Just days after posting a long note about how inactive Zavanna seems to be, the daily activity report shows Zavanna with two new permits.
I guess this is payback: Zavanna making me look like an idiot.
Which is not hard to do. I guess.
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Monday, November 29, 2010
Beating a Dead Horse -- Arvid Bangen USA 31-18H -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA
It's all agreed then: this well is producing at 550 bbls/day.
The NDIC report that showed an IP of 4,967 bbls is said to have been the amount of oil produced over the course of five days, which works out to about 1,000 bbls per day. A mediocre Bakken well.
Either NDIC made a typographic error, or MRO has an unusual way of reporting IPs -- five day's production.
I must be missing something.
Yes, for the umpteenth time on this blog:
The NDIC report that showed an IP of 4,967 bbls is said to have been the amount of oil produced over the course of five days, which works out to about 1,000 bbls per day. A mediocre Bakken well.
Either NDIC made a typographic error, or MRO has an unusual way of reporting IPs -- five day's production.
I must be missing something.
Yes, for the umpteenth time on this blog:
Rigzone's Musings: Unconventional Oil and Gas -- US
Rigzone has a superb essay today on the subject of unconventional oil and gas. It's mostly about natural gas, but it's still an excellent read. It leads off with a fairly lengthy report on what Mark Papa, EOG/CEO, has to say about current shale oil and shale natural gas issues. He sounds only slightly less exuberant than I often sound.
About Those Old Madison Wells -- And Picking Potatoes -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA
There's something to be said for keeping a well pumping even if it's down to a few barrels a day. It's called "holding the lease by production." As long as that well is producing something, the lease remains in effect. And if the lease doesn't specify specific formations (the usual case in North Dakota, although that may be changing), one can go back in and re-drill with minimum of paperwork. I assume.
So, file number 16949, released from the confidential list over the weekend, is an interesting story.
This is now an Oasis (OAS) well. Based on the profile, this appears to be an old Madison pool well that was drilled back in 2008 with an IP of 35. It appears that Oasis re-drilled at the same site (same well) into the Bakken, with an IP of 1,704 barrels.
This is file number 16949, Schmitz Federal 44-34H-2, in the Eightmile (yes, one word) oil field. It looks like the Madison was a short lateral; the Bakken well is a long lateral going under the river. It's located about 10 miles southwest of Williston, on the south side of the river, where Dad used to take us chokecherry and plum picking; this is also near the field where we used to pick potatoes to fill 10-pound bags. Great memories. Picking chokecherries and plums was for fun; picking potatoes was serious business. Although we kids did not know it at the time.
I assume the "-2" in "44-34H-2" refers to this being the second time they've drilled this hole.
So, file number 16949, released from the confidential list over the weekend, is an interesting story.
This is now an Oasis (OAS) well. Based on the profile, this appears to be an old Madison pool well that was drilled back in 2008 with an IP of 35. It appears that Oasis re-drilled at the same site (same well) into the Bakken, with an IP of 1,704 barrels.
This is file number 16949, Schmitz Federal 44-34H-2, in the Eightmile (yes, one word) oil field. It looks like the Madison was a short lateral; the Bakken well is a long lateral going under the river. It's located about 10 miles southwest of Williston, on the south side of the river, where Dad used to take us chokecherry and plum picking; this is also near the field where we used to pick potatoes to fill 10-pound bags. Great memories. Picking chokecherries and plums was for fun; picking potatoes was serious business. Although we kids did not know it at the time.
I assume the "-2" in "44-34H-2" refers to this being the second time they've drilled this hole.
Oasis Acquires 10,000 Acres in Richland County, Montana -- Bakken, USA
I normally focus only on North Dakota, but an exception for a) Montana; and, b) Oasis.
Oasis announced it had acquired 10,000 acres in eastern Montana in Richland County. For $30 million, this works out to $3,000/acre including the production. Either I did the math wrong, or I'm missing something, or someone was eager to sell.
