Random Update Of QEP State Wells In Section 16-150-95 -- December 15, 2015

Updates

October 19, 2017: production data updated.

October 22, 2016: another update of these interesting wells; is there something going on with #28168 and a recompletion to explain all this? 

August 7, 2016: up to a full 25 days in 6/16, compared with only 11 days 5/15; up to 5,636 bbls in 6/16; t10/10; cum 618K 6/16;

April 10, 2016: of these six wells, QEP had a frack problem with #29326; QEP said they would come back to re-frack. I don't see sundry form regarding a new re-frack, but here is the updated production profile which suggests something has been going on:

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	2-2016	9	3628	3513	1108	4483	4294	185
BAKKEN	1-2016	0	0	104	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	12-2015	4	1474	1497	402	1855	1739	116
BAKKEN	11-2015	30	19360	19451	4189	24026	22333	1693
BAKKEN	10-2015	31	32349	32150	9808	33249	19197	13927
BAKKEN	9-2015	29	892	873	462	1692	984	708

April 10, 2016: in the original post, six wells were noted to be "back on the confidential list." Those wells have now been reported:

• 29324, 1,963, QEP, Jones 3-15-23TH, Grail, 50 stages, 10.3 million lbs, t9/15; cum 345K 8/17; only 8 days in 12/15; 
• 29325, 2,308, QEP, Jones 5-15-22TH, Grail, 4 sections, 50 stages, 13 million lbs, t9/15; cum 289K 8/17; only 8 days in 12/15;
• 29326, 904, QEP, Jones 3-15-22BH, Grail, 2 stages on 9/9/15; 219K sand, t10/15; cum227K 8/12; only five days total in 12/15 and 1/16; in a sundry form received October, 2015, QEP said they will come back and complete the frack at a later date; a follow-up form received in November, 2015, says QEP planned to re-complete the well; API 33-053-06235; FracFocus show the well was fracked beginning 9/8/15 and completed 2/15/15: 5.9 million lbs water;
• 29327, 2,261, QEP, Jones 6-15-22TH, 50 stages, 9.5million lbs; Grail, t9/15; cum 321K 8/17; only seven days in 12/15;
• 29328, 2,312, QEP, Jones 4-15-22BH, Grail, 50 stages, 13.8 million lbs, t9/15; cum 364K 8/17; only 8 days in 12/15;
• 29329, 2,291, QEP, Jones 15-22 16-21LL, 2 sections, Grail, 50 stages, 13.8 million lbs, t9/15; cum 401K 8/17; only 8 days in 12/15;

Original Post
 

This is a very, very long note. The typical disclaimer holds: in a long note like this, there will factual and typographical errors. I may see things that do not exist, and miss things that are much more important. I am doing this for my benefit to help me understand the Bakken. Do not quote me on any of this. If this information is important to you, go to the source. I welcome comments.

N.B. When I went back to update QEPs State wells located in section 16-150-95, I noted that the wells had been taken off-line since I last visited, and when they came back on-line, production in some of them had noticeably increased.

N.B. When I went back to update these wells (the QEP State wells in section 16-150-95, which I refer to as the index wells for this note), I noted that six horizontals seen on an earlier screen shot were no longer there. Those laterals had been drilled to total depth and were not confidential. However, prior to being fracked, they were put back on the confidential list (or put on the confidential list for the first time) and the horizontals were removed the NDIC GIS map server -- something I had not noticed that the NDIC would do -- remove horizontals from the map if the wells went confidential. This will be important in light of all the SI/NC (DUC) wells.

So, now, unto the story.

I posted this screen shot on March 20, 2015.

OLD

Today -- moments ago -- I went back to the GIS server to see what that area looks like today. Here is the screen shot today. Note the new laterals to the far west (left side) and the same "index wells" in the center. However, what do you notice to the right, the east? The six horizontal wells that looked like a "Daddy Longlegs" spider to the east (the right side) in the March 20, 2015, are NOT in the screen shot today:

NEW 

Narrative

I will look at the six wells whose laterals are missing in today's screen shot; the wells themselves are now "yellow" -- indicating they are on the confidential list. Let's see what the file report says:

• 29329, back on conf, QEP, Jones 15-22-16-21LL, Three Forks B1, 1280-acre,
• 29328, back on conf, QEP, Jones 4-15-22BH, middle Bakken, 1280-acre,
• 29327, back on conf, QEP, Jones 6-15-22TH, Three Forks B1, 1280-acre,
• 29326, back on conf, QEP, Jones 3-15-22BH, middle Bakken, 1280-acre,
• 29325, back on conf, QEP, Jones 5-15-22TH, Three Forks B1, 1280-acre,
• 29324, back on conf, QEP, Jones 3-15-23TH, Three Forks B1, 1280-acre,

A letter from QEP to NDIC dated April 9, 2015: the six wells on the Jones 4-15X pad have "reached TD. Based on QEP's current back log in completion schedule, the completion operations for the wells listed below will be delayed (and then the six wells are listed)."

