Lane Energy Poland and Schlumberger deliver first shale gas well in Baltic Basin

Lane Energy Poland and Schlumberger have announced an update on the first exploration shale gas well evaluating the shales in the Baltic Basin of Northern Poland. In addition, drilling on a second well in the area is at an advanced stage.

The drilling program operated by Lane Energy constitutes an important milestone for shale gas in Europe. Łebień LE1 is the first of two-wells that Lane is drilling in the onshore Baltic Basin region. Total depth was reached in record time, including coring operations of the target shales. Drilling on the second well, Łęgowo LE1, began on August 27 and operations are proceeding on schedule.

“This is the first time exploration wells have been drilled in the Baltic Basin of Northern Poland specifically to evaluate the potential of shale gas production. Lane is delighted that the mix of locally provided and Schlumberger-managed services helped to deliver the first well under budget and under time,” said Kamlesh Parmar, Lane Energy Poland Country Manager.

Schlumberger will continue to deliver a range of services for both wells, including drilling, logging and cementing. M-I SWACO, a Schlumberger company, is providing drilling fluid services. All services were completed on the Łebień LE1 well with no NPT and in full compliance with local and international standards.

“This is a landmark project in the development of shale gas in Europe,” said Chris Hopkins, vice president, Unconventional Resources, Schlumberger. “To ensure its success, we assigned a local project manager who was responsible for the seamless integration of all services on site. With ready access to the extensive shale gas expertise already gained by Schlumberger colleagues in North America, we were able to apply the knowledge and lessons learned in other plays to best affect results delivered here.”

Schlumberger will be providing Completion, Stimulation and Well Testing Services during the production evaluation phase of the operations. The Completion program has been submitted to the Polish Mining Authority and Completion operations are scheduled for October.