Eight (8) New Permits -- Lucy Hanson WIth an IP of 3,771 East of Williston -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Daily activity report, October 13, 2011 --

Operators: OXY USA, Denbury Onshore, BR (2), BEXP (4)

Fields: Willmen, Siverston, Little Knife, and Todd.

BR's two permits are for wells in neighboring sections in Little Knife oil field; BEXP's four permits are for four wells in Todd oil field; it appears one group will be a 3-well pad; the other permit is for a well to be put in a section that already has a producing BEXP well.

Todd oil field includes almost all of Williston, sections to the west of Williston and sections to the north. These four wells will be to the north of Williston, not inside city limits.

And, of course, today was the day that the daily activity report included the Lucy Hanson well (BEXP), east of Williston in Catwalk field with an IP of 3,771, which I posted elsewhere. This is a huge well.

With these huge wells being reported in and around Williston, and all the activity folks are talking about moving to McKenzie, it is getting a bit exciting in this neck of the woods.

Updating the String of Whiting Wells in Stark County; Reminding Folks of Two Recent Outstanding Lodgepole Wells In/Near Dickinson -- Date/Stamp A New Lodgepole -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

I have just updated the "string" of Whiting wells in Stark County. This will give folks an idea of the Three Forks potential in that part of the state.

That alone is worth your time if interested in the Williston Basin. But in updating that list, I was reminded of two great Lodgepole wells practically inside Dickinson city limits on the southwest side, if not inside the city.

Permits Issued in 2009

• 18190, 463, Armstrong, Laurine Engel 1, Lodgepole, t9/09; cum 347K 6/12;
• 18496, 474, Armstrong, Gruman 18-3, Lodgepole Pool, t3/10 cum 255K 6/12;

If you strike a Lodgepole well, it's generally a great well. At two years, the Engel well had yielded 247K bbls, and was still producing 10,000 bbls/month.

The Gruman at 18 months old, had produced 160K bbls and was still producing 10,000 bbls/month.

Most of us think of the Lodgepole as being concentrated down in the Dickinson area, and that's probably accurate, but I hear an oil company has hit a Lodgepole where it was unexpected. It is still confidential, so I won't say more, but I want to post this much for time/date stamp for archival purposes. [August 18, 2012: I was referring to an Oasis Lodgepole north of Williston -- Tyrone oil field, I believe. It did not turn out to be as exciting as some thought it would be.]

Wow, Another Incredible Well -- BEXP-- Lucy Hanson -- 3,771 -- Catwalk -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Updates

Permits

2014 (none as of October 1, 2014)

2013

27299, 1,216, CLR, Jenner 1-21H1, t5/14; cum 65K 7/14;
25677, drl, Statoil, Lucy Hanson 15-22 6H,

25675, 2,921, Statoil, Lucy Hanson 15-22 5TFH, t/914; cum --

25674, 3,113, Statoil, Lucy Hanson 15-22 4H, t7/14; cum -- 

25673, 3,165, Statoil, Lucy Hanson 15-22TFH, t8/14; cum --

2012

None

2011

21056, 273, CLR/Newfield, Wilson 154-100-29-32-1H, 30 stages; 2.6 million lbs, sand/ceramic; t1/13; cum 103K 7/14

Earlier Permits

• 20842, 2,743, Statoil/BEXP, Larsen 3-10 2H, Catwalk, Bakken; s5/11; t7/11; cum 200K 7/14; on the same pad as 20013;
• 20013, 3,771, Statoil/BEXP, Lucy Hanson 15-22 1H, Catwalk, Bakken, middle Bakken, it looks like it was a 36-stage frack; 1.3 million pounds sand; 2.7 million pounds ceramic. Lucy Hanson is about 3.5 miles east on 1804 out of Williston, and one mile north of the highway; s4/11; t8/11; cum 217K 7/14;
• 19406, 3,761, Statoil/BEXP, Knoshaug 14-11 1H, Avoca, Bakken, s9/10; t1/11; cum 242K 7/14; 3/12; this was also 36 stage frack; 1.4 million pounds sand; 2.2 million pounds ceramic.
• 19008, 2,804, Statoil/BEXP, Brakken 30-31 1H, s8/10; t12/10; cum 184K 7/14;
• 18311, 2,769, Statoil/BEXP, Williston 25-36 1H, s10/09; t12/09; cum 245K 7/14;
• 16099, 314, Tracker Resource/Tri-C Resources, Gamma-State 16-15, (no "H" designation), Bakken; s2/06; t5/06; cum 68K 7/14;
• 10279, 155, Citation, Brakken 24-30, Madison, s9/83; t9/83; cum 142K 7/14;
  
