The Madison Formation in Stockyard Creek

The other night I posted some tantalizing notes about Madison formation wells in the Red Wing Creek oil field. Tonight while taking a closer look at Samson Oil and Gas experience in the Stockyard Creek field, a few Madison wells popped up again. These are all in the Stockyard Creek oil field.

• 12537, 157, Petro-Hunt, State of North Dakota K 1, tested 12/88; 479,224 cum 6/13;
• 12576, 95, Petro-Hunt, State of North Dakota L 1, tested 2/89; 320,478 cum 6/13;
• 12487, 272, Petro-Hunt, Texaco Otto Boss 18-1, tested 9/88; 660,7489 cum 6/13;
• 14836, 75, Petro-Hunt, Otto Boss 18-3H, tested 8/98; 33,430 cum 3/09
• 12564, 53, Petro-Hunt, Otto Boss A 1, tested 1/89; 119,886 cum 6/13;
• 14927, 163, Zavanna, Tofte 14-10H, tested 11/99; 153,370 cum 6/13;
• 16481, 58, Zavanna, Harstad 1-15H, tested 3/07; 107,606 cum 6/13;
• 12577, DRY, Texaco, State of North Dakota N 1
• 14716, 160, SM Energy, Boss 41-17, tested 10/97; 387,431 cum 6/13; (producing 1,200 bbls/month)
  
• 14792, 228, SM Energy, Boss 12-17, tested 1/98; 237,018 cum 6/13;

Although these Madison wells are not nearly as fascinating as the Red Wing field Madison wells, nonetheless they are very good wells, and most of them continue to produce at nice rates.

Stockyard Creek is a small field, not even a complete township; 33 sections. The township is averaging about one well per section. It appears there is a lot of life left in this little field.

One has to wonder if oil had been running $60/bbl or better all these years whether the Madison would have given up even more secrets.

SSN Filed 1Q11 Quarterly Report -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Motley Fool noted that Samson Oil and Gas was primarily a Niobrara exploration and production company.

Considering Samson Oil and Gas is primarily a play on the Niobrara region, it shouldn't have too much fallout from what's happening at Northern, even though it does have a Bakken stake of some 3,300 acres.

The Niobrara is a parcel of land in the Denver-Julesberg Basin, which goes from northeastern Colorado through southeastern Wyoming and into southwestern Nebraska, that's attracted industry stalwarts like Chesapeake Energy, Devon Energy, and EOG Resources.

The reference to "... what's happening at Northern [Oil and Gas]" has to do with recent story about NOG's ability to keep growing.

According to its 1Q11 quarterly report, released April 15, 2011:

• SSN has 15,365 net acres in the Niobrara but it has not participated in any wells in their leased Niobrara prospect yet. SSN has a deal with Halliburton in which HAL would drill in return for a share of the oil produced (if I remember correctly).
• They have participated in six wells in the Bakken, North Dakota: five are producing; the sixth has just been completed. SSN is evaluating whether to participate in three additional infill wells where they already have wells. 
• The company is also evaluating the potential of the Three Forks in the same sections.

 

In Case You Missed It -- Jim Cramer on the Bakken

The following is undated, but I believe it was posted Friday, April 15, 2011:

Tough crowd, these bank followers. I couldn't believe the dive that Bank of America took when only half the headline had first come out, as if the earnings per share of any bank -- let alone one with charge-offs and gains galore -- could be trusted. But such is the lot of a banker in an era when people seem to want banks to be Internet companies (but not "slowing" Internet companies like Google!). We are in an absurdist moment right now. The companies that are showing the best growth in my whole universe aren't financials, they aren't techs, and they aren't biotechs for that matter. They are oil and gas plays. EOG Resources , Whiting Pete, Continental Resources -- all three Bakken plays -- are clean-up hitters. 

It might have been Cramer's opening monologue on Friday; I forget. Regardless, it is the opening paragraph at his site this weekend. But that's all you get without a paid subscription to his site. I don't have a paid subscription. 

But those who have been following the Bakken for the past two years probably don't have to read the rest of his story. 

I still think Mr Cramer was about a year late getting to the Bakken. 

For Investors Only -- Partners Interested in Housing Opportunities In the Bakken

I received an e-mail from someone who has written me once before (last November, 2010) regarding investments in the Bakken.

He has written again today mentioning that he is part of a group of investors interested in providing additional housing in the Bakken (western North Dakota).

If you are interested in such an endeavor (partner-level investment in housing/apartment/motel/extended stay complexes in western North Dakota), feel free to send me an e-mail to my personal address (found at my profile at bottom of sidebar on the right) and I will forward your note to the individual who wrote me.

