Bakken: Ripe for Merger and Acquisition (Bakken, ND, USA)

I've posted this before, I believe, but worthy of re-posting again during earnings season. 

Great article on the Bakken by Reuters, dateline Bangalore, October 11, 2010.

Among the unconventional shales, or tight rock formations, Bakken has the highest crude oil content, prompting analysts and industry experts to predict an M&A windfall for the region that straddles North Dakota, Montana and Saskatchewan.

The obstacle: high valuation.

Analysts, however, say valuation is a primary factor keeping buyers away. Pure-play Bakken producers are overpriced, they say.

"Any type of transaction would be too expensive a reach if someone is attempting a buyout. It would be just too expensive a proposition," says one analyst.

For example; Brigham Exploration Company trades at 74 times its forecast earnings for this year.

I was reminded of this Reuters story after KOG's recent acquisition of more acreage in the Bakken.  "High valuation" is in the eye of the beholder, I guess.

The Charlson Field and Encore

Locator: 10010ENCORE. 

Updates

January 14, 2024: looking at three "almost identical" wells with regard to location and length:

• 18814, 1,754, Oasis/SM Energy/St Mary, Wilson 8-20H, 91k as of May, 2011; less than a year old, t10/10; cum 249K 10/16; cum 401K 11/23;
• 26374, 992, Oasis, Loraine Federal 1X-20H, t2/14; cum 414K 11/23;
• 26228, 1,097, Oasis, Wilson Federal 1X-20H, t2/14; cum 4544K 11/23;

Original Post

The Charlson field is one of the smaller fields in the Williston Basin, about 50 sections, not even two full townships in size. (Note: the most prolific ND well, to the best of my knowledge, is in the Charlson).

For being such a small field, there certainly is a lot of activity. Eight recent permits (in past three or four months) all in the Charlson:

• 18814, 1,754, SM Energy/St Mary, Wilson 8-20H, 91k as of May, 2011; less than a year old, t10/10; cum 249K 10/16; cum 401K 11/23;
  
• 18815, 853, SM Energy/St Mary, Norby 9-20H, 81k as of May, 2011; less than a year old; t10/10; cum 290K 10/16; cum 366K 11/23;
  
• 18816, 1,415, SM Energy/St Mary, Norby 16-20H, 66K as of May, 2011; one year old, t10/10; cum 243K 10/16; cum 329K 11/23;
  
• 19464, PNC, Denbury/Encore, Swenson 31-33SEH
• 19544, 1,032, XTO/Denbury/Encore, Gilbertson 34-26NEH, t6/11; cum 216K 10/16;
• 19545, PNC, Denbury/Encore, Gilberton 34-26NWH
• 19619, PNC, Denbury/Encore, Charlson 24-33H
• 19625,PNC, Denbury/Encore, Charlson 24-34H 

19625 will probably parallel Encore's #17113, a short lateral, PNC
19619 will probably parallel Encore's #17225, a short lateral, PNC

The Gilbertson wells are on the same pad, and will probably parallel Encore's #18703, 888; and, BR's #17356, 356.  Most of the wells in this area have been short laterals, although the BR well is a long lateral.

I'm eager to see the results of the Norby wells; these are three wells all in the same section, but all on different pads. As active as the Charlson has been in the past, and as small as the Charlson is, it is remarkable there has not been much activity in the immediate area of the Norby wells.

BR spudded 17356, a long lateral, back in 2008. It had a relatively unremarkable IP of 356 but as of May, 2011, has produced a cumulative 95,000 barrels of oil. It has probably paid for itself at the wellhead.

*************

Note the number of Encore wells, these coming after Encore had been bought by Denbury.  

The link takes you to a Wall Street Journal story that talks about further methods to extract oil from the Bakken. According to a Denbury spokesman:

... as a rough rule of thumb, about 15% to 30% of the oil in a reservoir can be extracted using the underground formation’s pressure. A water flood, essentially pumping in water to push out the oil, can get that figure up to 40%. A successful enhanced-oil recovery, or EOR, operation with carbon dioxide can get another 10% to 20%.

Saudi Arabia started using a water flood sometime during the past decade. DNR is looking to build a 200-mile carbon-dioxide pipeline in the Rockies. However, a report back in April, 2010, suggests that DNR has a cash-flow problem and this project remains in the planning stages.

I don't follow DNR closely enough to know where this project stands. DNR and Encore Energy Partners has scheduled an earnings call for November 4, 2010. It will be interesting to see if there is any update on this pipeline.

For Investors Only: ONEOK Increases Dividend; Now Paying 5.8%

Here's the link. I normally don't post these type of announcements but with all the ONEOK action in the Bakken, I felt it was appropriate to post this. You still have time to buy. Payable soon to unitholders of record on October 29, 2010.

With interest rates less than 1% and certificates of deposit not much better, I've never seen so many great dividend opportunities.

