Eight (8) New Permits in North Dakota -- Whiting Gets Three

Producers: Whiting (3), EOG (2), Petro-Hunt, and MRO.

Fields: Sanish, Clear Water, Haystack Butte, Dutch Henry Butte, Killdeer and one wildcat.

The Petro-Hunt wildcat is just inside the western border of the reservation, situated somewhat between several active areas, including Mandaree to the northeast, Heart Butte (very active) to the west, Moccasin Creek to the southeast, and Haystack Butte to the west.

But Whiting is the one that does it again. Three permits: two in the Sanish, both targeting the Three Forks, one with the "X" designation; the third WLL permit is in Dutch Henry Butte. I have not recalled hearing DHB before (turns out I had forgotten; there are two recent permits there) but I guessed it was going to be in the southwest, and yes, indeed, it is. The field is just a few miles northwest of Dickinson, in the southwestern area of the state and the Basin. Whiting continues to get a permit in its cash cow, the Sanish, and one in the southwest. As noted yesterday, it's almost as if Whiting is two different companies, or organized into two divisions in the Bakken, one in the north, one in the south.

Both EOG permits are in the Clear Water field, but not on the same pad (not even in the same section).

Not much of interest in the rest of the daily activity report.

North Dakota is on track to issue 1,880 permits this calendar year.