Net Acreage, Prospects, and Rigs in the Bakken, by Producer

AREAS OF INTEREST IN THE NORTH DAKOTA BAKKEN
Acreage Will Change Over Time

Abraxas

• 4Q12e: 4,300 - 4,500 boepd
• Operations in both the Bakken and Eagle Ford
• 21,000 net acres in the Bakken (ND + MT); 20,853, SeekingAlpha, 2011
• BEXP presentation says Abraxas has 20,853 net acres
• Nesson: 2,600 net acres; nice acreage
• Carter: 3,200 net acres; northeast of best Bakken; +/- value
• North Fork: 3,200 net acres; nice acreage
• Elkhorn Ranch: 2000 net acres; southwest North Dakota
• Elm Coulee: 440 net acres; where it all started in 2000
• Harding: 5,800 net acres; Williston area; nice area
• Sheridan: 3,000 net acres; Montana northwest of Williston (quality?)

Anschutz

• A privately held company so not easy to find acreage; I believe it sold all its Bakken acreage in 2010
• In late 2010, OXY bought Anschutz Bakken acreage, see OXY below
  

Ante5

• new name for Ante5 --> Black Ridge Oil & Gas (proposed name change, 3/12)
• 20,000 net acres
  

Aterra Exploration

• a privately held corporation operating in the Bakken and the Eagle Ford
• 200,000 acres targeting the Red River formations

Ballard Petroleum, LLC

• First mentioned on the blog February 12, 2012
• Two new permits, north of Minot
• Madison? Duperow?
• Vertical wells

Baytex

• Baytex sells 50,400 net acres of ND Bakken acreage to Magnum Hunter
• 126,400 net acres prior to sale of non-operated interests to Magnum Hunter

Black Hills Corporation

• See QEP, below, August 23, 2012 entry. 

Black Ridge Oil & Gas

• new name for Ante5 (proposed name change, 3/12)
• 20,000 net acres
  

BTA Oil Producers

• Privately held company out of Midland, Texas
• KOG acquires 13,400 net acres from BTA
• Sequel acquires approximately 250 BTA wells in North Dakota, July 21, 2010

Breitling

• Enters the Bakken, December 28, 2011
  
• Acquires nonoperated acreage in Sand Creek field, McKenzie County
• The operator will be Denbury Resources

Brigham (BEXP) --> Statoil (STO) --> Equinor (EQNR) -- now tracked here.

• November, 2012: NOG says 375,800 acres
• December 9, 2011: noted that ticker symbol BEXP no longer existed 
• December 8, 2011: Statoil's offer to buy tendered BEXP shares has closed this date
• October 17, 2011: sale to Statoil announced; effective, 2012
• August 9, 2011, corporate presentation: 375,800 net acres;
• June 7, 2011, corporate presentation: 378,100 net acres; 6,900 additional acres
• 1Q11 conference call: 371,200 net acres; 6,900 additional acres since last update 
• Last update: net present value (NPV)/well ~ $9.5 million 
• 2Q12: rigs, 10 ---> 16 since acquiring BEXP
• Accelerating to 12 rigs by March, 2012; two dedicated frac teams now
• (Eastern Montana: Rough Rider and Sedlacek)
• Rough Rider, 155,100 net acres: Williston area, both north and south of the river; Williams and McKenzie
• Sedlacek, 9,900 net acres: eastern Montana
• Parshall/Ross: Mountrail County; most prolific area to date in ND Bakken; 35,900 net acres in the Bakken; 35,000 net acres in the Three Forks (same surface, no doubt)
• Parshall/Austin/Sanish: 5,300 net acres in the Bakken; 2,700 net acres in TF (same surface, no doubt)
• Mercer (North Dakota): 30,000 net acres Bakken; 30,000 net acres TF (same surface, no doubt)
• Other extensional areas: 24,700 net acres

Burlington Resources (see COP below)

Chesapeake Energy Corporation

• 320,000 net acres; targeting 400,000 net acres (Investopedia)
• BEXP presentation says CHK has 190,000 net acres
• >150,000 net acres (April, 2011, corporate presentation)

Clear Creek Resources, LLC, is a subsidiary of Chesapeake.

Continental Resources (CLR)

