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Wednesday, May 26, 2021

A Closer Look At The Slawson Case For Additional Wells In Big Bend -- May 26, 2021

From the June 17, 2021, NDIC hearing dockets, this is a case, not a permit:

Case 28832, Slawson, Big Bend-Bakken; i) establish an overlapping 640-acre unit; six wells on that unit; N2 sections 13/14-151-92; ii) establish an overlapping 960-acre unit; five wells on said unit; S2 sections 13/14-151-92 and the S2 section 18-151-91; iii) two additional wells along the center line of an existing 1920-acre unit; Mountrail County;

Already sited in section 14:

  • 19010, 847, Slawson. Armada Federal 1-14-13H, two-section spacing, sections 14/13, t10/10; cum 399K 3/21;
  • 34525, conf, Slawson, Armada Federal 7-14-18TFH, Big Bend, name suggests horizontal is a "3-mile" super-extended long lateral, under the river;
  • 34526, conf, Slawson, Armada Federal 6-14-18TFH, Big Bend, name suggests horizontal is a "3-mile" super-extended long lateral, under the river;
  • 34619, conf, Slawson, Armada Federal 3-14-18H, Big Bend, name suggests horizontal is a "3-mile" super-extended long lateral, under the river;

Note: case 28832 regards six wells on a 640-acre spacing unit, the northern halves of the two sections in which the Armada Federal wells are already permitted; and, the southern halves of the three sections in which the Armada Federal wells are already permitted.

Of interest: the various sizes of spacing units in same sections. There will certainly be 1920-acre spacing, already shown on the NDIC map. The case requests two wells along the center line of an existing 1920-acre unit. Possibly:


7 comments:

  1. I feel like a fool, b/c I should know... What is the diff between a case and a permit?

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, great question. I assume a lot of folks might not know.

      CASE: when an operator finds a location (or locations) where he/she wants to drill, he takes that request, which is relatively general in nature, to the regulator (the NDIC). The cases are assembled by the NDIC and then ruled on when they (the commissioners) meet, once monthly. The list of cases to be considered is called the "Hearing Dockets."

      The request is relatively general in nature: generally dealing with the number of wells in a particular drilling unit, and rules affecting the field in general. The NDIC also hears cases regarding pooling, risk penalty issues, etc.

      PERMITS: once the NDIC rules on the case, the operator can go from there with a more specific request, for example, to get a permit to actually drill a well.

      The CASES are adjudicated first; the PERMITS come second.

      The CASES are public and "anyone" can attend to state their case "for" or "against" the operator's request.

      As an example, Whiting may request that the regulator allow up to six wells to be drilled within a specific drilling unit. If the regulator allows that after hearing the CASE, then the operator can come back to the NDIC with PERMIT requests to drill up to six wells on that drilling unit.

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    2. Even if the NDIC rules favorably with regard to the CASE, the operator may or may not move forward with a request for PERMITS. But generally, if all goes as planned, an operator is ready to move forward with PERMIT applications if the CASE is approved.

      Once a PERMIT is approved, the operator has one year to begin working on the pad with intent to drill (some disagreement on what actually constitutes this). If drilling does not begin within a year, the permit expires. PERMITS can be renewed for $100 if they are about to expire.

      I don't think there's any limit to how many times a permit can be renewed.

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    3. Slawson sent me a copy of the proposed hearing doc. In it was a copy of a map of the spacing units and it suggests the 13 proposed wells are in place of,not in addition to the already permitted wells. We shall see,but at the beginning of the year one of the engineers told me they anticipated drilling maybe four new wells on the current spacing unit,now this. Go figure. Take care Bruce.

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    4. Much appreciated. I find it interesting how often plans change. There must be lots of discussions among the geologists, others about when to drill; where to drill. Plans are often affected by results of neighboring wells not necessarily from same operator. In this area, Slawson's wells are directly across the river from EOG's wells.

      Most interesting is the fact that EOG and Slawson are getting active again, at the "very same" time.

      With what EOG has in the Permian I find it interesting that EOG is coming back to the Bakken.

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  2. That follows what I was thinking. Thanks for breaking it down, Bruce.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are quite welcome; the Q&A probably helped a lot of readers. The question had to do with the difference between CASES and PERMITS. See above.

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