Notes On A Three Forks Study In Northeast McKenzie County; Three Forks Wells 5ive Times Better Than A Middle Bakken Well

The lead sentence of this story should catch your attention.

Do you remember Lynn Helms saying that the Three Forks could be better than the Bakken? It might have been an understatement.

Here's the lead sentence, something I seldom do, putting it in bold red:

The recent discovery that wells drilled in northeastern McKenzie County have an initial production that is five times the amount of an average Bakken well has caught the attention of the oil and gas industry as well as the state of North Dakota.

And then this:

“An average Bakken well has an initial production, or starts on day one, producing generally 1,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd),” states Lynn Helms, director of Mineral Resources for the North Dakota Industrial Commission. “Wells that are produced in northeastern McKenzie County, have an initial production of roughly 5,000 bpd.”

And more:

To discover what makes this area so special, and to develop a more complete computer model of the Bakken and Three Forks Formations, a data compilation effort, called the Geothermal Gradient Study, is being conducted by the Department of Mineral Resources in northeast McKenzie County.

According to Helms, the area in northeastern McKenzie County happens to be the deepest part of the Williston Basin. It is the hottest and its layers are the thickest, which is why it has been targeted for this study.

The Geothermal Gradient Study has also targeted a high thermal gradient in eastern Bottineau and eastern Rolette counties, as well as around Bismarck, for similar reasons.
“These areas have abnormally high temperature and pressure,” states Helms.

But there is more to it than that. Helms states that the study looks at all the layers, when they were deposited, where they eroded to, how much they have been heated, whether they are buried to a certain depth, the amount of time over which this has occurred, and the amount of carbon that is being produced.

Go to the link for the rest of the story. It should water your eyes.

Of course, that water in your eyes might be allergies. The pollen, here in northern Texas, is really, really affecting my eyes and nose.

A huge "thank you" to a Minnesota reader for sending me this story. I would have missed it.