I own some mineral interest in all of Section 418 (Yoakum County, TX). It was undeveloped until February when a horizontal well started producing. The operators got permits for 2 more “development wells” in May. I was wondering if there is a limit to how many fracking wells are allowed in a section? I notice some sections have at least 50 oil wells but those, I believe, are older vertical wells. It would seem that frack wells take up more room than regular wells.
Yes there are limits. Limits by: geology/technology (frack worthy rock, # of horizons with potential), regulatory (oil vs. gas, spacing, proration/allocation), leasehold (divided vs undivided, leased vs unleased, operators willingness & drilling program), capital (is it economical), and the list goes on. It’s a pretty complex question.
As a quick answer, you’d be hard pressed to see more than 5 or 6 horizontal wells per horizon and across a section. But again, it’s a loaded question with a lot of moving parts.
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OK, thanks. As I keep learning, Oil and Gas is very complicated.