Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Secretary Scott Angelle noted on July 10 that Devon Energy recently completed its fourth horizontal well in the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale (TMS) and the initial production test figures submitted this week show the strongest oil production results of the company’s TMS wells drilled to date − at 384 barrels of oil per day (bopd).

This newest well, located in northern St. Helena Parish, follows Devon’s successful drilling of two productive horizontal TMS wells in East Feliciana Parish and another in Tangipahoa Parish. Devon also has two other TMS well projects in progress – one in Tangipahoa and one in West Feliciana parishes.

“I want to thank Devon Energy for expressing its faith in Louisiana’s potential to provide energy and qualified workers, because I recognize that the company has a choice in where it invests its exploration funding,” Angelle said. “I hope to see Devon’s ongoing success in the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale repeated by the other operators who have begun to invest in the play, bringing the potential for economic development, jobs and new sources of domestic energy,” Angelle said.

The Tuscaloosa Marine Shale is believed to underlie much of Central Louisiana, with potential productive areas currently being explored from Vernon Parish through Avoyelles to Tangipahoa Parish.

The energy industry has been observing the development of the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale, believed to be primarily an oil-rich play. New processes and technology have led to rapid gains in domestic oil and natural gas reserves, making them recoverable from ultra-dense formations once thought uneconomical to produce.

In Avoyelles, EOG is currently drilling the first TMS well in the parish. The first pilot well of Dupuy No. 1 at Brouillette has been completed. The next rig will use data obtained from the pilot well so petroleum engineers will know where the lateral leg of the well will be drilled.