For Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL), 2013 could be a red-letter in the Niobrara, according to two recent reports from Wunderlich Securities Inc. and Morgan Stanley. Noble is expected to add 200 million barrels of oil equivalent to its reserves by the end of 2013, according to the reports.
Both reports largely attribute Noble’s projected growth in the region to the outperformance of its long laterals. Noble plans to drill 60 long laterals in the Niobrara in 2013, “potentially confirming the design is applicable to much of its DJ Basin acreage,” according to Morgan Stanley.
In addition, the company plans to increase its rate of completions in the Niobrara to 300 this year alone, compared to 193 in 2012. The well count is expected to grow to 500 by 2016, according to Wunderlich.
And those wells are expected to be efficient. Both reports note that the 300 horizontal well count is expected to be equivalent to 350 standard lateral wells.
According to Wunderlich, Noble produced 86,000 barrels of oil per day during 4Q 2012. The horizontal program accounted for 45% of the volume.
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