Random Look At Possible Siting Of New KOG Koala Wells Based On Today's Permits

This is what really makes blogging about the Bakken fun.

This takes me back to the early days when I tried to anticipate where wells would be sited and what formation they would be targeting. It was much simpler then: just the middle Bakken and the (upper) Three Forks. Now we have three additional Three Forks benches.

A reader alerted me to this one. When readers write in about the Bakken correcting something I have written, the readers are almost always correct. In fact, I think I have been wrong 100% of the time, and readers have been correct 100% when they have pointed out what might be an error on my part.

So, when a reader suggests I am seeing something incorrectly, well... talk about cognitive dissance. I assume the reader has to be right, but yet, I remain confused.

This is the situation.

KOG has six new permits in today's daily activity report. The pertinent information:

a) 27405, KOG, Koala 4-4-6-4H, Lot 4 4-151N-99W, 935' FNL and1116' FWL, development, Poe

b) 27406, KOG, Koala 4-4-6-4H3, Lot 4 4-151N-99W, 905' FNL and 1116' FWL, development, Poe

c) 27407, KOG, Koala 4-4-31-13H, Lot 4 4-151N-99W, 875' FNL and 1116' FWL, development, Poe

d) 27408, KOG, Koala 4-4-29-1H, Lot 4 4-151N-99W, 650' FNL and 810' FWL, development, Poe

e) 27409, KOG, Koala 4-4-28-4H, Lot 4 4-151N-99W, 650' FNL and 870' FWL, development, Poe

f) 274010, KOG, Koala 4-4-28-3H3, Lot 4 4-151N-99W, 650' FNL and 900' FWL, development, Poe

This information is taken directly from the daily activity report. Note: Poe field.

So, to get started.

For newbies: those are six permits, which for identification, I have labeled "a," "b," "c,"  "d," "e," and, "f."

For newbies: FNL - "from the north line of the section (in feet)"
For newbies: FWL - "from the west line of the section (in feet)"

Therefore, the siting:

• six wells either on one 6-well pad or two 3-well pads at right angles to each other
• three wells ("a," "b," and "c") sited (surface locations) in a a line north/south 1,116 feet from the west line
• three wells ("d," "e," and "f") sited (surface locations) in a line west/east 650 feet from the north line
• the wells will be sited in Lot 4 of section 4-151-99
• I don't know where Lot 4 is, but based on the "FNL" and the FWL" they will be in the northwest corner of the section 4

Which oil field?

• Section 4-151-99 is clearly in the North Tobacco Garden oil field (see NDIC GIS maps below)
• however, the permits are for development wells in Poe field
• permit nomenclature always designates the oil field from which the oil will be taken, not the field in which the wells are sited. In this case, the wells are clearly sited in North Tobacco Garden, but the permits (according to the NDIC daily activity report clearly designate these are to be development wells draining the Poe field.

Development wells

Development wells mean that there is already a producing well in the same general area (same field?) and these wells will continue to "develop" the field/location (as opposed to "wildcat" wells, for example).

Existing wells and spacing units

• section 4-151-99 is spaced for 640 acres (one section) and has one well is already there (an XTO well)
• the surrounding sections in question (which we will get to later), are spaced for 1280 acres and overlapping 2560 acres
• the surrounding sections in question (which we will get to later), already have KOG Koala wells

Nomenclature

• they are all Koala wells
• their names consist of four "parts" after the Koala
• the fourth part (4H, 4H3) has to do with the formation being targeted (middle Bakken or one of three Three Forks benches)
• the first part (the number "4") in all six permits is the same number (as noted, the number "4"): that means they are on the same pad, "Koala pad #4." (That's my first opinion. Up to this point, everything has been factual, not opinion.)
• the second two numbers are the sections where the well begins (SHL = surface hole location) and where the horizontal ends (BHL = bottom hole location)

So, for example, let's look at the "d" permit:

d) 27408, KOG, Koala 4-4-29-1H -- explanation:

• permit number 27408
• a KOG-operated well
• a Koala well
• on Koala pad #4
• surface hole location in section 4
• bottom hole location in section 29
• formation target and operator's chronologic number: 1H -- the first middle Bakken in this group

So, let's see another example. Let's look at the "b" permit:

b) 27406, KOG, Koala 4-4-6-4H3 -- explanation:

• permit number 27406
• a KOG-operated well
• a Koala well
• on Koala pad #4
• surface hole location in section 4
• bottom hole location in section 6
• formation target and operator's chronologic number: 4H3 -- one of the Three Forks benches

I've placed "1H" and "4H3" in red because I haven't sorted out what formation is designated using KOG's shorthand. I "know" that "H" by itself is the middle Bakken, and anything else is one of the Three Forks benches. I've never understood the "chronologic number" in this type of nomenclature.

That's how I see it.

More could be written explaining other details. I am mostly curious where I am wrong in my thinking on this.

Below are two graphics taken from the NIDC GIS map server. One shows 1280-acre spacing and one shows 2560-acre spacing. Everything seems to fit 1280-acre spacing except for one well, but the 2560-acre spacing is certainly possible.

The locations of the surface holes in the graphic are not perfect but are in the general direction. I did not label the origin of the arrows with "a," "b," "c", etc., because it would have gotten too cluttered. But "a" and "b" run to the west and "e" and "f" run to the north.

Before going to the graphics, one last comment. This is all idle chatter. It matters not the least to me exactly where these are sited or what they target. I own no mineral rights. But I get great enjoyment out of trying to break the nomenclature codes of the operators (and I did that for EOG's middle Bakken/Three Forks wells early on). (I also like Sudoku puzzles.) With so much going on in the Bakken, I don't have time for that much any more and in the big scheme of things es macht nichts. 

Disclaimer: It is very likely I have made a typographical error in the long post above. If alerted to typographical errors, I will correct them. It is also very possible I have misinterpreted the nomenclature and the graphics below are completely wrong. I would love to hear (definitively) where I have erred.

But again, this is all idle chatter on a frigid January evening for some. And again, a huge shoutout to all the roughnecks and geologists on site in the Bakken.

In the graphics below, section 4 (in white) is 640-acre spacing only. The well in section 4 is an XTO well. The existing wells where the red arrows are located are all (I believe) KOG Koala wells.

For newbies: it's hard to tell, but the red straight lines (the vertical and horizontal lines; not the arrows) are the borders of the oil fields in the graphics: the Poe, the Banks, and North Tobacco Garden. The arrows represent the horizontals (the tips of the arrows are the bottom hole locations/end of the horizontals); and all arrows reside within the Poe oil field, which agrees with the permits, except where they are sited (inside North Tobacco Garden. It is not at all unusual for wells to be sited in one field but draining an adjoining field. Folks with mineral rights in section 4 (white) would not share in the royalties of these six wells even though they are sited in that section. (Again, if my understanding is correct; and I could be way wrong; don't make any financial or investment decisions or sign any paperwork based on what you read here.)

1280-acre spacing (most likely):

2560-acre spacing (less likely):