Horizontals Targeting the Red River Formation -- The Red River, North Dakota, USA

Hoot Owl --> think Red River --> Whiting.

Hoot Owl oil field is in the southwest part of the state, not the far southwest, but about a third of the way between South Dakota and the Canadian border just two miles east of the Montana border; it is about five miles northeast of Camel Hump oil field.

This is a key prospective Whiting field for the Red River formation.

[Some of this is a "cut and paste" from an earlier posting but some folks may have missed it.]

Someone noted that Whiting was requesting to drill a horizontal targeting the Red River formation and wondering if this had been done before. The full story is presented at the sidebar at the right: scroll to "Formations" and then click on "Red River."

Hundreds (?) of horizontal wells (as many as 5 wells per section) have been drilled into the Red River, particularly in southwestern North Dakota.  Eric Fox, earlier this year, wrote:

Although the Red River formation is relatively unknown to investors, the play was discovered in 1967 and first developed with vertical wells. In 1994, horizontal drilling was used to develop the Red River B play. While not many operators are active in the Red River formation, the play still accounted for approximately 10.5% of total oil production in North Dakota in 2010.

Specifically, case 16605:

Application of Whiting Oil & Gas Corp., to establish a 960-acre drilling or spacing unit consisting of all of Section 10 and the N/2 of Section 15, T.141N., R.105W., Golden Valley County, ND, for the purpose of drilling a horizontal well in the Red River Formation, and such other relief as is appropriate. --> Oil and gas permit #22956.

This area is pretty void of activity. The few wells/permitted locations are these (originally only about five wells were noted at time of original post; since then new permits have been posted):

• 19917, 273, Foundation Energy/Whiting, Maus 23-22, wildcat/Camel Hump, "directional" but on the GIS map seen as a vertical, t7/11; cum 141K 10/16; cum 196K 1/22;
  
• 19921, PA/IA/55, Foundatioin Energy/Whiting, Brookhart 11-14, Red River well, wildcat/Hoot Owl, t2/12; cum 11K 10/16; went inactive in 10/16;
  
• 20043, 200, Foundation Energy/Whiting, Peplinski 34-9, Red River well; wildcat/Hoot Owl, t11/11; cum 37K 10/16; cum 464K 1/22;
  
• 20969, A/IA, Foundation Energy/Whiting, Nistler 21-25H, wildcat/Delhi oil field (southeast of Hoot Owl); Three Forks, dry; now a salt water disposal well, that's why it's considered still active, 1/22;
  
• 22569, IA/272, Foundation Energy/Whiting, Stecker 23-3, Hoot Owl, a Red River well; t7/12; cum 53K 10/16; cum 76K 1/21;
  
• 22775, PA/295, Foundation Energy/Whiting, Ross 13-2, Hoot Owl, t8/12; cum 50K 10/16; a Red River well;
• 22956, PA, Foundation Energy/Whiting, Schaal 22-15H, Hoot Owl;
• 23847, 296, Foundation Energy/Whiting, Stecker 32-9, Hoot Owl;a Red River well, t2/13; cum 37K 10/16;
• 23936, PA, Foundation Energy/Whiting, Faiman 32-14; Hoot Owl;