100% Working Interest

Located on the Wasatch Plateau, the Clear Creek Federal Unit encompasses 17,092 acres under which a dominant north-south trending fault-sealed structure traps gas in the Cretaceous aged Ferron Member of the Mancos Shale. In the vicinity of the unit, the Ferron is fractured and capable of high flow rates and large ultimate recoveries.

Originally developed in the 1950’s as the primary gas source for Salt Lake City, the unit has produced from the Ferron a total of 137 Bcf of gas from 18 wells. Due to the rugged nature of the Wasatch Plateau and the fact that the unit was developed prior to the onset of directional drilling, wells were drilled from locations dictated by topography and not structure.

Aside from the original poor structural position of the wells, most of the original completions were open-hole and involved the use of nitroglycerin for stimulation over the entire ±600 foot Ferron interval. Due to later attempts of running well liners to isolate individual Ferron sand intervals, much of the original flow rates were lost and the unit was all but shut-in by the early 1970’s.

During the course of development drilling Marion identified pay and established gas production from the Mancos Shale that overlies the Ferron sands in the ASD 3-17 well. This discovery adds an additional reservoir to the Clear Creek Unit and is one of four unconventional, and previously unknown, new reservoirs inside the unit. In addition to the Mancos Shale significant coal reserves are anticipated to be developed from the Star Point, Emery, and Ferron. Independent engineers have estimated a gas-in-place potential resource for these coals of 1.5 Tcf of gas. Because of the large potential for new reserves, this is the most significant property in the Company's portfolio.

Current Operations

The company is currently in the process of tying in eight newly drilled wells into production facilities. On the summit, the Ridge Runner 13-17, 11-17 and 2-19 wells have been tied in and are producing. Production rates have not yet stabilized. The Ridge Runner 11-20 and 1-30 are currently in the process of being put on production and the 8-19 is awaiting fracture stimulation. In the valley the two school board wells, the 3-17 and the 6-17 have been drilled and completed and a pipeline is currently being built to bring these wells into production. When all eight wells are on production Marion will continue with its development drilling program. These eight wells are the first in a series of wells that will take the original 1000 acre spacing down to 160 acres per well.