• 8137, 32, Citation, Fedorenko 1-21, Madison, s12/80; t4/81; cumulative 97K 7/14. So this well has been actively producing for 30 years and is yet to reach 100,000 bbls. The average Bakken well will reach 100,000 bbls in 18 months or sooner.
• 7290, IA/178, Citation, B.P.O.E. 1 (the "Elks" well); Madison, s7/80; t12/80; cum 233K 7/14; currently producing about 200 bbls/month --> 7 bbls/day 3/12; 260 bbls 1/14; went offline/inactive 6/14;

Original Post

Isn't this beautiful country?

Photos of the Lucy Hanson two days after it came off the confidential list. The photos are taken from the west of the wells, towards Williston and the Little Muddy in the far background.

Catwalk oil field; first two wells that caught my attention and photographed above:

• 20013, 3,771, BEXP, Lucy Hanson 15-22 1H, Catwalk, Bakken, middle Bakken, it looks like it was a 36-stage frack; 1.3 million pounds sand; 2.7 million pounds ceramic. Lucy Hanson is about 3.5 miles east on 1804 out of Williston, and one mile north of the highway; s4/11; t8/11; cum 92K 1/12;
• On this same pad: 20842, 2,743, BEXP, Larsen 3-10 2H, Catwalk, Bakken; s5/11; t7/11; F; cum 71K 1/12; 

Others:

• 21056, 273, CLR/Newfield, Wilson 154-100-29-32-1H, t1/13; cum 103K 7/14;

By the way, BEXP has another nice well just one section east of this well:

• 19406, 3,761, BEXP, Knoshaug 14-11 1H, Avoca, Bakken, s9/10; t1/11; cum 128K bbls 1/12; this was also 36 stage frack; 1.4 million pounds sand; 2.2 million pounds ceramic.

Others:

• 18311, 2,769, BEXP, Williston 25-36 1H, s10/09; t12/09; cum 245K 7/14;
• 19008, 2,804, BEXP, Brakken 30-31 1H, s8/10; t12/10; cum 184K 7/14;

******************   Catwalk oil field: this is a very small oil field, only 14 sections, including the east side of Williston (inside city limits). The western boundary is near University Avenue, extending north to about where 22nd Street would be, and extending south about two miles south of the tracks.The Little Muddy runs through the eastern side of this field, and the field includes the Missouri River south of the tracks. Highway 1804 cuts right through the middle. The old refinery would be in this field, Raymond Lee's land would be in this field, Halliburton/Sanjel industrial park would be in this field. That's how close it is to Williston center. [The Catwalk is pretty much the area covered in the Muddy River Boys.]

There are several vertical (legacy wells) in this field, but only one producing horizontal prior to Lucy Hanson. That well is:

• 16099, 314, Tri-C Resources, Gamma-State 16-15, (no "H" designation), Bakken; s2/06; t5/06; cum 68K 7/14;

Just to give you an idea of how the legacy wells performed, a couple of the still-active wells  in this field:

• 8137, 32, Citation, Fedorenko 1-21, Madison, s12/80; t4/81; cumulative 97K 7/14. So this well has been actively producing for 30 years and is yet to reach 100,000 bbls. INACTIVE as of 1/12; The average Bakken well will reach 100,000 bbls in 18 months or sooner.
• 7290, 178, Citation, B.P.O.E. 1 (the "Elks" well); Madison, s7/80;t12/80; cum 233K 7/14; currently producing about 200 bbls/month --> 7 bbls/day 1/12
• 10279, 155, Citation, Brakken 24-30, Madison, s9/83; t9/83; cum 142K 7/14; 
  