• November 7, 2012, on the day CLR reported 3Q12 earnings -- announced it entered into agreement to buy 120,000 net acres (some in production) for $650 million, from Samson Resources --> 1.1 million net acres in the Bakken; will sell some assets "in the eastern US"; 103,000 bopd production; 1,104,040
• 2Q12: average production of 94,852 boepd
• 1Q12: production expected to hit 85,000 boepd
• 1Q12: announces 37,900 more acres (ND & MT) 915,863 + 37,900 --> 953,763 net acres; 2Q12, investors' day presentation:  972,056 net acres. 
• 4Q11: per Harold Hamm -- 915,863 net acres; does not include the 35,178 net acres acquired in February, 2012;
• 4Q11: 901,098 net acres
• Press release, Oct, 2011: acquired 22,600 net acres --> 923,270; from NFX for $275 million (small production; 8 drilled/unfracked wells)
• 2Q11 CEO comments: 901,370 net acres
• Previously:  Total Bakken acreage: 855,936 net acres 
• Previously:  BEXP presentation says CLR has 868,900 net acres
• 4Q11 production: 75,219 boepd
• 3Q11 production: 66,289 boepd 
• 1Q11 production: 51,663 boepd
• 2009 production: 14,000 boepd
• Additional BLM acreage (8,266 acres) as of early December, 2010,  not included in that 864,559 net acres
• 24 rigs in the Bakken (21 ND; 3 MT); 5 fracking crews
• Will increase # of operated rigs in early 2012
• Normandy prospect: southwest North Dakota, Three Forks (103,334 net acres)
• Divides the Three Forks into four separate zones; has completed a well into the second of these zones
• 2011 wrap-up
• EUR: 603K boe per well 

 COP (in the Bakken: wholly-owned subsidiary, Burlington Resources)

• 3Q12 earnings call: 620,000 net acres; 26,000 boepd; ramped up from five to eight rigs; 
• 626,000 net acres, COP/CEO at Houston conference, May 16, 2012
• 460,000 net acres (Investopedia, March 29, 2011; Annual Report, 2010)
• Looking to acquire more, Annual Report, 2010
• 8 rigs (May, 2012); looking to ramp up to 9 - 10 rigs (same link)

CREDO

• 6,000 net acres (7,000 according to Filloon, June, 2011)
• Core Bakken, inside the reservation
• Filloon: some of the best acreage in the Bakken: 6,000 net acres in the reservation 

Cress Oil, Inc

• Subsidiary of X-Change (Houston)
• Press release, April 9, 2012 -- enters the Bakken; acquires 44,000 net acres @$700/acre
• 2 - 4 wells/year for the first three years 
• According to its website, Cress Oil was formed on March 14, 2012, as a wholly-owned subsidiary of X-Change Corporation; 

Denbury = EOR

• September 20, 2012: XOM to buy all DNR acreage in the Williston Basin Bakken (North Dakota and Montana); $1.6 billion deal; 196,000 Bakken acres; but DNR gets XOM acreage in Wyoming and Texas; see XOM below;
• August, 2012, corporate presentation (dynamic link)
• ~ 200,000 acres (August, 2012, corporate presentation); according to "anonymous," DNR has 66,000 acres in Ward County, too far east for the Bakken; whether they still have the acres or not is unknown; but off the books, and the rig there will not be kept (will let contract expire)
• Back to 266,000 net acres (Enercom Conference, August 16, 2011); note -- previously planned to add 7th rig by January, 2012; now by end of 2011 (not much difference, but moved up) -- nope, now down to 4 rigs  (1Q12 conference call); back to six (6) rigs through 2012; see below, 4Q11 -- 4 rigs ("wrote off" 66,000 acres in the Almond prospect)
• 266,000 net acres (April, 2011; IPAA conference presentation)
• 275,000 net acres in the Bakken (January, 2011; agrees with corporate presentation)
• Cherry Prospect: Siverston field, 
• Fields, SW of the river: Camp, Cherry, Lone Butte, Bear Creek, Charlson, and Murphy Creek
• Field: NE Foothills in Burke (+/- value)
• Field: Almond in Ward County (76,000 acres; almost no proven value yet) Update: 4Q11 -- removed from inventory; no value; removed the one rig that was there
• Analyst's number: 300,000 net acres (December 31, 2010)
• 4 rigs (1Q12 conference call); 5 rigs (1H11); increase to 7 by January, 2012; 4Q11 -- Filloon says they will let contract on one expire; go to only 4 rigs
• Production (from the Bakken): 9,976 (3Q11); 11,892 (4Q11); target: 14,750  in 2012; actual: 15,114 boe/d (1Q12)
• Production (from the Bakken): 8,788 boed (2011); target: 8,400 
• Definition of IP: consecutive 24-hour test in boe/d

Devon

• Not in North Dakota yet (?), but Lynn Helms suggested Devon is coming

Earthstone

• Very, very small company; like NOG, a non-operating partner
• Tends to partner with BEXP
  

Emerald Oil (VOG acquires Emerald Oil, announced July 11, 2012)

• EOX: effective September 4, 2012; acquired 4,500 net acres; $3,200/acre; McKenzie County; ~ 48,000 net acres in the Bakken?
• VOG to acquire Emerald Oil; will operate as Emerald Oil. July 11, 2012.
• For date regarding VOG/Emerald as of this date (July 11, 2012), scroll down to VOG.  
• On date of announcement, July 11, 2012: Williston  Bakken - 43,500 net acres; Niobrara - 45,000 net acres; Central Montana Heath -- 33,500 net acres
• First operated well to be in Dunn County, North Dakota
• Single-rig drilling program
  

