The Bakken Never Ceases To Amaze Me -- An Update Of A Poorly Performing CLR Bakken Well -- January 21, 2018

Updates

March 22, 2020:

• 20210, 803, CLR, Whitman 2-34H, Oakdale: 2,888 boe (IP); 34-147-96; 24 stages; 2.4 million lbs sand/ceramic; t9/11; cum 1.714 million bbls 1/20;  
• 20212, 482, CLR, Whitman 3-34H, Oakdale, t9/11; cum 635K 1/20; 

Original Post

 Wow, I love the Bakken. The Bakken never ceases to amaze me. Earlier today I posted the wells that will be coming off the confidential list this next week and it was just like the old days -- a lot of new wells.

Now, tonight, with nothing better to do, I was checking up on some wells that have always interested me.  Among the thirty or forty or more wells I checked out I came across this one, a well that has already produced in excess of 1.5 million bbls of crude oil since 2011.

• 20210, 803, CLR, Whitman 2-34H, Oakdale: 2,888 boe (IP); 34-147-96; 24 stages; 2.4 million lbs sand/ceramic; t9/11; cum 1.59 million;  

Recent production:

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	11-2017	3	22	0	21	1	0	0
BAKKEN	10-2017	3	2	38	0	1	0	0
BAKKEN	9-2017	16	3829	3858	232	4800	4703	0
BAKKEN	8-2017	31	9112	9143	428	10829	10590	0
BAKKEN	7-2017	26	6257	6352	117	6851	5326	1380
BAKKEN	6-2017	30	9377	9406	333	11517	11284	0
BAKKEN	5-2017	31	10218	10106	357	12107	11861	0

That's strange, I thought: taking a great well off-line with no explanation. So I went to the NDIC map to see what might be going on. Parallel to that horizontal, #20210, is its sister well:
20212:

• 20212, 482, CLR, Whitman 3-34H, Oakdale, t9/11; cum 135K; and noted this recent production:

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	11-2017	30	19452	19809	5379	19667	18479	968
BAKKEN	10-2017	21	12150	11401	6847	13549	7191	6268
BAKKEN	9-2017	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	8-2017	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	7-2017	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	6-2017	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	5-2017	1	0	0	2	0	0	0
BAKKEN	4-2017	5	380	363	98	115	114	0
BAKKEN	3-2017	6	157	320	0	108	99	0
BAKKEN	2-2017	4	162	170	0	174	0	158

Reading this file: "this well was drilled back in 2011. Drilling operations ceased on April 23, 2011, after dangerous levels of oil and gas pressure rendered further drilling unwise at the time. The well has been in production in its incomplete form (13,681' MD reached; open hole; no fracking_ since that time and has produced approximately 120,000 bbls of petroleum. This report primarily concerns re-entry drilling information only, as complete data from the original drilling was generated by a different mud-logging company and is at points incomplete." It was a difficult well to re-enter and complete, but "nevertheless, the well was drilled 100% in the delineated target." The target was the first bench of the Three Forks, "approximately 15' thick, beginning 15' below the Three Forks top, and extending to 30' below the same reference point." Re-entry date, July 5, 2017; TD date, July 8, 2017.

First frack, 9/22/17: 61 stages; 14.5 million lbs; with an IP of 1,008.

I've always wondered why this was such a poor well; now I know. Now, we'll see how well it does.

By the way, 120,000 bbls of oil without being fracked is not a bad well -- had it been a Madison well. But drilling a Bakken well back in 2011 was incredibly expensive; in comparison, Madison wells not so much.

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Re-Posting

From An Earlier Post: Notes to the Granddaughters

From August 6, 2012

Last night, the granddaughters and I stayed up late watching Curiosity, the Mars rover, land safely on ... drum roll ... Mars.

They turned 6 years old and 9 years old in early July.

They were mesmerized to see the streaming video coming over my very ancient early version, white, Apple MacBook (the model was first released May 16, 2006. It's hard to believe this 6-year-old laptop does all that it does. It reminds me of another workhorse, the C-130. But again, I digress.). I have to say, the landing was very, very exciting. I think everyone, including the NASA engineers, were completely surprised that after eight months traveling through space, not only did it have a perfect landing, the rover immediately started sending back still photos. Wow, were the girls excited to see those fuzzy gray (grey?) photos of Mars. I'm not sure the 6-year-old knew "what" she was looking at, but she knew it was historic, and important, and something to talk about today.

But while watching, it was impossible to compare the Martian landing last night with the first lunar landing in 1969, the year I graduated from high school. I think Peggy Noonan could write a very, very nice article looking back on the changes baby boomers have seen between 1969 and 2009.

Over the weekend I posted a story about North Dakota's oil tax receipts for calendar year 2011: $1.7 billion. I was going to post a note, asking what $1.7 billion would buy in 2012. Here's the answer: NASA's Mars program.

NASA just released its presidential budget request for 2013 and, as expected, the space agency’s planetary science program takes a big hit. The budget document (summary pdf) is merely the first volley in an often drawn-out exchange between the White House and Congress, but still sets the general direction for the space program. Although the Obama administration’s proposal would slice less than 1 percent from NASA’s current budget, it proposes some major shifts of funds within the agency.

The planetary science program, which received $1.5 billion for 2012, would take a 20 percent cut. NASA would still fly the Mars MAVEN atmospheric mission in 2013 but would back away from two joint missions with the European Space Agency:

NASA is terminating further activity on the formulation activity for the NASA/ ESA ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter 2016 (EMTGO) mission and planning for the previous NASA/ESA Mars 2018 mission concept.

The latter mission would have included the first direct search for life on Mars since the Viking landers of the 1970s. With NASA bailing out, ESA is now casting around for another partner.

There are a lot of articles written about the decline of American education. Many of the articles note the paucity of engineering students, and challenges with science and math programs. It appears "we" have nothing to worry about. It appears the US will need fewer engineers going forward. At least in rocket science. But I digress.

The granddaughters were enthralled. But the most interesting observation: they carried the laptop around from room to room watching the streaming. It did not seem "magic" to them; they've grown up with wi-fi, streaming, no wires, and longer-life batteries that can be charged while they are sleeping. Their children, I assume, if they are still using batteries, will see batteries charged with "near-field charging," not requiring any cables to even charge electronic devices.

So, we'll see.