Update on Hess #17117, Big Butte, Nine (9) Observation Wells; Update on Burlington Resources Midnight Run Wells -- The Williston, North Dakota, USA

Link here for the Hess wells.

Not a whole lot of new information, but two more wells completed and produced in the same section as #17117.

Link here for the update of Burlington Resources Midnight Run wells; there is now a seventh well in one section.

Update on the Nine (9) Wells Along the Hess Long Lateral #17117

See this link first.

Updates

January 21, 2025: production updated.

Original Post

Back on July 7, 2011, I wrote:

I see that there are now nine (9) wells alongside the Hess long lateral #17117. I first talked about six monitoring wells along this long lateral back on March 18, 2011.

The original six wells all had "observation" in their names. The newest three wells no longer have "observation" in their names and are located immediately around the original well site of Hess #17117: EN-Person-156-94-1102H-1.  Based on their names, these three new wells will not be monitoring #17117 but will be production wells. Note that the most recent permit (#20772) is the odd-man out of these four wells. #20772 is not a "Person" well but an "Enger" well and it will be going south, where the other three are going north.

• 17117, 345, Hess, EN-Person-156-94-1102H-1, Big Butte, Bakken, s7/08; t9/08; pump; cum 80K 1/12;  TAKEN OFF LINE APRIL, 2011 -- NO PRODUCTION SINCE MID-APRIL -- FOR OBVIOUS REASONS

So, what's new:

• 20500, SI/TAO, EN-Person Observation 11-33, east side of the lateral - Three Forks, Vertial
• 20315, SI/TAO, EN-Person Observation 11-22, west side of the lateral - Duperow, Vertial
• 20442, SI/TAO, EN-Person Observation 2-24, west side of the lateral - Three Forks, Directional;
• 20361, SI/A, EN-Person Observation 11-31, west side of the lateral - Three Forks, Directional; no production data;
  
• 20539, SI/TAO, EN-Person Observation 2-32, east side of the lateral - Three Forks, Vertical,
  
• 20599, SI/TAO, EN-Person Observation 2-43, east side of the lateral - Three Forks, Vertical,
• 20669, 601, EN-Person-156-94-1102H-2, at the wellhead, east side -- Bakken, s7/11; t1/12; cum 14K 1/12; cum 225K 11/24;
  
• 20670, 635, EN-Person-156-94-11-2H-3, at the wellhead, west side -- Bakken, s5/11; t1/12; cum 15K 1/12; cum 200K 11/24;
  
• 20772, 1,181, EN-Enger-156-94-1423H-1at the wellhead, south side -- Bakken, s7/11; t12/11; pump; cum 43K 1/12; cum 359K 11/24;
  

So, lots of data to consider, and more to go through if one is interested.

By the way, what made me think of updating this data today. I downloaded NOG's acreage map and this area of activity literally popped out at me.

Big Butte Oil Field Update

Updates

May 31, 2016: update here. 
 

Original Post

 

This is a fairly large field, about 54 sections, an old field, and "owned" by Hess. It appears to be a "gassy" field based on how long some of these wells continue to flow (F) without the use of a pump (AL). Hess wells have improved markedly this past year; they switched to 32-stage fracks in 2011. This field is full of wells that are probably great candidates for re-fracking -- those wells fracked before 2011.

This particular field caught my eye some time ago with the "observation" wells that Hess put in alongside a long horizontal, #17117, see below.  See this link also.

This field, a roughly rectangular field, "running north to south, straddles Williams County / Mountrail County at the northern end of these two counties. It's a bit north of the bull's eye of the Bakken, but it's right in the middle of some other great fields, and my hunch is this is going to be a very, very good field. It appears Hess is studying this field closely as it moves forward (see #17117) and the way they have been putting in wells: the first well, and then one or two more, for a 2-well, or a 3-well pad.

White Earth is near the center of the field, and US 2 runs east-west through the southern end of the field.

