Fracked With 34 Million Gallons Of Water -- February 2, 2021

The well. This was an extended long lateral, three sections long; one section longer than a typical two-section well in the Bakken. The Maddy Federal wells are tracked here.

• 32070, A/F, XTO, Maddy Federal 24X-34D, North Fork, first production, 7/20; t--; cum 253K 12/20; re-entered on December 4, 2018; TD reached on December 21, 2018; fracked 3/30/20 - 4/20/20; 33.660 million gallons of water; 93.3% water by mass;
  

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A Musical Interlude

Ray Charles, 1962

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Personal Request

CLR Reports A Huge Frack: 83 Stages; 20 Million Lbs Of Sand; Neighboring Well With 10-Fold Jump In Production -- Middle Bakken -- October 23, 2019

Completion strategies since 2018 are tracked here. 

See this note for background.

A CLR Hereford Federal well came off the confidential list yesterday. The well is located in one of the best fields in the Bakken and seems to respond nicely to new fracks, and neighboring fracks.

With a new Hereford Federal well coming off the confidential list yesterday, I was curious how one of its neighboring wells was doing.

First, the newly fracked Hereford Federal well:

• 33026, 2,362, CLR, Hereford Federal 11-17H, Elm Tree, t9/19; cum --; the well produced 2,000 bbls over six days upon completion and then the well was immediately shut in for operational reasons; the frack: holy mackerel -- or as Sophia would say, "sweet mother monkey milk": 83 stages and 20 million lbs of sand; let's see what FracFocus says: fracked 12/23/18 - 1/13/09; 14.4 million gallons of water, 84% by mass; sand, 14% by mass; 

Now, the neighboring well:

• 19503, 275, CLR, Simmental 2-21H, Elm Tree, t12/10; cum 337K 8/19; from 2,100 bbls/month to 21,000 bbls/month, that's about a 10-fold jump. Recent production:

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	8-2019	31	17295	17233	10207	28200	19491	8290
BAKKEN	7-2019	31	18099	18407	12471	27833	0	27436
BAKKEN	6-2019	30	21289	21587	15054	32623	713	31505
BAKKEN	5-2019	15	9243	8490	6833	15591	438	14990
BAKKEN	4-2019	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	3-2019	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	2-2019	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	1-2019	0	0	247	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	12-2018	25	1794	1903	865	3017	2618	75
BAKKEN	11-2018	30	2386	2110	1431	3319	2835	90

Mountain Gap Wells -- FracFocus Data May Be In Error -- June 29, 2018

Updates

Postings by date:

• August 21 2022: production updated, below.
  
• January 29, 2022: production updated.
  
• October 19, 2018: includes graphics.
• August 11, 2018
• July 10, 2018
• July 10, 2018
• June 30, 2018
• June 29, 2018
• June 29, 2018
• June 27, 2018
• June 5, 2018

October 5, 2019: current graphic of the area --

October 24, 2018:

• 33556, 1,556, CLR, Mountain Gap 2-10H1, Rattlesnake Point, t7/18; cum 197K 10/19; cum 266K 6/22; cum 269K 8/22;

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	8-2018	31	34177	34306	42546	36479	36172	307
BAKKEN	7-2018	9	12209	11683	15312	13198	8898	4300

October 22, 2018: link here.

• 33557, 2,103, CLR, Mountain Gap 3-10H, Rattlesnake Point, 64 stages; 15.3 million lbs, t7/18; cum 290K 10/19; cum 346K 6/22; cum 350K 8/22;



Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	8-2018	31	44755	44888	42139	49192	48687	100
BAKKEN	7-2018	18	32649	32184	32629	34761	21497	13029
BAKKEN	6-2018	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

October 19, 2018: another Mountain Gap that has been reported:

• 33559, 2,488, CLR, Mountain Gap 5-10H, Rattlesnake Point, 64 stages; 15.2 million lbs, t7/18; cum 264K 10/19; cum 326K 6/22; off line 6/22; cum 329K 8/22;
  

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	8-2018	15	17153	17042	15226	20077	14851	5046
BAKKEN	7-2018	23	40069	40057	40885	52480	31859	20329
BAKKEN	6-2018	4	6389	6102	5748	7148	5677	1423
BAKKEN	5-2018	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	4-2018	7	1137	1137	6549	1678	0	1678

