Really, Really Esoteric Post Regarding Depth Of Wells In The Bakken --- November 6, 2016

This is really, really getting into the weeds. I think I'm right on this but could be misinterpreting or reading things incorrectly, but folks who are really "into this," you might find this interesting. Again, I may be completely wrong but it makes sense to me.

First: go to the post and look at the graphics at that post and note how far away the "bottom hole" is from the surface hole horizontally. Horizontally, these wells are sited in section 26. They then traverse section 27, all of 34, and all of sections 3 and 10.

One would expect these wells to be incredibly "deep" -- going through three sections, traversing part of a fourth section, and being sited in a fifth section.

CLR and EOG have the "deepest" wells in the Bakken when they drill super-long-laterals (3-sections) either for a 1920-acre drilling unit, or to reach a drilling unit under the river (see the TDs of some of these previously reported long wells below the "fold" down below, "previous posts." The longest of these wells are running 25,000 to 26,555 feet.

One would expect the Brangus and the Charolais wells (at the link above) to be much longer (a far greater TD). In fact: these two wells are very, very long, but they do not set any records, both are less than 25,000 feet long.

• 32605, conf, CLR, Charolais North Federal 1-3H1, 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; the first bench of the Three Forks

• 32606, conf, CLR, 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, the second bench of the Three Forks

Second: do the math. How did CLR do it? By starting the directional drilling at 2,000. The EOG Hawkeye wells in Clarks Creek, on the other hand, go horizontal after almost reaching the target formation at 10,000 feet.

It's too tedious to go through all the math but it's amazing how taking advantage of the Pythagorean theorem can really save some time and pipe. Instead of going vertical to 10,000 feet and then going horizontal, one can cut a fair amount of drilling out of the equation by going directional at 2,000 feet, well before hitting the target formation at 10,000.

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Previous Posts

A three-section-long middle Bakken -- August 2, 2014

• 25959, 732, CLR, Haffner 1-31H, Noonan, middle Bakken; 1920-acre; 50 stages; 7 million lbs, a true 3-section lateral (full sections 19/30/31 - 162-95); TD = 23,432 feet; background gases "poor"; t3/14; cum 134K 9/16;

Update on EOG LIberty LR 17-11H, deepest TD in the Bakken? -- January 12, 2012

• 20037, 790, EOG, Liberty LR 17-11H, Parshall, t6/11; cum 289K 9/16; 24,390 feet with extended long lateral under the river. 24,390 / 5,280 =  4.62 miles.  Vertical is about 10,000 feet, so the horizontal is about 15,000 feet, just under 3 miles. 
• 21002, 384, THunderbird Resources/GMX Resources, Wock 21-2-1H, New Hradec, Bakken Pool, s7/11; t10/11; cum 76K 9/16; 15 stages, 2.8 million lbs; Three Forks Formation; 21,151 feet;

Deepest well in North Dakota? -- June 28, 2011

• 23532, 527, CLR, Louisville 2-9H, Last Chance, t2/13; cum 191K 916; total depth: 26,555 feet; NWSW 10-153-100, runs east-to-west, sections 9/8/7-153-100 (it is sited just inside section 10); it runs under the river. Section 8 is entirely under the river. 44 stages; 3.65 million lbs, sand and ceramic.

EOG also has some super long laterals.

• 22484, 2,946, EOG, Hawkeye 102-2501H, Clarks Creek, 62 stages; 15 million lbs, t1/13; cum 534K 9/16; 25,451 feet;
• 22485, 1,926, EOG, Hawkeye 01-2501H, Clarks Creek, 64 stages; 15 million lbs, t1/13; cum 596K 9/16; 25,827 feet;
• 22486, 2,421, EOG, Hawkeye 100-2501H, Clarks Creek, t9/12; cum 713K 9/16; 25,101 feet;
• 22487, 67 (no typo), EOG, Hawkeye 02-2501H, Clarks Creek, 69 stages, 27million lbs, t12/13; cum 649K 9/16; 24,740 feet;

• 20753, 231, Hunt, Redwing 1-3-10H 1, Bear Butte t11/11; cum 72K 9/16; the Middle Bakken was encountered at 11,215 MD, or 11,017 TVD.   

Longest EOG well? -- November 29, 2011.

