Empire Petroleum Corporation announced the successful 21,006-foot re-entry and subsurface evaluation of the Wakefield-Harrison GU B #1 well in the Fort Trinidad field in Madison County, Texas, 100 miles north of Houston, marking a strategic milestone in its Texas gas development program.
Based on publicly disclosed operator data, Empire is the first microcap energy company to re-enter a wellbore first drilled in 1959 and deepened twice in the decade that followed. The company overcame technical and operational challenges to drill, underream, and clean out the well to 21,006 feet measured depth (20,949 feet true vertical depth), exposing fresh formation. Empire successfully ran a full, modern open-hole logging suite and recovered sidewall cores. Hydrocarbon shows, both gas and liquids, were recorded across the logged interval, with C1 and C4-plus identified on the gas chromatograph. The Fort Trinidad field was historically developed to roughly 10,000 feet, and the Wakefield-Harrison GU B #1 opens approximately 11,000 feet of section below that.
Key points from the Empire announcement:
- Ultra-deep well achievement: Empire Petroleum Corp. completed a 21,006-foot re-entry and subsurface evaluation of the Wakefield-Harrison GU B #1 well in Madison County, Texas, making it the deepest modern evaluation in the emerging Western Haynesville play with full open-hole logging and sidewall cores.
- Significant cost advantage: The company achieved the milestone at a cost of approximately $4.4 million by re-entering and underreaming a legacy wellbore originally drilled in 1959, compared with $30 million to $45 million reported by offset operators drilling new ultra-deep wells.
- Expanded production potential: The well exposed approximately 11,000 feet of previously untested formation below historical field development limits, recording hydrocarbon shows across multiple gas and liquids intervals to support future horizontal lateral development.
This is the deepest modern subsurface evaluation in the emerging Western Haynesville play to be completed with a full open-hole log and sidewall cores. At 20,949 feet true vertical depth, the Wakefield-Harrison B #1 is approximately 1,713 feet deeper than Comstock Resources’ publicly reported McCullough GLR #3 well and approximately 2,398 feet deeper than Expand Energy’s Bobby Yancey #1 pilot well, with all depth comparisons based on true vertical depth. Empire also successfully returned a complete open-hole logging suite and sidewall cores at temperatures of up to 434 degrees Fahrenheit. The well was evaluated in an area where operators including Comstock Resources, Expand Energy, Mitsui E&P USA, Hilcorp Energy, Caturus Energy, and Adamas Energy, a Mitsubishi Corporation subsidiary (formerly Aethon Energy) are actively pursuing deep Cotton Valley, Bossier, and Haynesville objectives.
Empire achieved this subsurface control at a cost of approximately $4.4 million by re-entering and underreaming an existing wellbore rather than drilling a new ultra-deep well, while other operators across the Western Haynesville are drilling and completing new wells at reported costs of $30.0 million to $45.0 million each. By leveraging a legacy wellbore that was never plugged and abandoned, Empire obtained modern log and core data at depths exceeding those publicly disclosed by offset operators, while avoiding the substantial capital, schedule, and infrastructure requirements typically associated with new ultra-deep drilling.
The Wakefield-Harrison GU B #1 also forms the foundation for Empire’s focused development strategy in two primary intervals of the Intermediate Production Zones (IPZ) and Deep Productive Zones (DPZ) within the Fort Trinidad Field. The strategy progresses from behind-pipe recompletions, to a transformational focus on deepening wells in stacked reservoirs, and ultimately, to deep-gas development across the Lower Travis Peak, Cotton Valley Sand, Bossier, and Haynesville intervals. By establishing modern subsurface control across roughly 11,000 feet of previously untested section, the well provides the data required to advance planning and convert deeper targets into future development locations. Modern well logs and successfully recovered core samples will assist the Company in reprocessing its existing 3D seismic data with significantly improved resolution and subsurface clarity. The two additional wells being deepened will provide modern logs, vertical seismic profile (VSP) data, and core samples to further enhance 3D seismic data across Empire’s entire acreage position.
“The Western Haynesville continues to be proven up around us by operators drilling deeper and spending $30.0 million to $45.0 million per well,” said Phil Mulacek, Chairman of the Board of Empire. “I am proud that the Company is the first microcap energy company to reach a depth beyond 21,000 feet with modern logs and sidewall cores at temperatures of 434 degrees Fahrenheit. The successful technical and mechanical achievements set a record upon which we can build. We reached more than 21,000 feet for roughly $4.4 million by re-entering a wellbore drilled in 1959 and left shut in for decades. The rock has not changed, but what has changed is the industry’s ability to complete it. Other operators in the broader Western Haynesville are producing more than 30 million cubic feet per day from the same stratigraphic section, and Empire now has modern log and core control across more than 11,000 feet, with over 4,000 feet of that section open hole. As a microcap energy company, our team reached a depth greater than any publicly reported evaluation in this part of the play. We also own the midstream, consisting of 49 miles of pipe, 9.5 million cubic feet per day of new compression, and two takeaway outlets. This field was developed to approximately 10,000 feet and then left alone. We have now opened 11,000 feet of section below that, and we intend to work it in two focused zones of production: IPZ’s, which include Lower Glen Rose, Rodessa, James Lime, Pettet, and Upper Travis Peak, and the DPZ’s, consisting of Lower Travis Peak, Cotton Valley Sand, Bossier, and Haynesville intervals. I believe we have achieved a transformational event for the Company and its shareholders.”
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Mike Morrisett, President & CEO, added, “We are proud of the entire Empire team for positioning itself to capitalize on opportunities arising from current global energy market conditions and commodity prices. Our current Texas activity places us in great company as we underreamed the wellbore to more than 21,000 feet. The next two wells will enhance our knowledge, improve the clarity of our 3D seismic data, and help establish the landing point and design parameters for a horizontal lateral from these wellbores. Empire now has the infrastructure to help establish revenue going forward.”
