My last MRO rig count in the North Dakota Bakken was 8, over a year ago. I have no idea what it is now. Maybe MRO will be up to 10 rigs in the North Dakota Bakken going forward. The actual number doesn't mean a lot to me; the fact that MRO is increasing rig activity by 20% is the interesting data point.
It's another tea leaf in my "tea" this morning. This puts into perspective The Motley Fool's take on the oil and gas industry. It must have been a slow day for that fool when he wrote that column.
Tyler?
ReplyDeleteWe will know more after the current Tyler wells are completed....
DeleteBuying OXY's acreage? Pure speculation but kinda makes sense.
DeleteWow, that's a very, very interesting thought. Early on I always thought OXY USA was looking for an exit from the Bakken, but then they kept drilling, and surprisingly, started getting some respectable wells. With challenges in California, I began to think I was wrong, that OXY USA was preparing for the long term in the Bakken. But MRO and OXY are an interesting fit, mostly because their executive officers would have a long history of knowing each other, unlike some of the other small independents. OXY's position in the Bakken is not overwhelming; "only" 200,000 acres, so it's not overwhelming. MRO has about 400,000 acres. I've lost the bubble on Chesapeake -- I don't see CHK listed under "deals" on the sidebar at the right, so I don't recall posting any specifics about Chesapeake's current presence in the state.
DeleteThey have been at five rigs for some time now. That equates to adding one rig. I guess 20% increase sounds better than adding one rig.
ReplyDeleteI am thinking it will be southern tyler activity, if it produces they will want to hold leases and learn more about the position.
Personally, I can't wait to see if the northern tyler gets tested also.
The neat thing is the tyler could be the play which brings the whole production of the state beyond the two million barrel mark when coupled with the bakken. These remain interesting times.
Thank you for your wonderful blog.
Thank you for your kind comments. I have learned a lot from the blog.
DeletePeople have a way of suggesting the "enthusiasm" for the Bakken is waning, and then we get reports of another billion dollars or so from ONEOK, and then another ramp up in activity from MRO, and then TPLM has a blow-out quarter, --- everything in the tea leaves suggesting that there is still a lot of stuff going on in those few counties in western North Dakota.
Read the slides. The extra rig will recompile the 100 of the original wells and move them up from there original open hole pray and pump frac to there newest 30 stage frac. Those will go pretty fast as they ream an already drilled hole and set up to frac.
ReplyDeleteTablets (iPads) can have strange "auto-corrects."
DeleteTranslation: The extra rig will re-complete 100 of the original wells, from open hole frack to their new completion standard: 30 stage fracks. This will actually go quite fast since the wells are already drilled and ready to be fracked.