October 7, 2018: this is a second bench Three Forks well:

• 33558, 2,294,  CLR, Mountain Gap 4-10H2, Rattlesnake Point, second bench; two days to drill vertical portion; the curve took about 36 hours to build; error in reporting dates so unable to tell how long it took to drill the lateral, probably two days; gas exceeded 6,000 units; at one time reaching 7,800 units; flare maxed at 5 feet; 64 stages; 10 million lbs, a huge well; t7/18; cum 272K 10/19; cum 378K 6/22; cum 382K 8/22;
  

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	8-2018	31	23552	23614	34921	25141	23844	892
BAKKEN	7-2018	31	46789	46700	65111	56808	40652	15753
BAKKEN	6-2018	4	4537	4222	6683	5265	4511	706
BAKKEN	5-2018	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	4-2018	8	2000	2000	9459	2339	0	2339

 

August 14, 2018: #33120 and #33121 come off confidential list August 25, 2018, and August 27, 2018, respectively.

• 33120, 3,510, CLR, Moutain Gap 7-10H, Rattlesnake Point, t5/18; cum 488K 10/19; 37 stages; 15 million lbs -- middle Bakken; cum 687K 11/21; cum 711K 6/22; cum 718K 7/22;
  

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	8-2018	31	37955	37855	23877	43818	42193	1230
BAKKEN	7-2018	31	33295	33370	20343	36735	36210	148
BAKKEN	6-2018	30	32272	32381	18972	34241	33637	236
BAKKEN	5-2018	31	84883	84474	57083	53685	50940	2745
BAKKEN	4-2018	4	7865	7658	5463	572	0	572
BAKKEN	3-2018	2	317	317	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	2-2018	4	123	123	70	1055	0	1055

• 33121: 2,972, CLR, Moutain Gap 8-10H1; Rattlesnake Point, t5/18; cum 289K 10/19; 37 stages; 15 million lbs; TF1; cum 355K 11/21; cum 368K 6/22; cum 372K 8/22;
  

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	8-2018	31	19259	19309	23179	22353	21890	81
BAKKEN	7-2018	31	23659	23647	24486	26702	26242	83
BAKKEN	6-2018	30	17645	17759	23315	19352	18794	190
BAKKEN	5-2018	31	70041	70099	81120	2235	0	2235
BAKKEN	4-2018	4	9248	8686	9245	1799	0	1799
BAKKEN	3-2018	1	432	406	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	2-2018	3	106	106	21	1454	0	1454

August 9, 2018 (update on future dates): all these Mountain Gap wells have been completed and are starting to produce, but they are still on the confidential list -- the Rattlesnake Point wells are tracked here.

• 33561, 1,861, CLR, Mountain Gap 12-10H, Rattlesnake Point,64 stages; 15.3 million lbs, 6/18; cum330K 10/19; cum 488K 11/21; cum 509K 6/22; cum 515K 8/22;
  

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	8-2018	30	19647	19590	27748	24734	23424	939
BAKKEN	7-2018	31	24199	24206	36983	32966	22550	10069
BAKKEN	6-2018	30	32056	31749	40578	37359	35547	1431
BAKKEN	5-2018	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	4-2018	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	3-2018	8	871	871	531	891	0	891

• 33123, 2,904,  CLR, Mountain Gap 10-10H, Rattlesnake Point, 63 stages; 15 million lbs, t6/18; cum 431K 10/19; 485K 11/21; cum 488K 12/21; off line 1/22; appears to be coming back on linne 8/22;
  

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	8-2018	31	49745	49775	36304	56759	56079	298
BAKKEN	7-2018	31	72321	72304	63098	74624	73769	480
BAKKEN	6-2018	30	52803	52816	52613	52548	51466	714
BAKKEN	5-2018	1	1702	1232	1041	847	832	15
BAKKEN	4-2018	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	3-2018	4	76	76	131	754	0	754

•  33579, 2,072, CLR, Mountain Gap 11-10H1, Rattlesnake Point, 64 stages; 15.3 million lbs, t6/18; cum 253K 10/19; cum 322K 11/21; cum 330K 6/22; cum 334K 8/22;
  

