Some folks call British Columbia’s Triassic-age Montney a tight silt. Certainly, in look and appearance it’s a very fine-grained, shaley rock. Others call it a shale. Like many circumstances in life, it’s relative. In the Montney’s case, rock type depends how close acreage might be to the clastic source. Most workers interpret the Montney as a turbidite reservoir, deposited far offshore. Its shaley layers are interlaminated with silts. Generally, reservoir quality improves with silt content. Higher permeabilities and better production correlate with higher silt content. The Montney has a number of positives: it’s found at moderate depths of around 8,000 feet; it’s very thick, with excellent gas-in-place values; and it occurs in an area with existing infrastructure and lots of prior drilling activity. And, the wells are remarkably consistent and the play covers a vast area. According to the Canadian Society for Unconventional Gas, current production from the Montney is 200 million cu. ft. per day. Most new wells are horizontal with IP rates averaging 4- to 5 million a day. Due to the area’s established infrastructure and declining drilling costs, the play is economic at fairly low gas prices. --Peggy Williams, Senior Exploration Editor, Oil and Gas Investor Contact me at pwilliams@hartenergy.com
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