Overview of the December NDIC Hearing Dockets, North Dakota, USA

Some comments on the December, 2010, NDIC hearing dockets.

A lot of cases for the December dockets, but many of them are simply pooling cases. One step closer to drilling, but boring to go through all of them.

The most notable observation: the number of infill wells and the number of wells they plan to put in each spacing unit. Most spacing units are now 1280-acre units, but there are still a lot of 640-acre units.

• 13803: North Plains, to establish 2 1280-acre units and up to 7 wells in each 1280-acre unit, Corinth-Bakken, Williams and Divide. 
• 13807: QEP, extend Heart Butte and/or Van Hook-Bakken to create 1 2560-acre unit and allow up to ten horizontal wells
• 13838: Newfield, create 1 1280-acre unit, 4 wells, Williams.
• 13839: Newfield, amend Fertile Valley-Bakken, create 1 1280-acre unit, 4 wells, Divide.
• 13840: Newfield, create a 1280-acre unit, five wells, Williams.
• 13729, cont'd: ERF, 4 wells on a 1280-acre unit, Eagle Nest-Bakken, Dunn.
• 13855 - 13861: seven cases in which BEXP will request to drill 4 wells on each 1280-acre unit. Mountrail.
• 13880: Newfield, complete 3 wells on a 640-acre unit, Sand Creek-Bakken, McKenzie.
• 13936 - 13940: five cases in which Hunt requests to drill 3 wells in each 640-acre unit, and/or each 1280-acre unit, in various fields, increase density (infill) wells.
• 13941: Fidelity, complete 3 wells on each 640-acre unit in Sanish-Bakken, Mountrail.
• 13792: Whiting, to establish 6 1280-acre units in the Sanish-Bakken to drill an infill well on each

The second observation: Whiting's emphasis on its Lewis and Clark Prospect:

• 13791: Whiting, to establish 8 1280-acre units in Golden Valley County; to target the Lodgepole formation (I could be wrong, but I believe the most productive well in the history of North Dakota oil industry is a Lodgepole well, and that well is still producing)

The third observation: increased activity by some smaller players:

• 13802: North Plains, to extend the Corinth-Bakken, to establish 9 1280-acre units, Williams
• 13837: GeoResources, extend Bull Butte-Bakken, 34 1280-acre units, 1 well each, Williams

Fourth observation: More and more requests to extend existing fields; eventually, because the Bakken is a continuous reservoir, I assume every last acre will be in a defined field

• 13812: EOG, extend Van Hook and/or Parshall-Bakken to create 10 1920-acre units
• 13851: Tracker,  expand existing Ellsworth Field to include 32 more sections
  

Things that need repeating:

• 13837: GeoResources, extend Bull Butte-Bakken, 34 1280-acre units, 1 well each, Williams.
• 13851: Tracker, expand existing Ellsworth Field to include 32 more sections, McKenzie
• 13812: EOG, extend Van Hook and/or Parshall-Bakken to create 10 1920-acre units
• 13802: North Plains, to extend the Corinth-Bakken, to establish 9 1280-acre units, Williams
• 13791: Whiting, establish 8 1280-acre units in Golden Valley County; target the Lodgepole formation.