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	8-2018	31	27298	27248	23806	33529	30508	2616
BAKKEN	7-2018	31	34260	34339	35160	48969	23119	25445
BAKKEN	6-2018	30	35943	35544	38420	43568	36896	6289
BAKKEN	5-2018	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	4-2018	1	228	228	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	3-2018	8	517	517	151	861	0	861

Original Post

Disclaimer: it should be noted, I have been "snookered" on at least one occasion in the past when we thought we had a staggering record monthly production number only to find it was a typo by the NDIC. So, I'm waiting for the data once these wells come off the confidential before I get too excited.

Before getting to the subject of this post, look at these incredible wells CLR will be reporting, (for more on these wells, see this post):

• 33121, 2,972, CLR, Mountain Gap 8-10H1, API 33-025-03237, producing but still confidential; we don't know the number of days of production in 5/18 (I assume a full month); and we don't know how much natural gas produced; t5/18; cum 277K 6/19; cum 355K 11/21; 368K 6/22;

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
6-2018	17759	18794
5-2018	70099	0
4-2018	8686	0
3-2018	406	0
2-2018	106	0

• 33120, 3,510, CLR, Mountain Gap 7-10H, API 33-025-03236, huge production; 80K+ in first month of unconstrained production; 50,940 mcf = 8,500 boe. Plus the 84,474 = 92,962 boe in first month of unconstrained production. In the first two months of unconstrained production, 132,000 boe; t5/18; cum 437K 6/19; cum 687K 11/21; cum 711K 6/22;

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	6-2018	30	32272	32381	18972	34241	33637	236
BAKKEN	5-2018	31	84883	84474	57083	53685	50940	2745
BAKKEN	4-2018	4	7865	7658	5463	572	0	572
BAKKEN	3-2018	2	317	317	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	2-2018	4	123	123	70	1055	0	1055

Update

See note below. Now we have the data for the well in question:

• 33120, 3,510, CLR, Mountain Gap 7-10H, Rattlesnake Point, 37 stages; 15 million lbs, huge well; 84K in one month; t5/18; cum 437K 6/19; cum 711K 6/22;
  

Original Note

Now the reason for this post.

• One has to assume, Harold Hamm fracked the heck out of these two wells to get results like this. So, let's check FracFocus (the NDIC would not have this data yet).

FracFocus: screenshots for these two wells down below.

Now, before you look at the FracFocus graphics: I have never, never, ever, ever seen an obvious typographical error posted by FracFocus.

The production numbers above are apparently correct; a reader verified that his royalty pay stubs confirms this production. So, 99.99999% sure there is no typo above but the NDIC has been known to make errors. But if the pay stubs reflect this production ...

And as noted, I have never seen FracFocus make an obvious typographic error.

If the FracFocus data is correct, then what are we to make of the production numbers of one of the wells above?

Here are the screenshots of the FracFocus data for these two wells. 

For the first well, #33121, the frack mix was not unusual:

• water: 10.4 million lbs of water
• water: 84% by weight
• sand: 15% by weight

For the second well, #33120, either an error or something quite exciting; we will know when the wells come off confidential list:

• water: less than a million gallons of water
• water: 88% by weight
• sand: 11% by weight
• Later, frack data from the NDIC/CLR: 37 stages; 15 million lbs sand;

Look at line 3: only 935,592 gallons of water -- less than a million gallons. Fracks these days are generally 10 million gallons of water. Again, I've never see FracFocus make a mistake.

NOW .... a little bit more to add to the mystery. A normal frac (for a long lateral) takes about ten days, certainly not less than three or four days for a long lateral, but look at this:

For #33120 with less than a million gallons of water, only two days for the frack:

For #33121 with the more "normal" ten million gallons of water, ten days for the frack:

I am eagerly looking forward to the file report for the Mountain Gap wells when they come off the confidential list.

