Shallow Exploration Planned in Wind River Basin

Natrona County, Wyoming

Riverton, Wyo.–based Nucor Oil and Gas (Nucor) is reportedly planning to drill a shallow wildcat some 55 miles west of Casper, Wyo., along the eastern flank of the Wind River Basin. Awaiting sanction by both federal and state agencies, no geological target is yet available for the Raderville #2-33-B, nw-se 2-34n-89w, Natrona County. It is presumed this vertical effort will evaluate the Upper Cretaceous Cody at a depth near 3,000’.

The pending Raderville #2-33-B spots less than a mile southwest of the nearest production, which is found in Raderville Field. This faulted, anticlinal nose is currently operated by Nucor and has output from a stray Cody Sand and the Raderville Sand at depths less than 3,000’. Following its discovery in 1955, Raderville Field has amassed more than 889.2 k bo and 469.4 mmcfg.

In between Nucor’s proposed wildcat and Raderville Field sits a noncommercial test that had some strong shows. Originally drilled by Continental Oil (Conoco), the Federal W-33410 #2-431, ne-se 2-34n-89w, bottomed at 6,511’ in the Mowry Shale. Prior to plugging the effort in 1956, Conoco conducted four drillstem tests in the wellbore—three in the Cody and one in the Frontier. The best result came from the Cody section at 3,111’–3,261’, where gas-to-surface supported a 2’ flare on a 2-in. line. The pipe recovered 1,050’ of gas- and oil-cut mud, and 480’ of gas- and mud-cut water.

As noted, the fourth DST in the Federal W-33410 #2-431 was performed in the Frontier interval between 5,056’ and 5,074’, where 1,270’ of salt water and 130’ of mud were reported. No production casing was run, and the prospect was abandoned.

In 1983, Butler Oil (Butler) re-entered the Federal W-33410 #2-431 with plans to evaluate possible by-passed output in the Cody, Shannon, and Niobrara formations. The firm successfully evaluated the Shannon and Niobrara, both of which were considered wet. Butler then perforated a stray Cody Sand at 2,170’–2,226’, and gave the zone an IPP of 8 bopd, no gas, and 7 bwpd. The Federal W-33410 #2-431 cumulated just 361.0 bo and 3.9 k bw before being abandoned a second time in 1986.

Almost a half-mile south of Nucor’s proposed Raderville #2-33-B is a dry hole drilled by Natural Gas Processing at the Federal #41-11, ne-ne 11-34n-89w. After bottoming this attempt in the Shannon at a depth of 2,250’, the operator perforated the Shannon between 928’ and 2,250’ (overall) and gave the interval an IPP of 2 bopd and 47 bwpd. Deemed noncommercial, the Federal #41-11 was plugged in 1996.

The closest established production to the anticipated Raderville #2-33-B is less than a mile to the northeast at a field well operated by Nucor. The Federal #1-22-B, se-nw 1-34n-89w, was completed for an IPP of 21 bopd from Cody perforations at 1,680’–1,970’. Since December 2006, this small producer has yielded more than 14.2 k bo and 238.0 bwpd. The latest data available for the Federal #1-22-B show that during December 2019, the well recovered 53 bo and 3 bw.

The most recent noteworthy activity in Natrona County was announced in December 2019, when Timberline Production (Timberline) revealed plans to drill a vertical wildcat some 50 miles northeast of Nucor’s pending Raderville #2-33-B. The company is waiting for state approval to drill the Camel Hump Fed #1, sw-nw 21-38n-81w, a confidential test that should reach 5,200’ in the Pennsylvanian Tensleep.

Timberline’s proposed Camel Hump Fed #1 sits along on the Casper Arch, roughly 25 miles northeast of Casper. The future wellsite surveys approximately 2 miles northeast of Castle Creek Field, a small, anticlinal feature discovered in 1948. Prior to its abandonment in 1989, this pool produced just 32.4 k bo and 13.4 mmcfg from the shallow Wall Creek and the Frontier.