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About Frederick M. Scott CMM RPL
Expertise
I can answer questions about oil and gas leasing, and give suggestions on negotiating a good oil and gas lease and how to best deal with oil companies or their representatives. I can answer questions about buying and selling oil and gas royalty or mineral rights. I can help with questions concerning forced-pooling, correlative rights, deeds and conveyances, and "post-production" costs. I am most experienced with Oklahoma properties and laws, but am able to answer questions concerning other oil and gas producing states in many cases.

Experience
I am a Certified Professional Mineral Manager (CMM) (certified by the National Association of Royalty Owners in Tulsa, OK) and have managed my own oil and gas properties in Oklahoma for over 10 years. I have dealt with many landmen, attorneys, and other oil and gas professionals in the course of doing so. I am also a member of several professional associations and have written articles of interest to royalty owners which have appeared in several industry publications. I have prepared deeds, title work, and done curative for my own minerals; and have acquired a good deal of knowledge on the subject of oil and gas law and landwork in general in the process. I am the owner of Timbercreek Mineral Company, LLC; which was formed as a vehicle to manage family mineral interests, and as a way to facilitate the buying and selling of oil and gas interests for other people.

Organizations
NARO, NADOA, AAPL

Publications
National Association of Royalty Owners "Action Report" (ROAR); NADOA Magazine, Landman Magazine, and several royalty owner association groups newsletters.

Education/Credentials
NARO, NADOA, AAPL

You are here: Experts > Industry > Oil/Gas > Oil/Gas > Longevity of a well

Oil/Gas - Longevity of a well

Expert: Frederick M. Scott CMM RPL - 11/3/2009

Question
I have mineral rights on some land in McClain County, OK. An oil production company began drilling and they struck oil. Each month the production in the number of barrels has gone up. It began at 60 barrels (May) a day and has increased to 90 barrels per day (August). I'm trying to figure out how to estimate an approximate length of time the one well will continue to produce. I've been searching online for information as to how this type of estimate is generated, assuming an oil production company would not dig in a particular location unless they had enough evidence that it would be worth the financial risk... right? So, how do they figure this out? Is there any information online that explains this? If you can refer me to a website or a textbook to understand this I would be so grateful.
Also, is there a site where you can look at the month's productivity so you cna get an idea as to how well the well is producing. The production company refuses to impart that information. They tell me to wait for the check.
Again, thank you for any advice. I am new to all of this!

Sincerely,
KB

Answer
KB, if you'd shared with me the legal description of where this well is, I probably could have given you a good estimate of its remaining life based on other wells in the area. However, you can go to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission website's database page: http://www.occeweb.com/Orawebapps/OCCOraWebApps.html and search for production by Section, Township, and Range (i.e. 13-6N-18E etc.)yourself and find the same information.

On this website, not only can you look up the production for your current well, but you can also look up the production of other wells in the immediate area that are likely producing from the same reservoir. The site is a bit tricky to navigate, but they're working on it. It IS free however, which is always a plus! www.pangaeadata.com is another good site for Oklahoma, and is much easier to navigate, but is NOT free. www.drillinginfo.com will also let you study the "decline curve" of any well, which would help give you a visual representation of how steeply a well's production is declining (and therefore how much life it may have left.)

Most wells decline by 50% or more in their first year or two but level off after that quite a bit and decline more slowly. This is especially true with gas wells. Oil wells can produce for many decades, or for just a few years; it just depends on the well really. Sometimes older wells are "reworked" and their production improves for a few more years, but this is not always the case. It's generally a matter of economics as to whether a well is reworked or not.

A good book to read on oil wells is "A Primer of Oilwell Drilling" seventh edition. It can be purchased online at http://store.iadc.org/DisplayDetail.aspx?pid=84. The book explains the whole process from start to finish, including some info on how the drillsite is chosen. You can also buy it directly from the publisher at: http://www.utexas.edu/ce/petex/aids/pubs/oilwell-drilling-primer/ It's $95.

Hope this helps you out.
Frederick M. "Mick" Scott CMM RPL
Timbercreek Mineral Company, LLC

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