Harold Hamm, CEO of Continental Resources, the "face" of the Bakken, estimates the Bakken holds 24 billion barrels of recoverable oil, making it bigger than Prudhoe Bay on the North Slope, Alaska, which is estimated to hold 14 billion barrels recoverable oi.
Pumping his own company?
Now, the director of the North Dakota Industrial Commission (NDIC) says there's a "50-50 chance" of North Dakota reaching 700,000 barrels of oil per day in production. And his estimate, now, of recoverable oil in the North Dakota Bakken: 11 billion barrels (Oil Patch Hotline, v. 14, #24, December 2, 2010).
I have opined that part of the reason for increased activity in North Dakota is due to the slowdown in drilling offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. Some readers have disagreed, feeling that what happens in the Gulf is unrelated to North Dakota.
The director of the NDIC says that the slowdown in the Gulf is one of three reasons why the Bakken is so active: a) venture capital flowing to the Bakken due to slowdown in drilling in the Gulf; b) nearly a 100% success rate in hitting oil when targeting the Bakken; and, c) and the low price of natural gas.
He could have added: a) business-friendly / government friendly environment; b) no evidence of the Taliban or Al-Qaeda in the immediate area; and, c) winters for those who want to escape the ravages inflicted by global warming.
I couldn't resist.
Seriously: for newbies -- remember -- the Bakken is only one of several oil-producing formations in the Williston Oil Basin in North Dakota.
Slide 32 of Continentals recent investor presentation claims the potential of 24 billion barrels of recoverable oil in the Bakken.
ReplyDeleteThat was a typo on my part. I've corrected it above. Thank you for catching that error. The typo on my part is understandable: 24 billion barrels is even beyond what I could imagine based on USGS's survey estimate of 3 billion and ND's NDIC estimate of 11 billion.
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