One reason to be eager to sell: lower capital gains taxes this year. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see there is little movement to extend the capital gains taxes. Until I was reminded of this, I had forgotten about the Anschutz sale earlier this year.
Ten thousand acres is equivalent to about 15 sections; half of a township in North Dakota.
Richland County was where it all started. Oil was discovered in Elm Coulee, in Richland County, in 2000, and the rest is history as they say.
Wikipedia has three short paragraphs on Elm Coulee and I highly recommend folks read them to get an idea of what is going on. Some data points:
Oasis announced it had acquired 10,000 acres in eastern Montana in Richland County. For $30 million, this works out to $3,000/acre including the production. Either I did the math wrong, or I'm missing something, or someone was eager to sell.
One reason to be eager to sell: lower capital gains taxes this year. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see there is little movement to extend the capital gains taxes. Until I was reminded of this, I had forgotten about the Anschutz sale earlier this year.
Ten thousand acres is equivalent to about 15 sections; half of a township in North Dakota.
Richland County was where it all started. Oil was discovered in Elm Coulee, in Richland County, in 2000, and the rest is history as they say.
Wikipedia has three short paragraphs on Elm Coulee and I highly recommend folks read them to get an idea of what is going on. Some data points:
- First struck oil in Elm Coulee in 2000
- Now 350 wells there; producing 53,000 barrels of oil daily
- Most of the wells were probably fracked with one stage
- Very narrow payzone -- the middle Bakken is only about 50 feet thick here
- Elm Coulee -- just this one field -- has doubled the oil production for the state of Montana -- and, last time I looked, Montana is a huge state
- As of 2007, is the "highest-producing onshore field found in the lower 48 states in the past 56 years"
Nine (9) New Permits -- North Dakota, USA
Operators: Zavanna (2), Encore (2), XTO (2), Anschutz, Enerplus, Slawson.
Fields: Simon Butte (first time in a very long time), Glass Bluff, Midway, Siverston, Grinnell, Van Hook and Mandaree. No wildcats.
Biggest surprise: no new permit for Whiting in Stark County or the Sanish oil field.
Thirteen (13) wells released from confidential status. Two very interesting ones which will get stand-alone posts:
Fields: Simon Butte (first time in a very long time), Glass Bluff, Midway, Siverston, Grinnell, Van Hook and Mandaree. No wildcats.
Biggest surprise: no new permit for Whiting in Stark County or the Sanish oil field.
Thirteen (13) wells released from confidential status. Two very interesting ones which will get stand-alone posts:
- One appears to be an old Madison well that was re-drilled into the Bakken; now reporting an IP of 1,704; by Oasis
- The other was not on the NDIC daily activity report but posted elsewhere with an IP of nearly 5,000 bbl of oil (probably a 24-hour flowback figure); current production at 77 days is running at 550 bbls/day
Inadvertently Deleted an Anonymous Comment Sent to the Blog
I accidentally deleted an anonymous comment sent to the blog; my filter is too good. Once deleted it is not retrievable. I generally post every comment I get. I believe I have not posted three comments in the past two years. So, if you sent me a comment and I didn't post it, it was not on purpose. Send it again, if you want.
I am in a bit of an ornery mood tonight. Nothing to do with the Bakken or family issues, just something irritating me, so I was going through my e-mail a bit too fast, including that comment I accidentally deleted.
I'm tired. But not of the Bakken. I will catch a second wind and then post something interesting for newbies.
I am in a bit of an ornery mood tonight. Nothing to do with the Bakken or family issues, just something irritating me, so I was going through my e-mail a bit too fast, including that comment I accidentally deleted.
I'm tired. But not of the Bakken. I will catch a second wind and then post something interesting for newbies.
MRO Reports A Huge Well in the Van Hook: IP of 4,967
18043, 4,967, MRO, Arvid Bangen USA 31-18H, Wildcat, Bakken
Section 18, T150-R92. It is listed as a wildcat, but is clearly in the Van Hook now, so the Van Hook must have been extended, perhaps due to this well.