EOG

• 580,000 net acres; November, 2012, NOG says 600,000 acres
• BEXP presentation says EOG has 600,000 net acres(as does Filloon, June, 2011)
• Bakken Core: Parshall oil field, for the most part; 100,000 net acres; 640-acre spacing
• Bakken Lite: Bakken outside the Parshall oil field. e.g., northwest of Williston; 480,000 net acres; 320-acre spacing
• Three Forks: 
• February 1, 2011: company says they may be going down to 5 rigs; cut back to 2 frack crews; I don't think EOG fracks during the winter

ERF

• 215,000 + net acres in the Bakken (ND, Montana, and Saskatchewan)
• BEXP presentation says ERF has 230,000 net acres
• Saskatchewan: Daly, Taylorton, Oungre, Neptune, Freda Lake
• Montana: Sleeping Giant (mature asset; possibly EOR; west of Williston; small amount in ND)
• North Dakota: Fort Berthold

Eternal Energy (EERG.OB)

• Merging with American Eagle Energy (AMZG.OB) --> together, a $37 million company
• Focused on Divide County (north of Williston; borders Canada)
• Participates as working partner in 18 wells to date
• Spyglass Project: 14,700 acres
• First permits in North Dakota in October, 2011

G3 Operating

• Bought out by Halcon
• Wholly-owned subsidiary of GEOI 

GEOI

• Acquired by Halcon, 2Q12; 
  
• SeekingAlpha, January 27, 2012: 46,000 acres; takeover candidate?
• Possibly sold some Bakken acreage: in July 6, 2011, operations update, GEOI reports 25,000 net acres in Williams County, North Dakota; and, 10,000 net acres in Montana = 35,000 net acres; compare with numbers below
• Through its wholly-owned subsidiary, G3 Operating, LLC
• 45,000 net acres (2011, SeekingAlpha)(46,000 according to Filloon, June, 2011)
• 51,205 net acres (2009 data)
• 32,500 net operated acres; 12,500 net non-operated acres: total -- 45,000 acres (2011 corporate)
• Mostly Bakken; some Madison
• Analyst's number: 44,000 net acres (December 31, 2010)
• Three rigs by early 2012; in July 6, 2011 (link above) reported recently adding a second dedicated drilling team

GMX Resources

• 34,918 acres (June, 2012, corporate presentation)
• 35,524 (Enercom Conference, August 16, 2011) (new acreage at $2,500/acre)
• Previously: 26,087 net acres (North Dakota and Montana)
• New acreage a bit more southwest of original acreage, Billings County 
• Bakken avg: 1,390 boepd; McKenzie County avg: 1,660 boepd
• Planning to sell some Niobrara acreage; all CAPEX directed to Bakken;
• Spud-to-spud 35 days; spud-to-sales: 56 days
• Entered the Bakken in early 2011; first rig scheduled for Sept 2011; second rig, Mar 2012
• For investors, note: an $83 stock in 2008; now a $2 stock; a natural gas company trying to re-orient to liquid
• This may be a more interesting company than I first gave credit; it was mostly a natural gas company; then said it was coming into the Bakken; to me it looked like GMXR was using the "Bakken" to attract venture capital; in fact GMXR has been very, very aggressive new permits, activity; I am pleasantly surprised.

Halcon

• October 22, 2012: HK announces it will buy 81,000 net acres in North Dakota from Petro-Hunt, LLC; $1.45 billion cash-and-stock deal; $700 million cash; $750 million in stock; five operated rigs on acquired property
• Acquires GEOI, 2Q12; transcript;  recently discovered new NGL-rich field; earnings and operations update for 2Q12 here;

Helis, LLC

• See QEP, below, August 23, 2012 entry. 

Hess

• November, 2012, NOG says Hess has 800,000 acres
• September Power Conference presentation: 900,000 acres; 16 rigs
• Total ND Bakken acreage: > 750,000 net acres
• BEXP presentation says Hess has 900,000 net acres 
• 18 rigs (1Q11; after AEZ, TRZ acquisitions)
• American Oil and Gas deal adds 85,000 acres (closed Dec 20, 2010)
• TRZ acquisition: 167,000 acres
• Total acreage: 500+85+167 = 752,000 net acres (2010)
• East Nesson (EN)
• Impact (IM)
• Red Sky (RS)
• Passport
• Stampede
• Avalanche (AV)
• Goliath Prospect (GO) -- American Oil & Gas
• Stony Creek
• Buffalo Wallow (BW)
• Little Knife
• West Nesson
• Nesson Anticline (Tioga, Beaver Lodge, Capa, Hawkeye, Antelope, Blue Buttes)
• Newburg -- Bottineau County -- removed since last presentation
• Fryburg -- west of Dickinson -- removed since last presentation
• During 2011 Hess transitioned from 18-22 stage to 38 stage fracking. Results are incredible.

