Drilling Could Go On For 50 Years -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Oil and gas analyst's take on the Bakken:

It's one of the most economic and best resources that we have, not only in the U.S., but, really, in the world. There's lots of running room and we're very early into the play with lots of acreage still to be drilled. We could be up there for 50 or more years drilling very, very strong wells and putting lots of oil into U.S. tanks. The Eagle Ford and the Utica in Ohio have interesting and up-and-coming plays, but the Williston really has been shown to be as economic as any other, if not the best. It's always nice to be in an asset that has the best type of results.

Needs repeating:

It's one of the most economic and best resources that we have, not only in the U.S., but, really, in the world. There's lots of running room and we're very early into the play with lots of acreage still to be drilled. We could be up there for 50 or more years drilling very, very strong wells and putting lots of oil into U.S. tanks. The Eagle Ford and the Utica in Ohio have interesting and up-and-coming plays, but the Williston really has been shown to be as economic as any other, if not the best. It's always nice to be in an asset that has the best type of results.

Link here.

Analyst is Jason Wrangler, based in Houston. Interviewed and transcript placed on SeekingAlpha.com.

The article is full of Bakken oil company recommendations. A nice report for the weekend. Enjoy.

By the way, that "drilling could go on for 50 years." The UND oil and gas consultants agree; see "Basic Analysis of the Bakken Boom" linked at the sidebar at the right. The folks there think active drilling will take 30 years and production will continue through 2100.  Legacy wells that were drilled in the 1950's are still active in a few cases.

For newbies, I think analysts should remember all the things going for drillers in the Williston Basin:

• Original-oil-in-place estimates keep rising
• There are "no" DRY holes in the Bakken; only Saudi Arabia has similar success rate
• It's the best kind of oil: sweet, light oil
• Multiple pay zones
• Infrastructure in place
• Takeaway capacity keeping up with production - no longer true as of late 2011
• Business climate is pro-oil. Very pro-oil. 
• North Dakota has relatively small BLM footrprint. It's largest footprint is the reservation, and the reservation is drilling as fast as it can; Montana, Wyoming, Utah hampered by BLM footprint
• Major oil service companies have been in the Williston Basin for decades and know the area well (Schlumberger, Baker Hughes, Halliburton, just to name the ones that are most familiar)
• Bakken: industrial research -- testing new techniques, procedures in the field
• UND with best stratigraphic core library in the world, according to many
• World's largest microseismic array in place
• No terrorists in North Dakota
• Adequate transportation for workers in and out of state (air, Amtrak, 4-lane divided highway -- try driving to Saudi; try driving in Saudi if you are female)
• No need for air conditioning most of the year
• Cool winters keep the riff-raff out; crime low
• English still the language of choice
• North Dakota not known to be as litigious as some states
• No snail darter, desert tortoise, or spotted oil