Flashback -- Indian Hill -- 1980's -- North Dakota, USA

More than once I have heard oilmen talk about the Bakken as something they've never experienced before in onshore drilling. I assume they mean a) "no" dry holes; and, b) first month production that crushes previous experience in the Williston Basin.

But it's fun to go back and look at what previous booms have shown. There have been some good wells.

DH alerts me to three interesting wells drilled back in the 1980's, just south of Williston, across the river, on Indian Hill. All three wells are vertical wells (would have cost very little compared to Bakken wells today) and are still producing. These three wells were placed eighteen feet apart. They are so close to each other I had to rely on DH's information; the GIS map server wouldn't get down to 18 feet separation on the "distance finder." Look at the spacing on these wells and the cumulative to date on the first one. And they've been producing for almost 30 years.



10431, s12/1983,t1/1984, 423, Deer Pass 20-1, XTO now; was Columbia Gas, Red River formation, cumulative as of August, 2011: 770,2141 bbls, listed as active, but no production for past several months, spacing 320 acres.

10910, three formations, Columbia Gas Development, Deer Pass

• Stonewall, s1985, t1985, 463, cumulative as of August, 2011: 133,534 bbls; 320 acres
• Birdbear, t1986, 335, cumulative: 125,031 bbls; 160 acres
• Duperow, t1993, 57, cumulative 23,659 bbls; 160 acres
• Total: 282,224 bbls and still listed as active, though no production for several months

11470, 504, Columbia Gas Development, Deer Pass 20-3, s1985, t1985, cumulative as of August, 2011: 726,210 bbls; Madison formation (Duperow was dry); still listed as active, though no production past few months; 160 acres