Williston Exploration Assumes Operator Responsibility For Chesapeake Hutzenbiler Well In Stark County, Will Target The Tyler Formation; Update On Barnes & Noble (Bookstore, Not A Well)

A reader noted that Chesapeake transferred operating responsibility for its Hutzenbiler well in Stark County to Williston Exploration. The reader's thoughts from various sources:

Chesapeake cored the Tyler and then left North Dakota. Williston Exploration cut a deal with Chesapeake and is going for a Tyler well. No indication yet whether it is a horizontal or a vertical. The well is about 8 miles north of the Rundle Trust location.

It looks like the reader is correct. Look at the ticket:

NDIC File No: 22223     API No: 33-089-00680-00-00     CTB No: 122223
Well Type: OG     Well Status: AB    Status Date: 6/10/2012    Wellbore type: Horizontal
Location: SWSW 9-137-99  
Current Operator: WILLISTON EXPLORATION, LLC
Current Well Name: HUTZENBILER 9-137-99 A 1H
Total Depth:       Field: WILDCAT
Spud Date(s):  2/16/2012
Casing String(s): 9.625" 2620'   7" 9796'  
Completion Data
   Pool: MADISON     Perfs: 9796-13950     Comp: 6/10/2012     Status: F     Date: 6/14/2012     Spacing: W2
   Pool: THREE FORKS     Status: PNC     Date: 6/10/2012
   Pool: TYLER     Status: AR     Date: 2/21/2014
Cumulative Production Data
   Pool: MADISON     Cum Oil: 419     Cum MCF Gas: 1403     Cum Water: 62116
Production Test Data
   IP Test Date: 6/14/2012     Pool: MADISON     IP Oil: 0     IP MCF: 0     IP Water: 471

Summary: from the well file, it looks like this was an exploration well for Chesapeake, drilling vertically about 10,000 feet which means the Three Forks was the target; the drilling took place February/March 2012 and declared PNC on 6/10/2012; at the same time, the well appears to have been re-entered and the Madison tested. A small amount of oil was recovered from the Madison but placed on the AB list about that same time.  Fast forward to February 21, 2014 (yesterday) and the well's status is AR (re-entry) and the target is the Tyler. It looks like the reader's sources were correct: it will be a re-entry targeting the Tyler. The Tyler formation is not as deep as the Bakken. In fact, the Tyler was the kick-off point for the curve when CHK was drilling to the Three Forks horizontal. Disclaimer: this is all beyond my comfort zone, but this is how I interpret what I am seeing. I may be way wrong on some of this.

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Barnes & Noble

At the beginning of the year I posted a very long note which included my advice for Barnes and Noble (yes, pretty presumptuous of me, considering I have no degree in business). At this link, scroll down for my advice. It is interesting to see that someone sees value in Barnes and Noble.

Private investment management firm G Asset Management said on Friday it has made a proposal to acquire a 51-percent stake in either Barnes & Noble or in the Nook digital business. 

The proposal for Barnes & Noble would be for $22 a share, which would value the chain at $1.32 billion. The current offer is a sweetened version from G Asset Management's proposal in November, which valued the bookstore chain at $20 a share.

Alternatively, G Asset Management has proposed to acquire 51 percent of the Nook segment, valuing the segment at $5 per share. 

I don't get the alternative, 51 percent of the Nook segment.  I get the 51-percent stake in Barnes & Noble itself; there are several possibilities: a) the investor sees opportunity to upgrade the brand; b) the investor sees how "badly" discounted the last big box bookstore in America is; c) the property alone is worth more than the brand. Convert all the stores to a discount women's clothing store, for example, like they did with Border's or sell to Apple for new retail stores.

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 Oven-baked flour clay bunny. -- Olivia, age 7