Bloomberg's Snapshot Of The Bakken, One Word: Torrid; A Little Bit Too Much Emphasis On Rig Count Vs Type Of Rig

From Bloomberg (sent to me by a reader; link to follow):

Total wells drilled in the Bakken fell by 34 sequentially, or 5.7% in 4Q.

Continental, Hess, and Whiting drilled the most wells in the quarter.

The largest sequential increases included Enerplus (300% rise; added six), Statoil SA (145% rise; added 16) and EOG Resources (80%, eight).

Wells drilled in the most active county in the play, McKenzie, fell 13% to 187, while the well count in the next most-active county, Williams, rose by 22 to 106.

The number of permits issued in the Bakken fell 2.1% sequentially in 4Q.

Even with this decline, there were many notable increases.

Sequential absolute growth leaders in the quarter were Hess (117%; 55 permit rise), EOG Resources (128%; 23 permit rise), and Exxon Mobile (48% rise; 15 permit rise). Other notable operators such as Continental Resources, Whiting Petroleum, Kodiak, and Conoco Phillips drove overall weakness in permits.

Permits provide a peek into future drilling for a certain area. Permit awards in the North Dakota Bakken fell 2.1% n 4Q, after rising in 3Q. The lag time between permit award and first production from a well is about 60 to 90 days, depending on drilling depth and other considerations.

Rising rig productivity may combat the flat production outlook suggested by a decrease in permitting.

Bakken oil production rose 30% in 2013 to an average output level of 887,000 barrels per day from 2012’s 685,000.

While overall output levels have continued to rise at a torrid rate, average rig count levels in the Williston basin fell 11% to 184 from 207 in 2012. The output rise and rig count drop has been driven by increased rig productivity, which rose 32% yoy last year. Average output levels are up almost 32% ytd yoy.