Newfield Has a Nice Well: 28,000 BBLs in 15 Days -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

It looks like Newfield has another nice well, and it's a Three Forks well:

• 18012, 3,304, Newfield, Sand Creek Federal 1-23H, Keene, Three Forks; tested 2/11; 26,777 bbls in first 15 days

This gives me an opportunity to comment on IPs (again). The IP reported by the company in a press release often differs significantly from what the NDIC reports. I don't know the specifics, and I can't put it in correct "oil industry" terms, but this is the gist, as I understand it.

For various reasons, the company will report a 24-hour flowback that is often as much as three times (3X) that of the "official" (NDIC) initial production (IP) number.

If the 24-hour flowback is extremely high and the IP much lower, it suggests the flowback was obtained with a "wide-open" choke to see what the maximum flow rate "could" be.

On the other hand, the NDIC requires that the IP be what would be produced under "normal production" parameters.

In a recent case, a Fidelity well's 24-hour flowback was reported at over 1,300 boe, which was pretty exciting for a Fidelity well. Unfortunately, the "official" (NDIC) IP was less than 800 boe. That is still a great well (based on IP) but certainly not a standout -- although it was a Three Forks well in a relatively new area.

Now, back to this Newfield well. I did not see any press release from Newfield regarding this well, and we don't know what the 24-hour flowback would have been. But the "official" (NDIC) report shows it to be over 3,304 bbls of oil, and that does not include natural gas which would have increased the boepd. From the NDIC daily activity report:

• #18012 – NEWFIELD PROD., SAND CREEK FEDERAL 1-23H, SWSE 23-153N-96W, MCKENZIE CO -- 3304 bopd, 922 bwpd - Bakken/Three Forks

In this case, it appears that Newfield has a spectacular well without resorting to 24-hour flowback. It's possible this is a 24-hour flowback, I suppose, and the NDIC hasn't caught it, or some other method of calculation, so again, this is all speculation on what it really going on with regard to IPs.

All things being equal, I trust NDIC numbers more than those from a press release.