Mash-Up Two Recent Posts -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Mash-up of two recent posts.

First post. From the 1Q12 Chesapeake transcript:

CEO: This is an important point and so I'd like to reiterate it. We are all set with our asset base, with the exception of the sale of the Permian and a few other minor odds and ends that we have left to sell later in '12 and in '13. Quite simply, as a result of our innovative approach to the business and hard work during the past 7 years, we now have a very focused and exceptionally high-quality asset base. In fact, we think it's the best in the industry. We've now established #1 position in the Utica, Mississippi Lime, Granite Wash, Cleveland, Tonkawa, Powder River in the Niobrara, Marcellus, Haynesville and Bossier plays. In addition, we have established #2 positions in the Eagle Ford and the Barnett. No one else in the industry has assembled anything close to this scale and quality of an asset portfolio. In short, we've built a very strong foundation of 11 #1 and #2 positions in the nation's best plays. And to make sure I'm crystal clear on this, we have no interest in going to Canada or anywhere else outside the U.S.

Q: Which play is not mentioned in that list of #1 and #2 positions?

Expanding:

CEO: And to do that, I think you've got to be the best at what you do. And for us, that's going to be, to be #1 and #2 in 11 of the most important plays in the nation after we sell the Permian. So the Permian will get bought either in 3 packages, a group of 3 packages, or individually in those 3 packages.

And the Bakken?

CEO: We're still working our Williston acreage. It doesn't look like it's going to work for the Bakken or the Three Forks [recent wells were DRY or nearly DRY], but we've got some other ideas there. So I haven't given up there. We're getting ready to complete a well in another formation. DJ Basin has not worked for us in the Niobrara, although the Powder River has worked quite well. So those are 2 areas, plus you mentioned the Woodbine, all of which we've accounted for in our go-forward plans. So again, we tried -- sometimes you try to get in plays and sometimes you're successful with where you want to be and sometimes you're not. So again, as we look at the company going forward, we want to be real simple about our goals, which is, if we own it, we're going to be #1 and #2 in it. If we can't get there, then we're going to sell it and let somebody else consolidate their position.

Second post. From Investopedia:

Five companies adding CAPEX -- NOG, Magnum Hunter, CLR, Denbury, and WLL.

• CLR: $1.75 billion --> $2.3 billion; additional CAPEX all in the Bakken 
• WLL: +$200; more than $100 million to acquire more leaseholds

Thoughts and comments to follow later if I remember.  

For those unfamiliar with "mash-up," here's a mash-up video:


Ring, Ring, Hanging on the Telephone, ABBA, Blondie