Three-well pad

• 18950, 519, Hess, EN-Heinle-156-94-2536H-1, Big Butte, Bakken, F, s6/10; t9/10; cum 107K 6/12;
• 18951, 616, Hess, EN-Heinle-156-94-2536H-2, Big Butte, Bakken, AL, s6/10; t11/10; cum 112K 6/12;
• 18952, 446, Hess, EN-Heinle-156-94-2536H-3, Big Butte, Bakken, AL, s6/10; t1/11; cum 81K 6/12;

Singles

• 18873, 345, Hess, EN-Ortloff-156-94-2635H-1, Big Butte, Bakken, F, s5/10/t9/10; cum 82K6/12;
• 17258, 454, MRO, Quill 34-11H, Big Butte, Bakken, F, s11/08; t2/09; cum 81K 6/12;
• 21102, 914, Hess, EN-Lonetree Farm-156-94-0805H-2, Big Butte; t1/12; cum 69K 6/12;
• 18288, 146/AB, Hess, EN-Davis-156-94-0805H-1, Big Butte, Bakken, SI, 6/12;
• 20690, 25, Hess, EN-Wander-156-94-0904H-1, Big Butte, Bakken; t9/11; cum 372; 6/12;
• 17835, 366, Hess, EN-Person A-156-04-1522H-1, Big Butte, Bakken, F, s2/09; t5/09; cum 89K 6/12;
• 16928, 82, Hess, EN-Davenport-156-94-1003H-1, Big Butte, Bakken, AL, s12/07; t 11/08; cum 45K 6/12;

Three-well pad

• 19225, 667, Hess, EN-Wefald-156-94-1324H-1, Big Butte, Bakken, F, stwice; t3/11; cum 94K 6/12
• 19226, 275, Hess, EN-Wefald-156-9401324H-2, Big Butte, Bakken, F, 8/10; t9/11; cum 56K 6/12;
• 19227, 723, Hess, EN-Wefald-156-94-1324H-3, Big Butte, Bakken, F, 8/10; t6/11; cum 140K 6/12

These two parallel each other:

• 20670, 635, Hess, En-Person-156-94-1102H-3, Big Butte, Bakken; t1/12; cum 45K 6/12;
• 17117, 345, Hess, EN-Person-156-94-11-02H-1, Big Butte, Bakken, AL, s7/08;/t9/08; cum 81K 10/11; no production since 4/11;

Along side those two (I think the "Person Observation" wells are monitoring wells only and will not be producing wells):

• 20500, A/SI, Hess, EN-Person Observation-11-33, Big Butte, VERTICAL, Three Forks, as of 6/12;
• 20315, A/SI, Hess, EN-Person Observation-11-22, Big Butte, VERTICAL, Duperow, as of 6/12;
• 20361, A/SI, Hess, EN-Person Observation-11-31, Big Butte, DIRECTIONAL, Three Forks, as of 6/12;
• 20442, A/SI, Hess, EN-Person Observation-2-24, Big Butte, DIRECTIONAL, Three Forks, as of 6/12;
• 11939, DRY, Lousiana Land, Enger 33-2 1, wildcat, Silurian, s2/86
• 20539, A/SI, Hess, EN-Person Observation-2-32, Big Butte, VERTICAL, Three Forks, as of 6/12;

Singles

• 20669, 601, Hess, EN-Person-156-94-1102H-2, Big Butte; t1/12; cum 153K 3/16;
• 20772, 1,181, Hess, EN-ENger-156-94-1423H-1, Big Butte; t12/11; cum 218K 3/16;

Two-well pad

• 21945, 697, Hess, EN-McKenna-157-93-3328H-2, Big Butte, t2/12; cum 129K 3/16;
• 21946, 484, Hess, EN-McKenna 157-93-3328H-1, Big Butte, t6/12; cum 100K 3/16;

Singles

• 17852, 374/PA, Hess, EN-Hein-156-94-0112H-1, Big Butte, Bakken, F, s2/09/t5/09; cum 147K 5/13;
• 17956, 511, Hess, EN-Belik-156-93-0607H, Big Butte, Bakken, F, s6/09; t8/09; cum 199K 3/16;
• 21946, 484, Hess, EN-McKenna 157-93-3328H-1, Big Butte, t6/12; cum100K 3/16;
• 19880, 886, Hess, EN-Halvorson-157-93-3229H-1, Big Butte; t12/11; cum 164k 3/16;
• 18400, 351, Hess, EN-Trout-157-93-3130H-1, Big Butte, Bakken, F, s1/10; t4/10; cum 189K 3/16;
• 21262, 745, Hess, EN-Rohde-157-94-3625H-1, Big Butte, Bakken; t3/12; cum 143K 3/16;

