Reader Comments On Consistently Spectacular MRO Wells And The Role Natural Gas Injection Is Playing -- June 18, 2021

See #37403 below and also look at the other wells on that pad (see link below). After posting that data below, a reader who knows this and follows this a lot better than I do, wrote:

Going over the production numbers from several of these MRO wells reveals some interesting data, specifically that gas lift is being used right at the outset. 

While there still seems limited info available online as to the 'nuts and bolts' of latest gas lift implementation, a few take aways may be of some interest ... 

Those MRO wells use about 135,000/145,000 cubic feet of gas per day that is not - originally - sold. 

This gas is being re-injected back down the wells to - at a minimum - boost the 2 mile vertical lift that the oil needs to make it to the surface. 

As this recovered gas is both counted as production and then re-injected downhole, it is essentially being recycled, not consumed. (I imagine much of the surface hardware is being powered by the natgas which, naturally, is being consumed).

Of interest, perhaps, is that well #37403 does not seem to have any of its own gas re-injected. However, two of the other wells show a differential of ~177,000 cubic feet per day, implying that some of 'their' gas is going down #37403. [Reader is referring to the wells at this link, also linked below.]

Some ripple effects from this gas-lift-from-the-start approach should be ...

• slightly higher well costs to incorporate the 'jewelry' (hardware/valves that make up the gas lift system)
• much higher initial oil recovery
• much lower operating costs as expensive, chronic  ESP problems are eliminated
• and, as seems to be the case with older gas lift wells, the combined use of the traditional pumpjacks with gas lift offers much better (aka shallower rate at a higher volume) production profiles.

All this (virtually ubiquitous gas re-injection) may pave the way for the Next Big Thing in the Shale Revolution ... EOR by way of natgas-induced formation pressure increase/miscible 'sweeping' that will simply rock the Peak Oilers on their collective butts.

 LOL. Well said.

Re-posting:

One well coming off the confidential list -- Thursday, April 1, 2021: 1 for the month, 1 for the quarter, 82 for the year:

• 37403, A/AL, MRO, Standfest USA 42-8H, Reunion Bay, first production, t--; cum 190K 2/21; the "Standfest pad" wells are tracked here. Even the skeptics / cynics are admitting these are pretty awesome wells.
  

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	2-2021	28	37394	37356	18144	67384	65089	2057
BAKKEN	1-2021	31	37512	37486	19975	47976	45692	2077
BAKKEN	12-2020	21	30168	30189	17736	36569	34745	0
BAKKEN	11-2020	11	25088	25173	19693	32424	30871	0
BAKKEN	10-2020	20	59973	59501	49539	71840	63257	5026