Friday, August 17, 2012

Headline in Oil and Gas Journal: Whiting Pursues Red River Formation in Williston Basin

Link here. I think the general information was in their 2Q12 conference call which I've already posted; this provides a bit more specific information.

Data points:
  • Whiting has identified 50 vertical Red River prospects in its "Big Island" prospect
  • the "Big Island" is a 122,109-net acre play extending into Wibaux County, Montana
  • note the word "prospect" as used in this context; not drilling location; each prospect averages two drilling locations each -- let's see, 2 x 50 --> 100
  • so far, Whiting has drilled five (5) successful Red River wells in Big Island; all in Golden Valley so far
  • Schaal 22-15H: Whiting's first Red River horizontal well 
Whiting will target multiple objectives in Big Island. At this link, one can see that Whiting has already had several successful Madison wells in this prospect. Also, note the size of prospect has grown by a few acres. 
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6 comments:

  1. donAugust 17, 2012 at 3:23 PM

    a verticle Red River makes a lot of sense. HBP the lease, save on drill costs, easy/faster/cheper to complete then a horiz..
    The Red river wells South of Bowman into SD were done this way in the 1970's.. then in the mid-late 1990's they were recompleted with a work over rig drilling a horizonal completion..

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    1. Bruce OksolAugust 17, 2012 at 3:57 PM

      I think I saw $3.5 million for the vertical wells vs $10 million for the long lateral Bakken wells.

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  2. AnonymousAugust 17, 2012 at 5:48 PM

    Reickhoff well a Red River pumped 484 bd of oil on Aug 2

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  3. CRCAugust 17, 2012 at 7:48 PM

    One more formation getting renewed interest in the Williston Basin by the oil and gas industry. South Dakota sits wondering when the activity will picks up on the south side of the border. With Whiting and Continental looking at it it may be sooner than some think.

    South Dakota's very friendly business climate makes it tempting and attractive.

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    Replies
    1. Bruce OksolAugust 17, 2012 at 8:20 PM

      We'll see.

      If the price of oil were to jump to a new level/a new floor, it's very possible these "legacy" formations would get more attention. Right now, it's impossible to ignore a formation (the Bakken) in which you almost never, never get a dry hole. I think a lot of folks keep forgetting that these wells pay for themselves in 6 months to 3 years. After that, they pump for very little cost. I do think that much of what has gone in the past two years is a) de-risk their acreage; b) hold leases by production; and, c) improve the technology. To some extent, the really hard part has been done. To some extent, the manufacturing stage will be boring, and an opportunity for mergers, buyouts, etc.

      Delete

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