Dimond Field Update -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Permits

2015

2014

None in 2014

2013

None in 2013

2012

• 22593, loc, OXY USA,
• 22592, loc, OXY USA,
• 22534, loc, OXY USA,
• 22529, loc, OXY USA,
• 22528, loc, OXY USA,
• 22527, loc, OXY USA,
• 22519, 10, OXY USA, Ward Lake 1-5-6H-160-91, t6/12; cum 57K 12/14;
• 22262, 352, OXY USA, Little Butte 1-21-28H-160-90, t5/12; cum 93K 12/14;
• 22183, 196, OXY USA, Big Spring 1-22-27H-160-90, t5/12; cum 124K 12/14;
• 22177, 23, OXY USA, Split Ridge 1-2-1H-160-91, t9/12; cum 24K 12/14;

Updates

February 18, 2013:

• 22519, 10 (no typo), OXY USA, Ward Lake 1-5-6H-160-91, Dimond,  an extension of the Dimond field; Three Forks well; 21 stages; 2.1 million lbs;  t6/12; cum 8K 12/12;

September 5, 2012:

• 21619, 62, OXY USA, Sorlie 160-90-7-P16-1H, Dimond oil field; 

September 4, 2012:

• 21531, 412, OXY USA, Nordloef 160-90-30P-1H, Dimond, < 10k in first four months; cum 11K 7/12

July 18, 2012

• 22183, 196, OXY USA, Big Spring 1-22-27H-160-90, Dimond, t5/12; cum 5K 5/12;

January 20, 2012: not all impressed with OXY USA wells in Dimond oil field.

July 16, 2011: I was asked up to update this field, which I did this date. Not much has changed with regard to new IPs. The individual asked if I was concerned about "canceled" permits. No, I am not. OXY bought out Anschutz, and OXY most likely re-surveyed and/or looked at the siting and decided to cancel a few permits and re-submit in nearby areas. See status of the field at bottom of this page. Of the 26 permits on file for this field, three have been permanently canceled.

Original Posting (February 9, 2011)
IPs / production will be updated

 
The Dimond field is now "owned" by OXY USA. The permits used to be those of Cirque but somewhere along the line (between 2009 and 2010) it appears OXY bought all of Cirque's assets in the Bakken.

This is a small field in Burke County, only 44 sections, and is on the northeastern side of the Williston Basin in North Dakota. It is not all that far from the Canadian border, and is just east of the Cottonwood field. I have never been very impressed with the Cottonwood field, and the Dimond is even farther away from the Bakken core. But maybe OXY can make it pay.

The field is about eight miles west of Kenmare, North Dakota; and, about seven miles southwest of Bowbells, North Dakota. State highway #8 pretty much cuts the field in half, a west side field, and an east side field.

On February, 2011, there were two rigs on site, both on the east side of the field:

• 20196, OXY, Sorlie 160-90-18-P-1H (rig off site, April, 2011)
• 20032, OXY, Kannegieter 160-90-17-P-1H (rig off site, April, 2011)

On July 16, 2011, there were two rigs on site, both on the west side of the field:

• 20865 (20389 on same pad), ROS, OXY, OXY 160-91-10-4-P-2H
• 20779, ROS, OXY, Haroldson 160-91-14-D-1H

There are six producing wells in the field, all short laterals (at initial posting). Most, if not all, were all originally CIRQUE wells but are now OXY's. Most of them, I assume, were fractured with single-digit number of stages.

• 18476, 101, OXY, Feast of Fools 12-16H, 33K in 9 months
• 18389, 278, OXY, True Blonde 16-15H, 22K in 7 months
• 18299, 63, OXY, Red Lady 36-4H, 18K in 9 months
• 18219, 197, OXY, Honkers 9-16H, 43K in 12 months
• 18394, 351, OXY, Mad Hatter 16-4H, 25K in 5 months
• 17699, 614, OXY, Trippell 32-16H, 95K in 16 months

The following are all confidential (as of April, 2011):

• 20364, OXY, Jacobson 160-90-6-P-1H
• 20369, OXY, Sorlie 160-90-7-P-1H
• 19349, OXY, Pick Axe 19-4H
• 20235, OXY, Olson 160-90-10-P-1H
• 20350, OXY, Ankenbauer 160-90-34-D-1H
• 19440, OXY, Sunshine 31-16H
• 19067, 137, OXY, Easy Street 3-4H
• 20389, OXY, Swenson 160-91-4-P-1H
• 20313, OXY, Haroldson 160-91-10-P-1H
• 19363, 200, OXY, Moose Drool 9-16H, 3K in one month
• 20237, OXY, Swenson 160-91-15-D-1H, rig on site, April, 2011
• 20317, OXY, Swenson 160-19-11-P-1H
• 20352, OXY, Reistad 160-91-13-D-1H -- permit canceled
• 20657, OXY, OXY Swenson 160-91-13-11-P-2H, rig on site, April, 2011
• 20570, OXY, Swenson 160-91-11-P-1H,
• 20722, OXY, Ankenbauer 160-90-34-D-1H

