Energy Corporation of America
From Wikimarcellus
Founded in 1963, Energy Corporation of America (ECA) is a privately-held, Denver, Colorado-based company that actively pursues the exploration, extraction, production and transportation of natural gas and oil, both in the United States and around the world. ECA owns and operates approximately 5,200 wells, 5,000 miles of pipeline, and 1,000,000 acres in North America alone.
ECA has been actively developing its Marcellus shale acreage in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, where the vast majority of its recent wells have been drilled using innovative horizontal drilling technology. ECA had been drilling in southwestern Pennsylvania’s Greene County since 2007 on 10,000 acres it controls there.
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Latest Operating Developments
All told, by July, 2009 the company had drilled 155 vertical and horizontal wells in the Marcellus shale. 20 were in Greene County. ECA owned the working interest outright on almost all of its Marcellus wells. Those were producing anywhere from 500 Mcf/d to 3 Mmcf/d with very little condensate.
History of ECA in the Marcellus
ECA began its operations on the east coast in the Appalachian Basin, the oldest producing basin in the country, and has been active there for over 45 years. ECA owns over 1 million acres from New York to Tennessee, and operates over 5,000 wells and over 5,000 miles of pipeline. ECA has over 10,000 drilling locations with more than 15 TCF of resource potential, and over 400 BCF of proved reserves. ECA also has the capability to transport over 75 mmcf/d through multiple pipeline systems. In the past five years, ECA has drilled as many as 100 wells in a year, with up to 6 active drilling rigs operating at one time.
One of the earliest operators in the Marcellus shale region, ECA began testing wells in this play in the late 1970s in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy. In 2006 ECA began its modern development of the region and had drilled more than 160 wells from New York to Kentucky, of which the company owned almost all working interest. Each of ECA’s first horizontal Marcellus wells had initial production rates between 2 – 3.5 Mmcf/d.
Since 1979, Energy Corporation of America’s top management has been headquartered in Denver, Colorado, the western energy capital of the United States. ECA’s Foundation, established in 1996, is also located in the Denver office.
2009 Development Timeline
In 2009, ECA began a three-year drilling program and by December was producing in excess of 10 Mmcf/d of shale gas. ECA had also opened an office in Greene County to facilitate the drilling and ongoing operations in the area.
75 wells planned
ECA had two rigs operating in Greene County at a drilling depth of approximately 8,000 feet to reach the Marcellus shale formation. It applied for a number of horizontal Marcellus shale drilling permits there during 2009. Some of ECA's locations mentioned on permit applications included Greene and Cumberland Townships, Muddy and South Muddy Creeks, Whiteley Creek and Coal Run. The company planned to drill 1-2 horizontal wells per month up to a total of 75 over the next three years. It also had more than 40 miles of pipeline and sufficient interstate pipeline capacity to get its gas to market.
System 8000 Pipeline
ECA made an announcement in mid-June, 2009 that it was soliciting interest in the expansion of its System 8000 pipeline gathering system for Marcellus shale gas in North Central West Virginia.
Successful with multi-stage fracs
A September, 2009 press release noted that the company had completed three horizontal wells in Greene Co. All had been multi-stage fracs: 6, 8 and 9 stages. The first two wells were producing at the rate of 2.5 and 3.0 Mmcf/d, respectively. It was mentioned in an October press release that all three horizontal wells were producing at the combined rate of 6.7 Mmcf/d.
Pad drilling underway
In October, 2009 ECA announced that it had begun pad drilling in Greene Co. with a three-well pad and a second pad with six wells. It had begun drilling its 5th horizontal well in the county as part of the three-well pad. It was in the process of drilling the vertical sections of the wells for the six-well pad. The wells were to be spaced 15 feet apart. The company was also in the process of fracture stimulating its fourth horizontal Greene Co. well. The announcement stated that ECA planned to utilize pad drilling as much as possible on future Greene wells.
New compression facility
A later October press release mentioned that ECA had completed a compression plant in Greene Co. The plant added the capacity of 15 Mmcf/d to the existing 5 Mmcf/d. It gave ECA the ability to deliver for sales a total of 20 Mmcf/d into its Texas Eastern Transmission pipeline interconnect. The compression station used Caterpillar natural gas-fired engines to power three 3-stage Ariel compressors as well as gas treatment equipment.
Spotlight Issues
- ECA appears to be drilling in a sweetspot in Greene Co. It owns a large swath of drilling rights in other areas of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Now that reports are starting to surface of drilling success even in thinner parts of the Marcellus shale (50 feet or less), the company may choose to explore some of its acreage in these areas.
- Once its System 8000 pipeline is complete, ECA will be well positioned to further develop its prospective Marcellus shale holdings in central and northern West Virginia.
Executive Contacts
- John Mork is ECA's President and CEO.
- Michael Fletcher is CFO.
- Donald Supcoe is Senior Vice President, Secretary, and General Counsel.
- Dennis McGowan is Vice President of Business Development West.
- Kyle Mork is Vice President of Eastern Operations.
- Peter Sullivan is Vice President of Exploration.
- Alison Mork is a company spokesperson.
- Bryce Yeager is a Lead Technical Engineer.