Four New Permits; Eighteen Permits Renewed; Six DUCs Completed; Hess With A 60-Stage Frack; XTO With Two 75-Stage Fracks -- January 18, 2018

Active rigs:

$63.67↓	1/18/2018	01/18/2017	01/18/2016	01/18/2015	01/18/2014
Active Rigs	58	38	49	157	187

Four new permits:

• Operator: Nine Point Energy
  Fields: Rawson (McKenzie); Spring Creek (McKenzie)
• Comments: Nine Point has permits for a 4-well Hovde pad in lots3/6, section 6-150-100

Eighteen (18) oil and gas permits renewed:

• BR (9): a Jerome permit, two Merton permits, all in McKenzie County; a Rifle Person permit, a Scottvale permit, a CCU Burner permit, a CCU Golden Creek permit, a CCU Audubon permit, and a CCU Boxcar permit, all in Dunn County
• Whiting (5): a Helling permit in Williams County; a Wold permit in McKenzie County; a Kostelecky permit in Stark County; and, two Pronghorn Federal permits in Billings County
• Petro-Hunt (2) two Clark Griswold Federal permits in McKenzie County
• Murex: a Barrett Leigh permit in Williams County
• Hunt: a Patten permit in Mountrail County 

Four permits canceled:

• BR (3): an Elizabeth Stroh permit; a Cecilia Stroh permit; and a Linvald permit, all in Dunn County
• Petro-Hunt: a Joel Goodsen permit in McKenzie County

Six producing wells (DUCs) reported as completed:

• 30374, 0 (no typo), Statoil, East Fork 32-29 8TFH, East Fork, Three Forks, 32 stages; 8.6 million lbs small sand,  t12/17; cum --
• 31938, 1,554, WPX, Rachel Wolf 22HC, Squaw Creek, t8/17; cum 90K 11/17;
• 32332, 52, BR, CCU Red River 3-2-16 TFH, Corral Creek, Three Forks, 24 stages, 14 million lbs large/small; t12/17; cum --
• 32827, 2,613, Hess, BB-Lars Rothie-151-95-3229H-7, Blue Buttes, Three Forks, 60 stages; 4.2 million lbs small/large, t11/17; cum 34K after 24 days;
• 33211, 2,025, XTO, Lundin 11X-4E, North Fork, Three Forks, 75 stages, 16.8 million lbs, t11/17; cum 12K after 17 days;
• 33212, 1,756, XTO, Lundin 11X-4AXD, North Fork, 75 stages; 16.8 million lbs, t12/17; cum -- 

The Lundin wells are tracked here.

Huge Fracks -- Random Note -- December 11, 2017

Note the large amount of proppant and/or the large number of stages on several wells that came off confidential the last three days. This page will not be updated.

Tuesday, December 12, 2017: 49 for the month; 159 for the quarter
31629, 2,208, Oasis, Lawlar N 5199 41-23 2B, North Tobacco Garden, 70 stages; 10.2 million lbs; t7/17; cum 182K 10/17;

Monday, December 11, 2017: 47 for the month; 157 for the quarter
32316, 674, EOG, Van Hook 71-1411H, Parshall, 35 stages; 13.1 million lbs, t6/17; cum 105K 10/17;
31630, 1,497, Oasis, Lawlar N 5199 41-23 3T, North Tobacco Garden, Three Forks, 70 stages, 10 million lbs, t7/17; cum 110K 10/17;

Sunday, December 10, 2017: 43 for the month; 153 for the quarter
32315, 615, EOG, Van Hook 70-1411HX, Parshall, 28 stages; 10.6 million lbs; t6/17; cum 106K 10/17;

Saturday, December 9, 2017: 40 for the month; 150 for the quarter
33050, 1,703, EOG, Clarks Creek 75-0719HX, Clarks Creek, 4 sections, 57 stages, 15.1 million lbs; t6/17; cum 230K 10/17;
32794, 2,382, Clarks Creek 74-0719H, Clarks Creek, 4 sections, 59 stages, 17 million lbs, t6/17; cum 230K 10/17;
31836, 1,827, Whiting, Evitt 34-12H, Truax, 4 sections 43 stages; 11 million lbs, t6/17; cum 148K 10/17;

Five High-Intensity Fracks Reported Over The Weekend -- A Reader Suspected This -- June 5, 2017

I will come back to this later when I have a bit more time, but here's the "raw" data. This is quite spectacular. Four EOG wells and one CLR well:

