Marcellus Shale — Antero completed and placed on line 25 horizontal Marcellus wells during the first quarter of 2017 with an average lateral length of 8,850 feet. All 25 wells completed in the first quarter of 2017 have been on line for more than 30 days and had an average 30-day rate on choke of 18.6 MMcfe/d while rejecting ethane (21% liquids).
Current average well costs are $0.87 million per 1,000 feet of lateral in the Marcellus, which represents a 29% reduction from 2015 and in line with the fourth quarter of 2016. In the Marcellus, average drilling days from spud to final rig release declined to 12 days in the first quarter of 2017, a 49% reduction from 2015 and an 18% reduction from 2016. Antero is currently operating four drilling rigs and five completion crews in the Marcellus Shale.
One notable Marcellus pad that was completed late in the fourth quarter of 2016 had 4 wells with an average lateral length of 10,017 feet, an average BTU content of 1227 and an average of 1,700 pounds of proppant per foot. The average EUR for this pad is 2.4 Bcf/1,000 at the wellhead and 2.9 Bcfe/1,000' processed (ethane rejection). This pad had an all-in development cost of $0.39 per Mcfe, driving attractive rates of return.
Ohio Utica Shale — Antero did not complete and place on line any wells during the quarter while managing Utica development ahead of the anticipated Rover in service date. However, the Company drilled an average of 2,757 feet per day in its laterals while drilling and casing 13 wells during the quarter. Antero is currently operating three drilling rigs and one completion crew in the Utica Shale. The Company has plans to move one of these rigs to the Marcellus Shale in the second quarter of 2017.