Follow-Up of a Whiting Sanish Well

For newbies, here's why folks remain excited about the Bakken.

This is a follow-up on a Whiting well, #17134,  in the Sanish, the Smith 11-20H, which had an IP of 3,115, back in November, 2008.

• 17134, 3,115, Whiting, Smith 11-20H, Sanish, t11/08; cum 584K 1/20;

Update: cum 584K 1/20;

Its first production run was at the beginning of November, 2011. At the end of January, 2011, it had produced a total of 278,728 blbls of oil = $18 million at the wellhead (at $64/bbl).  This well is paid for (again, at the wellhead; I don't know all other costs incurred: royalties, taxes, shipping, water removal, etc.). And now it keeps producing.

Like all Bakken wells, its decline rate was horrendous. It produced about 28,000 barrels the first month but by the fifth month or so was down to half that amount, 14,000 barrels/month. Then, starting in July, 2009, it leveled out, producing anywhere from 6,000 to 10,000 barrels/month.

In the last five months the well produced 7,000 bbls; 5,000 bbls; 7,000 bbls; 6,000 bbls; and, 5,000 bbls (all figures rounded). No one knows how long it will produce.

Folks say these wells will produce for fifteen to twenty years, and it appears this one is holding steady with at least 6,500 barrels/month (again, at $65/barrel = $422,500/month. Costs of this well are now minimal. At $65/barrel, that's over $5 million/year, and all indications are that oil is trending upwards, and with increasing takeaway capacity, the discount for ND oil is decreasing. Bottom line: I think WLL is getting much more than $65/barrel for this oil.)

And that's why folks are still excited about the Bakken and willing to pay $8,600 per mineral acre in the Sanish.

Oh, by the way, at the same link, note that its sister well, the Hansen 12-20H, #18531, has sold a cumulative of almost 146,281 barrels in eight months. The first full month run was 23,000 bbls; it decreased to a low of 11,000 bbls in the fifth month, but is now back up to 15,000 bbls in its eighth month of production.

The first of these two wells, the Smith, declined by more than 50 percent in the first two months; its sister well has not declined quite as quickly. I have opined that the operators are working hard on solving the horrendous decline rate in the Bakken; is this an indication that they've made some headway?  I don't know. Time will tell.