Drilling Process in the Bakken -- for Newbies -- North Dakota, USA

Bakken wells are drilled with two rigs.

The first rig is a truck-mounted rig that drills down 2,000 feet, past the water table. This takes about three days.

Then, the "big rig" comes in generally one to three weeks later and drills to depth, about 9,000 feet down and 4,000 feet laterally for a short lateral and 9,000 feet for a long lateral. That takes about twenty-four days, +/- a half-dozen days or so, I believe.

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