracturing fluid, these were followed by foams, and several massive fracture treatments. The foam treatments afforded quicker cleanup due to the nitrogen present. However, higher initial production rates with lower decline rates are the direct result of increased proppant densities in the fracture. This concept is supported by the production histories of the individual wells. Twenty-five (25) years of production data from twenty (20) wells has been analyzed and used as a basis for comparing the different types of fluids pumped and the various proppant densities achieved. Propped fracture lengths were also calculated to compare production results (Figure 5).

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