BR Wants To Place Thirty Wells In One Drilling Unit -- August 21, 2020

From the September, 2020, NDIC hearing dockets:

Case No. 28553: Application of Burlington Resources Oil & Gas Co. LP for an order amending the applicable order for the Sand Creek-Bakken Pool to authorize up to thirty horizontal wells to be drilled on a 2560-acre spacing unit described as Sections 31, 32, 33 and 34, T.153N., R.96W., McKenzie County, ND, and granting such other and further relief as may be appropriate. 

The graphic:

The wells:

• 30326, TFH, 2,652, t2/17; cum 425K 4/20; off line 5/20; remains off line 6/20; 29 stages; 7.4 million lbs;
• 30325, TFH, IA/1,683, t12/16; cum 103K 8/17; F;  off line 9/17; remains off line, 6/20, almost three years; letter from NDIC to BR notifying this well needs to be plugged and abandoned, or placed back into service, dated April 15, 2020; 33 stages; 15.1 million lbs;

• 30224, MBH, IA/2,544, t1/17; cum 339K 2/20; off line except for a few days each month starting 3/20; remains off line 6/20; 34 stages; 5.2 million lbs; 
• 30225, MBH, 2,640, t10/16; cum 294K 4/20; F; half month, 5/20; off line, 6/20; 31 stages; 9.7 million lbs;
• 30226, TFH, IA/1,560, t1/17; cum 378K 5/20; off ine 6/20; 24 stages; 7.8 million lbs; 
• 30227, TFH, IA/792, t10/16; cum 428K 5/20; off line 6/20; 31 stages; 14.3 million lbs; 
• 31639, MBH-R, IA/2,640; t2/17; cum 335K 4/20; half month,5/20; off line 6/20; 33 stages; 5 million lbs; permitted as MBH-R, so a revised plan before submitting to NDIC;
  

• 30231, MBH, dry, 
• 30232, MBH, IA/2,405, t11/15; cum 359K 5/20; off line 6/20; 27 stages; 4.3 million lbs; 
• 30233, TFH, 1,363, t11/15; cum 140K 5/20; off line 12/19; returns to production 4/20; half-month, 5/20; 37 stages; 4.3 million lbs; 
• 30234, TFH, IA/1,844, t11/15; cum 344K 5/20; off line 11/19; back on line 3/20; offline 5/20; remains off line 6/20; 37 stages; 4.3 million lbs;
  

• 20336, H-R, IA/1,162; t9/11; cum 362K 4/20; F; off and on since 1/20; off line as of 5/20; original permit was "H-R", so this was a revised plan prior to submission to the NDIC; 32 stages; 4.2 million lbs;

• 18662, H, IA/2,145, t5/10; cum 445K 5/20, F; off line 6/20; four separate fracks: 10 stages / 2 stages / 4 stages; 4 stages; 944K lbs / 236K lbs / 463K lbs / 479K lbs: total: 20 stages; less than 2 million lbs proppant;
  

• 22914, TFH, IA/2,954, t5/13; cum 369K 5/20; off line 6/20; three separate fracks: 5 stages / 21 stages / 4 stages; 402K lbs / 2.4 million lbs / 480K lbs: total: 30 stages; less than 4 million lbs proppant;
• 22912, TFH, IA/2,972, t5/13; cum 308K 5/20; off line 6/20; two separate fracks: 10 stages / 20 stages; 1.02 million lbs / 2.3 million lbs: total 30 stages; less than 4 million lbs proppant;

Summary:

• fifteen wells; 8 Three Forks; 7 middle Bakken; one dry (a middle Bakken)
• most were small fracks; one huge frack;
• some still said to be flowing (no pump)
• most are now off line due to low price of oil
• this drilling unit is only one mile wide; thirty horizontals across this one mile; fifteen in each formation, the middle Bakken and the first bench, Three Forks;
• still not at max density infill in either formation;
  
• deeper benches of the Three Forks yet to be drilled
• BR looking for 30 wells in this drilling unit; 14 already there; sixteen more
• note: technically only eight more in each 1280-acre unit (if that make sense)
  

Disclaimer: in a long note like this, there will be typographical and content errors; if this is important to you, go to the source.

