Upstart oil man makes first producing well in West Texas
That’s how Fort Worth oil man Jason Hoisager, 29, felt when it became clear he had hit a small oil show – his first as president of his own operation – on a West Texas prospect in Jones County.
The Midland native is president of Arabella Petroleum Co. LLC, his burgeoning company that has managed to grow in a sour economy through a strategy of attracting young investors (around 30 years old is the median) who contribute in small amounts – sometimes 1 percent stakes for between $1,000 and $1,500 – as well as securing larger amounts from other investors.
Arabella Petroleum recently drilled its second well about three hours west of Fort Worth in Jones County, which became the company’s first to show signs of oil production – not much, but it’s a start in the right direction, Hoisager said.
“It was kind of hectic that night,” he said. “My wife was out on the lease with me, it was over the weekend and about 4 a.m. when we finally reached total depth on the well. We were waiting around on that – sleeping in the truck and then getting up – it’s a lot of excitement, and it’s a lot of hurry up and wait. It’s one of those things that until you experience it it’s hard to really understand what it’s like.”
The company drilled down about 3,500 feet to the Swastika sand formation, fraced the zone but came up short – the primary target was a bust. Undeterred, Hoisager and company retreated up to about 2,900 feet in the Flippen Lime formation.
“We drilled that one and we actually made a well,” he said. “We’re still waiting on the electric company to go out there and hook our pump jack up. I think it’s going to do about 20 barrels a day.
It’s a new field discovery and zone out of which no other companies are producing, and further drilling is needed to determine the extent of the field. But still, any show is good news.
“It was a load off my shoulders certainly,” Hoisager said, laughing. “It’s hard to call yourself an oil man until you actually find oil.”
Throughout the drilling process, Hoisager kept his investors in the loop by employing the latest trend in mass communication on the fly: Twitter. Under the handle “ArabellaPetro,” Hoisager offered round-the-clock updates on depths, weather, the occasional stumble and, ultimately, success.
Some excerpts:
• As of 6 a.m. we are at 525 feet and drilling with water. No problems with casing or cement. More updates to follow.
• 7:05 p.m. – we are currently at 2,835 feet. Back of the napkin calculations indicate we will not be at the top of the Flippen until midnight.
• 1:20 a.m. – we cut the top of Flippen at 2,920 feet. Had a streaming oil show. Should encounter Hope lime around 10 a.m.
Looking ahead
“You think of these oil guys: you hit a well and overnight millionaires. That’s certainly not the case,” he said, adding there’s a lot of waiting. “But it has given us time to work on other stuff, too.”
Arabella Petroleum is waiting on a drilling rig to arrive at its Nolan County prospect within a few weeks. The Rio Loco prospect in Nolan County is located along an old river bed, around which are several million-barrel fields and producing wells drilled in the late 1950s.
Hoisager also is rounding up investors for another 5,080 acres in Glasscock County and about 10,000 acres in Baylor in Throckmorton counties.
“It’s mostly older production,” he said of that area, but added that new technology will unlock more oil.
The Illinois Basin of Indiana is yet another target; in spring 2010, Hoisager and another operator will tackle at least another 4,000 acres of land used for hunting. The first well is expected in February, followed by another in July and a five-well drilling program beginning in September.
And finally, in mid-March, Hoisager will take on his biggest project: fatherhood; he and his wife are expecting their first child, a boy, whose due date coincides with Hoisager’s own birthday.