The middle Bakken for these wells at 10,600 feet.

The Three Forks for these wells at 10,710 feet.

Although these wells are on the confidential list, because oil from these wells have been sold, oil runs and MCF sold must be reported:

• 29329, Three Forks, sundry form received April 10, 2015: "well drilled to TD, liner set, waiting on completion."

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
10-2015	35705	39663
9-2015	15273	15952

• 29328, middle Bakken:

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
10-2015	29052	25242
9-2015	17573	6654

• 29327, Three Forks,

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
10-2015	30970	26471
9-2015	10233	11546

• 29326, middle Bakken:

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
10-2015	32103	19232
9-2015	873	984

• 29325, Three Forks:

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
10-2015	26453	20101
9-2015	4549	4394

• 29324, Three Forks:

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
10-2015	33824	35292
9-2015	1366	851

Based on the data above, it looks like the wells were completed/fracked sometime in July/August/September, 2015, timeframe (7/15 - 9/15).

Now let's go back to the production profiles for the index wells. This was the synopsis of one of the five index wells as of December 16, 2014 with updates:

18973, 2,579, QEP/Helis, State 1-16/21H, Blue Buttes, t10/10; cum 567K 10/15; inactive 4/14; looks like it might be back on line as of 10/14; yes, now shown to be active, 12/14; huge jump in production in 12/14; coming back on line after permission to commingle production from multiple wells; large production number could be due to 'mis-allocation' during early commingling; random update, March 20, 2015; random update, May 7, 2015; 

These are the Index Wells:

• 18973, 2,579, QEP/Helis, State 1-16/21H, Blue Buttes (scout ticket - a mistake; this is a Grail well), Three Forks; t10/10, cum 484K 1/15; inactive since 4/14; looks like it might be back on line as of 10/14; yes, now shown to be active, 12/14; huge jump in production in 12/14; coming back on line after permission to commingle production from multiple wells; 24 stages; 2.9 million lbs; t10/10; cum 567K 10/15;
• 28165, 1,444, QEP, State 1-16-21BH, Grail (scout ticket), runs south into the Grail (GIS map server), middle Bakken, 32 stages, 5.4 million lbs, t10/14; cum 119K 10/15;
• 28166, 2,204, QEP, State 2-16-21BH, Grail (scout ticket), runs south into the Grail (GIS map server), middle Bakken, 33 stages; 8.6 million lbs;  t10/14; cum 215K 10/15;
• 28167, 2,761, QEP, State 2-16-21TH, Grail (scout ticket), runs south into the Grail (GIS map server), Three Forks B1, 39 stages; 9.9 million lbs; t10/14; cum 296K 10/15;
• 28168,  649, QEP, State 3-16-21BH, Grail (scout ticket), runs south into the Grail (GIS map server), middle Bakken, 36 stages; 4.6 million lbs; t12/14; cum 13K 10/15;

These are the production profiles for the index wells:

• 18973, Three Forks, t10/10:  something happened in the summer/autumn of 2014 when the well was taken off-line; when it came back on-line, production jumped significantly. Between June, 2015 and September, 2015, this well was taken off-line and when back on line, production again jumped significantly. Remember, this is an index well. From the narrative above, it appears six middle Bakken/Three Forks wells were fracked in this time period.

