Ten (10) New Permits -- Important Report Today -- The Williston Basin, North Dakota, USA

Updates

Later: After posting the original note below, more comments came in regarding Chesapeake. The comment regarding payzones in addition to the Three Forks was most interesting.  Just three miles to the west of the Chesapeake location currently (3/12) with a rig on site, is a small irregular oil field, Rocky Ridge. Here are a few wells from that oil field. All vertical wells.

• 1484, DRY, Tyler; s8/57
• 1777, DRY, Tyler; s3/58
• 2923, 240, Heath, now abandoned; s5/61; t7/61; cum 352K
• 2955, 126, Heath, now abandoned; cum 17K
• 4063, 120, Heath, now abandoned; s4/66; t7/66;  cum 312K
• 4789, 488, Heath, now abandoned; s9/69; t11/69; cum 257K
• 4892, 197, Heath, now abandoned; s2/70; t6/70; cum 250K
• 8503, 176 cumulative bbls over first few months; abandoned

Original Post

I noted that this is a more significant report than usual. See if you see what I see.

Daily activity report, March 22, 2012 --

Operators: BEXP (2), Whiting (2), Murex, WPX, Chesapeake, Oasis, Hess, SM Energy

Fields: Spotted Horn, Last Chance, Gros Ventre, Big Stick, Hawkeye, Stanley, Squaw Gap

Chesapeake has a wildcat in Stark County:

• 22630, loc, Chesapeake, Burwick 17-137-98 A 1H, wildcat; Stark County;

Four (4) wells released from "tight hole" status, including this one:

• 20191, 1,463, Whiting, Littlefield 41-12XH, Mountrail, Bakken,

One of the four wells was not yet completed/fracked.

This is what I saw. If you've been following the comments, you will notice that some folks feel very, very strongly that Chesapeake is getting ready to make a move in the Williston Basin again. I have said that the tea leaves suggest something else. I left unsaid that I had not seen a new Chesapeake permit in some time. Well, today, Chesapeake has a new permit. A sign of life.

This new Chesapeake location (#22630,  Burwick) is about six miles due west of another Chesapeake wildcat location:

• 22004, loc, Jilek 8-137-97 A 1H, wildcat, Stark County;

Both these wells are about 6 miles, and 12 miles, east of another Chesapeake wildcat, which currently (3/12) has a rig on site:

• 22223, drl, Chesapeake, Hutzebiler 9-137-99 A 1H, wildcat, Stark County; two payzones -- Madison with an IP of 0 but produced a little bit of oil (419 bbls) early on, but none in last four months; the Bakken, on DRL status;

These Chesapeake wells are all just south of Dickinson. In addition, there are a string of Chesapeake wells on the confidential list just north of these aforementioned wells.  So, maybe Chesapeake is about to makes  it move in North Dakota.