West Capa Oil Field

In these long posts there will be typographical and factual errors. If this information is important to you go to the source, generally the NDIC.

Updates

October 15, 2014: if this is your first time to this page, be sure to read the comments; some interesting history.

West Capa oil field has been updated. If I recall, no new wells have been reported since I did the last update but there have been some significant increases in total production in some wells since the last update.

What surprises me most: this field is just across the river (in Williams County) from perhaps the sweetest spot in the Bakken (northeast McKenzie) and yet the wells in this field (the West Capa) do not seem as good as those across the river. It is possible they will get better with new completion techniques.

There is currently one rig operating in West Capa. There is another rig in the area, but it is in the Grinnell oil field just to the south.

Permits

2017 (none as of September 20, 2017)

2016
None.


2015 (the list is complete)
30917, 464, XTO, Smouse 31X-28DXA, t2/16; cum 75K 7/17;
30665, 376, XTO, Smouse 31X-28H, t3/16; cum 52K 7/17;
30664, 603, XTO, Smouse 31X-28D, t3/16; cum 57K 7/17;
30652, 752, XTO, Smouse 31X-28C, t3/16; cum 79K 7/17; 


2014 (the list is complete)
28650, 1,701, XTO, HM Hove 34X-33H, t2/15; cum 160K 7/17;
28553, 1,580, XTO, HM Hove 34X-33D, t3/15; cum 152K 7/17;
28552, 1,302, XTO, HM Hove 34X-33G, t3/15; cum 138K 7/17;
28551, 1,057, XTO, HM Hove 34X-33C, t3/15; cum 152K 7/17;
27925, 1,294, XTO, Willey 31X-3H, t10/14; cum 67K 7/17;
27748, 655, XTO,  Willey 31X-3F, t10/14; cum 59K 7/17;
27747, 812, XTO, Willey 31X-3G, t10/14; cum 53K 7/17;
27746, 1,268, XTO, Willey 31X-3D, t10/14; cum 51K 9/15;

2013  (list is complete)
26845, 446, XTO, Roxy 21X-6F,  t12/14; cum 166K 7/17;
26844, conf, XTO, Roxy 21X-6A, t11/14; cum 187K 7/17;
26843, 1,986, XTO, Roxy 21X-6E, t11/14; cum 129K 7/17;
25851, 1,501, XTO, Wallace 21X-2A, t12/13; cum 108K 7/17;
25850, 990, XTO,  Wallace 21X-2E, t12/13; cum 56K 7/17;
25369, 1,559, XTO, Thaxton 24X-35A, t9/13; cum 126K 7/17;
25368, 1,325, XTO, Thaxton 24X-35E, t9/13; cum 103K 7/17;
25149, 539, XTO, Wallace 21X-2F, t12/13; cum 113K 7/17;

Prior to 2012 (all 2012 permits included) -- see below 

Original Post

Note: it is impossible to keep the fields updated. The purpose of these field updates is to a) give me an idea of where the fields are located; b) who "owns" them; c) how they are being developed; and, d) a general feeling for how "good" the field might be.

West Capa oil field is in/near the heart of the Bakken; it is located just a bit to the northeast on the other side of the river from the sweet spot of the Banks and Camp oil fields. It borders Truax which is to the west, which is a very, very good field for KOG.  West Capa is just north of the river, east of Williston. State Highway 1804 runs west-east through the field splitting the field to the north and to the south.

West Capa is just a few miles to the southwest where oil was first discovered in North Dakota.

One enters the field from the west about 25 miles from Williston; State Highway 1804 will swing north on its otherwise west-east route; if one were to continue straight east at that point, one would travel just five more miles to get to the Links of North Dakota.

It looks like the field is "owned" by XTO, a wholly-owned subsidiary of XOM. XTO had this acreage and was developing it before XTO was bought by XOM, if I remember correctly (I often get these "facts" incorrect, so I always appreciate corrections).

The wells look pretty good and it appears they are improving. I have not looked at the well files, but if there is a general trend of improving, I assume it is because the frack design is changing (more stages; more proppant).

West Capa wells with file numbers greater than 16XXX, with one exception (I was curious what Hess was looking for back before the current boom):

• 13746, 33 (no typo)/SWD, Hess, Kamp SWD 34-23; a Silurian; t12/95; cum 12K 9/97;
• 16676, 223, Murex, Ryan Thomas 27-23H, t11/07; cum 245K 7/17; Bakken;
• 16828, 392, XTO, Kelly 41X-3, t1/08/ cum 100K 7/17; Bakken;
• 17823, 617, XTO, Smouse 31X-28, t7/09; cum 98K 7/17; Bakken; went inactive 4/15; back on-line 8/16;
• 18102, 806, XTO, H M Hove 34X-33, t4/10; cum 168K 7/17; Bakken;
• 18894, 870, XTO, Woodrow 34X-32, t5/11; cum 150K 7/17; Bakken;
• 18944, 907, XTO, Helen 11X-5, t1/11; cum 143K 7/17;   Bakken;
• 19014, 717, XTO, Klepp 21X-1, t8/10; cum 154K 7/17; Bakken;
• 20062, 1,359, XTO, Christiana 21X-6B, t4/12; cum 178K 7/17;
• 20250, 1,944, XTO, Wayne 34X-34, t3/13; cum 214K 7/17;
• 21376, 900, XTO, Willey 31X-3, t3/12; cum 115K 7/17; went inactive 2/14 for about 9 months;
• 21894, 707, CLR, Kiefel 1-36H, t4/12; cum 195K 7/17;
• 22139, 1,148, XTO, Christiana 21X-6G, t4/12; cum 149K 7/17;
• 22275, 1,672, XTO, Rose Federal 34X-34C, t1/13; cum 157K 7/17;
• 22325, 856, XTO, Wallace 21X-2B, t5/12; cum 91K 7/17;
• 22514, 1,023, XTO, Thaxton 24X-35B, cum 77K 7/17;
• 22515, 437, XTO, TAxton 24X-35F, t9/13; cum 122K 7/17;
• 22681, 2,298, XTO, Roxy 21X-6B, 8/12; cum 234K 7/17;

See comment below about some history of this field. So that the comment is not lost, I will also post it here:

Just some history on the Capa Field area... The first oil test in this immediate area was the Big Viking well which was drilled in 1928. This well was located less than a mile south of the 13746 Kamp well which you referenced.  

The Big Viking was drilled with "cable-tool rig" which pounded a hole in the earth to 4600 feet.  

The second well of importance was the California Company (now Chevron) Kamp which was drilled to 10,281 feet in 1937 using a rotary rig. No significant oil or gas shows were reported but the well did drill through the Madison, Bakken, Three Forks and into the Devonian/Duperow formation.  

A half-mile west of this early test, Hess drilled a Kamp well in the 1980's which has produced nearly 900,000 barrels of oil from the Silurian zone at about 11,000 feet. The Hess well did have an oil show on a drill-stem test of the Duperow at about 10,000 feet.  

If the 1938 test had been successful our North Dakota oil history would likely be a lot different. The discovery well, as we all know, was the Amerada Clarence Iverson well drilled in 1951. This discovery was about 6 or 7 miles northeast of the early Big Viking and California Kamp wells. Like the old story about dry-holes, they didn't drill exactly in the right spot and they didn't drill deep enough!

Didn't drill in exactly the right spot and they didn't drill deep enough! Smile.