Oldest Permit in My Reporting: Federal 32-4HBKCE -- Bicentennial Field -- Golden Valley County, North Dakota, USA

Updates

June 22, 2011: In the original post below I said that there was only one permit in the Bicentennial field at that time and that I would watch for more permits. Here they are:

• 17461:75, CLR, Bicentennial Federal 10-34H
• 18806: LOC, WLL, Wolski 44-23H
• 18845: LOC, WLL, ONeil Creek State 11-16TFH
• 18972: 3, Nadel and Gussman, State 1-36H
• 19084: DRL, WLL, Mosser 11-27TFH
• 19211: 294, Wesco, Federal 12-20 (Red River)
• 19217: Conf, Wesco, Federal 42-1
• 19228: 211, Wesco, Federal 43-12 (Red River)
• 19268: 125, CLR, Bicentennial Federal 1-28H
• 19330: LOC, WLL, Gorrell 11-34TFH
• 19557: LOC, WLL, Tescher Ranch 11-9TFH
• 20344: LOC, WLL, Gorrell 11-20TFH
• 20379: LOC, WLL, Smith 44-30TFH
• 20418: LOC, WLL, ONeil Creek Federal 11-11TFH
• 20420: LOC, WLL, ONeil Creek Federal 44-28TFH
• 20426: LOC, WLL, ONeil Creek Federal 12-5TFH

April 26, 2011: Birdbear formation related to this well.

Original Post

A few days ago I asked whether the Bakken was over-hyped. In that post, I noted that there is a backlog of 1,100 wells yet to be drilled -- just on permits that have been granted, and not yet drilled. [Based on permits granted so far this year, there should be at least 1,200 new permits granted in 2010, adding to that backlog. In the past I have opined that operators should be able to drill about 1,000 wells this calendar year (100 rigs x 10 wells/rig/year = 1000 wells).]

I have been posting for only a few months. I was curious to find out how long ago the "oldest" permit was granted for the wells that I have reported out in the past few months.

If you go to my "new wells reporting" page, you will see that file #15412 is the oldest permit of those I have reported on. That permit was granted to Equity Oil on March 28, 2003. Whiting eventually drilled the well, the Federal 32-4HBKCE and reported the results of that well on December 7, 2009 through a press release. That well targeted the Three Forks Sanish in the Bicentennial oil field. It was a huge well with an IP of 1,970 bopd. But can you imagine that: the permit was granted in early 2003 and it was not until six and a half (6.5) years later that the well was finally completed. Six and a half years later. You can see the Whiting press release here, December 7, 2009. Anything special about this well? It was a re-entry well; its vertical depth was 10,530 feet; it was a long lateral; and, it was fracture stimulated in 15 stages. Someone noted that this well actually produced oil from the Birdbear formation earlier that year.(The GIS map server shows three laterals.)

Oh, as long as I'm rambling, what else did the WLL press release say? WLL said it anticipated drilling at least nine Three Forks wells in this area during 2010. This is in Golden Valley County; remember, the most active counties are Mountrail, McKenzie, Williams, and Dunn. I often forget that Golden Valley is active. Currently, there are NO Whiting permits in this oil field, the Bicentennial so I will keep an eye open for new permits in the Bicentennial oil field this year.

WLL also said that its gross operated oil production in the Sanish and Parshall fields is 20,014 bopd (December 7, 2009), and by the end of March 2010, it expects all of its operated production to be transported by pipeline. WLL says it has a pipeline capacity of 65,000 bopd; its central gathering poing is north of Stanley, ND, where it connects to the Enbridge pipeline. Enbridge says it will complete its current expansion project by mid-2010, expanding its current capacity of 110,000 bopd to 161,000 bopd.

By the way, the nomenclature for this well, "HBKCE": H is for horizontal; BK is for the Bakken; and CE? I think I read somewhere that someone opined that CE stood for "casing extension" -- an addition horizontal from an existing well. I don't know.  Makes sense, except that this well targeted the TFS and not the Bakken. Whatever.

That's enough for this well. But again: the permit granted March 28, 2003, and not drilled until the  middle of 2009, and reported at the end of that calendar year. Yeah, I would say there's quite a backlog of wells to be drilled.


Stayin' Alive, Bee Gees

Cost of Air Transportation into the Bakken

Current flight (best price, Travelocity), round trip, Denver - Minot, $300.

Current flight price (best price, Travelocity), round trip, San Antonio - Minot, $400.

Current flight price (best price, Travelocity), round trip, Los Angeles - Minot, $400.

Current flight price (best price, Travelocity), round trip, New York City (JFK) - Minot, $460.

All prices within $10 of price noted. I rounded off to keep it simple. I assume taxes, fees, baggage, meals, blankets, pillows, parkas, mukluks, and other amenities, will be extra. (For summer travel, mosquito spray will probably be available for a nominal price. TSA only allows three ounces of any liquid in a single containter, and all liquid containers must fit in a one quart zip-lock bag.)

Price Paid for North Dakota Oil: Good News

Are you curious about the price paid for North Dakota oil compared to that paid for the "gold standard," west Texas crude? If you are curious, click here. It sounds like North Dakota oil is priced about the same as west Texas crude (see "spot price of oil" in the sidebar to the right); the only difference appears to be the cost to ship the oil to Cushing, Oklahoma.

The shipping cost for North Dakota oil should go down this year based on improved capacity, but I doubt this will last long if more pipelines are not put in. Production and transport capacity should balance out this year at about 400,000 barrels/day.