Status of the Dimond Field on July 16, 2011 -- Source: NDIC

File No	API No	Well Type	Well Status	Status Date	DTD	Location	Operator	Well Name	Field
20364	3301301550		Confidential			SESE 6-160-90	OXY USA INC.	JACOBSON 160-90-6-P-1H	DIMOND
20369	3301301551		Confidential			SESE 7-160-90	OXY USA INC.	SORLIE 160-90-7-P-1H	DIMOND
18219	3301301463	OG	A	12/5/2009	13770	SESE 9-160-90	OXY USA INC.	HONKERS 9-16H	DIMOND
20235	3301301542		Confidential			SESE 10-160-90	OXY USA INC.	OLSON 160-90-10-P-1H	DIMOND
18394	3301301472	OG	A	7/3/2010	13800	NWNW 16-160-90	OXY USA INC.	MAD HATTER 16-4H	DIMOND
20032	3301301536	OG	DRL	12/24/2010		SESE 17-160-90	OXY USA INC.	KANNEGIETER 160-90-17 P-1H	DIMOND
20196	3301301541	OG	DRL	1/14/2011		SESE 18-160-90	OXY USA INC.	SORLIE 160-90-18-P-1H	DIMOND
19349	3301301512	OG	DRL	9/6/2010		NWNW 19-160-90	OXY USA INC.	PICK AXE 19-4H	DIMOND
19440	3301301516	OG	DRL	11/9/2010		SESE 31-160-90	OXY USA INC.	SUNSHINE 31-16H	DIMOND
17699	3301301444	OG	A	8/15/2009	13507	SESE 32-160-90	OXY USA INC.	TRIPPELL 32-16H	DIMOND
21089	3301301583	OG	LOC	6/28/2011		NWNW 33-160-90	OXY USA INC.	STAAEL 160-90-33-D-1H	DIMOND
20350	3301301548	OG	PNC	4/7/2011		NWNW 34-160-90	OXY USA INC.	ANKENBAUER 160-90-34-D-1H	DIMOND
20722	3301301566		Confidential			SESE 34-160-90	OXY USA INC.	ANKENBAUER 160-90-34-P-1H	DIMOND
19067	3301301502	OG	A	2/10/2011	14287	NWNW 3-160-91	OXY USA INC.	EASY STREET 3-4H	DIMOND
20389	3301301553		Confidential			SESE 4-160-91	OXY USA INC.	SWENSON 160-91-4-P-1H	DIMOND
20865	3301301574		Confidential			SESE 4-160-91	OXY USA INC.	OXY 160-91-10-4-P-2H	DIMOND
20570	3301301559		Confidential			SESE 5-160-91	OXY USA INC.	BEARD 160-91-5-P-1H	DIMOND
20743	3301301571		Confidential			NWNW 8-160-91	OXY USA INC.	ERICKSON 160-91-8-D-1H	DIMOND
19363	3301301513	OG	A	1/17/2011	14673	SESE 9-160-91	OXY USA INC.	MOOSE DROOL 9-16H	DIMOND
20313	3301301546	OG	PNC	5/4/2011		SESE 10-160-91	OXY USA INC.	HAROLDSON 160-91-10-P-1H	DIMOND
20317	3301301547		Confidential			SESE 11-160-91	OXY USA INC.	SWENSON 160-91-11-P-1H	DIMOND
20657	3301301561		Confidential			SESE 11-160-91	OXY USA INC.	OXY SWENSON 160-91-13-11-P-2H	DIMOND
18476	3301301475	OG	A	3/10/2010	14143	SESE 12-160-91	OXY USA INC.	FEAST OF FOOLS 12-16H	DIMOND
20352	3301301549	OG	PNC	3/24/2011		NWNW 13-160-91	OXY USA INC.	REISTAD 160-91-13-D-1H	DIMOND
20779	3301301572		Confidential			NWNW 14-160-91	OXY USA INC.	HAROLDSON 160-91-14-D-1H	DIMOND
20237	3301301543		Confidential			NWNW 15-160-91	OXY USA INC.	SWENSON 160-91-15-D-1H	DIMOND
18389	3301301471	OG	A	5/11/2010	13575	SWSE 16-160-91	OXY USA INC.	TRUE BLONDE 16-15H	DIMOND
18299	3301301468	OG	A	3/5/2010	14141	NWNW 36-160-91	OXY USA INC.	RED LADY 36-4H	DIMOND

Great Review -- Update of Oil Exploration and Production in the US -- Led by the Bakken, North Dakota, USA

This is a great review / update for both newbies and those very familiar with the Bakken.

