Random Update Of A Well Still Flowing Since Spud Six Years Ago -- September 18, 2015

The well:

• 17147, 2,101, XTO, Boucher 41X-21, Hofflund, t4/09; F; cum 690K 7/15;

This is a Three Forks well. There are some minor sundry forms but the last major sundry form was dated March 23, 2009. No work on this well since -- or at least not enough work to require a report. It is still flowing at 5,000 bbls per month. Very little water being produced. Multiple payzones were evaluated when drilling this well; middle Bakken was felt to be economical. Gas readings while drilling gradually increased to 750 to 10,000 units; it was noted that the "abnormally high readings while drilling the lateral tangent to casing point may have been due in part to the close proximity to the recently frac'd DeAngelis 41X-21. For most of the lateral, the high volume of gas required the mud to be diverted through the gas buster, resulting in consistently strong flares. Extremely stron glares, at times exceeding 50 feet, were observed with trip gas and downtime gas kicks." It was a challenge to control the gas.

Open hole frack with 900,000 lbs of sand in six stages.

Sometimes paperwork fails to catch up with what is happening in the field; in this case I do not see any evidence this well is on a pump.

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Unemployment

Wow, this article has some interesting data points. This one caught my eye. Despite a gazillion dollars in stimulus and eight years into the recovery, 36 states -- thirty-six states -- have higher unemployment now than they did prior to the onset of the great recession. Thirty-six states. For most of us, there are only 50 states (for the president, there are 57 states.)

Sinclair says that 36 states still have higher unemployment rates than they did before the Great Recession began in December 2007. And 14 have rates much higher than the 5 percent that the Fed says is consistent with a healthy economy, including Alabama, Arizona, California and North Carolina.

Another lost decade.

The writers were quick to point out that despite the bust in the Bakken boom, North Dakota's unemployment rate dropped to 2.9%, down from 3.0% in the previous month.

The article noted:

Still, North Dakota, which has benefited from a boom in oil and gas drilling, is one of three states to lose jobs in the past year. The other two are West Virginia and Alaska.

By the way, West Virginia is reeling due to the war on coal and won't recover in my lifetime, but the state will still continue to vote for Obama environmentalists.

North Dakota has the second lowest unemployment rate -- not the lowest -- and is second to that industrial state of the midcontinent, Nebraska, even though Nebraska's unemployment rate rose from 2.7% to 2.8%.