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	10-2015	31	20491	20692	7920	30519	21730	8789
BAKKEN	9-2015	30	15508	15186	16564	20487	14227	6170
BAKKEN	8-2015	2	117	132	35	161	154	6
BAKKEN	7-2015	18	1677	1734	1300	2422	1696	715
BAKKEN	6-2015	30	7075	7144	2679	7512	5176	2303
BAKKEN	5-2015	31	8855	8829	2771	9169	8512	589
BAKKEN	4-2015	30	9174	9358	3964	10417	9043	1304
BAKKEN	3-2015	31	11168	11032	3505	10588	9428	1081
BAKKEN	2-2015	28	8865	8753	4064	10435	8761	1522
BAKKEN	1-2015	12	4012	4099	1069	2550	0	2505
BAKKEN	12-2014	30	12206	12061	4779	14089	0	13975
BAKKEN	11-2014	30	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	10-2014	31	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	9-2014	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	8-2014	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	7-2014	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	6-2014	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	5-2014	1	1	1	0	231	0	0
BAKKEN	4-2014	25	5465	5790	587	408	0	0
BAKKEN	3-2014	31	5599	5821	607	2597	2176	0
BAKKEN	2-2014	28	4490	4158	368	4632	4252	0
BAKKEN	1-2014	31	5299	5296	487	6337	5920	0
BAKKEN	12-2013	29	7199	7195	690	8399	8038	0
BAKKEN	11-2013	30	5073	5227	382	4143	3754	0
BAKKEN	10-2013	30	6932	6825	665	6137	5740	0
BAKKEN	9-2013	30	5172	5145	418	4143	3735	0
BAKKEN	8-2013	31	5205	5319	459	3525	3128	0
BAKKEN	7-2013	29	4483	4461	450	4478	4084	0
BAKKEN	6-2013	30	4947	4847	367	4531	4531	0
BAKKEN	5-2013	31	5247	5341	492	5396	5396	0
BAKKEN	4-2013	30	7622	7631	835	9497	9497	0
BAKKEN	3-2013	31	8783	8689	974	8374	8374	0
BAKKEN	2-2013	28	7088	7021	545	3926	3926	0
BAKKEN	1-2013	31	1617	1769	155	2004	2004	0
BAKKEN	12-2012	31	7838	7730	840	7898	7898	0
BAKKEN	11-2012	30	7881	7892	882	7029	7029	0
BAKKEN	10-2012	31	8392	8229	865	7193	7193	0
BAKKEN	9-2012	30	7825	7902	850	8774	6459	2315
BAKKEN	8-2012	31	8604	8720	920	12722	12522	200
BAKKEN	7-2012	31	8625	8615	854	11110	7840	3270
BAKKEN	6-2012	30	8958	8942	947	12932	11392	1540
BAKKEN	5-2012	31	11953	11999	1319	15870	15570	300
BAKKEN	4-2012	19	8911	9154	1052	8389	8389	0
BAKKEN	3-2012	16	9513	9122	849	8992	8992	0
BAKKEN	2-2012	5	1063	1528	107	1305	1305	0
BAKKEN	1-2012	31	10453	10206	907	11064	11064	0
BAKKEN	12-2011	31	9711	9582	905	8891	8891	0
BAKKEN	11-2011	12	7036	8098	512	4896	4896	0
BAKKEN	10-2011	31	12017	11875	1285	12710	9279	3431
BAKKEN	9-2011	30	12671	12759	1409	12435	5335	7100
BAKKEN	8-2011	31	14930	14982	1752	18530	7350	11180
BAKKEN	7-2011	26	17026	15695	2034	19551	19221	330
BAKKEN	6-2011	20	10851	11925	1252	15184	14754	430
BAKKEN	5-2011	29	17227	17806	1764	15862	13412	2450
BAKKEN	4-2011	29	20033	19476	2065	19146	14194	4952
BAKKEN	3-2011	31	23857	24083	2404	29419	28599	820
BAKKEN	2-2011	26	20948	20562	1911	19134	11034	8100
BAKKEN	1-2011	30	21591	21426	1812	24457	23748	709
BAKKEN	12-2010	29	32169	32642	3010	39155	31452	7703
BAKKEN	11-2010	30	40400	40732	9039	54802	10942	43860
BAKKEN	10-2010	8	17179	15529	5211	24215	0	24215

• 28165, middle Bakken, t10/14: as in the previous index well, note that this well came off-line in the summer of 2015, and went back on-line in late August. Six neighboring wells were probably fracked in August, 2015. When this well came back on line, productivity surged, again, as it did in the previous well.