Three-well pad

• 18733, 405, Hess, En-Will Trust A-157-94-2734H-2, Big Butte, Bakken, AL, s7/10; t9/10, cum 125K 3/16; only 7 fays in 3/16;
• 18734, 166/AB, Hess, EN-Will Trust A-157-94-2734H-3, Big Butte, Bakken, F, s8/10; t11/10; cum 83K last production 1/14;
• 17845, 263, Hess, EN-Will Trust A-157-04-2734H-1, Big Butte, Bakken, AL, s5/10; t7/10; cum 109K 3/16;

Three-well pad

• 17842, 402, Hess, EN-Will Trust B-157-94-2635H-1, Big Butte, Bakken, AL, s1/11; t4/11; cum 49K 10/11
• 19006, 412, Hess, EN-Will Trust B-157-94-2635H-2, Big Butte, Bakken, AL, s11/10; t2/11; cum 46K 10/11
• 19007, 372, Hess, EN-Will Trsut B-157-94-2635H-3, Big Butte, Bakken, F, s10/10; t12/10; cum 39K 10/11

Singles

• 15925, 5, Hess, Edward Will Trust 23-44H, Big Butte, Bakken, AL, s9/05; t1/06; cum 27K 10/11
• 17838, 228, Hess, EN-Will Trust C-157-94-2215H-1, Big Butte, Bakken, AL, s1/09; t3/09; cum 68K 10/11
• 21587, 223, Hess, EN-Binger 157-94-1201H-1, Big Butte, t5/12; cum 23K 1/13;

Two-well pad

• 21339, 261, Hess, EN-Moore 157-93-1819H-1, Big Butte; t3/12; cum 4K 3/12;
• 21340, 442, Hess, EN-Postovit 157-93-0706H-1, Big Butte; t3/12; cum 11K 3/12;

Two-well pad

• 20799, 487, Hess, EN-Selby-157-93-0805H-1, Big Butte; t3/12; cum 13K 3/12;
• 20800, 676, Hess, EN-Norstedt157-93-1720H-1, Big Butte; t1/12; cum 34K 3/12; 

Singles

• 18994, 562, Hess, Feiring State 31X-16, Big Butte, F, s6/10; 8/10; cum 53K 10/11

Update on the Nine (9) Wells Along Hess Long Lateral 17117 -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Updates

June 10, 2012: since the original post about permit/well file #17117, two more wells have been completed and are parallel to this well:

• 20669, 601, Hess, EN-Person-156-94-1102H-2, Big Butte, middle Bakken; t1/12; cum 169K 4/17; 38 stages; 4 million lbs sand, ceramics; up to 3,000 units gas; 5 - 10' flare;
• 20670, 635, Hess, EN-Person-156-94-1102H-2, Big Butte, t1/12; cum 159K 4/17; frac info not yet provided; 18 days to reach total depth; up to 1,500 units gas (average 1,000) and a continuous 1 - 2' flare; in hindsight may not have been in "exact" target; the file report alludes to the numerous vertical holes being used to monitor these laterals

Original Post

Do you remember this story?

That post started out with:

There are nine (9) wells alongside the Hess long lateral #17117. I first talked about six monitoring wells along this long lateral back on March 18, 2011.

The original six wells all had "observation" in their names. The newest three wells no longer have "observation" in their names and are located immediately around the original well site of Hess #17117: EN-Person-156-94-1102H-1.  Based on their names, these three new wells will not be monitoring #17117 but will be production wells. Note that the most recent permit (#20772) is the odd-man out of these four wells. #20772 is not a "Person" well but an "Enger" well and it will be going south, where the other three are going north.

