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Additional Pages:
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Tools: | Workforce Requirements Table | Map of Field Locations |
Gas Field Pace of Development Calculator | Satellite view of Jonah Wells |
Gas Field Pace of Development Calculator | Satellite view of Jonah Wells |
The Jonah Field:
Jonah Field, located in southern
Sublette County, WY about 35 miles
south of Pinedale and about 70 miles
north of Rock Springs, after being
“rediscovered” in the early 1990’s was
heralded as one of the most significant
on-shore natural gas discoveries in the
second half of the 20th century. Jonah
represented a turning point in natural
gas production as the gas contained in
Jonah is trapped deep underground in
extremely “tight” sand formations. New
technologies and higher gas prices
allowed companies to lucratively
produce gas from an “unconventional”
source. Due to the depth of the wells
and complexity of the perforation
techniques used to fracture the
underground sand formations, drilling
and production in Jonah requires
substantially larger workforce
requirements over a longer period of
time then compared to conventional on-
shore fields. The success of effective
and lucrative gas extraction from the tight
sand field led the way to future
expansion of the nearby Pinedale
Anticline field a few years later.
Jonah Field, located in southern
Sublette County, WY about 35 miles
south of Pinedale and about 70 miles
north of Rock Springs, after being
“rediscovered” in the early 1990’s was
heralded as one of the most significant
on-shore natural gas discoveries in the
second half of the 20th century. Jonah
represented a turning point in natural
gas production as the gas contained in
Jonah is trapped deep underground in
extremely “tight” sand formations. New
technologies and higher gas prices
allowed companies to lucratively
produce gas from an “unconventional”
source. Due to the depth of the wells
and complexity of the perforation
techniques used to fracture the
underground sand formations, drilling
and production in Jonah requires
substantially larger workforce
requirements over a longer period of
time then compared to conventional on-
shore fields. The success of effective
and lucrative gas extraction from the tight
sand field led the way to future
expansion of the nearby Pinedale
Anticline field a few years later.
Drilling in Jonah:
As of January 1st, 2008, there
are about 15 rigs drilling in
Jonah, which is down from an
all-time high of 22 in fall of 2006.
The amount of drilling activity
had increased dramatically in
the past few months, after the
release of the Jonah Infill
Project Record of Decision (see
right). However the rig count
dropped about half of that
increase over the winter of 06/07.
Drilling in the Jonah Field began
in earnest in mid 1999, after the
initial BLM Jonah II Record of
Decision was released.
Recently, rig activity in the Jonah
has more than doubled in the
past year, after experiencing a
decline during 2002-2004.
In the summer of 2005, Jonah
was averaging about 9 rigs in
operation – slightly more than
the peak during 2001 –and
compared to about 6 rigs during
the summer of 2004 and 4 rigs
during the summer of 2003
As of January 1st, 2008, there
are about 15 rigs drilling in
Jonah, which is down from an
all-time high of 22 in fall of 2006.
The amount of drilling activity
had increased dramatically in
the past few months, after the
release of the Jonah Infill
Project Record of Decision (see
right). However the rig count
dropped about half of that
increase over the winter of 06/07.
Drilling in the Jonah Field began
in earnest in mid 1999, after the
initial BLM Jonah II Record of
Decision was released.
Recently, rig activity in the Jonah
has more than doubled in the
past year, after experiencing a
decline during 2002-2004.
In the summer of 2005, Jonah
was averaging about 9 rigs in
operation – slightly more than
the peak during 2001 –and
compared to about 6 rigs during
the summer of 2004 and 4 rigs
during the summer of 2003
| Click on Charts to Enlarge |
Jonah Infill Development Project: The Record of Decision (ROD) and the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Jonah Infill Project has been released by the Bureau of Land Management. The documents anticipates about 3,100 new wells to be drilled in Jonah over the next 12.5 years, effectively doubling the number of rigs in the Jonah field to about 20 at any one time. Read the ROD here. Read the Jonah Infill FEIS here. Also released from the BLM is a Socioeconomic Technical Supplement for the Jonah Infill FEIS, covering the anticipated socioeconomic effects of the project for Sublette, Sweetwater, and Lincoln Counties. Read the Supplement here. |
| Chart: Jonah Rig Count 01/00 to 1/01/08 |
| Chart: Jonah Rig Count as a percent of the County Total 01/95 to 09/01/06 |
| Seasonal Fluctuations: Drilling in the Jonah field has shown the least amount of negative seasonal fluctuations, with drilling activity actually increasing by large percentages during the winters of 1997, 2001, 2003-2006. (Please see chart below, click for a bigger picture). In the winter of 2006, Jonah drilling activity increased by about 63% from the summer before. In the winter of 2004, drilling on the Jonah increased by about 20% from the previous summer. Due to seasonal restrictions on drilling in the nearby Pinedale Anticline, it appears than many Anticline rigs migrate to Jonah during the winter months. |
| Chart: Winter Decrease in Jonah Rig Count (Actual Number) 1996-2006 |
Unless otherwise noted, all contents of this
website are property of the Sublette County
Socioeconomic Analysis Advisory Committee.
Please Contact Us for permission to use.
website are property of the Sublette County
Socioeconomic Analysis Advisory Committee.
Please Contact Us for permission to use.
All Rig Count Data is from Drilling Records Inc./Divestco, USA.
Download the Rig Count Dataset Here.
Download the Rig Count Dataset Here.