 Kodiak (KOG)

• Update: July, 2012, corporate presentation
• Production: 10,578 boepd (average -- 1Q12)
• 155,000 net acreage in the Bakken after January, 2012, closing on North Plains Energy, LLC, assets 
• 7 operated rigs 2Q12, 1-2 non-operated rigs; expect to hold all leases by production by mid-2013 
• Decline rates based on long lateral EURs of 650 - 850K bbls
• Exit 2011: 9,000 (est 3Q11) (was 11,000 boepd -- estimate as of October, 2011)
• Mid-2012: 24,000 (est Nov 11; after North Plains acquisition); exit 2012, 30,000 boepd
• will add 2nd dedicated frack crew in 2012; one dedicated HAL fracking crew as of 1Q12
• JV partner with 2 rigs; 50% WI
• Total Bakken net acres: 93,500 net acres (ND: 85,000 ; MT: 4,500 acres)
• November, 2011 announcement, acquisition: Divide County, McKenzie County, 50,000 acres
• Prior to the June 30, 2011, acquisition: Total Bakken net acres: 70,000 net acres (Dunn County: 35K; McKenzie County: 35K)

• Koala -- Mckenzie (Western Trend); 10,000 net acres; 7 wells/spacing unit
Koala Prospect: southeast of Williston, south of river, Williams Count (10,000 net acres); with current drilling program, all of Koala will BHP by 2012 end
• Polar - Williams Country (North Flank Trend); 16,000 net acres; 7 wells/spacing unit

Polar Prospect: northern and southern Divide; just north of BEXP's Rough Rider;with current drilling program, all of Polar will BHP by 2013 end

• Grizzly - McKenzie County (SW Bakken - TF Trend); 25,000 net acres; 7 wells/spacing unit

June 30, 2011 Acquisition -- East Grizzly Prospect: far southeast end of Elm Coulee on ND side (22,000 net acres); previously about 4,000 net acres in this area, the far southeast end of Elm Coulee on ND side

• Dunn County (Eastern Trend), FBIR; 34,000 net acres; 7 wells/spacing unit

Dunn County Core area: northeast Dunn County, south of river (west of river), FBIR (34,000 net acres); 800 - 900K EURs; $10.5 million;

• Smokey - McKenzie County, 16,000 net acres; 7 wells/spacing unit

• Smokey Prospect: McKenzie County, old -- 11,742 net acres; between their acreage on the reservation and the newer Koala Prospect area and just to the west of the southern tip of the Nesson Anticline (16,000 net acres); with current drilling program, all of Smokey will BHP by 2012 end

• Wildrose:  5 wells/spacing unit
• Sheridan County, Montana: 4 wells/spacing unit

• Jan 2012 Acq - Williams and McKenzie; 50,000 net acres

• (Other Williston Basin: Montana, northwest of Williston, Sheridan County, 4,500 net acres)

• Corporate presentation, December, 2011:  155,000 net acres
• Analyst's number, December 31, 2010: 72,000 net acres

Liberty Resources LLC

• Followed here
• New operator in North Dakota, August, 2011
• See Riverstone
• Formed in 2010
  

LINN Energy

• 4Q11: 17,000 acres
• Entered the Bakken in February, 2011, acquiring CXO (Concho) Assets
• 11,193 net acres, initially
• 4Q11: 3,500 boepd
  

Magnum Hunter Resources (MHR)

• November 25, 2012: to buy 20,000 net acres and production from Samson Resources for $30 million in cash; Divide County, along Canadian border
• 132,000 acres in the Bakken/Tableland; the Tableland is in Saskatchewan (Canada)
• Baytex sells 50,400 net acres of ND Bakken acreage to Magnum Hunter; 950 boepd; $311 million cash; -- 128,400 net acres? total?
• 78,000 net acres (Dunn, McKenzie, SE Saskatchewan); prior to the Baytex deal
• To acquire about 7,750 net acres; announced August, 2011
• 4Q12, estimate exit rate: >16,000 bopd
• 4Q11: 12,000 bopd exit rate
• 3Q11: 5,270 bopd 
• 2011 revenues: $50 million

MDU Resources (Fidelity)

• 124,000 net acres (MT and ND); acquired 27K acres in Richland County, MT; announced 1Q12; production record set: 3,500 bopd 
• 5 rigs operating in the Bakken (2Q12); MDU has a total of 9 rigs (down from 10 in previous conference call); 5 is significant increase from 2 rigs 1Q12
• 95,000 net acres -- CEO, 2011 earnings report
• BEXP presentation says MDU has 66,000 net acres; about a month later, up to 90,000 net acres
• June 25, 2011: MDU acquires 20,000 additional Bakken acres in Montana; MDU says they now have "90,000" net acres in the Williston Basin Bakken 
• MDU: WBI
• Of all the operators, the most disappointing; HQ in Bismarck, ND; seemed to have missed the Bakken right in their backyard; "discovered Cottonwood oil field; sold it to Oasis after some disappointing wells; Oasis became "overnight" success with this purchase; MDU re-entering the Bakken in 2011; doing better; MDU (utility) focused on natural gas; waited a bit too long to shift to oil

MRO (Marathon Oil)