• 17117, 345, Hess, EN-Person-156-94-1102H-1, Big Butte, Bakken, 80K as of June, 2011; no production since April, 2011; back on-line 2/13; cum 119K 4/17;

Here are the nine (9) wells, as of March, 2012:

• 20500, A/SI, EN-Person Observation 11-33, east side of the lateral, Three Forks; no production data 12/12;
• 20315, A/SI, EN-Person Observation 11-22, west side of the lateral (rig on site), Duperow; no production data 11/12;
• 20442, A/SI, EN-Person Observation 2-24, west side of the lateral, Three Forks; no production data 11/12;
• 20361, A/SI, EN-Person Observation 11-31, west side of the lateral, Three Forks; no production data;
• 20539, A/SI, EN-Person Observation 2-32, east side of the lateral, Three Forks; no production data;
• 20599, A/SI, EN-Person Observation 2-43, east side of the lateral, Three Forks; no production data;
• 20669, 601, EN-Person-156-94-1102H-2, at the wellhead, east side; t1/12; cum 170K 4/17;
• 20670, 635, EN-Person-156-94-11-2H-3, at the wellhead, west side; t1/12; cum 159K 4/17;
• 20772, 1,181, EN-Enger-156-94-1423H-1at the wellhead, south side; t12/11; cum 241K 4/17;

Go to the link above for more about these wells.

According to well file reports:

• The EN-Person Observation 11-33 is straight hole meant to serve as a vertical monitor well in the East Nesson field.
• The EN-Person Observation 11-22 is straight hole meant to serve as a vertical monitor well and coring location in the East Nesson field.

There is one long lateral, producing, well one mile to the east (one section over) to the 17117:

• 17852, PA/374, Hess, EN-Hein-156-94-0112H-1, t5/13; cum 147K 8/14;  producing about 2,000 bbls/month.

Other Bakken wells in the immediate area:

• 17835, 366, Hess, EN-Person A-156-94-1522H-1, Big Butte, cum 141K 4/17; spud 2/09; tested 5/09
• 16928, 82, Hess, EN-Davenport-156-94-1003H-1, Big Butte, cum 71K 4/17; spud 12/07; tested 11/08
• 17956, 511, Hess, EN-Belik-156-93-0607H, Big Butte, cum 213K 4/17;  spud 6/09; tested 8/09

Just to the southeast of 17117, Hess has a three-well pad:

• 19225, 667, Hess, EN-Wefald-156-94-1324H-1, Big Butte, cum 203K 4/17; spud 8/10; no pump; still no pump 7/16;
• 19226, 275, Hess, EN-Wefald-156-94-1324H-2; t9/11; cum 138K 4/17;
• 19227, 723, Hess, EN-Wefald-156-94-1324H-3, 31K the first month! t6/11; cum 138K4/17;

There Are Now Nine (9) Wells Along The Hess Long Lateral #17117

Looking at the GIS map server this morning I see that there are now nine (9) wells alongside the Hess long lateral #17117. I first talked about six monitoring wells along this long lateral back on March 18, 2011.

The original six wells all had "observation" in their names. The newest three wells no longer have "observation" in their names and are located immediately around the original well site of Hess #17117: EN-Person-156-94-1102H-1.  Based on their names, these three new wells will not be monitoring #17117 but will be production wells. Note that the most recent permit (#20772) is the odd-man out of these four wells. #20772 is not a "Person" well but an "Enger" well and it will be going south, where the other three are going north.

The original long lateral EN-Person was a good well, but perhaps not a great well. It had an IP of 345, when it was tested back in September, 2008. Its total production has not yet reached 100,000 bbls of oil which I consider an important milestone by which to compare wells.

The nine permits along the horizontal #17117:

• 20500, EN-Person Observation 11-33, east side of the lateral
• 20315, EN-Person Observation 11-22, west side of the lateral (rig on site)
• 20442, EN-Person Observation 2-24, west side of the lateral
• 20361, EN-Person Observation 11-31, west side of the lateral
• 20539, EN-Person Observation 2-32, east side of the lateral
• 20599, EN-Person Observation 2-43, east side of the lateral (rig on site)
• 20669, EN-Person-156-94-1102H-2, at the wellhead, east side
• 20670, EN-Person-156-94-11-2H-3, at the wellhead, west side
• 20772, EN-Enger-156-94-1423H-1at the wellhead, south side

#17117, 345, EN-Person-156-94-1102H-1, Big Butte, Bakken, long lateral. Cumulative oil: 98K at about 2.5 years. Yet to pay for itself. Spud 7/3/08; IP test date 9/11/08. [Look how soon after reaching TD they were able to frack, test and calculate IP.] I am unable to determine number of frac stages but based on fact this is an early well, the number of stages was probably low.

