Energent Group’s new research reveals that horizontal well refracking programs in the Haynesville Shale are effective and economic, a press release said Oct. 2. By 2020, the Haynesville Shale refrack market will exceed $500 million, according to the report, Refrac In-Depth Series: The Haynesville Refrac Study.

Refracturing costs vary depending on the type of job, lateral length and method of refracture. However, based on proppant, chemical and stage information, costs range between $900,000 and $2.8 million for several operators in the refrack study. With gas prices near $2.75 per thousand cubic feet, refrack jobs at $1.75 million are economically viable. The study revealed that the average refrack cost per well is about $1.65 million.

The study’s methodology used Energent data including wells, completions, well costs, oilfield chemicals, production volumes and horizontal wells. The study triangulated refrack wells across the Haynesville to uncover the operators and service companies involved in refrack programs.

As operators continue to slash costs and crews, the focus is on programs which yield financial returns at today's commodity prices, Energent said.

"Operators must find ways to reduce the uncertainty of refrac programs and demonstrate returns compared to other investment options," says Todd Bush, principal of Energent Group and one of the report's authors. "With the thousands of horizontal wells drilled across the shale plays, operators are now using lessons learned from recent completions to extract more value from existing assets."

Several investment banks are actively funding refrack initiatives across the shale plays, the market research group said.