Update On Whiting's Expansion Plans In The Bakken -- February 9, 2022

Link here. Huge thanks to the reader who sent me the graphic and the article.

This deal was previously but more details were published in this article.

The article begins:  

Whiting Petroleum Corp. has two agreements in hand to expand its operated leasehold in the Bakken Shale, and it has raised its capital budget for 2022. 

More:

The assets span 14,563 net acres and should contribute about 4,500 boe/d net production (67% oil), the company said. The smaller transaction closed in late 2021 and the larger one is slated to close by the end of March.

The assets include 32 net undrilled locations, which Whiting plans to develop in the “near term,” management said.

Whiting also announced capital expenditure guidance of $360-400 million for 2022. 

The company plans to have two drilling rigs and one completions crew operating in the Williston for most of the year. The rigs would operate in North Dakota’s Mountrail, McKenzie and Williams counties.

“While the company has had success with three-mile laterals in its Sanish field, Whiting plans to drill additional three-mile laterals further west in McKenzie County, North Dakota during the year, which will help improve economics on additional inventory,” management said. “As oil prices have rebounded, the company is seeing increased non-operated activity from other operators and expects this trend to continue.”

Whiting expects production to average 91,000-95,000 boe/d for the year, including 52,000-55,000 b/d of oil output.

“The 2022 budget was designed with higher working interests and slightly greater activity,” management said. Whiting “encountered a delay on a five-well pad in January that will impact the timing of production until later in the year.”

Management said even though it “has shifted operations to the Sanish field, the company’s continued focus on sustainability through increasing its high gas capture percentage will result in production volumes not entirely replacing those lost by the delay.” The firm noted that low double-digit inflation has been built into its projections for the year.