Van Hook and Big Bend Fields: Exciting Announcements

Not too long ago, I opined there were five "hot" areas of drilling in North Dakota right now. One of those five areas was the Van Hook and Big Bend oil fields.

Taken from my "Things On My Mind": Slawson hit a great well in Van Hook: IP of 1,208 bopd and 42,000 bbls in first 59 days -- Fox 1-28H. Also, EOG announced a great Van Hook well, the Van Hook 100-15H, with a 1,390 bopd, and this targeted the Three Forks Sanish. February 9, 2010.

This might be one of Slawson's best wells (I'm quite impressed with what I'm reading about Slawson). EOG with good production from the Three Forks Sanish is quite exciting.

Zenergy Cancels 22 Permits

I do not have any idea what this is all about (yet), but when I do, I'll let you know: Zenergy has canceled 22 permits (February 9, 2010), all in McKenzie County, in the area of T151N-98W and T154N-104W.

Back on  January 27, 2010, Zenergy canceled five (5) wells, again, all in McKenzie County. In that discussion, it was stated that Zenergy canceled permits for 640-acre spacing and was looking to request 1280-acre spacing instead. Time will tell.

Zenergy was granted 19 permits in 2009; 8 permits in 2008. Zenergy has been granted three (3) permits so far in 2010. By the way, a lot of Zavanna permits have been taken over by Zenergy.

NDIC GIS Map Server: Hints and Tips

If while doing anything on the GIS map server and you make a mistake "zooming in" or "zooming out" and want to go back, stop everything, and click on "Previous View." "Previous View" is one of the best options on the site.

Basic: Getting Started

1. Go to the NDIC home page:

2. On the home page, there is a sidebar at the left. About halfway down is "GIS Map Server." Click on that.

3. A new window will open up with a map of North Dakota covered with green rigs.

4. At that site, there is a sidebar on the left. Click on "Find Field/Unit" near the bottom of that sidebar.

5. Then type in the name of the field you are looking for (just use one word like "Butte") and then click on the field when it shows up.

6. If you prefer to look up a specific well instead of the field, click on "Find Well." Type in just one word of the name; the more unique the name, the faster you will find your well. One can only search for wells by well names, and not by permit numbers, as far as I can tell.

7. You can zoom in, zoom out. It takes awhile to feel comfortable with the GIS map server, but is is quite remarkable. And it is a million times better than what the other states have.

Color-Coded View of Spacing in "the Bakken":

1. Go to NDIC website
2. Click on "GIS Map Server" on left sidebar, about 2/3rds of the way down
3. When the state map comes up, go to the left sidebar, all the way to the bottom, and click on "Find Section"
4. Use menu to find the township / section you are interested in (you have to type in the numbers and they have to be numbers available in the menu)
5. Then "zoom to section." (Click on small "zoom to section" button on the far right at bottom of state view.)
6. You will then get the section, probably in green, that you requested.
7. To see the spacing, go to the right sidebar. About halfway down, click on the "yellow folder" for "Drilling/Spacing." That will open up a "yellow folder" for the Bakken. Click on the yellow folder for the  Bakken, and you will be given choices for 160-acre to 3200-acre spacing.

Overview Map

1. Near the top of the sidebar on the left on the GIS map server, is an option "Overview Map."

2. Click on "Overview Map" to see where you are in the state of North Dakota as you look at your well or oil field.

3. The "Overview Map" is a little (about one-inch square) map of North Dakota with all the counties, so you can quickly figure out where in the county, or where in North Dakota, your larger map is situated.

Acreage in Spacing Unit for Wells

• Requires paid subscription for "Basic Services," $50/year; instructions here

Overlapping Spacing Units

• The GIS map server and overlapping units