So this is of interest:
March 28, 2012, NDIC hearing dockets; Case No. 17195:
Application of Continental Resources, Inc. for an order amending the field rules for the Brooklyn-Bakken Pool to create two 2560-acre spacing units comprised of Sections 14, 23, 26 and 35; and Sections 18, 19, 30 and 31, T.155N., R.98W., Williams County, ND, authorizing the drilling of multiple horizontal wells from said well pad within each 2560-acre spacing unit; eliminating any tool error requirements and such other relief as is appropriate.All spacing units in the Bakken-Brooklyn are currently 1280-acre, according to the NDIC GIS map server; and all units are currently held by production (Continental Resources), including the eight sections noted above in case no 17195.
Unless I am missing something CLR is not asking for larger spacing units as "a land grab" to hold leases by production. The horizontals will continue to be long horizontals (two sections) but mineral owners in any of the four sections will benefit from a successful well. Obviously CLR can put 8 - 16 wells on one pad with 4 - 8 wells going south and 4 - 8 wells going north.
If nothing else, the oil from all four sections, from the entire 2560-acre unit, can be commingled into one set of tank batteries. It seems this would make the entire operation much more efficient. If trucks are still picking up the oil, one truck can pick up oil from multiple wells; once pipelines are in place, the same thing; one does not have to worry about what oil is coming from which well. Extrapolate this to a unitizing the entire field and one can see the efficiencies. My 2 cents worth. Hopefully someone can provide "professional" insight.
Of course, it goes without saying, all the efficiencies with multiple wells on one pad, but CLR could have done that with the current 1280-acre spacing so that is not an explanation for the request of 2560-acre spacing units.
[August 18, 2012: I missed a big reason why 2560-acre spacing is of value. Heels and toes of horizontal wells must be set back a minimum number of feet from the spacing unit line. If the requirement is 500 feet and the spacing unit is one section (one mile, or 5,280 feet on a side), 500 feet at the heel and 500 feet at the toe = 1,000 feet, or almost 20% of the length of the spacing unit is lost. With 2560-acre spacing, at most the operator loses 500 feet at the toe. Since they are still drilling long laterals, that is 500 feet over two miles (10,560 feet), or less than 5%. This is the reason the operators want larger spacing units with horizontal wells in the Bakken. In one of the polls at the blog I asked whether it was better to have 1280-acre or 2560-acre spacing; the majority said 1280-acre spacing. The majority was wrong.]
Our family has interest in a drilling unit that contains an eco pad in Dunn County. The original well was drilled on a 1280 in 2008 then they came back and drilled on the 2560 a couple years later. Our well with a Bridger name was adjacent to a well with a Bonneville name that was drilled in a 1280 to the south at the same time.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things Continental talks about is the opportunity to eliminate the 500 foot setback on the two adjoining 1280s with a 2560. That give them another 1,000 feet of rock to harvest. With a 30 stage frac on a lateral 4,780 feet long there is a stage every 160' approximately. Therefore you can see the importance of eliminating that set back.
Woops it wouldn't be a 4,780 foot lateral it would be a 10,060 foot lateral and with 30 stages would be a spacing of 335' to each stage. Still important with the 1,000 feet of loss due to the 500' set back requirement on two 1280s
ReplyDeleteActually I think that's the major reason: getting rid of the setbacks (or minimizing them). It is amazing how much those setbacks can cost them. Great point. Thank you for taking time to comment. And, then of course, multiplying the savings of one setback by four wells and it's quite significant.
ReplyDeleteIf I was a MO of a 5 year old well, on a 1280 spacing, and just informed that they were about to drill some wells next door, and that my 1280 was going to be a part of this new 2560, I would be thrilled! Because my 5 year old well is producing 97bopd. BUT ALAS, I am the MO of the soon to be drilled wells and have just diluted my virgin acres by 50%
ReplyDelete