Shale reserve area in Louisiana gives up oil, gas

HOUSTON, April 14 (UPI) -- Goodrich Petroleum Corp. said Monday oil and gas were flowing from its operations in the Tuscaloosa shale reserve area in Louisiana.

Goodrich said it completed operations at its Blades 33H-1 well in Tangipahoa Parish in southern Louisiana.

The company said production of 1,250 barrels of oil and 115 cubic feet of natural gas during a production test was on the low end of its expectations, though the hydraulic fracturing campaign came in under budget.

A full-scale hydraulic fracturing campaign, however, is expected to commence at the end of April, Goodrich said.

Goodrich said it has access to more than 300,000 net acres spread out over the so-called Tuscaloosa marine shale reserve area. It plans to have five rigs deployed on the site by the end of the year.

The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources estimates the shale reserve area contains approximately 7 billion barrels of oil.