• November, 2012: NOG says 410,000 acres
• Early 2012: 406,000 acres in the Bakken
• 2011: 391,000 acres in the Bakken
• 375,000 acres in the Bakken (SeekingAlpha, June 27, 2011) 
• Operating 8 rigs; original plan -- up to 7 rigs in 2Q12 
• 30-stage fractures
• Odysseus: north, Divide County (no longer shows up on presentation)
• Cassandra: east of Williston (no longer shows up on presentation)
• Cazador: just north of the reservation in the Nesson anticline
• Myrmidon: northwest corner of the reservation
• Marfa: MRO's largest area; southwest of the reservation; borders the reservation, Dunn County -- Marfa DOES NOT show up on most recent presentation
• Hector: eastern area of Marfa, just outside of the reservation, Dunn County
• Ajax: continuation of Marfa, southwest of Marfa, Dunn County
• Blacktail: very, very small area west of Ajax (no longer shows up in presentation)
• Paris: west of Marfa, in Williams County, about same size as Ajax
• Diomedes: northwest Williams and eastern Montana (Sheridan County) (new)
• Menelaus: very small prospect in west central McKenzie (new)
• Aeneas: northwest corner of McLean, east of river (new)
• Helen: very small, scattered acres north of Hector (Helen)
• Elk Creek: very small, scattered acres west of Helen (new)
• Analyst's number: 365,000 net acres (December 31, 2010) 
• 2016 average boepd, est: 38,000 (15% increase from previous 33,000 est)
• 2012 average boepd, est: 27,500
• 2011 average boepd: 24,000
• 2010 average boepd: 10,000

Mountainview Energy

• Corporate presentation;
• May, 2012: acquires ~ 13,000 acres in Divide County; total ~ 36,000 net acres
• 11,000 net acres in Williston Basin; strategic goal -- to acquire 30,000 net acres in the Williston Basin
• Divide, Williams Counties (ND) and Sheridan (MT) -- far north
  

Newfield (NFX)

• July presentation: yes, NFX is down to 100K net acres in the Bakken; 2 - 4 rig program; 
• 4Q11: CEO mentions only 60,000 net acres in core Bakken (Nesson anticline) and 40,000 acres in Elm Coulee -- so is NFX down to about 100,000 acres in the Bakken?
• 4Q11: sold 23K acres to CLR; Filloon says this was their Catwalk Prospect they sold
• October, 2011 presentation: ~ 140,000 net acres -- did NFX sell some Bakken acreage?
• Older presentations: 271,000 net acres in Williston Basin (ND and MT) 
• BEXP presentation says NFX has 174,000 net acres (significant decrease from earlier number) 
• Filloon: 174,000 net acres, July, 2011
• According to SeekingAlpha, May 3, 2011: 174,000 net acres (significant decrease)
• (Elm Coulee: Montana, southwest of Williston), 55k net acres
• Big Valley: north of Williston; Divide/Williams County border, 48k net acres
• Catwalk: east of Williston; middle of Williams County, 29k net acres; sold to CLR in 2011?
• Westberg Prospect Area: Nesson Anticline, McKenzie Cty on Mountrail border, 10k net acres
• Lost Bear: Northwest Dunn County. 7k net acres
• Aquarium/Watford: McKenzie County, near Watford City, 22k net acres
• July, 2012: 8,500 boepd; 2012 production expected to increase by 35%;
• Filloon: Newfield has some of the best IPs in the Bakken

North Plains Energy, LLC

• KOG to buyout North Plains Energy, LLC; 50,000 net acres; 30,000 of those acres contiguous with KOG's core Bakken; 20,000 net acres in the exciting Divide County area at the border with Williams County
• Denver-based
• 40,000 net acres (2010; corporate webpage)
• 2 rigs

NOG

• November, 2012, corporate presentation: 184,000 net acres;
• 2Q12: 180,000 net acres; average cost: $2,184/acre for most recent 7,060 net acres in key prospect area; 16 net wells in 2Q12;
• June corporate presentation: 177K acres; average cost: $1,832; $15 - $20 million/quarter in 2012 for acreage acquisition
• 1Q12 results: 173,000 net acres; average cost: $1,672/acre; acquired 10,278 net acres in 1Q12;
• Dec 15, 2011, corp update -- 4Q11: acquired 7,600 acres; $19 million ($2,500/acre); exit 2011 w/ 160,000 net WB acres
• Exit 2011 with 37 net wells; spud 40 wells in 2011; avg 7,000 boepd
• Exit 2011: 10,000 boepd (compare with OAS and KOG)
• CAPEX for 2012: $325 million; spud 44 wells; avg cost of Bakken well -- $7.4 million
• BEXP presentation (link now broken) says NOG has 148,904 net acres; early 2011
• 147,407 net acres in North Dakota Bakken and Three Forks (according to 2010 annual, released Mar 2, 2011)
• Analyst's figure: 130,000 net acres (December 31, 2010)
• Avg daily production (bbls): 140 (2008); 800 (2009); 2,500 (2010); 5,000 (2011);
• NOG CONFERENCE NOTES, 2012:

As a non-operator NOG takes advantage of the discount in prices for small parcels of non-op acreage compared to operated acreage.  Moreover, without the drilling infrastructure NOG maintains more flexibility should oil prices fall out of bed.