The New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) contract for oil is based on the price of west Texas crude.

Continued Confusion: Bakken and Three Forks Sanish -- the Definitive Answer -- February 17, 2010

Summary

The "Bakken Pool" is an administrative term that includes the Bakken formation and the Three Forks Sanish formation.

The NDIC website shows the accumulated totals of oil production from the "Bakken" and the "Bakken/TFS."  I assume the Bakken is limited to the Bakken formation in the "Bakken Pool"; and, the "Bakken/TFS" is limited to the TFS formation in the "Bakken Pool."

Geo News, July, 2010: the Bakken potential.

The Original Post

I have posted this several times: there is confusion over "Bakken" vs "Three Forks Sanish." This is the best answer I have seen: the NDIC and the USGS consider the oil coming from the "Bakken" and the "Three Forks Sanish" to be coming from the "Bakken Pool." That's why on the daily activity report, the pool is always listed as "Bakken" when the well targets the Bakken formation or the TFS formation. [Update, October 14, 2010: click here to see an exception. Is this new, evolving, or did I miss similar wells earlier?]

And that's the key: "formation." The Bakken formation is composed of the Upper, Middle, and Lower Bakken members/units, all separate strata. Likewise, the Upper TFS and the Lower TFS are separate strata.

Formations, members/units, and strata are all geologic terms.

On the other hand, "Bakken Pool" is an administrative term. The USGS and the NDIC prefer to lump these five (5) formations together as one pool (see below -- it makes sense).

The five formations can be very, very thin in some areas, and it is very possible a) the geologist is not 100% sure which formation the tip of the drill is in; b) a long lateral may pierce more than one formation; and/or, c) the administrative paperwork to date may not always be "perfect," and it might be difficult, expensive, and even unnecessary to sort out exactly what formation the lateral is in, especially when the formations may communicate in some localities.

The NDIC defines the Bakken Pool as 50 feet above the upper Bakken limit and 50 feet below the lower Bakken formation line. One needs to see the "completion report" to see which formation(s) was (were) targeted. Most of the reports linked at my site do not include the completion report, but the report that is provided after the well comes off the confidential list. [Update, July 6, 2013: for the past year, operators have been requesting, and NDIC has been granting alterations to the definition of the stratigraphic limits of the Bakken/Three Forks.]

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The Geology

The stratigraphic nomenclature varies, for example:

Southeastern Saskatchewan

Periods: Mississippian and Devonian

Groups: Three Forks and Saskatchewan

Formations: Bakken, Big Valley, Torquay (the Three Forks group)

Formation: Birdbear (the Saskatchewan group)

North Dakota

Periods: Mississippian and Devonian

Groups: "Bakken Pool" and Jefferson

Formations: Bakken and Three Forks (the "Bakken Pool" group)

Formation: Birdbear (the only formation in the Jefferson group)

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Of course, the next question that arises is this: at the NDIC website, cumulative oil production is broken down by "formation" on one of the pages. The NDIC has broken out two "formations" as 1) the Bakken; and 2) the Bakken/TFS.  It appears for North Dakota this is logical: as noted above, the "Bakken Pool" group is composed of the Bakken formation and the Three Forks Formation. But it is confusing that they label it as the "Bakken/TFS." They don't do that with other formations, such as the Red River which is part of the Madison Group. 

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Here's another recent discussion regarding this issue; the discussion begins well down into the thread once you get there. 

I have recently posted that EOG may be planning to drill three wells from one pad (in the Parshall), the wells targeting, respectively, the Middle Bakken, the Upper Three Forks Sanish, and the Lower Three Forks Sanish.

Interestingly enough, the 1990 boom in North Dakota targeted the Upper Bakken.

So, there you have it. Within the "Bakken," it sounds like there could be five formations: Upper, Middle, and Lower Bakken; and, the Upper and Lower Three Forks Sanish (more correctly referred to as unit 1- 6).

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Note: one of the pioneers in the Bakken, Marathon Oil (MRO), considers the "Bakken" to be composed of five distinct units: the Lodgepole; the upper, middle and lower Bakken; and, the Three Forks (Sanish).

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On another note, the Spearfish/Madison Pool lies directly above the Bakken Pool. The Spearfish/Madison Pool is much thicker, extending from the shallower Spearfish, all the way down to the Madison, which lies directly above the Bakken formations. Back in 2006, Julie LeFever published an article which included data to suggest that the Madison Pool does not "leak" oil into the underlying Bakken. [October 31, 2017: that link is now broken. This PDF discusses the Bakken as "we" knew it back in 2005. The html is at this link.]

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According to a research paper by Roy Neset, Jr., Department of Geosciences, Fall, 2009, the source rocks for the middle Bakken member are the upper Bakken shale and the lower Bakken Shale; the source rock for the Three Forks Sanish member is the lower Bakken shale. Neset provides data to suggest that the lower Lodgepole Formation, which overlies the upper Bakken shale source rock, could be an economically viable oil-producing zone. An abbreviated synopsis of that research can be found here.

Too Many To Keep Track Of: This One -- Shell 3-05H

This is just one of many wells that keep getting reported. Too many great wells to keep track of. But I link what I can on my "new wells reporting" and "wells to watch" page.

This one:  Shell 3-05H (51-153-89) -- $5 million at the wellhead in five months. And this is just one well among hundreds.