Updates
January 29, 2011: Throwing in the towel on the Spearfish? It appears EOG has quit drilling in Bottineau.
Original Post
The headline is "another Bakken?"
I don't think so.
But it is exciting. Bottineau County is not one of the counties in North Dakota participating in the Bakken boom. But there is a formation there that is creating quite a stir -- one that I have reported on earlier: the Spearfish formation.
Today there's a story out of Bismarck that Bottineau County, northeast of the current Bakken play could see anywhere from 2,000 to 7,000 wells over the next decade or so.
These are shallow wells that can be drilled in less than a week and as many as 30 wells in a section (one square mile) will be drilled.
Click here for an earlier story.
I don't know where Helms got his numbers. An EOG rep said 'it sounds more like number of barrels than wells'!!
ReplyDeleteTime will tell. But 2,000 to 7,000 barrels 'barrels' over next decade or so doesn't sound too exciting.
ReplyDelete30 wells in a section would still set wells 800 feet apart (these are vertical wells); Eco-Pad wells are 100 feet apart.
The first thing one notices when visiting the Bakken is how vast the area is.
It doesn't seem to add up. Helms throws these numbers out at the same time EOG is backing away from the area. The first well EOG drilled here Scandia 1-34 just came off confidential and is at 261 bopd. From what I have heard from those working on these wells, it is more like 50 bopd. Where do they get these numbers from?? If it really is over 200 bopd or even 100 bopd they wouldn't be backing off as these wells would be profitable.
ReplyDeleteI honestly don't know. Time will tell. There have been other articles about the Spearfish in Canada, just across the border that suggest, at least in some areas, the Spearfish has worked out very well. The sidebar at the right has those links.
ReplyDeleteI can't get a couple of URL's to "paste" in the comment box, so I will post a new note regarding the Spearfish.
ReplyDelete