Huge well.
It's been noted that the well is producing about 550 bbls/day after 77 days of production.
If a hypothetical well produces 550 bbls/day and the well is a wildcat where there are no pipelines, and if the hypothetical well has six 400-gallon tanks on its pad, the six tanks will be full in about four days (6 tanks x 400 gallons/tank = 2,400 bbls/500 bbls per day = a bit over 4 days). So, every four days, trucks need to be driving out to this remote area of North Dakota and downloading 2,400 barrels of oil.
There was a shortage of trucks and truck drivers in the Bakken when there were 100 rigs drilling. There are now 165 rigs drilling in the Bakken. There were on occasion last year, days when all truck traffic was stopped due to blizzard conditions. Recently, a major pipeline was shut down due to a spill in Michigan. This shutdown resulted in one of the Bakken companies to announce they would miss their third quarter production quotas.
The state also limits the amount of oil that can be produced from a hypothetical well when natural gas is flaring; and won't allow maximum production until natural gas is captured and taken away, unless the state grants a waiver. The request for maximum production takes at least a month, waiting to get a spot on the NDIC hearing docket schedule.
Yup, this well that had an IP of almost 5,000 bbls is now down to 550 bbls per day.
Section 18, T150-R92. It is listed as a wildcat, but is clearly in the Van Hook now, so the Van Hook must have been extended, perhaps due to this well.
Huge well.
It's been noted that the well is producing about 550 bbls/day after 77 days of production.
If a hypothetical well produces 550 bbls/day and the well is a wildcat where there are no pipelines, and if the hypothetical well has six 400-gallon tanks on its pad, the six tanks will be full in about four days (6 tanks x 400 gallons/tank = 2,400 bbls/500 bbls per day = a bit over 4 days). So, every four days, trucks need to be driving out to this remote area of North Dakota and downloading 2,400 barrels of oil.
There was a shortage of trucks and truck drivers in the Bakken when there were 100 rigs drilling. There are now 165 rigs drilling in the Bakken. There were on occasion last year, days when all truck traffic was stopped due to blizzard conditions. Recently, a major pipeline was shut down due to a spill in Michigan. This shutdown resulted in one of the Bakken companies to announce they would miss their third quarter production quotas.
The state also limits the amount of oil that can be produced from a hypothetical well when natural gas is flaring; and won't allow maximum production until natural gas is captured and taken away, unless the state grants a waiver. The request for maximum production takes at least a month, waiting to get a spot on the NDIC hearing docket schedule.
Yup, this well that had an IP of almost 5,000 bbls is now down to 550 bbls per day.
New record -- 165 rigs in North Dakota; and Seventeen (17) Wells Come Off Confidential List. Monday, November 29, 2010
Maybe more later, but subject line says it all.
Bloomberg: Talk of $100 Oil -- Again --
Link here.
The price of options to buy December 2011 futures at $100 a barrel jumped 14 percent on Nov. 24, the largest one-day gain in three months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. So-called open interest for the contract has risen 51 percent this year to 45,424 lots, the highest for any crude option on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
US State Dept Supports Fracking Worldwide
This is an exceptionally worthy and timely link to be posted. A big thank you to the individual who sent the link to me.
From the National Journal:
From the National Journal:
Over the past two years, a controversial new drilling technique has unlocked massive reserves of U.S. natural gas, transforming the prospects for domestic energy production. The State Department has begun promoting the technology abroad, saying that if it were adopted in China, Eastern Europe, and India, it would boost exports, significantly reduce Russian and Middle Eastern influence in those regions, and fight climate change. Still, many environmentalists are unimpressed.Hillary Clinton certainly seems rational. She also supports TransCanada's Keystone XL, despite her party's (at least some members of her party) fighting it. She certainly seems to have her act together.