“When it comes to demonstrating long-term staying power in the Marcellus and Utica plays, Range Resources Corp. is in a class of its own,” said Danny Boyd, a special correspondent for The American Oil and Gas Reporter (AOGR).
AOGR: Operators Deploy Best Practices & Innovation As Marcellus/Utica Astound
Range Resources is among several Pennsylvania natural gas producers mentioned in AOGR’s November 2019 cover story highlighting the efforts of Marcellus and Utica players to deploy the safest and most efficient technologies possible. Despite low commodity prices, producers in Pennsylvania focused on sustainability and flexibility while continuing to lower costs and meet long-term goals.
Last year, twenty percent of the nation’s natural gas demand was met from wells drilled in Pennsylvania, which had a record-setting total production of 6.1 trillion cubic feet. Range’s portfolio of acreage in the Southwestern part of the state allows access to the Marcellus, Upper Devonian and Utica.
Water Sharing Program
“With the advantage of a concentrated position that includes 1.5 million net acres of stacked pay potential in Pennsylvania, including 3,300 undrilled core Marcellus wells, Range recycles 100 percent of its produced water, which makes up 40%-45% of total company water use,” said Dennis Degner, Range Senior Vice President and CEO.
Range works with other local producers through a water recycling program, which resulted in a 153% water recycle rate and savings of more than $10 million. Other issues such as truck traffic have been addressed with a new water logistics coordination center that has reduced by more than 100,000 trips.
“Culturally, we are the type of organization where the best ideas have been brought forward by our technical and operating teams,” said Degner.
Longer Laterals
Range has taken advantage of its large contiguous acreage position by extending lateral lengths, which have increased by 13 percent from 2018, and added 20 consecutive horizontals drilled beyond 15,000 feet, which reduced the cost per foot. Range’s engineers have also deployed reduced cluster spacing and varying sand proppant volumes to optimize well results.
“Our longest laterals have been 18,600 feet, generating some of our lowest costs per-foot and wells with the highest rates of return,” said Degner.
Emissions Controls
These innovations in water recycling, drilling and more are a direct result of the hard work and dedication by Range employees, helping to move the company closer to reaching its recently announced goal of zero emissions.
“Technology deployment and staff expertise have combined to lower leak ratios 70% during the past three years,” said Degner. “Design changes last year drove a 11% reduction in GHG emissions per Mcfe of production.”
Range tested multiple new practices in the field to work towards, including a new enhanced flowback process which reduced emissions by an estimated 80 percent during that phase, an electric frac fleet that is powered by natural gas the company has produced, and white production tanks to replace the green tanks to reduce heat that can produce off-gas.
Range continues to innovate and adapt to industry standards and demands, doing the right thing for our stakeholders, our community and the environment. To read the full AOGR story, click here.