Tight gas is natural gas found in reservoirs with low porosity and low permeability. It can be compared to drilling a hole into a concrete driveway--the rock layers that hold the gas are very dense, therefore the gas doesn't flow easily.
Anadarko has been working to produce natural gas from tight sands since the early 1980s using water-fracture technology. Since then we've been improving drilling and completion techniques to increase well productivity while reducing costs and protecting the environment.
View Anadarko's quarterly operations report and investor presentations for our most recent activity in the Rocky Mountains and U.S. southern region.
Wattenberg
The Wattenberg field, located in the Denver-Julesburg Basin in northeast Colorado, is a tight gas field where Anadarko has an average working interest of 94 percent. Through our successful pilot program for downspacing, we tripled our net unbooked resource potential in the Wattenberg field where we operate more than 3,600 wells. Anadarko also owns and operates the largest gathering system in this field, with more than 1,700 miles of pipeline and the capacity to move 300 MMcf/d.
Key Field Facts:
- 2.1+ Tcfe net unbooked resource potential
- 550,000 net acres located in the prime areas of the filed
- 10,000+ opportunities including identified locations, re-fracs, tri-fracs and recompletions
Colorado Fact Sheet (PDF)
Greater Green River (Pinedale, Wamsutter, Moxa Arch)
Key Field Facts:
- 0.8 Tcfe unbooked net resource potential
- Net leased acreage in area: 800,000
- Fee acreage in area: 7.8 MM
- 5,000+ identified drill sites in inventory
Greater Natural Buttes
The Greater Natural Buttes area in the Uintah Basin of eastern Utah is where Anadarko has more than 1,700 wells and owns and operates a 700-mile gathering system in the basin.
Key Field Facts:
- 7.8 Tcfe unbooked net resource potential
- 225,000 net acres
- 7,600 activities
- plans to drill ~200 wells in 2008
Utah Fact Sheet (PDF)