Williston Oil Field -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Updates

November 23, 2013: random update of flaring in the Williston oil field.

Permits

2013 (the list is complete)

• 27303, conf, Zavanna, Husky 33-28 2H, Williston, 
• 27302, conf, Zavanna, Husky 33-28 4TFH, Williston,
• 27301, conf, Zavanna, Husky 33-28 6H, Williston,
• 27300, conf, Zavanna 33-28 8TFH, Williston, 
• 25958, conf, Statoil, Mark 4-9, 3H, Williston, 
• 25957, conf, Statoil, Mark 4-9 4TFH, Williston,
• 25956, conf, Statoil, Mark 4-9 5H, Williston, 
• 25955, conf, Statoil, Mark 4-9-6TFH, Williston, 
• 25672, conf, Statoil, Larsen 3-10 5TFH, Williston,
• 25671, conf, Statoil, Larsen 3-10 4H, Williston, 
• 25670, conf, Statoil, Larsen 3-10 3TFH, Williston,
• 25553, conf, Zavanna, Bear Cat 33-28 2H, Williston, 
• 25552, conf, Zavanna, Bear Cat 33-28 3TFH, Williston,
• 25459, 784, Triangle, Little Muddy 13H, Williston, t10/13; cum 9K 9/13;
• 25458, 631, Triangle, Little Muddy 11H, Williston, t10/13; cum 9K 9/13;

2012

• 24543, 1,086, Zavanna, Bear Cat 33-28 1H, Williston, t4/13; cum 148K 12/13;
• 23746, 2,145, Statoil, Mark 4-9 2TFH, Williston, t1/14; cum --
• 22384, 2,910, Statoil/BEXP, Mark 4-9 1H, t5/12; cum 167K 12/13; 

Original Post
 

The operators in the Bakken are obviously saving "the best for last."

The Williston oil field is a small field, encompassing one section inside Williston city limits, and having only ten sections in all. I can walk to it from my dad's house when I am visiting Williston. I have a lot of stories about this area of Williston and Williams County in the immediate area. I have heard most of the stories more than once from my dad. He was county commissioner some years back and had a great deal of involvement in this area.

There's a creek that runs through this little field, the Little Muddy. Maybe it's called a river. Probably depends on how high the water is. At times it can be quite high, and allows for a nice recreational boating area, north of where it runs into the Missouri, near the US Army Corps of Engineers regional headquarters. East of the creek, the terrain rises to fairly high rolling hills, on top of which one has a beautiful view of Williston. (I suppose some Dickinson folks will come up here during the summer to look at the ball of dust that is said to overhang the city, and like the seven wonders of the world, seldom seen, though often talked about.) As with other wells in the Williston area, it is rewarding to see family names of which I am familiar (none of my own family name, it should be noted; I own no mineral rights).

Ironically/interestingly, though though this field shares its name with the basin, it has not yet seen much activity, but the wells in the neighboring fields are very, very good, and I can only assume the operators are saving the "best little field for last."

Here the current well files/permits (PA --> permanently abandoned; PNC --> permit canceled):

• 7079, PA, Citation
• 7386, PA, Harper,
• 7578, 509/20, Burnett Energy, Hefflefinger 34-1, s2/08; t8/80; Red River/Madison; cum 100K 2/12;
• 8793, Dry, Texas Gas,
• 8862, Dry, Texas Gas,
• 9914, Dry, Harper Oil
• 11141, Dry, Harper Oil
• 11959, PNC
• 14637, 210, Liberty Resources, Jeffrey 33-33, s5/97; t7/97; cum 55K 2/12;
• 14771, 219, Liberty Resources, Shae 21-33, s10/97; t12/97; cum 69K 2/12;
• 18891, 2,631, BEXP, Larsen 3-10 1H, s5/10; t9/10; cum 138K 2/12;
• 20842, 2,743, BEXP, Larsen 3-10 2H, s5/11; t7/11; cum 78K 2/12;
• 21146, DRL, BEXP, Sjol 5-8 1H, s8/11; 4,500 bbls in first 25 days before fracking;
• 22132, DRY, BEXP, M. Ellis 4-9 1H, nothing in well file; didn't get very far before it was abandoned, plugged
• 22384, 2,910, BEXP, Mark 4-9 1H, Williston, t5/12; cum 139K 6/13;

A couple of immediate observations, useful for newbies:

• first, this is why the Bakken is so unique; the Bakken has "no" dry wells; look at all the DRY wells in this one small field in the early years, before the Bakken
• Bakken wells are very expensive, but the payoff is still in two to three years
• look at the IPs of Bakken wells vs "legacy" wells; not trivial