Two Dry Holes Probably Due to Unstable Soil

I missed this earlier in the week. A reader brought this to my attention. Thank you.

On the Wednesday, April 17, 203, the NDIC reported two DRY holes:

• 23341, DRY, Samson Resources, Michael Joyce 14-23-161-92H, Foothills, total depth, 1,660 feet
• 23342, DRY, Samson Resources, Los Gatos 11-2-161-92H, Black Slough, total depth, 1,620 feet

I'm not good at reading well files, but it appears that the soil was unstable. The company asked to temporarily abandon the wells to see the results of another well in the area. The request to temporarily abandon was denied; Samson Resources was asked to provide additional forms. At that point, I stopped reading. So, that's where it stands. 

The Los Gatos well targeted the middle Bakken; I assume the Michael Joyce did so, too, but I forgot to check.

There may be more to the story, but there have been other examples (rare) of unstable soil leading to an abandoned well:

• 22130, TA, WPX/Dakota-3 E&P, Mason 2-11HW, Van Hook, temporarily abandoned while WPX decides what to do with it; probably convert it to a SWD well; the formation was unstable;