Ranger Eagle Ford articlehttps://www.aogr.com/magazine/cover-story/new-drills-new-age-refracs-on-operators-rosters-in-eagle-ford-austin-chalk
New Name, Long Legacy
With a new name reflecting a Texas heritage and oil-producing legacy, Ranger Oil Corp. continues to eye growth opportunities, deploy proven drilling and completion systems and upgrade operations to boost returns from an oil-weighted, 140,900-acre Eagle Ford position.
“We are proud of being an oil company and providing the affordable, reliable energy that our country needs and demands,” says President and Chief Executive Officer Darrin Henke.
In October, the company rebranded to Ranger Oil from Penn Virginia when it closed on its acquisition of established Eagle Ford player Lonestar Resources, which followed a 2021 bolt-on from Rock Creek Resources. The Lonestar deal added 50% more production, approximately 60% more acreage and approximately $25 million in annual synergies, Henke points out.
As part of its continuous improvement processes, Ranger Oil increased its average footage drilled per day by 19% and number of stages stimulated per day by 20% in 2021. This year, it is continuing to optimize well results by transitioning to 6-inch instead of 51⁄2-inch casing to achieve higher frac pump rates.
Ranger wants to continue to expand in a region ripe for additional consolidation, given a disproportionately high number of operators to overall production, he says.
With a 20-year drilling inventory at a current pace of approximately 50 wells a year, the company has 750 locations in the lower Eagle Ford Shale. Included also are 200 other locations prospective for both the Upper Eagle Ford and Austin Chalk, two benches the company is not yet drilling although other operators are proving up both in Texas’ Gonzales, Lavaca and De Witt counties, Henke explains.
In the relatively low-risk Eagle Ford, Ranger is extending lateral lengths as technical and land teams continue to expand long-lateral inventory by identifying and adding smaller, adjacent tracts to existing leases, he says.
Laterals being drilled in the upcoming next two years are expected to average close to 10,900 feet–30% longer than in 2021–with efficiencies helping offset some inflationary pressure, Henke says. The company is experimenting and applying best practices on downhole assemblies to operate above 320 degrees Fahrenheit to bore the entire well without a trip, he explains.
The company’s drilling efficiencies led to several internal “bests” in 2021, and average feet drilled per day rose 19% last year and stages stimulated in a day by 20%, Henke goes on.
Continuous Improvement
“What it really all boils down to is having a continuous improvement mindset,” Henke comments.
After tests on several wells last year, by September Ranger aims to case all Lower Eagle Ford wells with 6-inch casing instead of 51⁄2-inch pipe, he reveals. The larger pipe means quicker execution and lower costs with fewer frac stages, wireline runs and plugs, he notes. Pumping rates can be boosted from 90 to 120 barrels/minute.
With 200-220-foot stage lengths, wells will be stimulated with 2,200 pounds of sand and 2,500 gallons of slickwater per foot, although adjustments will be made by target, Henke says. In an experiment in the late first quarter of 2022, Ranger’s completions team increased proppant loading by 25% in a well in efforts to further refine the design, he adds.
Completion results have been strong across Ranger’s acreage, Henke points out. The Bloodstone C3H and D4H wells in Lavaca County include average 30-day initial production of 1,340 barrels of oil a day and average 90-day IPs of 900 bbl/d.
To drive down field costs, Henke reports that Ranger continues to upgrade compression and install jet pumps and annular gas lift as part of a program of production management to “bend the curve” and decrease natural decline rate.
The accomplishments buttress financial performance that in 2021 put Ranger atop a list of publicly traded U.S. independents in EBITDAX margin, due to its high oil cut, low operating cost and premium product pricing given its location on the Texas Gulf Coast, Henke says. The company stated in its latest earnings release that at current oil prices it expected more than $250 million of free cash flow in 2022, which is helping Ranger self-fund its development program while simultaneously continuing to pay down debt.
While the company’s focus remains on drilling new wells, Henke adds that the Ranger team continues to assess candidates for refracturing, although none are currently planned.