Help From Readers: Is Something Going On With The CLR Anna Wells In Last Chance Oil Field? -- July 6, 2021

A reader wrote me about  a month ago suggesting that, based on his royalty check, the CLR Anna wells were producing well under their historic level and was wondering if I might know why. I was unable to answer because the NDIC had not yet updated the May, 2021, production data. 

That data has now been updated over at the NDIC.

CLR has one parent Anna well and eight Anna daughter wells. In general, they are very good wells, but perhaps starting to show their age. 

The wells are tracked here. The May, 2021, production data has been updated, and it confirms what the reader noted: the Anna wells produced well under their historic norm in May, 2021.

These are the nine Anna wells, and their recent history. All of these wells have been steady performers, "never" coming off line since beginning steady production, except for #32967. :

• 32967, off line for the past six or seven months; it may be coming back on line; four days of production in May, 2021, full production profile posted here; middle Bakken;
  
• 32966, t8/17; cum 162K 5/21; on line for only 9 days in May;
  
• 30155, t7/17; cum 146K 5/21; on line for only 9 days in May;
• 30154, t7/17; cum 181K 5/21; on line for only 9 days in May;
• 32969, t8/17; cum 157K 5/21; on line for only 9 days in May;
• 30156, t8/17; cum 146K 5/21; on line for only 5 days in May;
• 32968, t9/17; cum 144K 5/21; has not been taken off line; Three Forks first bench
  
• 23279, t11/12; cum 394K 5/21; on line for only 10 days in May;
• 30157, t7/17; cum 270K 5/21; on line for only 9 days in May;

So, two observations:

• monthly production from the Anna wells is "way down" compared to previous months; there is nothing I could find in the file reports to suggest a reason;
• we won't know until the June, 2021, data is out whether the nine days of production in May was at the front end or the back end of the month of May:

The available information suggests CLR recently did some work with #32967 that was enough to bring the well back on line; possibilities:

• a new pump;
• a simple re-work;
• a re-frack of some sort;

Thought: One would not think that a new pump or a simple re-work of a single well would require the other wells to come off line (with one exception, #32968, a Three Forks first bench well);

• my hunch, a re-frack of some sort or some type of work that might have impacted the neighboring wells middle Bakken wells;
  

Perhaps a surface owner, another mineral owner, a landman, might have more information.

Finally, maybe not by June, 2021, but certainly by July, 2021, royalties from the CLR Anna wells should return to "normal" and perhaps be better than ever.