• 31756, 1,163, CLR, Maryland 5-16H, Catwalk, 38 stages, 17 million lbs; TD, 23,027 feet, t12/16; cum 80K 4/17;
• 32512, 1,505, EOG, Mandaree 30-0706H, Squaw Creek, 37 stages, 17 million lbs sand; TD, 20,495 feet, t12/16; cum 157K 4/17; (19004)
• 32513, 1,910, EOG, Mandaree 24-0706H, Squaw Creek, 44 stages, 28 million lbs sand; TD, 20,483 feet, t12/16; cum 228K 4/17; 19004)
• 28435, 871, EOG, Fertile 55-0333H, Parshall, Fertile 55-0333H, frack data not yet available, t12/16; cum 60K 4/17;
• 32514, 1,355, EOG, Mandaree 31-0706H, Squaw Creek, 46 stages, 29 million lbs; TD, 20,914 feet, t12/16; cum 247K 4/16; (19004)

I track high-intensity fracks here.

I can't say for sure, but it's possible this was the previous record for sand in the Bakken:

• 31403, 1,447, EOG, West Clark 117-0136H, Clarks Creek, 36 stages, 27.65 million lbs t5/16; cum 201K 1/17; 18,217 feet; 

Random Update Of An Old Fidelity (MDU) Well Restored To Production By Kaiser-Francis Oil; EOG Reports Fracking With Almost 23 Million Lbs Sand -- December 31, 2016

Kaiser-Francis:

• 17641, 448, Kaiser-Francis/Fidelity, Fladeland 44-31H, Sanish field, t7/09; cum 113K 11/16; this well was taken off-line December, 2014 (though there is record of 3 bbls of production 5/15); in 11/16, this well was "cleaned out" and brought back into production by Kaiser-Francis. 

Mega-Fracks / High Intensity Fracks: Note. I don't have time to check completions on all wells. When I do check completions, I update them, and if the completions are noteworthy, I might post a stand-alone post on them. This is just one random example. Note this EOG well,  22.72 million lbs of sand; 58 stages:

• 30442, 1,135, EOG, Shell 17-2819H, 58 stages, 22.72 million lbs, t10/16; cum 30K 11/16;

The sister well on this pad also used a lot of sand:

• 30444, 407, EOG, Shell 15-2819H, 49 stages, 19.84 million lbs, t10/16; cum 20K 11/16;

Two EOG wells in the same section, on a 2-well pad, just to the east:

• 30469, 1,203, EOG, Shell 22-2819H, 54 stages, 22.03 million lbs, t10/16; cum 43K 10/16;
• 30781, 1,211, EOG, Shell 23-2820H, 49 stages, 19.84 million lbs, t10/16; cum 36K 11/16;

In addition to how much sand EOG used on these wells, note how far east these wells are, on the fringe of the Bakken (see this post also):

I can never remember this stuff so I'm posting it again, from an earlier post, October 15, 2016:

Start with this: each hopper car carries 100 tons of fracking sand.

Some data points for newbies:

• the shale revolution began with fracking sand, maybe 500,000 pounds per well in one stage. BEXP broke new ground when they began routinely using 4 million lbs to frack a well. Since then, EOG has taken the lead. 
• EOG is using upwards of 30 million lbs of sand to frack a well in the Permian, others using similar amounts in the STACK.
• operators in the Bakken appear to be using about 8 million lbs as the standard, though there are outliers, mostly at 10 million lbs, but there are some Bakken wells fracked with as much as 20 million lbs (rare).
• there appears to be a movement away from ceramic (incredibly expensive)
• one rail hopper car can carry 100 tons of fracking sand.
• a unit train is generally 115 cars. Some are as long as 130 cars.
• it takes 4 - 5 18-wheelers to empty a single hopper car.
• 30 million lbs of sand (one Permian well) / 200,000 lbs (hopper car) = 150 hopper cars = 750 18-wheelers (5 trucks per rail car). 
• 4 million lbs of sand (one Bakken well) / 200,000 lbs (hopper car) = 20 hopper cars = 100 18-wheelers (5 trucks per rail car).

 I often make simple arithmetic errors. Let me know if I've made an error here.

