Viking Services on their Fracking Program in TurkeyFracture Stimulation Program:
Oil and natural gas may be recovered from our properties through the use of fracture stimulation combined with modern drilling and completion techniques. Fracture stimulation involves the injection of water, sand and chemicals under pressure into formations to fracture the surrounding rock and stimulate production. We have successfully utilized fracture stimulation in our Thrace Basin, Molla and Selmo licenses and production leases.
For unconventional reservoirs, including the Mezardere formation in the Thrace Basin, a typical fracture stimulation consists of injecting between 20,000 and 100,000 gallons of fluid that contain between 10,000 and 150,000 pounds of sand. Fluids vary depending on formation and treatment objective but, in general, are either slickwater (fresh water with salt and friction reducer) or a gelled fluid containing organic polymers with a 4% potassium chloride solution and required breakers.
Fracture stimulations in Molla are conducted in a low permeability reservoir. These stimulations generally consist of injecting between 20,000 and 100,000 gallons of fluid that contain between 10,000 and 100,000 pounds of sand. Fluids are generally a mixture of slickwater and gells, which is typical in stimulation.
The size of fracture stimulation treatments is dependent on net pay thickness and the proximity of the hydrocarbon zones of interest to water bearing zones. Although the cost of each well will vary, on average approximately 30% of the total cost of drilling and completing a well in the unconventional Mezardere formation in the Thrace Basin and approximately 15% of the total cost of completing a well at Selmo is associated with stimulation activities. We account for these costs as typical drilling and completion costs and include them in our capital expenditure budget. We believe that the stacked nature of the sandstone intervals within the Mezardere unconventional formation, which is up to approximately 5,300 feet thick, and the limited number of deep penetrations to date on these structures provides significant opportunities for additional drilling and multi-stage fracs as the program matures.
We diligently review best practices and industry standards in connection with fracture stimulation activities and strive to comply with all regulatory requirements in the protection of potable water sources. Protective practices include, but are not limited to, setting multiple strings of protection pipe across potable water sources, cementing surface casing from setting depth to surface and second string from setting depth up into the surface casing and, in some cases, to surface, continuously monitoring the fracture stimulation process in real time and disposing of all non-commercially produced fluids in certified disposal wells at depths below the potable water sources or at a certified water treatment plant. There have not been any incidents, citations or suits involving environmental concerns related to our fracture stimulation operations on our properties. In the Thrace Basin, Selmo and Molla, we have access to water resources which we believe will be adequate to execute any stimulation activities that we may perform in the future. We also employ procedures for environmentally friendly disposal of fluids recovered from fracture stimulation, including recycling approximately 50% of these fluids.
For more information on the risks of fracture stimulation, please read “Item 1A. Risk Factors—Risks Related to the Oil and Natural Gas Industry—Our oil and natural gas operations are subject to extensive and complex laws and government regulation in the jurisdictions in which we operate and compliance with existing and future laws may increase our costs or impair our operations” and “Item 1A. Risk Factors—Risks Related to the Oil and Natural Gas Industry—Legislative and regulatory initiatives and increased public scrutiny relating to fracture stimulation activities could result in increased costs and additional operating restrictions or delays.”