X-Designated Wells (Whiting)

I will follow up on this at a later date, but if you look at T153N-91W, sections 7 and 18, in the Sanish oil field you will see six Whiting wells, all running parallel, all long laterals, and all very interesting.  Four of them are middle Bakken. One of them is a TFS well based on its designation (Marmon 12-18TFH, #18500) and one of them is an "X" well (Moore 14-7XH, #18853). X = TFS or middle Bakken? One would think TFS, but the X may signify another middle Bakken lateral lying between two other middle Bakken wells.  If so, this appears to be a test to compare a TFS lateral between two middle Bakken wells, and an "X" (middle Bakken lateral) between two existing Bakken laterals.

The middle Bakken laterals are separated by about 1740 feet; the TFS lateral sits dead center, but, of course, vertically separated by 50 to 200 feet, I suppose.

For those interested in a discussion on "X" wells, click here and scroll to the top.

These are not yet on my "watch list," but maybe they should be.

Wow! 12 Rigs On Site Just West of Williston

This is probably an all-time high for the number of rigs drilling west of Williston: 12.

This includes two CLR wells just 600 feet away from each other in T155N-103W, sections 18 and 19. Most of them are in Squires oil field, but three of them are located just on the south edge of Painted Woods and if productive, will extend the Painted Wood field south. Right now they are considered wildcats (#18906, #18443, and #18791).

I assume Williston is a lively town these weekends.

US Predicts Further Growth in Oil Demand

Latest US prediction says oil-consumption-weighted GDP will increase by 3.6% this year.

" In its latest short-term energy outlook (STEO), the US Energy Information Administration projects that US real gross domestic product will grow by 3% this year, while worldwide real oil-consumption-weighted GDP will increase by 3.6%. Both of these projections are 0.2% higher than in EIA’s previous outlook."

Kjorstad 5300 24-22H

The Kjorstad 5300 24-22H, #19030, SENW 22-153N-100W is a real wildcat. It is located a few miles southeast of Williston, on the north side and just east of the Missouri River. There is no other activity in this area. There was a dry hole (#11449 -- many years ago) in the same section but otherwise very little evidence of any activity. The only real activity is a few miles northeast in Stockyard Creek, due east of Williston.

If the Kjorstad is a good well, it will open up a whole new area around Williston. If one wants to watch the activity at this well, go east out of Williston on "1804" about 2.5 miles; then turn south, heading southeast for another 2.5 miles on a county road, and then take an abrupt right turn and follow that country road in a southerly direction about 6 miles, twists and turns; the river will be on your right as you head south. On a beautiful summer evening in North Dakota, it might be a very nice drive.

CLR: Jim Creek Eco-Pad

From Daily Activity Reports dated May 12, 2010:

CLR permits for an Eco-Pad in the Jim Creek oil field:

• 19020, Meadowlark 3-6H, SWSE 31-146N-95W
• 19021, Skachenko 3-31H, SWSE 31-146N-95W
• 19022, Meadowlark 2-6H, SWSE 31-146N-95W
• 19023, Skachenko 2-31H, SWSE 31-146N-95W

For more discussion of CLR Eco-Pads, go to sidebar on the right, or click here.

We're starting to see the Eco-Pad activity that Harold Hamm predicted about a year ago. Yesterday, CLR was granted four permits for another Eco-Pad in this immediate area, Rattlesnake Point oil field.

CLR already has an actively producing well in this section: #17153, Skachenko 1-3H.

Obviously CLR didn't have to put this Eco-Pad in to save the leases in this section; there must be something of interest here for CLR to put in four wells where there are already two actively producing wells. My hunch, in addition to targeting a second formation, is that CLR will be increasing the number of fracture stimulation stages to see how that compares to older wells with less fracture stages, and will also get a chance to see if multiple wells are affecting EURs of any of the others. 

Quiet Day in the Bakken

I'm traveling so I'm not following the Bakken as closely as I normally would but based on comments, news, etc., it seems to be rather quiet in the Bakken right now.

About the only interesting news is the supplement to the Friday, May 28, 2010, NDIC hearing docket: Whiting is requesting an order to establish fifteen (15) 1280-acre spacing units in the Sanish-Bakken Pool. Cool.

When it's quiet, it's a good time to check in on what others are saying. This is just a reminder that my "Western Union" page quickly links folks have a history of posting interesting comments regarding the North Dakota oil industry, which most simply call "the Bakken."

Speaking of such information being posted by others, "bradaz" posted the most recent production report for North Dakota, March, 2010: 

• Mountrail produced 3.6 million bbls
• McKenzie: 1.1 million bbls
• Bowman: 1.0 million bbls (after dropping below the one million mark for several months)
• The state total: 8.6 million bbls
• Mercer and McLean Counties were the only two counties to have production drop from the previous month. 

"bradaz" also noted the "fraccing bottleneck" earlier this year.  I noted the same thing: I am not seeing the number of wells being reported commensurate with the number of active rigs in state (114 -- an all-time record). I continue to think the fracking bottleneck is the reason, and I'm beginning to think oil companies may not bring in more rigs until the bottleneck is resolved, unless they need the rigs to "save leases" about to expire.