So how many trucks of fracking sand for a well fracked with 20 million lbs?

• 4 million lbs = 100 18-wheelers
• 20 million lbs = 500 18-wheelers 

And that's why Job Service North Dakota is seeing an increase in job openings for those requiring a commercial driver's license (CDL). 

Chesapeake Energy -- Still On The Edge -- December 15, 2016

This was posted on the blog on October 21, 2016:

From Bloomberg/Rigzone: Chesapeake Energy declares "Propageddon" with record frack. Data points:

• first it was the single stage frack; then the multi-stage frack; then, the mega-frack; now it's the monster frack
• the era of the monster frack has arrived in North America -- Chesapeake singing its praises
• 25,000 tons of sand down one Louisiana natural gas well -- "propageddon"
• Black 2 & 11-15-11 1H: 50.185 million lbs of sand in the Haynesville shale region of Louisiana; the well's lateral length = 9,764 feet (typical for a Bakken well) 

More at the link.

In tomorrow's WSJ: Chesapeake Energy drills deeper for profit. Data points:

• Caddo Parish, LA
• Prop-a-geddon
• Haynesville Shale, near Shreveport, LA
• 2 miles deep, 2 miles horizontally (routine in the Bakken, not a big deal)
• 51 million pounds of sand -- Chesapeake thinks that's a world record

So, why in WSJ now?

• the article is about Chesapeake's viability -- recently sold 78,000 acres in the Haynesville to an unnamed private company fro $450 million (about $6,000 / acre)
• plans to sell an additional 50,000 acres in the same field in the coming months
• Chesapeake would retain roughly 250,000 acres

****************************

Cushing Filling Up

Bloomberg update on Cushing. Data points:

• creeping near an all-time high
• currently at 66.5 million; within "a whisker" of  previous record, 68.3 million
• 1.22 million bbls added last week; 3.78 million bbls added the week before
• jump in inventories at end of year: oil companies looking to lower end of year taxes
• US refineries typically use less oil at beginning of year
• Saudi's cut will take time to be felt; Saudi won't start cuts until January, 2017; and, it takes 45 days for Saudi oil to reach the US

Wow, I Wish Aubrey Was Still With Us -- October 21, 2016

From Bloomberg/Rigzone: Chesapeake Energy declares "Propageddon" with record frack. Data points:

• first it was the single stage frack; then the multi-stage frack; then, the mega-frack; now it's the monster frack
• the era of the monster frack has arrived in North America -- Chesapeake singing its praises
• 25,000 tons of sand down one Louisiana natural gas well -- "propageddon"
• Black 2 & 11-15-11 1H: 50.185 million lbs of sand in the Haynesville shale region of Louisiana; the well's lateral length = 9,764 feet (typical for a Bakken well)
• the most used in the North Dakota Bakken has been 20 million tons by EOG, and that was a rare event
• output increased 70% over traditional fracking techniques
• "we're unleashing hell on every gas molecule downhole" -- VP of operations
• average amount of sand used for each well in North American shale fields has doubled since 2014
• in addition, the laterals have grown by 50%; and, the number of stages are also up by half
• Southwestern Energy Co is testing frack jobs with as much as 5,000 lbs per lateral foot (a 10,000-ft Bakken lateral = 50 million lbs

I assume Mike Filloon will mention this in an upcoming Bakken update. 

Frackers Surprising Themselves How They Keep Squeezing Out More Oil Per Rig -- August 3, 2016

Updates

August 5, 2016: from Bloomberg, "the next shale boom will be built on sand." It is reported in the original post below.

Original Post

Reuters/Rigzone link here.

Nimble U.S. shale oil producers continue to show an uncanny ability to squeeze more and more crude from new wells, allowing them to do more with less as they try to weather another dip in oil prices to $40 a barrel.

Comments from Noble Energy, Devon Energy and Occidental Petroleum on Wednesday were significant because only six months ago many analysts were fretting that shale producers had hit a wall after slashing costs and lifting well output by as much as 50 percent since the steepest price crash in a generation started in mid-2014.

