Abraxas Operational Update and A Look at the Weather Impact -- North Dakota, USA

Wow, it's great to be back home, where I have better access to checking out "the Bakken."  (For newbies, I use "the Bakken" colloquially to refer to the entire oil industry in North Dakota. The focus in this boom has been on the middle Bakken formation, but is now moving to the Three Forks formation.)

Here is an excerpt from a January 5, 2011, news release from Abraxas:

• In McKenzie County, North Dakota, Abraxas drilled the Ravin 26-35 1H to a total measured depth of 20,835 feet, including a 9,800 foot lateral in the Three Forks formation. This well was completed with a 25-stage fracture stimulation and has been on-line since the end of November 2010 at a restricted rate due to mechanical issues (which have been resolved), winter weather conditions and shortage of trucks to haul oil from the location. During that period, the well produced approximately 13.5 MBbl of oil, 21.0 MMcf of wellhead gas and 2.5 MBbl of natural gas liquids. The well was recently flow tested at an unrestricted daily rate of 1,008 barrels of oil, 2.44 MMcf of wellhead gas and 290 barrels of natural gas liquids, or 1,705 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Abraxas owns an approximate 60% working interest in this well.
• In McKenzie County, North Dakota, Abraxas drilled the Stenehjem 27-34 1H to a total measured depth of 16,504 feet, including a 5,965 foot lateral in the middle Bakken formation. A 20-stage fracture stimulation is tentatively scheduled for the first quarter of 2011. Abraxas owns an approximate 79% working interest in this well. 

I posted this for a number of reasons:

• First, it was nice just to get back to home station where I could more easily post information;
• Second, I wanted newbies to see how many fracture stimulation stages now seem to be the norm; and, 
• Third, to validate my comments in the last few days that production targets for December, 2010, will be missed due to weather conditions in North Dakota (part of the global warming we've been seeing this year around the world)