VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Dec. 20, 2012) - Thunderbird Energy Corp. (TSX VENTURE:TBD)(OTCBB:TBDYF) (the "Company") today announced that it has recently commenced production from all 8 wells that were the subject of the Gordon Creek fall 2012 completion program. Gordon Creek field volumes are currently averaging 5,265 mcf/day raw natural gas (4,975 mcf/day sales gas). Of this total, approximately 4,200 mcf/day raw gas (3,970 sales gas) is coming from the 8 new wells. At current production levels, Thunderbird's net share of gas sales is roughly 60% of gross sales after accounting for other partner interests including Sandstorm Metals & Energy Ltd. ("Sandstorm").
The Company will not be in a position to assess the peak potential of the new wells until the wells have had a chance to completely recover frac fluids and have also had sufficient time (potentially months) to dewater the coals. Depending on the relative contribution of production of gas from sand pay versus coal pay, some wells can reach their peak production relatively quickly while some wells can take 6 months or more to reach maximum production rates. Although the wells have only recently commenced production, the Company is observing increasing rates and estimates that it will be at least 2 to 3 months before the group of 8 wells approaches peak production.
The Company's original expectation for these eight new wells - based on the analog wells producing at the adjacent Drunkard's Wash field - was a first year average raw gas production rate of 460 Mcf/day per well. Initial indications are that that the current 8 well program is going to exceed this expectation and that the greater than anticipated pay thicknesses and porosities in the NW area of the Gordon Creek project are a significant factor in this result.
Given the better than expected initial productivity, the wealth of experience garnered from these initial 8 new drills and the fact that the necessary support infrastructure is now in place, Thunderbird is looking forward to planning an expanded 2013 Gordon Creek development program that will be focused almost exclusively on drilling additional wells. These initial results also put the Company on track to meet or exceed the minimum volume commitments for 2012-2013 set out in its development agreement with Sandstorm.