Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Active Rigs in North Dakota Back to Intra-Boom Low: 181; Only Three (3) New Permits

Bakken Operations

See first comment: to make it easier to access the links, here they are:
Active rigs: 181 (decreasing, ties intra-boom low)
For newbies, after reaching a high of 218 active rigs in the current boom, the number of active rigs in North Dakota gradually decreased to 190 and then to 184 before the number hit a low of 181.

For the past several weeks it has fluctuated between 181 and 185, generally staying around 183 - 184. Since I do not follow activity in Montana, I can't say how much of the recent decline is due to rigs moving over the state line. There is anecdotal evidence that drilling in the Bakken along the North Dakota border is increasing in Montana. 
Three (3) new permits
  • Operators: Mountain View, Marathon, Triangle
  • Fields: Wolf Bay (Dunn), Rawson (McKenzie)
  • Comments: Mountain View has a permit for a wildcat in Divide County.
Wells released from confidential status were reported earlier; see sidebar at the right.
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10 comments:

  1. CRCDecember 4, 2012 at 4:55 PM

    According to the Mondak OilField ReView as of yesterday Dec 04 there are 15 rigs on the move or rigging up in North Dakota. Those rigs are not counted in the active rig count.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bruce OksolDecember 4, 2012 at 5:18 PM

      Thank you. Yes, I don't follow the numbers that closely (moving in rigging up). I really appreciate that information, but readers probably appreciate it even more. Thank you.

      Delete
  2. AnonymousDecember 4, 2012 at 5:07 PM

    It is my opinion that the rig count in Montana has been on the steady increase due to the numerous leases which are nearing expiration dates. Alot of these leases were negotiated back in 2008 and 2009 on a 5 year lease. At the time these leases were negotiated, bonus and royalty amounts were much lower than today's going rates. I feel many operators will work to get these leases HBP prior to the leases expiring. Most likely, the greatest activity will occur in Richland, Roosevelt and Sheridan Counties.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bruce OksolDecember 4, 2012 at 5:23 PM

      In fact, those are the "only" three Williston Basin Bakken counties in Montana for all practical purposes. And I agree with you.

      Delete
    2. AnonymousDecember 5, 2012 at 12:10 PM

      Don't forget about Daniels County in Montana (just east of Sheridan County) - Apache leased up half the county and is currently spudding a couple of wells there. It still remains to be seen whether the Bakken will be feasible this far west.

      Delete
    3. Bruce OksolDecember 5, 2012 at 1:01 PM

      I hope you are correct about Daniels County (west of Sheridan County).

      Haworth 18-7H-B targets the Bakken in Daniels.

      Delete
  3. AnonymousDecember 4, 2012 at 5:52 PM

    I've been following the daily permits closely for the last couple months and it seems like there have been a few days over the last 2-3 weeks that have had very few permits.

    Is this typical? Do you track permit stats? If so, are we trending for an increase or decrease in wells in '13 (less rigs could simply mean more eco pad-type pads and likely more wells year-over-year in '13)

    Just curious

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bruce OksolDecember 4, 2012 at 6:23 PM

      Yes, I track these stats very closely. It is also blogged about quite often.

      At the bottom of the blog, there are many tags, including "Permits_2012" and "PermitStats_2011."

      For example: http://www.milliondollarwayblog.com/search/label/Permits_2012

      I also track them on the sidebar at the right.

      Delete
  4. AnonymousDecember 4, 2012 at 7:26 PM

    feet

    http://ow.ly/i/1aQ6l

    and floating rigs in the Bakken.

    http://ow.ly/i/1bG3Z

    anon 1

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bruce OksolDecember 4, 2012 at 7:38 PM

      The Bakken -- or, rather, the amount of data out there -- never fails to surprise me. To think that someone is tracking "footage" -- and then the "float rate.

      Thank you.

      Delete

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