Because of the reference to Credit Suisse analysts early (and also later) in the story, the journalist most likely put this story together while attending the Credit Suisse Group Energy Conference in Vail, Colorado, this week.

Note that a contributing AP reporter was reporting from Stanley, North Dakota.

The Lost Decade --> Decade of Tectonic Shifts

I have often referred to 2000 - 2010 as the "lost decade" and I will continue to do so.  [There is a "lost decade" in the tags at the bottom of the blog for more links.]

I was thinking that 2011 - 2020 will be the decade of energy, but that may be too limited. With the news today that German investors may buy the New York Stock Exchange; with the Chinese buying more and more of the fossil fuel assets in the US; and with commodity inflation (e.g., wheat), leading to such events as the revolution in Egypt, I will now refer to 2011 - 2020 as the "decade of tectonic shifts." I don't particularly like that appellation, but, for now it will have to do.

Some tectonic shifts are smooth and manageable; other tectonic shifts result in such events as the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

BEXP Presentation at Vail, Colorado, Today -- Now Available -- All Bakken (ND/MT), USA

Link here.

When you get to the link, click on the "webcast" and proceed from there.

It is a very, very interesting presentation.

About 30 minutes.

I assume the webcast will be available on a limited time basis.

Six key points (numbers may be rounded):

• BEXP has de-risked 205,600 net core acres; right now -- 571 net locations; but could grow to 571 net locations based on Rough Rider Three Forks potential
• NPV/well about $11 million; undiscounted payback period of about 1.3 years
• Growing from 7 to 8 rigs by May, 2011; ~ 88 gross well annual run rate; converts majority of core acreage to HBP status over ~ 3 years
• Almost doubled their proved reserves, year-over-year; 80% of it is oil; $10/bbl finding --> production costs
• Very strong liquidity position
• Four additional catalysts

a. Completed initial Rough Rider Three Forks well with IP of 2,356; begins to de-risk 362 net locations

b. Completed initial Rough Rider Bakken well with IP of 2,710; begins to give idea of max wells / unit

c. Completed initial Montana Bakken well with IP of 909; two additional wells completing

d. Increased Williston asin total and core net acreage by  ~86K and ~64K acres since December, 2009

And that's just the first slide. That is just the beginning.

Yes, after listening to the presentation, I am, once again, restored to my inappropriately exuberant state.

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.

Investor's Business Daily (IBD): Bullish on the Bakken -- North Dakota, USA

For regular readers of this blog and other sites focused on the Bakken, there is not much new in the Investor's Business Daily story yesterday, but it serves to reassure those still wondering about the Bakken. Some key points that jump out at me from this article:

• It took less than three years for the Bakken to become a boom after the 2008 USGS revised estimates
• If CLR's estimates of the Bakken are true, this would amount to a 500% increase over the already huge USGS estimate -- five times, 500%
• Pipeline capacity is one factor limiting production expansion (already well known)
• But even if no improvements in pipeline capacity made, Bakken output could go from current 350K to 600 - 800K bopd

Another interesting point about the Bakken:

New optimism on the Bakken's productivity derives from several sources. For one thing, drillers keep finding oil in a growing Bakken acreage. "Operators find they keep expanding and still get good results," an analyst noted.

Reading that last point ("...drillers keep finding oil in a growing Bakken acreage") I think of WLL's very good wells in the Three Forks pinchout in the southwestern part of the Williston Basin in North Dakota. WLL is also going back into the Bicentennial oil field, which was active in the past, but not so much activity until recently, due to WLL. And WLL is very active in the Belfield (North Dakota) area.

US Corn Reserves -- Lowest in 15 Years -- Major Reason: ETHANOL

Link here.

This is absolutely incredible. Turning food into ethanol.

U.S. reserves of corn have hit their lowest level in more than 15 years, reflecting tighter supplies that will lead to higher food prices in 2011. Increasing demand for corn from the ethanol industry is a major reason for the decline.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported Wednesday that the ethanol industry's projected orders this year rose 8.4 percent, to 13.01 billion bushels, after record-high production in December and January.

It's just a matter of time before we read a similar story about US reserves of wheat, and this will be due to China.

Revisiting the Heart Butte -- Arrow Pipeline and XTO

Some time ago, I posted the producers likely to benefit from the Arrow Pipeline, a new pipeline completed in the Heart Butte oil field inside the reservation.

