Nighthawk Energy sees recovery in production at Jolly Ranch

US-based shale oil company Nighthawk said there was a steady improvement in production during the second quarter of 2012 from its 75% owned and operated onshore project at Jolly Ranch in the Denver-Julesburg Basin, Colorado, US.

Average gross production in Q2 increased by 25% to 42 barrels per day compared to 33 barrels per day in Q1, with three new wells contributing from mid-May onwards.

Continuous overhaul, refurbishment and replacement of poor quality and unreliable production equipment led to the recovery in production, the company said.

Oil production from additional wells, originally expected in mid-June, commenced in early July, adding to current gross production of 57 barrels per day during the first half of the month.

The company said three further wells have been re-worked for production and will be on-stream after resolution of leasing issues.
Nighthawk said it has completed a work-over program on production facilities at its Jolly Ranch project as per schedule in June with drilling of new wells expected to commence in August.

During that period, the company revealed that it has also identified 15 to 20 new drilling targets which will be drilled in the second half of 2012.

The permit applications have been submitted for two well locations so far and are pending for a further two wells, with around 21 additional applications planned to follow going forward.

Jolly Ranch project is located in Lincoln, Washington and Elbert counties and includes the Manassas, John Craig, Bolero and Jolly Ranch fields.