PITTSBURGH–(BUSINESS WIRE)–EQT Corporation (NYSE: EQT) today announced completion of the flow-back operation on its Scotts Run 591340 dry Utica well located in Greene County, Pennsylvania. Last week, EQT Corporation announced the well’s 24-hour deliverability test of 72.9 MMcf per day, with an average flowing wellhead pressure of 8,641 psi. Following the 24-hour deliverability test, the well produced an average of 27.0 MMcf per day for a period of seven days under restricted choke, with an average flowing pressure of 9,563 psi.
The well is currently shut-in for installation of permanent production facilities that the Company expects to complete next week, after which a choke restricted rate of 25-30 MMcf per day is expected. The BTU content of the well is 1.018 MMBtu/Mcf with 98.5% methane.
The Company will drill a second dry Utica well on an existing Marcellus pad in Greene County in August. Located approximately five miles northeast of the Scotts Run pad, this well is expected to have a 13,400 foot vertical depth and a 4,000 – 4,500 foot lateral. In order to reduce overall well costs, the Company intends to apply lessons learned from drilling its first Greene County Utica well. As previously announced, EQT will spud a dry Utica well in Wetzel County, West Virginia in September. This well is expected to have a 12,700 foot vertical depth and a 3,000 – 3,500 foot lateral.
“Given the extraordinary initial results of our first dry Utica well, we are accelerating our efforts in Greene County,” stated Steve Schlotterbeck, Executive Vice President and President, Exploration & Production. “Our focus is on creating a capital-efficient, dry Utica development plan that leverages existing pads, existing gathering infrastructure, and takeaway capacity. Consequently, we have re-evaluated our competing investment opportunities, and made a strategic decision to phase out our Upper Devonian drilling program.”
To support this Utica development, the Company will work closely with EQT Midstream Partners (NYSE: EQM) to design the necessary expansions of its Jupiter gathering and Equitrans transmission systems.
The Company also updated its analyst presentation to include production data from the Scotts Run dry Utica well. The presentation is available at http://ir.eqt.com, and the data will be updated periodically.
About EQT Corporation:
EQT Corporation is an integrated energy company with emphasis on Appalachian area natural gas production, gathering, and transmission. With more than 125 years of experience, EQT continues to be a leader in the use of advanced horizontal drilling technology – designed to minimize the potential impact of drilling-related activities and reduce the overall environmental footprint. Through safe and responsible operations, the Company is committed to meeting the country’s growing demand for clean-burning energy, while continuing to provide a rewarding workplace and enrich the communities where its employees live and work. EQT also owns a 90% limited partner interest in EQT GP Holdings, LP. EQT GP Holdings, LP owns a 30% limited partner interest and 2% general partner interest, including 100% of the incentive distribution rights, in EQT Midstream Partners, LP.
Visit EQT Corporation at www.EQT.com.
Cautionary Statements
Disclosures in this news release contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Statements that do not relate strictly to historical or current facts are forward-looking. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, forward-looking statements contained in this news release specifically include the expectations of plans, strategies, objectives and growth and anticipated financial and operational performance of the Company and its subsidiaries, including guidance regarding the Company’s strategy to develop its Utica acreage; drilling plans and programs (including the number, lateral length, depth and location of Utica wells to be drilled); projected well costs; infrastructure projects (including the timing, cost and capacity of, and the provider to build, the expected transmission and gathering expansion projects); and technology (including drilling and completion techniques). These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from projected results. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. The Company has based these forward-looking statements on current expectations and assumptions about future events. While the Company considers these expectations and assumptions to be reasonable, they are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, regulatory and other risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and beyond the Company’s control. The risks and uncertainties that may affect the operations, performance and results of the Company’s business and forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those set forth under Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” of the Company’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014, as updated by any subsequent Form 10-Qs.
Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made and the Company does not intend to correct or update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.