This is an update on activity in the Lodgepole.
To re-acquaint yourself with the Lodgepole, you may want to re-look at this posting first.
I am now being told that Armstrong has spudded the Zastoupil well that is located on/near the Dickinson golf course. According to the GIS map, it is just outside Dickinson's corporate boundary on the southwest side of town.
Drilling permit 19975 in Stark County. This is a Lodgepole formation well, located in section 17-T139N-R96.
PATTERSON 183 ARMSTRONG OP INC ZASTOUPIL 1-17 SESW 17-139N-96W STK 19975 12/26/2010
(Note: the GIS map shows permit 13817 just 1500 feet to the northwest of permit 19975. Permit 13817 was cancelled. That, in and of itself, is very interesting. Remember, these are vertical wells, and the Lodgepole has been very difficult to hit. Perhaps with new technology, or with new understanding of the Lodgepole the driller had a reason to move the well 1500 feet to the southeast.)
For me, the results of this well will be huge. Everyone knows the Lodgepole can be an exciting formation; the problem has been "hitting" it. If the code is cracked and the Lodgepole can be hit consistently, it will be a game changer. Lodgepole wells are conventional wells; they don't required fracking. Lodgepole reefs may be found throughout the Williston Basin, not just in the Dickinson area (Stark County).
Don't hold your breath waiting for Lodgepole "reefs" to be found throughout the Williston Basin. They are readily identifiable on electric logs and thousands of wells have been drilled and logged in the 60 or so years of exploration in the basin. The MWD gamma ray logs that are typically run on all the Bakken & Three Forks wells would also clearly indicate the presence of a "reef" with an anomalous section of "clean" gamma in the lower Lodgepole (the cuttings are also different from your typical Lodgepole cuttings). With all the Bakken wells being drilled, if the Lodgepole "reefs" are there, they will be found. However, these structures are very elusive and exceedingly rare. If you ever want to take a good look at one of these Lodgepole structures, head over to Swimming Woman Canyon in the Big Snowy Mountains in central Montana. You'll find some spectacular Lodgepole "reef" outcrops at the mouth of the canyon.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this. I find it absolutely intriguing. A year ago I didn't even know what a "Lodgepole Reef" was.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct; they are very elusive. NDIC data suggests 48 Lodgepole wells have been productive accounting for 55 million barrels of oil (cumulative) which represents about 3 percent of all of the oil North Dakota has produced to date (since 1951).