There is no hidden agenda here. I am not an investor in the group, and have no connection with it. My only purpose for posting this is trying to put readers in contact with other readers with common interests. I won't save your message (or your e-mail) once I forward your note; I will delete it. If you do send me an e-mail, be sure to tell me that you will allow me to forward it, so I don't have to go back and ask; it saves time.

What do I get out of this?  Two things: a "good feeling" that I helped my readers; and, these readers often provide me data about the Bakken that is news to me. In this case, I got an update regarding a non-Bakken formation which helps me fill in more of the puzzle.

This is linked "permanently" under my "Investors" tab at the top of the blog.

First Fuel Banks -- Interesting Concept to Lock in Gasoline Prices

Link here for home page -- tells you what the concept is.

This is the current price chart for gasoline and other finished products. The site will be linked at my "Data Links" tab.

Four-Fifty Gas.com alerted me to it. Thank you. Four-Fifty Gas is linked at the bottom of the sidebar on the right.

Putting in Pipelines BEFORE Drilling / Sixteen (16) Wells Per Pad -- Wyoming

In the past, pipelines were laid AFTER the wells were drilled. When the ratio of dry wells to successful wells is on the order of 14 to 1, it does not make environmental or financial sense to lay wells for every proposed well, and that's why there is flaring.

However, when the ratio of successful wells to dry wells is on the order of 1,000 successful wells to one dry well, maybe it's time to re-think this industry standard.

Now, for the first time I have come across this change in thinking. Encana plans to put in natural gas pipelines BEFORE drilling.

Encana Oil & Gas, USA proposes to drill as many as 3,500 gas wells on 220 square miles of as-yet undrilled land in the Upper Green River Basin [Wyoming]. The drilling would take place over 10 years.

Encana plans to use the most up-to-date drilling techniques to keep environmental damage to a minimum.That would include drilling up to 16 wells per well pad, with no more than four pads per square mile.

Pipelines would be installed from the start to collect gas condensate and produced water — gas production byproducts that otherwise would require lots of truck traffic to haul out, he said.

Note the number of wells/pad. A reminder: a section is generally one square mile.

Update on TransCanada Keystone XL -- Back and Forth -- Here We Go Again

This State Department review is more favorable regarding the TransCanada Keystone XL.  But time will tell.

I normally don't like to post interim updates on these issues because they simply go back and forth and would clutter the site.

In light of several developments, I thought the update important. The developments:

• a) Japanese nuclear disaster has changed everything
• b) Permitorium in the Gulf continues
• c) The price of oil is headed back up after a short (and meaningless) pullback
• d) The US is technically "broke" financially; weakens the dollar --> oil price up
• e) Although it's off the front pages, Mideast turmoil is probably getting worse, not better
• f) Libya is likely to be protracted; NATO doesn't have enough planes to take on a fractured 3rd world country that no longer has an air force or a functioning navy; and, no real army any more
• g) Delay in federal onshore permits
• h) Minnesota votes to life coal restrictions (a crack in "global warming" wall?)
• i) California votes to increase renewable energy mandates

When you put all that together, Canadian oil sands are not unimportant to the US.

More On That Newfield Well in Stark County -- Staggering Amount of Natural Gas Flared

As noted in my original posting regarding this Newfield Three Forks well, in 15 days it produced 26,777 barrels of oi and 40,137 thousand cubic feet of unprocessed NG.

Someone has done the calculations for me.

Based on past history of natural gas usage for a typical home in North Dakota (not the new McMansions going up in Williston), the amount of natural gas that was flared in those five days (40,000,000 cubic feet) would provide heat and hot water for a typical North Dakota home for 526.732 years. 

The home in question used 76.2 mcft of natural gas in the past 12 months.

This, of course, assumes the weather stays the same (in doubt, due to global warming); and, the furnace states at same of level of efficiency (also, in doubt, since, I assume that sometime in next 526.732 years the furnace will have to be replaced and the newer models will be more efficient).

I wonder how many wind turbines it would take to match this one well?

By the way, using the ratio of 6,000, the amount of natural gas (40,000 mcft) translates to 6,700 bbls of oil (and that's in fifteen days, that was all flared). That must have been some huge flare.

By the way, another way of looking at this, this one well in one month could have provided enough natural gas for 526.732 typical North Dakota for one year.

175! Finally!

New North Dakota record for active rigs.

I assume once road restrictions are lifted (due to thawing, muddy roads) we will start to see more movement of rigs.

This is where I track milestones regarding active rigs. 

Kadafi Now Using Heavy Weapons on Civilians

I update my thoughts on Libya debacle here.