Summit Petroleum Sees Strong Results From U-Turn Laterals in Upton County
Midland-based Summit Petroleum has notched strong early results using U-turn lateral wells in Upton County, Permian Basin Oil and Gas Magazine reports, citing an initial five-well group that averaged 1,584 barrels per day of initial production in the southern Midland Basin.
Market Impact
Summit placed stacked U-turn laterals on acreage adjacent to land where EOG Resources reportedly plans future drilling but has not yet moved forward, according to the report. The company’s broader development plan calls for 10 wells total: seven U-turn or horseshoe laterals and three straight laterals. Chairman and CEO Dennis Johnson told the Midland Reporter-Telegram that the seven curved wells are split across multiple zones, one each in Jo Mill, upper Wolfcamp B and lower Wolfcamp B, and two each in middle Spraberry and lower Spraberry, with each well measuring 21,000 feet in depth.
Johnson said Summit had budgeted 23 days per well from spud to rig release but averaged just 20 days across the program. According to the Reporter-Telegram, the company turned to U-turn laterals specifically because it holds only one section of land, a constraint that limits traditional straight-lateral layouts but can be worked around by curving the wellbore back on itself to maximize lateral length within a smaller footprint.
What It Means for Subcontractors
- Directional drilling crews with U-turn and horseshoe lateral experience should position now for Upton County work, as Summit’s plan still has additional wells pending in its 10-well program beyond the initial five.
- Rig contractors and drilling engineers able to hit or beat 20-day spud-to-release cycles on 21,000-foot measured depth wells have a track record to point to when bidding against Summit’s own internal benchmark.
- Single-section operators facing similar acreage constraints in the Midland Basin are a growing target market for subs who can pitch U-turn lateral design as an alternative to conventional straight-lateral development.
- Completion crews and wireline services should expect multi-zone pad work spanning Jo Mill, Wolfcamp B and Spraberry intervals on these programs, requiring flexibility across stacked-pay completions rather than single-zone jobs.
- Firms near EOG Resources’ undeveloped acreage bordering Summit’s wells should watch for EOG’s own drilling plans to activate, which could open a second wave of subcontract bids in the same Upton County footprint.
