How Exciting Is the Bakken? Update On Three Early Wells in the Bakken, North Dakota, USA

For newbies, some rules of thumb when you look at the wells below:

• wells in the legacy formations in the Williston Basin often took 15 to 20 years to hit 100,000 bbls; the Bakken wells below are reaching 500,000 in less than three years
• Bakken wells pay for themselves at the wellhead at 100,000 bbls
• these wells will go on to produce for 25 more years 
• the average estimate for production from Bakken wells is 600,000 bbls  over lifetime of the well
• there are "no" dry Bakken wells

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Wayzetta 11-08H, #17127, EOG

• Spudded: August 27, 2008
• Completed: November 9, 2008
• IP: 1,714
• Cumulative as of July 31, 2011: 437,394
• Single section
• Still producing 10,000 bbls/month; almost no water

State 1-16/21H, #18973, Helis

• Spudded: July 4, 2010
• Tested: October 25, 2010
• IP: 2,579
• Cumulative as of July, 2011 (9 months of production): 221,281, no pump
• 17,000 bbls most recent month of reporting
  
• Two sections
• Three Forks formation
• 40K in November, 2010
• 20K in January, 2011
• 58K in first 38 days!

Richardson Federal 11-9H, #17158, Whiting

• Spudded: August 14, 2008
• Tested: October 22, 2008
• Cumulative as of July 31, 2011: 602,364 (at $50/bbl --> $30 million)
• Long lateral
• Sanish oil field
  
• Middle Bakken
• Currently 10K/month
• Only on-line 10 days in July; probably taken off-line to put on a pump 

See more of these wells at "Monster Wells"