"Talking heads" get excited with 2 - 3% dividends; but it's easy to find 3 - 5% dividends, and among oil service companies, pipelines, regional telecoms, etc., one can do so much better.

Follow-Up on Potash

Sometime ago I posted a note about Dakota Salts, LLC, being granted a permit to mine potash in North Dakota. The permit was granted for a test well near the town of Lignite; the permit was issued back in August, 2010.

Dakota Salts, LLC, will begin exploratory work during the first week of November, and will take about two months, as reported in the Dickinson Press.

Dakota Salts, LLC, is a subsidiary of London-based Sirius Exploration which also has mining interests in China and Australia.

Updates

Update, October 22, 2010: More on how they do it and who is drilling for potash -- from the Minot Daily News --

"They plan to drill horizontal wells into the potash formation, use waste oil-field water, dissolve the potash, bring it to the surface, take it out of the water, put it in rail cars and ship it to the West Coast,"  according to Lynn Helms, director, state Department of Mineral Resources.

"The company that is actively leasing in Burke and Renville counties is funded by Chinese money through a London corporation. Potash is largely used to grow rice so it's Asia that is extremely hungry for potash," he said.

 Comment: what's not to like? They use horizontal technology developed by the oil industry; they use waste water from oil fields; they use the railroad which has already expanded in North Dakota due to oil business; and it's funded by the Chinese; working through an English-speaking company.

Ten More Permits Today (Bakken, ND, USA)

Ten more permits today, continuing a trend of double-digit number of permits being issued daily. On track for 1,525 new permits this calendar year.

Today's list included  8 producers: Fram Operating (new to me), 3 permits; and one each for CLR, Oil for America, Hunt, Baytex, BEXP, Petro-Hunt, and EOG.

Fram Operating will put two wells on one pad in Renville County.

The permits are for the following fields: Norma (2), Sauk, Alger, Antelope. Five (5) were designated wildcats.

No dry holes. Wells released from confidential status were unremarkable.

Whiting picked up three very old wells from South Heart Company (file numbers: 7230, 5330, and 5560). These are near the town of South Heart, an area recently featured on this blog. All of these wells are still active, but two of them are salt water disposal. However, #7230, with a status date of 1979 is still listed as active as an oil producing well.

Speaking of South Heart, the above mentioned Oil for America permit, file number 19785, Froelich 27-2, is in the same area as the Fidelity permits around South Heart. On the map at that link, the Froelich well is just one section south of where the map ends. Oil for America is almost unique among producers in the Bakken not placing an "H" designation after their well names. Perhaps they are not horizontal wells, but that would surprise me. Oil for America has four permits issued in 2010; they are all in the same general area around South Heart.  Sort of reminds me of Samson O & G in Stockyard Creek; all their wells in just one small area.

Newfield Update

Link here.

Newfield is an oil and gas exploration company and has operations across North America and off-shore in deep water Gulf of Mexico. This discussion is limited to the Bakken (with a few general comments about the entire Rocky Mountain region).  From the Rocky Mountain region, Newfield's production is nearly 25,000 boepd. 

Newfield still has four (4) operated rigs in the Williston Basin. NFX has successfully assessed the Ctwalk, Aquarium and Watford areas and has now entered the development drilling phase.

Newfield states that long lateral have improved operating efficiencies in the Williston Basin: cost per foot for laterals has averaged about $1,250/foot on short laterals. The company estimates that the cost per foot can be dropped to about $900/foot for long laterals. Newfield's cost per well is about the same as we've seen for others: $5 million to $ million. Beginning in 2011, NFX expects to drill only long laterals. I did not see any comments on company's feelings about fracturing (type or number of stages).

Recently completed NFX wells, some previously reported.

17919, 2,360, Newfield, Clear Creek Federal 1-25H, Westberg,
17925, 2,293, Newfield, Wahus 1-12H, Westberg
18641, 2,519, Newfield, Megamouth 1-8H, northeast of Watford City,
17918, 2,922, Newfield, Clear Creek Federal 1-26H, Westberg
18741, 1,532, Newfield, Dahl 1-5H, northeast of Watford City
19026, 1,841, Newfield, Sawfish 1-1H, northeast of Watford City
18497, 2,114, Newfield, Ursus 1-20H, Lost Bear, Bakken

Week 41: October 12 - October 18, 2010

Deja Vu All Over Again

Report Out of Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Halliburton's Earnings More Than Double

Huge Pipeline Delayed ... Indefinitely

Bailey Field Update

IPs, EURs, and Economics

Lookin' Out My Back Door, CCR

Diesel Fuel Shortage in the Bakken -- Quiet Morning in the Bakken

Diesel fuel shortage in the Bakken, Williston Herald, October 20, 2010.

After the barrage of information coming out of the Bakken yesterday, it's sorta nice to wake up to a quiet morning, at least in terms of stuff to blog.

Here's something to read while waiting for more Bakken news later this afternoon.