Now, while acknowledging that most oilfield services costs cannot fall further, these companies say they are still seeing output gains from improved well designs and fracking techniques. The rising well output means they can produce more oil with each dollar spent. This could help them survive the latest slump in oil prices back to multi-year lows after a partial recovery brought crude back up to about $50 a barrel.

Initially, Noble expected to get 390,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) this year on spending of $1.5 billion. Now it expects to spend less and produce 415,000 boe/d.

Lately the company has experimented with fracking wells using 3,000 pounds of sand per foot, several orders of magnitude greater than frack jobs a decade ago.

Companies have also been fracking even more parts of rock around a wellbore, boosting output. At Occidental, Chief Executive Vicki Hollub said 2016 production would now be at the high end of its forecast for a 4 to 6 percent increase from 2015 levels of 652,000 boe/d - without raising budgeted spending of $3 billion.

9,000 feet horizontal x 3,000 pounds/foot = 27 000 000. 27 million lbs of sand. Hmmmm..... not seeing nearly that much in the Bakken. 

415,000 boepd x 365 = 151,475,000 boe over a calendar year. $1.5 billion / 151,475,000 boe = $9.90 / boe in production costs. Hmmmm....

Note: I often make simple arithmetic errors. Don't make any financial, investment, travel, relationship, or job decisions based on what you read here. If this information is important to you, go to the source. 

And then look at this from Bloomberg/Rigzone:

Amid the gloom and doom that’s set in all along America’s shale fields these past two years, there has been one small, but consistent, bright spot.

Sand, it turns out, is a much greater tool in hydraulic fracking than drillers had understood it to be.

Time and again, they’ve found that the more grit they pour into horizontal wells -- seemingly regardless of how extreme the amounts have become -- the more oil comes seeping out.

The message from drillers is "more, more, more sand," said Sean Meakim, an oil-services analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co. "All of the numbers are going up and they’re going up dramatically."

On a per-well basis, sand use has doubled since 2011, climbing to nearly 8 million pounds.

It’s this growth that’s sent the stock prices of the country’s four publicly traded sand miners surging more than 90 percent this year. True, overall sand usage in the fracking industry is still way down from the 2014 peak -- more than three-quarters of America’s drilling rigs, after all, have been idled since oil prices collapsed -- but the per-well increases have analysts and investors betting that the sand industry will boom again as soon as fracking activity starts to pick up even a little bit.

I can't say for sure, but this well might have set the record for most sand used in fracking in the Bakken:

• 22487, 67, EOG, Hawkeye 02-2501H, 69 stages, 27.6  million pounds, according to a reader, extended long lateral (3 sections long); t12/13; cum 623K 6/16; it's been off-line the last couple of months due to fracking / completions in neighboring wells; before that, it appears that EOG cut back on production from this well.

Generally, it appears operators are drilling long laterals (two sections, about 9,000 feet) and using between 1 million and 8 million lbs proppant. I am somewhat surprised by the relatively small amount of sand currently being used in the Bakken. There may be a couple of story lines there. 

Record Short Lateral EOG Well Off Confidential -- January 2, 2016; Sets Several Records

[I've mentioned this well in more than one location; this might be the best place where I track this well.]

This well is now off the confidential list. This is a short lateral. The spacing is a half-section, 320 acres. The number of stages at 23 was about as expected but note the amount of proppant: almost 13 million lbs. Had this been a long lateral, this would been 26 million lbs for an equivalent frack.

• 30286, 1,974, EOG, Riverview 102-32H, Antelope, s3/16/15; TD 3/20/15; MD 15,564', TVD 10,523'; short lateral, 23 stages, 12.8 million lbs, 320-acre spacing, W/2 sect 29-152-94, t6/15; cum 271K 11/15; 

Note production in first full month:

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
SANISH	11-2015	22	23234	24173	7765	67426	0	64716
SANISH	10-2015	31	39211	39182	10746	82984	53058	26345
SANISH	9-2015	30	45634	45278	11980	81474	56321	21521
SANISH	8-2015	23	39587	39590	11087	70189	10574	59278
SANISH	7-2015	31	86922	87531	22132	178373	0	177874
SANISH	6-2015	22	36401	35152	11454	346	0	0

I've mentioned this well in more than one location; this might be the best place where I track this well.