The article begins:
North Dakota's leading oilfield operators hope to squeeze much more oil from its shale formations by drilling wells closer together - a bold experiment that could raise ultimate recovery by billions of barrels if it succeeds.
Oil and gas wells drain hydrocarbons from a fairly large area, although it is impossible to know the exact extent since the field cannot be observed directly. This poses a tricky problem for operators and regulators.
Drill wells too close together and they interfere with one another, draining oil and gas from the same parts of the formation and reducing their efficiency. Drill wells too far apart, and some valuable oil and gas will be left behind in parts of the formation not near enough to any well bore to be recovered.The article provides a nice overview of spacing in various states.
A huge "thank you" to the reader for sending me this link.
It is interesting to note that the Bakken as a laboratory continues to move quickly. Re-read the third paragraph in the Reuters story linked above.
Now note this, from an earlier post:
EOG initially drilled wells every 640 acres in its Parshall field in Mountrail County, ND, but recently has been drilling every 320 acres. The initial results showed not only higher production rates from the newer infill wells, but improved recovery from the initial wells.Unconventional means just that: unconventional.
The Bakken continues to be THE laboratory for tight oil and unconventional oil. Go Bakken.
