Burleson Energy (ASX: BUR) and operating partner AKG Energy will take up larger stakes in the Truchard-2H horizontal well on the Heintschel field in Colorado County, Texas.
This comes after parties holding a 45% stake in the well decided that they would not participate in the well and the 664 acre (2.7 square kilometre) unit that it is located in.
Burleson said the withdrawal of those parties was positive as it allowed it to progress with drilling of the Heintschel gas condensate field.
It also allows Burleson and AKG, who currently hold 38% and 16.5% of the unit and will assume the extra equity pro-rate, the opportunity to introduce new partners.
Truchard-2H will be drilled to a total depth of 3600 metres with a 610 metre lateral drilled in the reservoir section that will be subject to a six stage fracture stimulation.
Consultant reservoir engineers IPT have predicted that a horizontal well of this sort will produce at several times the rates and volumes of a vertical well.
Truchard-2H is expected to cost a total of US$6 million (A$5.66 million) and follows on the Heintschel-1 discovery well that was drilled in April 2010 and the Heintschel-2 and Truchard-1 appraisal wells.
DeGolyer and MacNaughton had previously estimated the field could hold 30 billion cubic feet of gas and 2.5 million barrels of hydrocarbon liquids.