Summary Of North Dakota Wells That Came Off The Confidential List Two Years Ago; DUCs Have A Two-Year Deadline To Be Completed -- June 3, 2018

Second Nobel prize for Obama? Maureen Dowd certainly thinks so. Others will simply use this for the bottom of their bird cages.

Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Pipeline protests: now that the Federal government "owns" the pipeline, it looks like the Canadian judges will be more sympathetic to the plaintiffs when ruling on protestors.

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Back to the Bakken 

DUCs: generally speaking, operators have two years in which to complete/frack a well once it has been drilled to depth. Between the time the well is supposed to come off the confidential list and the time it is actually completed (if not completed at the time it comes off the confidential list) the well is considered a drilled, uncompleted well (DUC).

So, let's see how the operators have done.

Going back to the 1Q16, two years ago, all wells that came off the confidential list during that quarter (1Q16) should now be completed and an IP reported. Wells coming off the confidential list during 1Q16 are at this link. 

During that three-month period, 280 of the 281 wells in North Dakota came off the confidential list.

Of the 283 wells, 13 were non-Bakken wells; 270 were horizontal Bakken wells.

There were three "dry" horizontal Bakken wells reported in 1Q16. I find that absolutely amazing. Wells are considered "dry" if for any reason they are spudded and then do not produce any oil. So, that means, that even if the casing collapses or the horizontal fails for some reason, the well is considered "dry" even though there would have been oil there had the well been successfully drilled. A Bakken well drilled to depth will generally produce oil  so a failed frack will not result in a "dry" well. Of the 270 horizontal Bakken wells, there were only three "dry" wells. Of the 283 wells that came off the confidential list in 1Q16, three (1%) failed. I would say that's incredible -- a huge "shout out" to the roughnecks.

Disclaimer: The following data is taken from my data base. It will not match the data base of the NDIC. There will be factual and typographical errors, but it's probably pretty close. Feel free to fact-check me on the numbers and alert me to any errors. Of the 281 wells reported in 1Q16:

DUCs:

• of the 270 horizontal Bakken wells, 162 (60%) were DUCs; most were completed; some went to TATD status (see below)

Item:

• 31220, XTO, Heart Butte, had an IP of "0" but is currently active, and producing about 1,100 bbls/month; not atypical for Bakken wells of this age; it is not a dry well;

Dry wells:

• 31207, dry, EOG, casing failed
• 31590, dry, Statoil, 
• 31356, dry, Hess, 

One remains on conf:

• 29690, conf, Hess, why?

Non-Bakken wells, vertical, some may be directional:

• 31582, a Spearfish/Madison well, Resonance, producing,
• 31525, a Spearfish/Madison well, Resonance, producing,
• 31719, a Madison well, Petro Harvester, a nice well,
• 31222, a Madison well, I believe, Ballard Petroleum,
• 31118, a Madison well, Ballard Petroleum,
• 29622, a Madison well, Ballard Petroleum,
• 31552, a South Red River well, Denbury, 
• 31721, a Madison well, I believe, Petro Harvester,
• 31719, a Madison well, Petro Harvester,
• 31720, a Madison well, Petro Harvester,
• 30616, a Madison well, Noah Energy,
• 31304, a Red River B well, Luff Exploration,
• 31389, a South Red River well, Denbury,

TATD, the following wells went from SI/NC status to TATD status. I assume that means these wells are still DUCs but have a waiver to remain uncompleted past the two-year deadline:

• 31367, SM Energy, Ambrose,
• 31366, SM Energy, Ambrose
• 31407, SM Energy, Ambrose
• 31550, SM Energy, Ambrose
• 31551, SM Energy, Ambrose 
• 31549, SM Energy, Colgan
• 31466, Statoil, Banks,
• 31573, Statoil, Banks,
• 31465, Statoil, Banks,
• 31572, Statoil, Banks,

One permit PNC:

• 28044, PNC, Cornerstone, a non-Bakken site