About Those Old Madison Wells -- And Picking Potatoes -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

There's something to be said for keeping a well pumping even if it's down to a few barrels a day. It's called "holding the lease by production." As long as that well is producing something, the lease remains in effect. And if the lease doesn't specify specific formations (the usual case in North Dakota, although that may be changing), one can go back in and re-drill with minimum of paperwork. I assume.

So, file number 16949, released from the confidential list over the weekend, is an interesting story.

This is now an Oasis (OAS) well. Based on the profile, this appears to be an old Madison pool well that was drilled back in 2008 with an IP of 35. It appears that Oasis re-drilled at the same site (same well) into the Bakken, with an IP of 1,704 barrels.

This is file number 16949, Schmitz Federal 44-34H-2, in the Eightmile (yes, one word) oil field. It looks like the Madison was a short lateral; the Bakken well is a long lateral going under the river. It's located about 10 miles southwest of Williston, on the south side of the river, where Dad used to take us chokecherry and plum picking; this is also near the field where we used to pick potatoes to fill 10-pound bags. Great memories. Picking chokecherries and plums was for fun; picking potatoes was serious business. Although we kids did not know it at the time.

I assume the "-2" in "44-34H-2" refers to this being the second time they've drilled this hole.