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Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Well, This Is Interesting -- Riersgard Well -- Hess -- $100 Million -- 12-Well Pad -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Updates

July 5, 2016: this is now a 15-well pad. In addition to the six wells noted below, here are nine more; the first three on a 3-well pad to the west, and the second six, on a 6-well pad to the east:
  • 25574, 333, Hess, EN-Riersgard 156-93-1718H-4, Alger, 4 sections, t12/13; cum 59K 5/16;
  • 25575, 493, Hess, EN-Riersgard 156-93-1718H-5, Alger, 4 sections, t11/13; cum 69K 5/16;
  • 25576, 447, Hess, EN-Riersgard 156-93-1718H-6, Alger, 4 sections, t12/13; cum 116K 5/16;
  • 26718, 648, Hess, EN-State C-156-93-1615H-4, Alger, 4 sections, t5/14; cum 103K 5/16;
  • 26719, 777, Hess, EN-State C-156-93-1615H-5, Alger, 4 sections, t6/14; cum 119K 5/16;
  • 26720, 660, Hess, EN-State C-156-93-1615H-6, Alger, 4 sections, t6/14; cum 123K 5/16;
  • 28065, 597, Hess, EN-State C-156-93-1615H-7, Alger, 4 sections, t10/14; cum 96K 5/16;
  • 28066, 850, Hess, EN-State C-156-93-1615H-8, Alger, 4 sections, t11/14; cum 82K 5/16;
  • 28067, 669, Hess, EN-State C-156-93-1615H-9, Alger, 4 sections, t11/14; cum 104K 5/16;
Original Post
Well, this is very, very interesting.

Regular readers know that I try to post 5 to 10 new stand-alone posts per day (as well as updating countless number of older posts).

With so much posting, I often forget what I've posted. Only by going back through earlier posts do I sometimes catch things. I just noted this, and no one sent in a comment yet which suggests a) no one else noticed; or, more likely, b) no one cares. Smile.

Anyway, earlier today I posted that mineral owners would not be happy to see a Hess well on a 2,560-acre spacing unit come in with an IP of 777.  (On the other hand, it could have come in at 666, even worse, I suppose.)

Later this evening,  I posted a Filloon story suggesting Hess may have in mind a 12-well pad. Someone noted that the pad currently has six confidential wells on site, with one showing a rig on site, according to the NDIC map. Generally I don't expect to see an IP reported for any well on the pad when the map still shows a ROS at the pad.

So, I wasn't expecting this, but there it is. One of the wells on that pad reported an IP.
  • 21129, 777, Hess, EN-Riersgard-156-93-1718H-1 (this link is broken; Teegue could not stand all the nonsense on flaring). Alger, Bakken, s9/11; t2/12; F; cum 65K 8/12; 4 section spacing; a Three Forks well; frack data to be provided later, according to Hess. Trivia: boy, these guys are good: they reached total depth in 20 days. At total depth, the bit was 1.7 feet below the ideal target total vertical depth (TVD) of 10,305.65 feet, according to the file report.
Chronologically, this is the lowest numbered well of the six wells. Geographically it is the northernmost of the six wells. The six wells:
  • 21129, 777, Hess, EN-Riersgard-156-93-1718H-1 (this link is broken; Teegue could not stand all the nonsene on flaring). Alger, Bakken, s9/11; t2/12; F; cum 71K 9/12; 
  • 21130, 739, Hess, EN-State C-156-93-1615H-1; t2/12; cum 53K 9/12; 
  • 21131, 705, Hess, EN-Riersgard-156-93-1718H-2, t4/12; cum 86K 9/12;
  • 21132, 372, Hess, EN-State C-156-93-1615H-2; t4/12; cum 38K 9/12; 
  • 21133, 540, Hess, EN-Riersgard-156-93-1718H-3; t4/12; cum 61K 9/12;  
  • 21134, 456, EN-State C-156-93-1615H-3; t4/12; cum 40K 9/12; 
Cool. So, are these the first six of a 12-well pad? A $100 million pad? On 2,560-acre spacing one would expect more than six wells. The four sections (15, 17, 17, and 18) run west-east. The wells are typical long laterals. The spacing means that an individual owning mineral rights in section 15 will participate in royalties from the horizontal running through sections 17 and 18 even though he/she will hold no acres in either of those two sections.

Now, go back to the March, 2012, dockets:
  • Case 16885, cont'd, Hess, 12 wells on a 2560-acre unit, Banks-Bakken, Williams, McKenzie
Is it possible that in an earlier docket Hess had another 12-well, 2,560-acre spacing case? Or maybe yet to come. Regardless, we now see that Hess does plan 12 well, 2,560-acre spacing pads.