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	10-2015	31	22851	23369	6715	31547	22462	9085
BAKKEN	9-2015	29	29085	28626	8105	37827	26267	11391
BAKKEN	8-2015	11	17759	17557	7045	16638	15874	614
BAKKEN	7-2015	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	6-2015	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	5-2015	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	4-2015	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	3-2015	0	0	11	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	2-2015	1	584	700	182	714	600	104
BAKKEN	1-2015	13	8815	8832	3098	9210	0	9112
BAKKEN	12-2014	23	12088	12166	5019	14246	0	14133
BAKKEN	11-2014	27	21431	21291	12279	25501	0	25342
BAKKEN	10-2014	31	5959	5877	6326	9891	0	9854

• 28166, middle Bakken, t10/14: it appears this well was taken off-line in early August and then placed back on line, but productivity not increased.

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	10-2015	25	10850	10972	5476	14010	9975	4035
BAKKEN	9-2015	15	7915	7786	4821	9171	6365	2760
BAKKEN	8-2015	7	4402	4513	1960	5658	5412	209
BAKKEN	7-2015	31	16863	16772	4362	21492	15046	6340
BAKKEN	6-2015	26	6490	6624	3432	6936	4779	2126
BAKKEN	5-2015	31	12909	12856	2440	13337	12380	857
BAKKEN	4-2015	30	12121	12506	3297	12870	11167	1610
BAKKEN	3-2015	31	19987	19764	5595	23128	20622	2365
BAKKEN	2-2015	20	16841	16922	4590	20901	17560	3051
BAKKEN	1-2015	31	28058	27941	9067	34444	0	34133
BAKKEN	12-2014	29	24147	24258	8581	31175	0	30949
BAKKEN	11-2014	30	38553	38375	25356	59651	0	59364
BAKKEN	10-2014	31	16130	15909	8266	23767	0	23668

• 28167, Three Forks B1, t10/14: taken off line in August/September, 2015, timeframe; production may have increased a bit. Remember, Bakken wells decline quickly after first five to eight months, and this well was a year old, and productivity appeared to on the downslope, and then went up, maybe slightly, after coming back on line in 10/15.

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	10-2015	28	26663	26517	6031	40095	28548	11547
BAKKEN	9-2015	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	8-2015	4	1	111	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	7-2015	17	11577	11691	1282	16374	11469	4832
BAKKEN	6-2015	26	21456	21697	5691	39167	27036	12030
BAKKEN	5-2015	31	29101	28981	4785	55421	51623	3574
BAKKEN	4-2015	29	27372	27563	6790	40515	35226	5080
BAKKEN	3-2015	22	20286	20075	4493	22698	20234	2321
BAKKEN	2-2015	18	17932	18077	2802	21861	18362	3191
BAKKEN	1-2015	31	33905	33868	5942	41700	0	41324
BAKKEN	12-2014	29	37980	38041	6000	47603	0	47247
BAKKEN	11-2014	25	49630	49395	10433	60573	0	60204
BAKKEN	10-2014	31	20395	20116	8041	31493	0	31367

• 28168, middle Bakken, t12/14: and this little piggy went to market; I can't make anything out of this well.

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	10-2015	23	5490	5456	7470	6708	4776	1932
BAKKEN	9-2015	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	8-2015	0	0	12	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	7-2015	2	1263	1251	12	1394	975	411
BAKKEN	6-2015	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	5-2015	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	4-2015	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	3-2015	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	2-2015	0	0	16	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	1-2015	14	1102	1126	940	1379	0	1367
BAKKEN	12-2014	22	3393	3353	2161	3087	0	3055
BAKKEN	11-2014	0	0	22	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	10-2014	19	1634	1612	1324	308	0	298

Now, where were these index wells in relation to the newer wells (still on confidential list, and probably fracked in the July - September, 2015, timeframe)?

• #28165 is closest; this middle Bakken well surged in productivity after neighboring wells fracked; this horizontal, the closest to the new wells, is about 750 feet away from the nearest new well that was fracked;
• then comes 28166; this middle Bakken well did not show much increase;
• then comes 18973; this Three Forks well had one of the biggest boosts in productivity; this well is about 1,900 feet from the nearest new well that was fracked;
• then comes 28167; this Three Forks well might have shown a slight increase in productivity;
• and finally, the horizontal farthest from the newly fracked wells is #28168: a lousy well; a middle Bakken well; this well was almost 3,000 feet from the nearest new well that was fracked;

Two comments:

• the jump in production may have nothing to do with effect from neighboring wells that are being fracked; there could be other explanations
• even if there is a jump in production associated with a neighbor well being fracked, it may not offset the loss in production that occurred when the well was taken off-line; I assume operators minimize the time a well is taken off-line, especially if it's a good well