While our company is no longer drilling in the Trenton-Black River formation, we are still producing natural gas from the dozens of wells that have been drilled since 2002. Furthermore, we are now using our extensive experience with this horizontal drilling technique to produce natural gas from the Marcellus Shale formation.
Drilling a Trenton-Black River Well - Where did we drill?
Before shifting to development of the Marcellus Shale, Talisman Energy USA drilled wells in New York's Trenton-Black River formation. Our geologists and geophysicists worked together to analyze all the data for locating and planning our drilling program. The target geologic rock formation was Black River dolomitized limestone, typically in a graben trough or depression. A graben is a collapsed feature between two major faults. Since this rock formation is 9,000 to 12,000 feet below the surface, seismic data was used to plan the best path to drill. The schematic cross-section below shows how a horizontal well would encounter the most gas-bearing reservoir and fractures:
