Interesting discussion regarding four-mile laterals.
Is it possible to put a well in the middle of 2560-acre spacing unit, drill one well, and put in a lateral going north two sections, and another lateral going south two sections? I don't know, just asking. It is my impression that single vertical bore holes have been drilled with two laterals -- this is a stacked dual lateral, so I don't know why it wouldn't be possible for the laterals to go in opposite directions and be called "unstacked dual laterals."
Something tells me four-mile laterals are a bit tougher than a dual two-mile laterals.
Update, May 17, 2010: the referenced thread above continues to draw interest, and yes, there is talk (and more evidence) that we are talking about "unstacked dual laterals" and not four-mile laterals. Time will tell.
For that matter, could you drill a double stacked dual lateral, one on top of another in two directions? Since we're playing "what if"...
ReplyDeleteI enjoy the site. Thanks.
If they do, CLR's Harold Hamm will call it a "Grand Slam."
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind comments. I probably know about 1% of all that's going on in the Bakken but I've certainly learned a lot.
My hunch is that fracturing is effective only about 400 feet from the lateral, if that much, based on studies that were done to determine if the Bakken and TFS were two separate formations. Indeed, if they are stimulating with 12 fracture stages along a 5,000 foot lateral, that represents only a 400 foot interval. I don't know anything about this, but if this is all about fractures, one wonders if all these multiple wells, dual laterals, etc., will contribute to increased fracturing in a way not yet seen, thus releasing even more oil from the source rock.