Bakken Wells Turned Off When Prices Dropped; Turned Back On When Prices Rose -- December 27, 2017

North Dakota file numbers: the oldest Bakken wells go back to about 16XXX -- back to 2006.

• 16000: a Denbury South Red River well drilled in early 2006
• 16011: a Hess Bakken well in Baskin oil field
• 16999: a Hess Bakken well drilled in early 2008

There were Bakken wells before 16000 (the first 16000 series Bakken well was #16011, Hess, H. Juma 1-9H, Baskin oil field), but one can say the first two Bakken wells that started it all were:

• 16164, EOG, Parshall 1-36H, t6/6; cum 225K 5/17;
• 16324, EOG, Parshall 2-36H, t9/6; cum 367K 5/17;

It's too tedious and too time-consuming to do much more than listing file numbers and a few notes, but going through these old 16XXX wells I've noticed a fair number of wells that went to inactive (IA) status back in 2015 (during the Saudi Surge) that are now coming back on line. Many of the MRO wells that went off-line during the Saudi Surge were re-fracked. Some of the wells noted below have been off-line for almost two years. File numbers as examples (it is not a full listing of all such 16XXX wells):

• 16173, Statoil; back on line 10/17;
• 16233, Hess; back on line 11/17;
• 16276, Statoil; back on line 9/17;
• 16351, Oasis; back on line 10/17;
• 16355, Hess; back on line as of 9/17;
• 16357, BR; back on line as of 8/17;
• 16404, CLR, back on line as of 6/17;
• 16422, MRO, probably re-fracked in 8/17 just before it was brought back on line 9/17;
• 16565, Hess; back on line as of 8/17;
• 16640, Hess, back as line as of 8/17;
• 16753, MRO; off-line just to be re-fracked 5/17; off-line less than a month;
• 16780, MRO, probably re-fracked 8/17; brought  back on line 9/17; off line for only about four months;
• 16923, MRO, still active; recently off-line; probably re-fracked 10/17
• 16925, MRO, re-fracked 7/17;
• 16952, MRO, a nice well; I suggested that this was a candidate for re-frack about four months before it came off-line; off-line for about four months; back on line 10/17; must have been re-fracked; huge jump in production from 654 bbls/month to 24,230 bbls/month;