A Look At 30 Horizontals In A Single Section In The Elm Tree Oil Field -- October 8, 2019

From today's daily activity report:

Eight new permits, #37053 - #37060, inclusive;

• Operator: CLR
• Fields: Elm Tree (McKenzie)
• Comments: 
• CLR has permits for an 8-well Angus Federal pad in SENW section 

Adding those eight locations to the previous activity, this is what the area now looks like:

In that immediate area, just looking at one section:

• five horizontals; producing wells, including the section line well (#33964)
• ten Simmental Federal / Charolais South Federal permits
• eight Angus federal permits
• seven wells on the confidential list
• total: 30 locations/wells

This is starting to become overwhelming. 

CLR Does It Again -- Upwards Of 30 Wells In 2560-Acre Unit -- September 27, 2019

Updates

Later, 9:22 a.m. CT:  I made way too many errors in original post. I've left the comments in place, but have removed my terrible arithmetic. No excuses for all my errors. Thank you to all for pointing them out.

Original Post

Disclaimer: I often make typographical and/or factual errors. If this is important to you go to the source. 

From the October, 2019, hearing dockets:

Case (not permit) 28055, CLR, Elm Tree-Bakken, on an existing 2560-acre unit, sections 2/3/10/11-153-94, 27 wells; McKenzie and Mountrail counties

The graphics:

Existing wells: see this post -- one was a second bench Three Forks well; the other was a first bench Three Forks well --

• 32605, 1,995, CLR, Charolais North Federal 1-3H1, t9/16; cum 548K 10/18; SWNW 26-154-94, 2200' FNL and 492' FWL, Elm Tree, 24,741', 9-5/8 inch, 46 stages, 10 million lbs; 24,741 feet; surface hole in section 26-154-94; bottom hole in section 10-153-94; API: 33-061-03938, according to FracFocus, it was fracked 8/7/17 - 8/14/16, with 9.1 million gallons of water; water, 88% of proppant by mass; sand 11% of proppant by mass, the first bench of the Three Forks, t6/19; cum 637K 7/19; less than three years old;
• 32606, 2,305, CLR, Brangus North 1-2H2/Brangus Federal 1-2H1, SWNW 26-154-94, 2200' FNL and 537' FWL, Elm Tree, 24,628', 9-5/8 inch, 46 stages; 10 million lbs; 24,942 feet, API 33-061-03939; according to FracFocus, it was fracked 7/30/16 - 8/7/17, with 8.6 million gallons of water; water, 88% of proppant by mass; sand 11% of proppant by mass, the second bench of the Three Forks, t9/16; cum 613K 7/19; less than three years old;

Petroleum News Update On Well Density In The Bakken; KOG, XTO Leading The Pack; Data To Be Collected

Petroleum News is reporting: 

North Dakota operators continue to increase well densities on Bakken petroleum system spacing units. In applications that the North Dakota Industrial Commission will consider during hearings on Dec. 18 and 19, numerous operators are seeking authority from the commission to drill up to 30 wells on existing 2,560-acre spacing units, up to 16 wells on existing 1,280-acre units, and up to four wells on existing 320-acre units. Those infill efforts will result in spacing unit densities of one well for every 85.3 acres in the 2,560s and an even higher spacing unit density of one well for every 80 acres in the 1,280- and 320-acre units. These are some of the highest spacing unit densities that the commission has ever considered.

“These spacing requests are very significant, in the fact it is some of the highest we have ever seen,” Department of Mineral Resources Assistant Director Bruce Hicks told Petroleum News Bakken in a written statement. “Should the commission approve these cases, it should allow operators the ability to vertically test the stratigraphic limits of the Bakken and Three Forks Formations. It will give operators the chance to review scientific data as to what the best possible well densities should be for a particular area.”

The operators seeking the highest well densities are Kodiak Oil and Gas (USA) and XTO Energy. Kodiak is seeking permission to drill up to 16 wells on two existing 1,280-acre units in the Truax field in southern Williams County. XTO wants to drill four wells on an existing 320-acre unit in the Squaw Creek field in far eastern McKenzie County. In both cases the resulting density is one well for every 80 acres in the spacing unit.

I really have to thank the reader who sent me this story. I never would have guessed KOG and XTO led the pack in density drilling. I thought it would have been CLR, #1 and, then maybe KOG, or even someone else. But XTO (XOM's deep pockets) is interesting; and talk about a feather in KOG's cap to be leading the pack. Good for them.

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