Why The Bakken Continues to Excite -- Hess Gusher Updated -- The BR Wells Previously Shut In -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Updates

November 18, 2012: follow-up on --

• 19323, 2,521, Helis, Thompson 1-29/32H, Grail, t8/11; cum 350K 2/13; a Three Forks well; 28 stages; 3.3 million lbs; 
• 19056, 825, Hess, Devils Canyon 17-1H, Lone Butte, 29 days; fracture data never submitted (I assume it it was fracked?), t8/11; cum 129K 2/13; note decline:

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	9-2012	27	4253	4513	2238	7093	7093	0
BAKKEN	8-2012	31	5932	5982	2851	9576	9576	0
BAKKEN	7-2012	24	4410	4330	2300	6229	6160	69
BAKKEN	6-2012	30	4993	5081	966	6685	6685	0
BAKKEN	5-2012	31	5029	5453	2905	7728	7728	0
BAKKEN	4-2012	30	5343	4955	2579	7359	7359	0
BAKKEN	3-2012	31	6584	6639	3104	8315	6696	1619
BAKKEN	2-2012	29	7341	7050	4106	9330	0	9330
BAKKEN	1-2012	23	5894	6161	3924	6800	0	6800
BAKKEN	12-2011	31	8325	8505	3433	9934	0	9934
BAKKEN	11-2011	18	5949	5728	2353	7035	0	7035
BAKKEN	10-2011	13	4070	3737	1784	4555	0	4555
BAKKEN	9-2011	30	14156	14457	6608	17298	0	17298
BAKKEN	8-2011	31	25986	25346	18546	30993	0	30993

This well highly pressurized; gas exceeded 4,000 units and flares to 40 feet.

Original Post

I never grow tired of the Bakken.

I just went through the 3Q11 wells that came off the confidential list, updating IPs for those wells that were in DRL status and have now reported an IP.

The numbers really are staggering. I won't re-type all the data; if interested you can go to the link, find the well you are interested in for additional information, but look at these:

• 19283, 1,524, BR, Sunline 11-1MB-3SH, Clear Creek, t5/11; cum 88K 2/13; 4 sections;
• 18809, 753, ERF, Baker 20-34H, Heart Butte, t8/11; cum 205K 2/13;
• 19237, 862, Abraxas,  North Fork, t7/11; cum 97K 2/13;
• 19487, 2,108, BR, Cleetwood 11-27H, Elidah, t6/11; cum 165K 2/13;
• 19436, 930,  Zavanna, Louise 1-35H, Stockyard Creek, t6/11; cum 147K 2/13;
• 19285, 2,325, BR, Rising Sun 11-1MB-3NH, Clear Creek, t7/11; cum 118K 9/12; 4 sec; 
• 19108, 1,200, Arsenal,  Amy Elizabeth 11-2H, Stanley, t8/11; cum 97K 9/12;
• 19795, 2,029, NFX,  Johnson 150-99-34-27-1H, South Tobacco Garden, t5/11; cum 124K 9/12;
• 19540, ,2,032 Murex, Vanessa Abigail 33-28H, Midway, t5/11; cum 144K 9/12;
• 19834, MRO, 1,291
• 20116, 2,533, QEP,  MHA 1-05-08H-147-92, Heart Butte, t7/11; cum 170K 9/12;
• 19323, 2,521, Helis, Thompson 1-29/32H, Grail, t8/11; cum 350K 2/13; a Three Forks well; 28 stages; 3.3 million lbs;
• 19292, XTO, 1,358
• 19056, Hess, DRL -- See Above, under updates; not completed yet, not fracked and 25,986 bbls in August
• 20022, 1,067, SM, drilled as a wildcat, Jaynes 16-12H, Poe, t6/11; cum 97K 9/12;
• 19961, 2,816, KOG,  Koala 3-2-11-14H, Poe, t7/11; cum 224K 2/13;

10-Day Weather Outlook -- If This Is Global Warming, Bring It On -- Warmer Up Here; Not So Blazing Hot in the South -- What More Could You Want

Link here.

Warmer than usual in the northern tier -- great!

Cooler in the south where it's been blazing how -- great!

What more does one want?

Update on Chevy Volts --

Chevy Volt video from CNBC.com yesterday, October 12, 2011.

Data points:

• Sold so far this year (through September): about 3,800
• GM says will meet target of 10,000 this year (2,000/month for rest of year)
• Target for 2012: 60,000 (45K in US; 15K rest of world)
• Average income of Volt buyer: $175,000

I honestly have no idea why someone with an income of several  hundred thousand dollars (to get to the $175K average) would buy a Chevy Volt. My hunch: dealerships are counted in that average.

Why I Love to Blog -- First Roundabout In North Dakota -- Williston (Unless Fargo Has One) -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Last night, just before going to bed, I wrote a long, long note on my impressions of the Bakken. I probably wrote several pages, and then decided the better part of valor was to post only a few notes, eliminating all the stuff that would get folks upset. So it was a short note.

But point # 5 of that post:

5. Regarding the Truck Reliever Route (the new bypass around Williston): a) folks are looking for a solution to the wrong problem; they are asking the wrong question; folks are putting the emphasis for the new route on the wrong "thing."  The emphasis for any new route needs to be on two things: a) the "right" direction (and north/south is not the correct direction; and, b) intersection engineering. The trick is not the route; the trick is getting onto the route.  Left hand turns, stop signs, and yield signs don't cut it.

Now, today, incredible as it may seem, a friend sends me a link to a Bismarck Tribune story on that very issue: intersections, dateline today, October 13, 2011.

The town of Killdeer could soon boast the only traffic roundabout between Fargo and Billings, Mont.

The busy intersection of Highways 200 and 22 just south of town is getting a sliding "C" grade from the state Department of Transportation, and a roundabout is one of two possibilities for improving that score.

A roundabout is essentially a circle intersection with drivers only able to make a right turn for any exit option with yields, not stops controlling the flow.

Transportation designer Leon Eckroth said the number of potential conflict points is greatly reduced from 32 conflict points in a turn-lane intersection - the other construction possibility - to four in a roundabout.

Technically speaking, this may be the first/only roundabout between Fargo and Billings, but if true, then Williston will be able to lay claim to the first roundabout in North Dakota (unless Fargo  has one). There is a huge roundabout at Harvest Hills subdivision northwest of Williston. The north exit will take you into the subdivision; the south exit will take you to Sand Creek Retail Center, where Menard's will be located.

My seven-year experience with roundabouts in England completely sold me on the idea. Roundabouts can be used on four-lane divided highways and on interstate-like highways. England does it all the time. But it requires "out-of-the-box" thinking and the likelihood of more than one roundabout in Williams County is highly unlikely. (The one roundabout in Williams County is at the new Harvest Hills subdivision promoted by Granite Peak/Peter Kiewit. I was impressed when I saw it. It is a huge roundabout -- I wondered why it was so huge, and then realized it would accomodate truck traffic if necessary.

New Director's Cut -- October 12, 2011 -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Link here.

Soon to surpass California and Alaska. 

Production hits all-time high in North Dakota (again):
Aug, 2011, oil: 444,142 bopd (all time high)
Jul, 2011, oil: 424,975
Aug producing wells: 5,951(all-time high)
Jul producing wells: 5,756

Permitting
Aug, 2011: 207 (all time high: 245, 2 Nov 10)
Jul, 2011: 136

Pricing
Aug, 2011: sweet crude, $81.43
Jul, 2011: sweet crude, $90.60
Back of envelope calculations:
Aug, 444,142 x $81.43 = $36.166 million
July, 423,550 x 90.60 = $38.373 million
June 384,809 x 91.69 =$35.283 million.

Director's comments:

Rig count remained steady, but production increased almost 5 percent. Bowman County Red River production was stable at about 27,000 bbls with one well drilling. The idle well count dropped significantly agine to 733 wells, but normal is 450, indicating a continuing backlog of almost 300 wells waiting to be fracked.

Rigs
20,000-foot capable rigs: over 95% utilization rates (last month >90%)
7,000 or less-capable rigs: less than 50% utilization rates

Permitting is below record levels. As fall approaches and the rig count rises permit activity is expected to increase so locations can be built prior to winter weather.