Here we go.

Idle rambling follows; recommendation: ignore it. 

By the way, I was following one of the longest threads ever on another site regarding spacing of Bakken wells (this link is broken; Teegue could not stand all the nonsense on flaring).  I thought one or two of the folks talking about this issue would understand the concept of unconventional/tight shale based on their expertise of the Bakken in general, but the one or two whom I thought understood things, said things about spacing that completely amazed me. I didn't post anything at the time for a number of reasons, but now with this 2,560-acre spacing pad and the first of six wells reporting an IP, it confirms what I thought all along. There are very, very few folks that really understand the concept of unconventional/tight oil and the reasoning for the spacing.

Also, a second note, same subject (2,560-acre spacing) but a different issue. I remember when 2,560-acre spacing was first being considered. Folks said that it would be impossible for rigs to push a horizontal wells across four sections (four miles of horizontal boring), much less keep the rig in the 10-foot seam of the formation (in some places). Now we see how they are going to exploit a 2,560-acre unit: with standard "long" laterals. So a mineral owner with one acre in the far northwest corner of the 2,560-acre unit, will participate in any oil taken from the far southeast corner in an east-west oriented four-section spacing unit, even though the horizontal is two miles away.

9 comments:

  1. Starting to see the development faze emerge. I can see way Basin Electric sees the urgent need for another high voltage power line into the northwest part of the state.

    With the oil and gas production growing at this rapid rate so does the need for everything else to keep all development moving forward. Otherwise it will stall.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The good news is that we're moving into summer months when it remains daylight until about 11:00 p.m. Williston is right on the western edge of Central Daylight Time (Watford City, to the east of Williston, is actually on Mountain Daylight Time), which gives Williston an extra hour of daylight in the evening.

      In addition, my hunch is that all support services are working 6 and a half days / week, and some are working 24/7.

      When I was in the Bakken last autumn for three months, I saw heavy equipment laying the WAWS water pipe seven days/week.

      Delete
    2. I think the only reason things will stall if the movers and shakers in the Bakken lack vision.

      Harold Hamm has it. Bud Brigham has/had it. ONEOK has it.

      Warren Buffett was lucky.

      Delete
  2. http://www.legacyoilandgas.com/documents/NewsRelease-Mar20_2012-Final.pdf

    anon 1

    ReplyDelete
  3. Doesn't appear as spectacular as a 6 or 12 well pad, but south of Ross (also in the Alger field), in 27-155-92 BOG has 8 wells. 1 from 2009, and 7 more on conf status. 3 are in one pad closer to the 2009 well in the NW quarter, and another 4 are in another pad in the NE quarter.

    Also 7 in 20-155-92, with 2 being older stand alone wells.

    I suspect there may be more examples, if one takes the time to look.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. For me, it's all spectacular. Thank you for sharing. So, a section in Alger with 8 wells; that's impressive. It was just a few short years ago that folks were surprised to hear that there "might" be a well -- one well -- in every section in the Bakken.

      Delete
  4. I think that particular thread over at the other site was probably the best thread they have ever had. Just the number of people that participated in that discussion I thought was encouraging.

    The thread definitely showed that there is a wide range of people's education about the Bakken, however, there were two people that seemed to really know what they were talking about. One said that they have been in the business 30 some years and another was a geologist. I think it is great that so many people have an interest in the basin. It also shows that many are hungry for information that will further their education. Your site excels at this in every way.

    Imagine if that site was the only site to get information. If you were to take out each individual listing of the wells coming off the confidential list daily, what would be left? A handful of topics and many that don't have much gravity. It is like watching a turtle race. Thank goodness for your site.

    I found it odd that you did not have more to say about that thread or at least throw in you two cents worth.

    This may be another idea for a topic. Can one lateral can efficiently drain a 2560 acre spacing unit WITH the lateral offset to one side of the unit? Can you imagine?

    ReplyDelete
  5. This seems to be the direction which Hess is moving. On February 28, they applied to the commission to create 2 4-section units in the Equity township by Ray. The application states that 12 wells are planned.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree; I saw it in the March NDIC dockets. Huge savings on these 6-well and 12-well pads. Trucking, pipeline, fracking, etc., etc.. Also, anyone who has driven around the oil patch one sees the long roads that often have to be built to each oil well pad; this could cut down 5 to 11 roads.

      Huge savings.

      Delete

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