Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Are There Any Active Wells In Wells County, North Dakota?

This came in as a comment from a reader, but comments are not google-searchable; I will post it here:
Do you have any idea what's with the production data for Wells County displayed on page 2 of the latest (November 2013) monthly oil and gas production report (available at https://www.dmr.nd.gov/oilgas/mprindex.asp)? 
Apparently there was a newly productive gas well there in November, and a rather decent one at that, but I hadn't heard about any drilling there, nor can I find any additional information within the report or on the NDIC GIS map server. As far as I can tell, while also appreciating the irony, there should be no active wells in Wells County.
When you get to the link, click on November, 2013; it's a pdf. At the pdf, go to page two. Note the gas well in Wells County. Neither the reader nor I can find any other data at the NDIC site regarding this well.

The reader and I both hope this well is indeed active; another fifty years with no active wells in this county and they may have to change the name.

2 comments:

  1. After looking at the site that link seems to be the only source so far. I found a 1982 spacing order for the area but nothing else. If there is anything else you may have heard, a company name, a location, I could try to look more. Also the other discussion group has some members who are very close to the industry and the government and they may be able to ferret out this information. This is truly a wildcat, if it isn't just a typo.

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    1. Agree; very strange. Original reader's comment suggests this is not a typo and there have been a lot of dry holes in the area in the past. But it is strange. I think I would have spotted a permit request in the hearing dockets in the past three years, but I never did.

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