The number of wells drilling on federal surface in the Dakota Prairie Grasslands is down to 3.

With regard to flaring:
The low value of processed natural gas does not justify investment in infrastructure, but the natural gas liquids make gathering and processing of Bakken gas economic. The policy set forth in statute for the North Dakota Industrial Commission is to promote production and to prevent waste in order that the greatest possible economic recovery of oil and gas is obtained. The Industrial Commission has encouraged and supported various projects that utilize the resource, ultimately reducing the amount of flared gas in oil country. Up to this point in the Bakken play gas has been flared at record levels in order to promote the resource to the natural gas gathering and processing industry and demonstrate the size and potential of the resource. The result is a plan presented by industry to invest over $3 billion in natural gas gathering and processing infrastructure in 2011, 2012, and 2013. As this investment is made and gas gathering infrastructure is built, Commission policy can be expected to focus even more towardpreventing waste in the natural gas arena.

New Website: Energy for America -- Link From PowerLine

PowerLine alerts us to a new website called Energy for America. It appears PowerLine, this blog, and Energy for America are all on the same page when it comes to America's energy resources.

When you go to the link they have a nice graphic showing America's utilization of its oil drilling rigs. I used to think about that, worry about that, post those statistics (utilization of drilling rigs), but it turns out that's only one data point. Newer rigs are more effective than older rigs, and simple utilization rates are meaningless. In the Bakken, long lateral technology theoretically cuts in half the number of rigs needed (just two years ago, the general consensus was 640-acre spacing in the Bakken; the NDIC has now set the spacing at 1280-acre unless otherwise requested/approved).

This is not an original thought. When I first started blogging, someone pointed that out to me.

A digression.

Years ago some folks might remember the US president taking the Soviet leader Krushshev on tour of the cornfields in Iowa. At that time, the goal was grow corn as high as it could be grown. I remember stories about corn stalks seven feet tall. Then someone noted that four-foot stalks were producing, on averge, about as many ears as a tall corn stalk: three. All that extra water and fertilizer was just being used by the plant to grow taller, not make more ears. Now, the goal is to grow smaller plants with as many ears.

Likewise, it's expensive to drill a well, and the few rigs it takes to get the job done, the better. When I see US oil production going up, and the number of rigs going down, that's a nice graphic. All things being equal, I want rig utilization to go down, and production go up.

Anyway, that's enough for now.

$70 Oil is a Show-Stopper for Canadian Oil Sands -- Personal Observation

Link here. I believe some of these links break after a short period at which time you will need a subscription. I post just enough to let you know the gist of the story but you want to read the entire story if this is interest.

This is a nice, fairly in-depth story that looks at the options Canada has with regard to their heavy sands oil.

Ever since an oil well near Leduc, Alberta, made Canada a significant oil producer in 1947, the energy export business here has relied almost entirely on the United States.

Thanks to the massive oil sands of northern Alberta, Canada is now the United States' top supplier of foreign oil. But that may be changing.

China's growing energy needs and the prospect that an environmental backlash in the United States against the oil sands might hinder access to Canada's traditional market are making the idea of a trans-Pacific market for Canadian oil increasingly attractive.

Change is about the only constant in the rapidly shifting global energy business. And one of the most significant changes is the seeming role reversal between what was once considered the periphery of energy production and consumption and what was considered the center.

That change is starkly visible in the relationship between China and Canada.

While Canada - and the United States, for that matter - have long been major energy producers, the largest role that the West has played in the global energy market has been as leading consumers.

Under the old paradigm, the nations of the Middle East were the chief producers. Institutions like the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the International Energy Agency, over time, entrenched that dynamic.

But just as the institutions of Bretton Woods, byproducts of a U.S.-dominated postwar economic order, are being challenged, so are OPEC and the I.E.A., their relevance questioned in a new era marked by the ascendence of Brazil, China, India and Russia and the relative stagnation of the West.

One certainly gets the feeling that $70-oil is a show stopper for the Canadian oil sands. That is a personal observation and not stated in the article.