From Carpe Diem: Bakken Drilling Costs Coming Down

Link here to CarpeDiem.

It's very interesting. When costs were becoming a concern to operators and shareholders, Continental Resources was one of the first to suggest that pad drilling would result in about a 10% savings in drilling costs/well.

During that discussion regarding drilling costs, perhaps over a 12-month period, I read a lot of SeekingAlpha transcripts and a lot of corporate presentations. About the only variable I recall being discussed regarding costs was "pad drilling." Seldom was the decreased drilling time mentioned.

When the Bakken boom began, it seemed drilling times were 45 to 60 days. Now, NDIC has said average drilling time is under 20 days. Pad drilling saves time (and money) but I would wager that decreased drilling times will be a bigger contributor to decreased costs.

Unfortunately, those savings will be offset by an increased number of frack stages.