• 19721, 1,063, EOG, Liberty LR 19-23H, Van Hook, Bakken, s10/10; t3/11; cum 325K 9/16;, 31 stages, 5 million lbs, 22,385 feet; 
•  19231, 398, EOG, Liberty LR 13-14H, Parshall, t12/11; cum 278K 916; 22,757 feet

Update on three super-long-laterals -- February 12, 2011

• 18749, 502, Slawson, Osprey Federal 1-26-25-30H, Van Hook, t9/10; cum 305K 9/16; 21,910 feet
• 19720, 510, EOG, Liberty LR 14-23Hl, Parshall, t4/11; cum 238K 9/16; 22,212 feet
• 19433, 3,000, EOG, Liberty LR 17-11H, 24,496 feet 

Deepest Well Drilled in North Dakota

Updates

February 1, 2016: see comment from reader about another deep well, perhaps the deepest reported:

In 1991 I was a well logger and we went 16,300ft. The bit broke off and we fished for nearly a week, recovered ~2 cones before tripping back in and setting on the third cone going nowhere fast. That's the bottom of the Bakken. Red sandstone if I remember correctly.

May 11, 2013: There are two depths of interest in drilling a Bakken horizontal well: a) the true vertical depth; and, b) the total depth which includes the vertical depth + the length of the horizontal. It gets a little confusing, therefore, when talking about the "deepest" wells in North Dakota. From the roughneck's perspective, it doesn't matter if it's vertical or horizontal, it's a lot of pipe.

That being said, here are some deep wells in the Bakken:

• 23532, 527, CLR, Louisville 2-9H, Last Chance, t2/13; cum 256K 9/19; total depth: 26,555 feet; NWSW 10-153-100, runs east-to-west, sections 9/8/7-153-100 (it is sited just inside section 10); it runs under the river. Section 8 is entirely under the river. 44 stages; 3.65 million lbs, sand and ceramic.

EOG also has some super long laterals.

• 22484, 2,946, EOG, Hawkeye 102-2501H, Clarks Creek, t1/13; cum 600K 9/19;
• 22485, 1,926, EOG, Hawkeye 102-2501H, Clarks Creek, t1/13; cum 695K 9/19;
• 22486, 2,421, EOG, Hawkeye 102-2501H, Clarks Creek, total depth 25,101 feet; t9/12; cum 781K 4/19; off line 4/19; remains off line 9/19;
  
• 22487, 67 (no typo), EOG, Hawkeye 102-2501H, Clarks Creek total depth, 24, 740 feet, t12/13; cum 850K 9/19;

Updates

The Redwing well noted below:

• 20753, 231, Iron Oil Operating, LLC/Hunt, Redwing 1-3-10H 1, Bear Butte t11/11; cum 89K 9/19; the Middle Bakken was encountered at 11,215 MD, or 11,017 TVD.   

Original Post

 

Greg alerted me to this story (link is broken); it is quite fascinating.

There is quite a bit of trivia in that one story. I think folks might get a kick out of reading it.

The story references the Red Wing Creek field which I have talked about before, and in itself, is a very interesting story.

Dallas-based Hunt Oil (Hunt) is planning to drill a horizontal Bakken test some 10 miles southeast of Alexander and 13 miles southwest of Watford City in McKenzie County, North Dakota.

The company has staked a location for the Redwing #1-3-10H 1 (#20753), ne-nw 3-148n-101w. This wildcat will be drilled on a 1,280-acre standup spacing unit and will bottom somewhere in the southern portion of section 10-148n-101w. Permit/file number 20753.

This new location by Hunt is located roughly 4 miles southwest of a horizontal Bakken discovery drilled earlier this year by Tracker Resources (Tracker) at the Gudmunsen #27-1H, ne-ne 27-149n-100w. This oil strike was given an IPF of 1,006 bopd, 1.6 mmcfgpd and 1,106 bwpd from the Bakken interval at 11,428’–20,370’. The discovery well is operated by Hess Corp. (Hess) following its purchase of Tracker for $1.05 billion. Hess also plans to drill three more Bakken ventures near this strike: the Helga Stenseth #29-1H, ne-ne 29-149n-100w; the Edwin Stenseth #28-1H, se-sw 21-149n-100w; and the McGregor #26-1H, se-sw 23-149n-100w. No activity has been reported at any of these Hess locations.

The article goes on to talk about the deepest wells drilled in North Dakota, which was the original reason Greg sent me the link. 

No real reason for posting this except for some light reading on a Tuesday morning, when the price of oil is up about a dollar despite recent announcement that countries around the world will be releasing oil from their strategic petroleum reserves.

More on these deep wells and other deep wells:

• W.H Hunt Estate, Larson 1, 10-148N-101W, now operated by WISCO (warms the cockles of my heart, but that's another story); this was a wildcat, discovery well for Bear Butte Field, a now-abandoned Birdbear and Duperow oil pool. Of interest, this well is the 14th deepest ever drilled in the state of North Dakota, the deepest being 15,380'.