The Barton Moss well was drilled as an exploration well in PEDL 193 in northwest England, IGas said in a press release. The original key objectives were to fulfill the 13th License Round commitment obligation, assess the coalbed methane (CBM) potential of the area and delineate the deeper Dinantian limestone horizon to better calibrate the pre-existing seismic interpretation. The well has confirmed the company’s interpretation of the basin and informed its 14th onshore licensing application accordingly.

The well, which was completed in March 2014, was successful in achieving all of these objectives, and the results have helped refine the geological models and are consistent with the company’s overall basin depositional model. The well encountered 15 gas-bearing coal seams in accordance with the predrill prognosis. The well also encountered a Namurian Shale section consisting of the Sabden Shale and the Upper and Lower Bowland Shales. About 122 m (400 ft) of core was recovered including from the shale section.

The key results from the Barton Moss well cores, analyzed by Weatherford, are as follows:

  • Total organic carbon analysis indicates values of up to 5.72% with an average of about 1.9%;
  • The thermal maturity measurements of the shale places the shale in the gas-generating window as per the basin model predictions;
  • The measured permeabilities are comparatively high for the observed porosities when compared with other typical U.S. shale plays;
  • The mineralogy of the Bowland Shales in this area are very comparable with other key U.S. plays, notably the Marcellus and Fayetteville, when comparing quartz/clay/carbonate content; and
  • The cores were observed to have numerous natural fractures with some evidence of alteration due to fluid migration. This is believed to be associated with the depositional setting of the well location.