What's Going On In Mercer County -- November 24, 2021

Note: This post is in progress but there's enough here for most readers to put the story together.

Disclaimer: in a long note like this coming from multiple sources, there will be content and typographical errors. Facts and hunches will be interspersed and it will be difficult to separate the two.

Updates

December 6, 2021: update; Midwest Carbon Express.

November 26, 2021, daily activity report -- a geophysical permit approved --

• Echo Seismic USA, Inc, Coteau 2-3, 145N-87W, 145-88W, 146-87, and 146-88; Mercer County;
  

November 25, 2021: see comments. Link here, dated November 15, 2021. Data points:

• Midwest Carbon Express pipeline
• from Iown and vicinity; to carry CO2 generated by CO2 plants to injection sites in Oliver and Mercer counties, North Dakota
• would cross the Missouri River north of Bismarck
• as much as 12 million metric tons of CO2 annually; equates to annual carbon emissions of 2.6 million cars;
• pipeline developer: Summit Carbon Solutions; "subsidiary" of the Iowa-based Summit Agricultural Group
• Wade Boeshans: executive VP of the pipeline developer
• previously worked as president of BNI Energy
• BNI Energy operates BNI Coal's Center Mine next to the Milton R Young Station
• MRY Station: a coal-fired power plant where another large CCS is under development
• pipeline terminates west of Center, ND, and south of Beulah
• proposed: 10 to 15 injection wells

November 25, 2021: see first comment below. That comment has link to Bismarck Tribune article. Archived here. If behind paywall, headline will provide enough background. Data points:

• Great Plains Synfuels Plant, Beulah, ND
• operated by Basin Electric Power Coop subsidiary: Dakota Gasification Co
• currently captures 2 million metric tons of CO2 annually from the facilty
• facility produces synthetic natural gas from coal
• gas compressed to liquid (GTL)
• piped north to Canada; injected to boost oil production
• current project:
• short pipeline from facility to an injection site north to Coteau Properties CO
• Coteau operates the mine that feed coal to the synfuels plant

November 24, 2021: Summit Carbon Solutions has moved T&S Drilling 1 from Milton Flemmer 1 (#38594) to Archie Erickson 2 (#38622); see this post;

Where We Stand In Mercer County

There are three "operators" of interest:

Summit Carbon Solutions

• #385594, Milton Flemmer 1, NWNE 35-141-88;
  
• #38622, Archie Erickson 2, SWSW 12-142-88;
  
• see this pipeline story: giant pipeline across the Midwest;

Rampart Energy

• Coteau 1
• a wildcat, SWSW 1-145-88

UND EERC

• Flemmer 1
  

Background

For background, see this post from June 28, 2021 -- just a few months ago.

Rampart Energy Company:

• has been operating in North Dakota since 1959
• Rampart Energy has about 50 records on file
• Coteau 1: wildcat, SWSW 1-145-88; a "long way" from the Bakken;
• south of the lake; well east of the Bakken; southeast (outside) the Ft Berthold Reservation;
• if this is a crude oil well (not a natural gas well), this will be interesting to follow
  
• from "Bakken operators:

Rampart Energy Company 

• June 16, 2021

• Rampart's wildcat, Coteau 1, will be sited in SWSW 1-145-99, Mercer County, 555 FSL and 460 FWL; the oil field is also a wildcat; 
• Rampart has about 50 permits in North Dakota; it has been active in North Dakota since 1959; 
• Rampart's previous well in North Dakota, #27081, Craig Allen 10-3H, Stanley oil field; SESW 11-155-91; a Bakken well that was drilled in 2015 and has reported a respectable 228K bbls crude oil cumulative;

Now today: I believe these are carbon capture exploratory wells. To the best of my knowledge, NDIC is not updating the map or the scout tickets, so it's difficult to figure out what's going on. 

A reader writes:

I see they have a rig drilling the Coteau #1. I'm assuming it's for carbon capture? 

But a buddy of mine said there's what looks like 2 more drilling locations ready to MIRU between I-94 and Beulah on highway 49. Any insight on this?

If any reader has any update on the Rampert Energy rigs drilling these wells, readers would appreciate an update.

Later: 

This must the location the reader's buddy was reporting when he/she said there appeared to be two more drilling locations ready to MIRU between I-94 and Beulah on Highway 49. So far my sleuthing only comes up with Milton Flemmer 1. If the buddy is correct, we may also be looking at Milton Flemmer 2 but that's a bridge too far right now. 

See this post from October 20, 2021:

• Summit Carbon Solutions has a permit, #38622, for an Archie Erickson 2 well, to be sited in SWSW 12-142-88, a wildcat, to be sited 902 FSL and 794 FWL

So, the first map, November 24, 2021:

Map updated November 24, 2021, following NDIC's end-of-day daily activity report: 

Wow, it never quits. Seeing these maps, this post, a reader was reminded of a wildcat that Harold Hamm drilled back in 2009 looking for the eastern fringe of the Bakken. In the map below, the black circle is the general location of that well:

• 17877, PA/84, CLR, Traxel 1-31H, Beaver Creek Bay, t12/09; cum 12K 12/13;

The map: