Just How Good Is The Three Forks? Just How Good Is EOG's Completion Technique? Forbes Mentions Oasis

Early on, NDIC, Lynn Helms said the Three Forks might be better than the middle Bakken; and EOG has said they are getting 100% internal rate of return within one year.

In the old days (back in 2010, many of us considered a well that produced 100,000 bbls of oil in the first full year -- i.e., twelve months -- was an exceptional well).

Look at this one: more than 110,000 bbls in less than four full months (in about 3 1/3 months).

For newbies, also note the legal name for this well -- "....130-2526H." The "130" designates this as a Three Forks well by EOG.

• 24855, 1,981, EOG, Van Hook 130-2526H, Parshall, 35 stages; 11 million lbs, Three Forks, t7/13; cum 111K 10/13;

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	10-2013	31	26734	26712	8645	13774	13467	161
BAKKEN	9-2013	30	33240	33204	11194	17274	16742	387
BAKKEN	8-2013	26	29840	30264	13902	16347	14100	2130
BAKKEN	7-2013	10	21130	19696	9504	10540	8306	2184

Look at that: 35 stages.

Look at the length of the horizontal: much shorter than the usual "two-section" standard "long" lateral.

For 30-second sound bite, Bakken wells are generally drilling around 9,700 feet vertically and then driling a total of 20,000 feet, or about 10,000 feet of horizonal.

In this case, the vertical depth was 9,540 feet (the Three Forks target was 9,527 feet) and the total depty was 16,601 feet, much shorter than the standard 20,000 feet of total depth for a standard "long" lateral in the Bakken. About 3,000 feet shorter than the standard long lateral.

Generally speaking, most operators are using about 100,000 lbs of proppant per frack stage; it would not be unusual to see about 3 million lbs of proppants for a 35-stage frack. In this case, EOG used a whopping 11 million lbs for just 35 stages. EOG has been using 12 to 14 million lbs of proppant for 60-stage fracks.  So, even for EOG, an exceptionally large amount of proppant (sand) was used to frack this well.

If the usual is about 100,000 lbs/frack stage, then 300,000 lbs of proppant/frack stage is three times what others are using.

The spacing unit is the standard 1,280 acres. 

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Forbes provides seven names for skeptical investors who look through rose-colored glasses. Of the seven names, one is very well known to readers of the blog: Oasis.