Whenever I see increased activity it is fun to check out some of the history of the area, to look at some of the older wells.
Here's one of those Stoneview wells:
- 2514, 220, BTA, Skarphola A 1, Stoneview, Madison
It produced oil until March, 2006, when it was still producing 200 bbls/month, where it had been for the past year. Over the years, it had been shut in for long periods of time, but it was clearly a workhorse for the original operator.
This well produced a cumulative 752,137 bbls of oil. I think the number is phenomenal, but what should really catch one's attention is the fact that this well was productive for 47 years. Forty-seven years.
The Stoneview oil field is an irregularly-shaped, most elongated, running north to south, comprising about 52 sections, and midway between Wildrose and Powers Lake, North Dakota. It straddles the county line where Divide County and Burke County meet, just north of Williams/McKenzie counties.
There is a stretch of conventional (vertical wells) pretty much running down the center of the oil field drilled during previous booms. A fair number of horizontal wells exist, but drilled several years ago.
There are currently a couple of wells on the confidential list, and one rig on site. It appears of the current companies operating in the Bakken, Continental Resources pretty much "owns" the field. Many other Bakken companies do have wells or permits there, however, including Oasis, Sequel, Hunt, and BTA. A quick look suggests Sequel is second to CLR in this field.
