Random Look At Parcel Of Land Recently Leased -- Little Knife Oil Field; July 6, 2014

In the North Dakota lease sales of May, 2014, one of the highest bids was for a parcel of land in section 18-145-97, the northeast quarter, Wildcat Oil and Gas, LLC, $13,100/acre for 80 acres. Tonight there is a rig on a 5-well pad:

• 28573, rig on site, Petro-Hunt, Dolezal 145-97-7D-6-3H, Little Knife,
• 28578, conf, Petro-Hunt, Dolezal 145-97-7D-6-2H, Little Knife,
• 27275, conf, Petro-Hunt, Klatt 145-97-18A-19-2H, Little Knife,
• 28579, conf, Petro-Hunt, Dolezal 145-97-7D-6-1H, Little Knife,
• 24683, conf, Petro-Hunt, Klatt 145-97-18A-19-1H, Little Knife,

There are no other horizontal Bakken wells in this section, but less than a mile to the east is this well:

• 22201, 996, Hess, LK-Dolezal-145-97-0805H-1, Little Knife, t5/12; cum 193K 5/14; sundry form dated April, 2014, states that remedial cement work will be needed; 34 stages; 2 million lbs sand/ceramic; background gas as high as 3,000 units; 5' - 20' flare, and occasionally significantly higher; "this strong hydrocarbon show indicates that the LK-Dolezal is likely to be a very productive well after fracture stimulation."

Back to 18-145-97, Some folks may wonder why this 80-acre parcel went for $13,100/acre. This might provide a hint. In that same section, there are several vertical wells, one of which is still producing:

• 6082, 491, Petro-Hunt, Martin Weber 1-18-1C, a Madison well, t5/77; cum 925K 5/14; still producing 650 bbls/month.

This well, drilled almost 40 years ago, is still producing, and is nearing the one-million-bbl milestone. This well, by the way, is being tracked at "Monster Wells."

There is another active Madison well in the same section:

• 12949, 73, CLR, Dolezal 1-18, a Madison well, transferred from Chesapeake to CLR in 2008, the permit was originally issued to Comdisco (Denver) and has has passed through many hands since first drilled; t10/90; cum 508K 5/14; and still producing a 1,000 bbls per month; 

I don't think I've made an error on this but it's hard to believe that the parcel was obtained in May, 2014, and there is now a rig on a 5-well pad in this area. It's possible I've made a mistake but I've checked the GIS map a couple of times, and the lease results and they seem to match.  If this is correct, there is no way federal permitting would have ever been this fast.