Previously, the record for active drilling rigs in North Dakota was 148 in October 1981. State oil activity has spiked dramatically in the last year, with an increase of approximately 100 drilling rigs.I posted 148 yesterday and a viewer pointed out he/she had seen 149 for a short period before it dropped back to 149.
Because rigs come on and go off the list on a regular basis as they move from job to job, it is obvious that the active drilling rigs could increase. The "149" number is the low number of active drilling rigs at this moment. Most likely there is at least one other drilling rig that is being moved and ready to start drilling.
In addition, many rigs recently brought to North Dakota are being moved into Montana and so one can expect flux regarding this active drilling rig number. But this is clearly a most remarkable milestone.
According to the Herald, the number of active wells also hit a record: 5,005 (in July, 2010).
The Bismarck Tribune also reports on the story with additional statistics.
- North Dakota produced 9.9 million bbls of oil in July (a new record)
- Estimates are North Dakota will produce 10.5 million bbls in August with 5,200 active rigs
- Two years ago USGS estimated up to 4.3 billion barrels of oil could be recovered from the Bakken
- Since then, NDIC estimated another 1.9 billion barrels of could be recovered from the TFS
- Time to drill a well has decreased from about 45 days in the past couple of years to about 20 days
- Original estimates were that only 1 - 3 percent of oil in place could be recovered; in most recent presentations, some companies estimate they are already taking 8 percent from some of the core area wells