This is a list of those permits issued since that pipeline has been completed. Note the number of XTO wells, and remembering that about the time the pipeline was completed, XTO was bought by XOM:

2010 Permits

• 18844, Canceled, Zenergy, Dakota-3 Packineau 4-32H
• 18875, Zenergy, Dakota-3 Black Hawk 15-34H, SESE 34-149N-92W
• 18987, DRL, KOG, Two Shields Butte 14-21-16-2H, SESW 21-149N-92W
• 18988, 1,835, KOG, Two Shields Butte 14-21-33-16H, SESW 21-149N-92W
• 18989, 958, KOG, Two Shields Butte 14-21-33-16H3, SESW 21-149N-92W
• 19263, KOG, Two Shields Butte 14-21-33-16H3
• 19292, XTO, FBIR Baker 34X-25
• 19293, XTO, FBIR Waler 34X-25
• 19696, XTO, FBIR Walterpackswolf 31X-12
• 19769, Peak, Baker 29-31H
• 19800, XTO, FBIR Beaks 24X-8
• 19801, XTO, FBIR Huntsmedicine 24X-8
• 19805, XTO, FBIR Stephen 31X-19
• 19806, XTO, FBIR Bird 31X-19
• 19940, XTO, FBIR Yellowwolf 21X-10
• 19948, XTO, FBIR Ironwoman 21X-10
• 20036, XTO, FBIR Smith 11X-10
• 20114, XTO, FBIR Darcie 34X-14
• 20115, QEP, MHA 3-05-08H-147-92
• 20116, QEP, MHA 1-05-08H-147-92
• 20117, XTO, FBIR Youngbear 31X-9
• 20143, XTO, FBIR Lawrence 24X-26
• 20215, XTO, FBIR Guyblackhawk 24X-27
• 20236, Zenergy, Dakota-3 Packineau 15-32H

2011 Permits

• 20273, XTO, FBIR Headlessturtle 44X-32
• 20417, XTO, FBIR Goeseverywhere 31X-11
• 20419, XTO, FBIR Grinnell 34X-33
• 20424, XTO, FBIR Grinnell 41X-1

MDU and the Bakken/Three Forks -- North Dakota, USA

This is from the SeekingAlpha transcript of MDU's 4Q10 earnings conference call, regarding MDU's activity in western North Dakota:

• MDU acquired ~ 50,000 net acres in Stark County last year; targeting the Three Forks formation
• MDU's first discovery well: Kostelecky 31-6H (95% working interest); short lateral, 1,343 IP
• MDU's second test well: Oukrop has been completed; initial IP less than expected
• Plan to drill additional six operated well and participate in others in Stark County this year
• CAPEX in Stark County: $37 million
• Estimate 75 drill sites base on 640-acre spacing
• MDU plans to add a second rig in the Bakken; 2Q11

I was a bit delayed in posting this due to all the news coming out during the earnings season, the period of Egyptian unrest, and updating top stories for the past two weeks (my least favorite activity on this site).

On a personal note, one of the more interesting jobs I had as a high school student was a summer job with MDU, working as a "gopher" for the linemen -- if that's still the correct term -- the folks you see driving those utility trucks with cherry pickers on them to put in new transmission poles, and repair downed poles and lines. A couple of us spent two or three weeks putting in all the electric outlets at one of the upscale motor home/trailer parks on the northwest side of Williston. I think working with MDU was my last summer job while living in Williston. Fond memories.

Patriot Act Extension -- Fails in the House -- Nothing To Do With The Bakken

If I remember correctly (and I probably don't), President Bush II was severely criticized by the opposition party, including the current president, for the "Patriot Act."

The party that severely criticized that act has extended it in the past without any changes, and is now trying to extend it again. But the party that pushed this act has now defeated it in the House.  Yup, the vote to extend certain provisions of the "Patriot Act" has been defeated.

The president, who campaigned against this bill, is trying to extend the act until the end of this year (2011). If unsuccessful, the provisions expire at the end of February, 2011.

My hunch is that we have not heard the end of the "Patriot Act."

Update On Two EOG Wells in Van Hook -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Someone has asked for an update on two interesting EOG wells on the same pad in the Van Hook field. This pad is in section 36-T151N-R91W:

• 18827, EOG, Liberty 10-36H, comes off confidential list on 6/30/2011
• 18828, EOG, Liberty LR 16-36H, comes off confidential list on 7/13/2011

Since a date has been provided, this suggests the wells have been completed, or at least reached total depth.

In general, EOG does not release press releases ahead of the confidential release date.

The confidential list can be found here.

For several reasons, I have added these two wells to my "wells to watch" list.

Bakken Shale Discussion Group discusses these two wells here.