Acreage is acquired in the path of development, giving great time value metrics.

NOG will issue an updated reserve report with Q2 results.  With 40% of net wells having come online in 2012, expect NPV-10 to balloon.

NOG participates in ~25% of North Dakota Bakken wells, with average interests of almost 10%.

Hedged:  75% for balance of 2012 with a floors near $91;  hedged 50% for 2013 with floors near $90.

Drilled more net wells in Q1 2012 than OAS or KOG.

When the oil price is down, acreage acquisition dynamics moves into their favor.

Oasis

• November, 2012: NOG says 333,000
• 320,000 September corporate presentation
• 320,000 (2Q12 earnings call)
• 307,430 (June 2012 presentation)
• 303,231 (3Q11) (ND and Montana Bakken acreage)
• (10,000 acres acquired in late 2010, Elm Coulee, Richland County, Montana)
• Analyst's figure: 292,000 net acres (December 31, 2010)
• 10 rigs [prev 9 rigs];  prev plan 12 in 2012 (3 contracted); 3 frack crews; 11 yrs of drilling if 120 wells/yr; now plan to exit 2012 with 10 rigs
• Oasis Well Services, fracking company, 1H12; save $1 million on 20 net wells;
• Drilling days: 29 days, avg, 2010; 26 days, avg 2011; Feb, 2012: 23 days; fastest: 18 days
• West Williston: 208,000 net acres [previously - 201,265] [prev191,716 net acres (up slightly from 191,552, last report)]
• East Nesson: 108,000 net acres [previously 97,956 net acres] [prev 102,786] net acres
• Sanish: 8,000 [ previously 8,409] [prev 8,729] net acres
• Prospects: Red Bank (north of Williston), Indian Hills (south of Williston, other side of river, deepest of the formation, Heart of the Bakken), Mondak (southwest of Williston, mostly McKenzie County; Hebron (Montana, directly west of Williston, Richland County, Montana); Target (Montana, northwest of Williston, west of the Red Bank prospect); St Croix (north of Cottonwood); North Cottonwood; South Cottonwood (north of Parshall); Missouri (Montana, west of Hebron);
• Three Forks:  South Cottonwood, Indian Hills, Sanish
• Has its own fracking company 
• 36 stage frack: $10 million for sand/ceramic mix; $9.2 million for allsand
• 4Q12 (est): 22,000 boepd (Feb 3, 2012 presentation)
• 4Q11: 15,182 boepd (December: 16,200 boepd)
• 3Q11: 14,300 boepd 
• 4Q10: 5,206 boepd
• Proved reserves increase 98%, 4Q11 vs 4Q10
• See MDU above

Open Range Energy, Inc

• 7,700 acres, June 27, 2011
• 70% operated interest in 11,000 acre; Burke County; Bakken and Three Forks
• First two permits issue June 27, 2011

OXY

• 2Q12 conference call: CEO did not know for sure, but thought it was 300,000+ net acres in the Bakken
• 277,000 net acres at end of 2011; 200,000 net acres earlier in 2011;
  
• Occidental bought Anschutz Bakken acreage in late 2010 (180,000)
• Prior to the acquisition, held 20,000 acres (by my reckoning -- I could be wrong) 
• Anonymous says OXY has two dedicated frack spreads
• 15 rigs, January, 2012; 13 rigs, February, 2012, but company says it expects to have 6 rigs by end of 2012; so this must be company-owned rigs vs contracted rigs?

Oxy Little Knife LLC

• first seen/blogged about January 6, 2012
• entered the Bakken by acquiring five very old Madison wells in the Little Knife oil field from Citation
• as of January 6, 2012, these were the only Oxy Little Knife wells
• my hunch: a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oxy USA
• January 5, 2012: a reader sent in a comment that said Oxy USA owns (not rents) facilities in only three cities: Houston, Los Angeles, and Dickinson
  

Petro Harvester

• An oil-focused E&P company formed by TPG Capital to acquire mature producing assets in North America
  

Petro-Hunt

• private, so details not easily found
• very, very active in permitting in last half of 2012
• sold 81,000 acres to HK in 2012
• rumored to have 600,000 acres in the Bakken prior to the Halcon deal; see comment at the link
  

QEP

• August 23, 2012: acquires 27,600 net acres from Helis, LLC, and Black Hills Corporation in deal worth $1.3 billion;  if accurate, then about 117,600 net acres in the Bakken;
• 4Q11 (Filloon): 90,000 net acres: most of it inside the reservation
• Three rigs; will add a fourth in 2012 (1Q12 report)
• 4Q11: 5,019 boepd 
• 4Q11 (Filloon): Most interesting: it's proposed 10-well pad; first test of 5 MB and 5 TF from one pad
• Still natural gas heavy

