ABSTRACT

The primary development of the Edwards Reef productive trend in South Texas occurred in the 1950s and 1960s and resulted in the discovery of a small number of commercial gas fields and a large number of non-commercial fields. A secondary development of the trend began in the late 1970s with the advent of hydraulic fracturing technology, which could transform non-commercial fields into commercial producing properties. Successful secondary development utilizing this technology at Washburn and Word Fields precipitated the conceptualization of the White Kitchen Prospect.

The White Kitchen Prospect utilized well-established Edwards Reef depositional models, coupled with reservoir principles pertaining particularly to tight, heterogeneous reservoirs, to develop a convincing case for the development of a heretofore unexploited reservoir along the Edwards Trend. The basic premise of the prospect was exceedingly simple and rooted in the most basic concepts of reservoir engineering; i.e., an early well drilled within the productive area of the field continued to display a pressure buildup of approximately 176 kg/cm² (2,500 lb/in²) shut in wellhead pressure after 4.1 billion cubic feet of gas had been produced from the reservoir over 30 years of continuous production. With the presence of an active water drive being discounted by the depositional model and reservoir data, the conclusion that the reservoir was not depleted was inescapable.

Seven new wells have now been completed on the prospect, and an incremental 17.3 billion cubic feet of gas will be produced as a result of this secondary development. The prospect provides an excellent model for additional prospects which can be developed along the trend and provides an excellent example of the potential for future exploration and development in tight, heterogeneous hydrocarbon reservoirs.