Operational Update
United States – Barnett Shale
During the third quarter, Quicksilver’s development activity was concentrated in its Barnett Shale asset. The company utilized two rigs in the basin, which drilled 13 (11.9 net) operated wells and also connected 44 (38.1 net) operated wells to sales. At September 30, 2011, Quicksilver had a remaining inventory of 53 gross operated wells that have been drilled in the Barnett Shale but await completion or connection to sales lines. The company expects to exit the year with an estimated 50 wells in its uncompleted well inventory.
United States – Sandwash Basin
Quicksilver holds approximately 210,000 net acres in the Sandwash Basin in Northwest Colorado, and continues to drill test wells on its oil-prospective exploratory acreage position. Six vertical wells and one horizontal well have been drilled to date. Four of the vertical wells are in the early stages of completion and two are in flowback. The company expects to complete the horizontal well in the next few weeks and anticipates all seven wells to be online by the end of the year. We continue to be encouraged by the results of the test program, and anticipate disclosing well performance by year-end once more data is gathered and evaluated.
United States – Delaware and Permian Basins
The company expanded its acreage position in West Texas during the third quarter to approximately 150,000 net acres in the Delaware and Permian Basins. The company plans to begin drilling and completion operations in the first quarter of 2012.
Canada - Horseshoe Canyon
The company expects to drill 8 (6.6 net) more wells by the end of the year, resulting in a total of 16 (11.6 net) wells drilled for the full year. Current net production from the Horseshoe Canyon coal bed methane project is approximately 57 MMcfed.
Canada - Horn River Basin
Quicksilver has drilled a total of eight horizontal wells into the Muskwa and Klua formations, of which four wells have commenced production. Only two additional wells are required to be drilled to validate virtually all of Quicksilver’s exploratory licenses and convert all of our licenses, covering approximately 130,000 net acres, into 10-year development leases. The company has been pleased by the performance of its four producing wells. The actual average daily wellhead production through October 31, 2011 for the four wells on line was 18.4 MMcfd compared to the estimated production of 16.2 MMcfd in our December 31, 2010 reserve report, an increase of 14%. The company is drilling four additional wells in the fourth quarter of 2011 and plans to complete them by the end of the first quarter of 2012. The company has also begun testing of its first horizontal well drilled into the shallower Exshaw oil formation.