Renegade Petroleum Limited

• 23,673 net acres, Renville County, September, 2011, presentation
  

Resolute Energy

• BEXP presentation says Resolute has 33,415 net acres
• New Home: 23,528
• Paris:  8,425
• Shep: 1,423

Samson Resources

• sells 20,000 acres for $30 million to Magnum Hunter; Divide County, along Canadian border
• sells 120,000 acres in Divide County and northern Williams County to CLR
  
• previously private, bought by a consortium led by KKR in 2011 (?) for $7.2 billion

Sequel Energy, LLC

• Privately-held company out of Denver, Colorado
• 65,000 net acres in the Bakken, according to its website, November 21, 2011
• Addition acreage in conventional Williston Basin oil (south McKenzie; northeast Williams and Divide)
• Operates wells for General Electric which bought interest in St Mary Land and Exploration, Feb 2010

Serka Services, a subsidiary of Adali

• < 400 acres, mostly in McKenzie County, small holding in Billings County
• entered the Bakken in July, 2012
• based out of Istanbul, Turkey; a construction company

Slawson

• November, 2012, NOG says Slawson: >100,000 acres 

SM (previously St Mary Land and Exploration)

• Filloon says SM has 202,000 net acres (4Q11)
• 2 rigs; a third sometime late 2011 
• 4Q11: 8,200 boepd
• 3Q11: 5,300 boepd
• Was a natural gas company; moving to oil; still (4Q11) 56% natural gas

SSN (Samson, out of Australia; not Samson Resources)

• 3,033 acres in Stockyard Creek, North Dakota Bakken (website, not updated)
• Up to 90,000 more acres in Williston Basin Bakken, Roosevelt County, Montana

Statoil

• For now, see BEXP above.
  

Surge Energy (SGY)

• 6,000 net acres, Bottineau County, Spearfish formation; May 16, 2011
  

TAQA North

• first posted on the blog on February 15, 2012
• Calgary-based
• Williston Basin, but mostly conventional acreage (not a Bakken play from what I can tell)
• with MRO and DNR, will research CO2 injection
  

TPLM (Triangle Petroleum)

• 85,600 net acres, 2Q12 -- announced Sept 6, 2012 -- in that announcement, TPLM said they acquired or "converted" approximately 3,500 net acres (I do not know what they mean by "converted")
• 83,500 concentrated net acres, January, 2012, corporate presentation; 54,500 in MT; 29K in ND
• ND prospect: north and south of Williston in Williams County and McKenzie County
• Doubles net acreage: 72,000 net acres
• Original post: 13,000 net acres
• One frack spread: RockPile, LLC, majority-owned (83%) subsidiary; January, 2012, corporate presentation
• Forms venture pipeline company with First Reserve, announced October 1, 2012; 
• 8 wells/spacing unit; multi-well pads; zipper fracs
• Goal: exit 2012 at 3,200 boepd
• As of 1/23/12: 42 applications for permit to drill

Unit Corporation (UNT)

•  13,400 net acres (Feb 2012)
• 12,750 net acres(2011)
• Exits 2011 at 831 bbls/day; participated in 17 wells, avg wi of 11%; total net cost $18 million

URSA

• 110,000  net acres

USEG

• 25,200 net acres in the Bakken (ND, MT)
• 5500 net acres with BEXP (Filloon, July 3, 2011)
• 6,200 net acres with Zavanna (Filloon: July 3, 2011)
• Filloon: difficult to evaluate because it is in several businesses, including real estate and geothermal
  

VAALCO

• 4Q12: Montana: 14,300 net acres in Roosevelt County (East Poplar Dome); 3,650 net acres in Sheridan County (Salt Lake Prospect)
• targets: middle Bakken, Three Forks, Nisku, Duperow, Red River (Poplar Dome)
• 5 wells in 2012; 10 wells/year in 2013 and onwards
• EUR: 300 to 400K; cost: $7.5 million gross ($5 million net)/well

VOG -- > Emerald Oil

• VOG to acquire Emerald Oil; will operate as Emerald Oil. July 11, 2012.
• 1Q12: acquired 899 net acres; avg price $2,048/acre; 32,823 net acres; 600 boepd; 
• About 32,000 net acres (Bakken: ND and MT with new acquisition of  4,000 net acres)  
• BEXP presentation says VOG has 27,000 net acres
• 27,000 net acres (Bakken: ND and MT)

