Thursday, December 30, 2010

Four (4) More New Permits -- North Dakota, USA

Producers: EOG, Zenergy, Hunt.

Fields: Mandaree, Painted Woods, and one wildcat.

EOG will place two wells on one pad (again).

The Mandaree is a good little field inside the reservation. EOG has some great acreage.

1675: That's The Number of New Permits Issued So Far in 2010 -- North Dakota, USA

My database shows that North Dakota issued 1,675 oil well permits for calendar year 2010 as of December 29, 2010 (my database is subject to error and will be off by five permits, I assume, but it's pretty close). That puts the state on track to issue 1,684 permits for the year.

It will be interesting to see how close my projections have been for the year. Regardless, this compares with less than a 1,000 permits, the previous "best" showing. I think NDIC is projecting about 2,000 permits to be issued in 2011.

Update on the Lodgepole Formation -- Zastoupil 1-17 Has Spudded -- North Dakota, USA

This is an update on activity in the Lodgepole.

To re-acquaint yourself with the Lodgepole, you may want to re-look at this posting first.

I am now being told that Armstrong has spudded the Zastoupil well that is located on/near the Dickinson golf course.  According to the GIS map, it is just outside Dickinson's corporate boundary on the southwest side of town.

Drilling permit 19975 in Stark County. This is a Lodgepole formation well, located in section 17-T139N-R96.

PATTERSON 183 ARMSTRONG OP INC ZASTOUPIL 1-17 SESW 17-139N-96W STK 19975 12/26/2010

(Note: the GIS map shows permit 13817 just 1500 feet to the northwest of permit 19975. Permit 13817 was cancelled. That, in and of itself, is very interesting. Remember, these are vertical wells, and the Lodgepole has been very difficult to hit. Perhaps with new technology, or with new understanding of the Lodgepole the driller had a reason to move the well 1500 feet to the southeast.)

For me, the results of this well will be huge. Everyone knows the Lodgepole can be an exciting formation; the problem has been "hitting" it. If the code is cracked and the Lodgepole can be hit consistently, it will be a game changer. Lodgepole wells are conventional wells; they don't required fracking. Lodgepole reefs may be found throughout the Williston Basin, not just in the Dickinson area (Stark County).

A Look At Bull Butte -- Up to Nine Wells on One 1280-Acre Spacing Unit -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

With all the news coming out of the Bakken, it's hard to keep track of some of the more interesting bits of trivia. Looking for something else, I happened to be reminded of this, case 13400 on the NDIC hearing docket back in September, 2010, in which Hess requested a permit for up to nine wells on one 1280-acre spacing unit.

Big Butte,Mountrail County.

A Re-Look at Squaw Creek -- Multiple Wells on One 320-Acre Unit -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Some folks may have noticed another EOG permit in Squaw Creek this past week:
20238, Zenergy, Dakota-3 Spotted Horn 26-35H, 26-149-94.

For those of you who might have missed it, you may want to look at Squaw Creek again.

EOG, in the September hearing dockets, requested multiple wells on 320-acre spacing in Squaw Creek. This was case 13277: note -- this was not wells on multiple 320-acre spacing units, but rather multiple horizontal wells on a single 320-acre spacing unit.

Just saying.

Chance of Rain During Rose Bowl Game Increases Slightly -- Not a Bakken Story

Some readers from the Midwest and the Northeast mentioned they will be flying into southern California for this weekend's Rose Bowl game. "We" are in between storms out here. Weather should be dry but cool for the parade. Original forecasts suggested warmer weather in the afternoon, but now "they" are talking about increasing chance of light rain during the game.

Recommendations: layered clothing, light ponchos, umbrellas.