Will They or Won't They?

We have just about 600 feet left to drill in this well after making over a combined 20,000 feet in these past two sections (including the one where our drilling assembly fell to the bottom and we had to abandon it, cement, and restart from a couple thousand feet back). I feel like I'm watching a plot-twisting soap opera play out over how exactly we're going to finish these last 600 feet.

Sunday Morning: 1,200 feet to final depth. The inclination of the hole is getting too high! Quick, change drilling parameters!

Monday Afternoon: 1,000 feet to final depth. Oh, as it turns out, the newly-inclined direction is pointing us right back to the original (pre-cementing) target. Keep it up!

Tuesday Morning: 900 feet to final depth. But we're getting too close to the lease line -- we must pull out of the hole and run a new drilling assembly with a motor to steer away!

Wednesday 05:00 A.M.: 600 feet to final depth. OH MY GOD -- is that sandstone section the PAYZONE????!!!! FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY KEEP DRILLING!

Wednesday 06:00 A.M.: 595 feet to final depth. Oh, careful! We're getting some gas returns! We had better circulate the mud for a while before we take a kick.

My mother recently asked me if I ever was on a rig that reached it's desired payzone. The answer to that is: I'm not quite sure. I've seen areas that held gas or oil, but depending on the oil company who's hired me, they might be a bit reticent to share some of their more potentially-profitable knowledge. And just because I see oil or gas on a log doesn't mean that it's extractable. Once the drill bit is out of the hole, my job is done and the production process begins -- which is an entirely different part of an oil or gas well's life cycle.

It's possible, however, that the little squiggly lines I saw on the log when I first walked into my unit this morning are a payzone.

I guess we'll see pretty soon how this little soap opera plays out -- more plot twists ahead for sure!