Whiting (WLL) -- last updated with July, 2012, corporate presentation

• November, 2012: NOG says 714,567 acres
• 701,751 net acres (Bakken: ND and MT) 1Q12; based on additional 13,300 net acres acquired in March, 2012 (Missouri Breaks); additional 20,000 since end of 2011; average cost of all Bakken acres: $503/acre. 
• 681,504 net acres, source, CEO, February, 2012, presentation
• 680,137 net acres, source: CEO, October, 2011, presentation
• 678,248 Bakken acreage (SeekingAlpha, June 27, 2011) 
• 2Q12: goal - 160 net wells in core areas; added 4,000 net acres to Missouri Breaks;  each WLL rig now drills 12 wells/year (vs 10); pad vs stand-alone cost savings, $500K; ratio of 1.5 workover rigs to drilling rigs, looking to acquire 6 more workover rigs;
• Previous update: Net Bakken acreage (Montana + North Dakota): 580,000 net acres
• According to SeekingAlpha, May 3, 2011: 603,702 net acres
• Total acquisition cost: $141 million or $243/acre
• Net Bakken acreage, North Dakota only: 450,000 net acres
• Sanish / Parshall Prospect: 83,011 net acres; 99 wells in 2010; 106 in 2011; EURs 450 - 950 (middle Bakken) and 400 mboe for upper Three Forks in the Sanish; 2Q12, only 22 stages for best well to date, the Smith 41-12H; initiated pad drilling in the Sanish; costs down $2 million/well --> $7 million/well in Williston Basin; 2Q12 -- maybe 50 more wells yet to drill in the Sanish;
• Lewis and Clark: 128,370 net acres; Lewis & Clark NW of Belfield; 1 rig;
• Pronghorn: 121,403 net acres; Belfield area; TFS Exploration Drilling; Pronghorn is between Belfield and Dickinson;  5 rigs in the Pronghorn. 2Q12: ~ $6.5 million/well;
• Hidden Bench: 30,036 net acres; middle Bakken, TFS. 2Q12 -- "one of the very best projects in the company.
• Tarpon: 6,359 net acres; Watford City area; middle Bakken, TFS; Tarpon Federal 21-4H -- record IP in the Bakken
• Starbuck: 91,497 net acres; Montana, west of Williston; Middle Bakken; [prev 88K net acres];
• Missouri Breaks: 62,000 net acres; Montana, west of McKenzie County; EURs - 350,000K
• Cassandra: 13,794 net acres; Ray area, east of Williston; Middle Bakken;
• Big Island: 121,673 net acres; Golden Valley County, southwest corner of ND; multiple objectives; earlier presentation 120K; 50 vertical well prospects (2Q12); all successful Madison wells; EURs of 250,000K; completion costs: $3.5 million; now drilling the Red River;
• 15 rigs in North Dakota; 1 rig only in Big Island; will increase to 24 rigs in the Bakken (ND/MT) -- 1Q12 earnings press release;
• $3 million-Red River non-fracked wells
• 716 de-risked locations; 10-year inventory; 
• Well cost: $7 million in the Pronghorn; $6 million in the Sanish; costs increasing;
• Will join CLR and BR in testing the 2nd bench of the lower Three Forks; Missouri Breaks was purchased based on potential of this 2nd bench;
• Production: 64K BOEPD 

WPX: Williams (WPX) (Dakota-3) --> WMB (January 3, 2012)

• WMB remains the pipeline company; WPX is the E&P company in the Bakken
• Eric Fox, Investopedia says WMB has 85800 net acres
• Same source says: 6,400 boepd from the Bakken, January, 2012 
• 5 rigs; plans to add a 6th in 2012;
• Bought 7 percent of Fort Berthold Indian Reservation; that's how it entered the Bakken, back in 2010 (if I recall correctly)
• Natural gas heavy; 4Q11 -- 83% gas; 17% oil

Williston Exploration, LLC

• November 25, 2012: 10,000 acres ("3,000 acres prior to our purchase of Upton Resources assets [7,000 acres ] for a total of 10,000 acres" -- company e-mail)
• Private; targeting the Tyler in Billings County
  

XOM (XTO)

• November, 2012: NOG says 600,000 acres
• September 20, 2012: XOM to buy all DNR acreage in the Williston Basin Bakken (North Dakota and Montana); $1.6 billion deal; 196,000 Bakken acres; but DNR gets XOM acreage in Wyoming and Texas; see XOM below; --> 606,000 net acres?
• Net Bakken acreage (Montana + North Dakota): 410,000 net acres
• Much of it inside the reservation; closely aligned geographically with KOG
  

USGA Assessment Units

USGS Assessment Units: The five assessment units (AU) of the Bakken as denoted by the USGS, amount of estimated recoverable oil, and percent (in terms of acreage) in Montana/North Dakota:

• Northwest Expulsion Threshold AU, 868 million barrels, 80/20 (MT/ND)
• Eastern Expulsion Threshold AU, 973 million barrels, 100 (ND)
• Nesson-Little Knife Structural AU, 909 million barrels, 100 (ND)
• Elm Coulee-Billings Nose AU, 410 million barrels, 55/45 (MT/ND)
• Central Basin-Poplar Dome AU, 485, 45/55 (MT/ND)

Note: most information, including net acreage, comes from corporate presentations. Occasionally I receive information from analysts who might have more up-to-date information than I  have; in those cases I note it with "Analyst's number" along with the corporate presentation information.