HUGE ARTICLE: The Bakken: A New Exploration Frontier -- SeekingAlpha

Note: this is a story I have been anticipating for some time. I am guilty of not having done some of the primary research on my own, but Richard Zeits, SeekingAlpha.com, has provided that for us, in a format much better than I could have done. For additional background, you may want to read a couple of other posts with the same tag.

I don't know if it's hyperbole to say this is one of the most exciting developments to come out of the Bakken in the past few months.

There are so many story lines in this Richard Zeits story, but maybe for another time. 

********************

Some months ago I think I jumped the gun, jumping on the same bandwagon as many others, suggesting and agreeing that "we" were entering the manufacturing stage in the Bakken. Then the blockbuster briefing by Continental Resources following through with aggressive plans to test two, three, or four "benches" below the upper Three Forks.

Earlier this month, I started changing my comments to reflect that perhaps some operators were moving into the manufacturing stage, some, particularly Continental Resources, were still very much in the exploration phase. Other operators, due to the high cost of completing a well, were delaying plans to enter the manufacturing phase.

Now, we have another nice SeekingAlpha.com article suggesting that exploration is still the name of the game for some in the Bakken.

This could be huge, and was foreshadowed by PN.com with regard to Slawson (see other posts with the same tag).

Back on June 16, 2012, I posted a note about Slawson testing the Upper Bakken shale (for newbies, 99% of the "Bakken formation" wells are middle Bakken wells (dolomite sand); "no one" is drilling the Upper Bakken "tight" shale -- "no one," that is, except Slawson.

According to the linked SeekingAlpha.com story, CLR recently made reference to the drilling results by Slawson in the Mondak, recently made public, that tested the upper Bakken shale.

On September 27, Slawson Exploration (the operator) and its 10% working interest partner PetroShale announced the initial results from their first four test wells in the Mondak field. These four horizontal test wells are noteworthy for having been drilled and completed in the Upper Bakken Shale itself (as opposed to the vast majority of the industry's development activity which has targeted the Middle Bakken dolomite, a reservoir rock sandwiched between the low permeability source rocks, the Upper Bakken Shale and Lower Bakken Shale).

Go to the link for the rest of the story. I may post some data points later, but the story is too incredible to wait for me to post data points.

It is very, very exciting.

Play this loud (real loud) while reading the SeekingAlpha.com article:

What is Love? A Night at the Roxbury, Haddaway
75th best-selling single of all time in Germany.