********

I assume the original six vertical wells are for monitoring, but there may be something else going on. Check out this article about EOG in Eagle Ford, south Texas.

********

May 17, 2011: The discussion group is starting to discuss this.

A Hess "Orion Belt": Six-Well-Complex -- And So Much More -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

If one wants to see the potential of horizontal drilling and the Bakken, one may be interested in following the discussion of Hess' Dolan/Fisher complex in Pleasant Valley oil field.

Over a year ago, I first talked about the "Orion Belts" of Hess.

Not only does Hess have six wells running west-to-east much like a CLR Eco-Pad, it appears that Hess is putting down parallel horizontals (dual stacked) from the same well.  Six permits/six wells but perhaps more than six horizontals?

The even-numbered file permits are "Dolan" wells; the odd-numbered file permits are "Fisher" wells.

I do not yet know if there is any specific reason for identifying some as Dolan or some as Fisher. It certainly is not based on direction; not all Dolan wells are running in the same direction.

More to follow.

Just as interesting is the Hess EN-Will Trust complex in the Big Butte oil field just east of the Dolan/Fisher complex. Here there are three wells, either on the same pad, or close enough to be on the same pad.

• 19006, 412, EN-Will Trust B-157-94-2635H-2, Big Butte, t2/11; cum 133K 6/18;
• 19007, 372, EN-Will Trust B-157-94-2635H-3, Big Butte, t2/10; cum 112K 6/18;
• 17842, 402,  Hess, EN-Will Trust C-157-94-2215H-1, Big Butte, t4/11; cum 147K 6/18;

If that isn't enough to pique your interest in Hess, take a look at the six wells that Hess is drilling along a long lateral to monitor the the fracking

• Move a couple miles southeast of the Dolan/Fisher and the EN-Will Trust complexes, still in Big Butte oil field, and you will note that Hess now has two rigs on site drilling two monitoring wells along #17117. (eventually seven wells around this one lateral; see "NineWells" tag at bottom of blog

And then just a bit south, still in Big Butte, Hess another 3-well complex, the EN-Wefald complex (19225, 19226, and 19227): one well is listed as confidential; one well is almost complete; and, the third well has a rig on site.

• 19225, 667, Hess, EN-Wefald-156-94-1324H-1, Big Butte, t3/11; cum 217K 6/18;
• 19226, 275,  Hess, EN-Wefald-156-94-1324H-2, long lateral running south; t9/11; cum 152K 6/18;
• 19227, 723, Hess, En-Wefald-156-94-1324H-3; t6/11; cum 315K 6/18;

Incredible amount of activity in a very small area, and much yet to be learned.

********

More information on background of the Dolan/Fisher wells which provides insight into how Hess will be developing these wells

• Six wells on a single pad; well heads will be spaced fifty feet apart. Each well will be a dual-stacked lateral.
• Hess will use a small surface casing rig to drill each hole in succession, temporarily plugging each hold before drilling the next to prevent foreign matter from entering the wellbore. Once the six wells are drilled to casing level, a larger drilling rig will be moved in to complete the wells to total depth. 
• With dual stacked laterals, I assume one is going into the middle Bakken and one lateral is going into the Three Forks formation. Someone has stated that Hess is only reporting the production from the middle Bakken. I do not know if that is accurate, and, if it is, how one can measure just one of the laterals that both enter the same vertical. 

Hess Has a Sixth Permit/Well to Monitor Long Lateral #17117, EN-Person-156-94-1102H-1

The March 14, 2011, daily activity report listed another permit for an observation well monitoring #17117, EN-Person-156-94-1102H-1, a long lateral starting in section 11 and ending in section 2, T156N-R94W.

With this permit, there are now six permits/wells along this lateral. They do not have the "H" designation, and this, as well as their name (Person Observation) suggests these vertical wells are monitoring the effectiveness of initial fracturing.

The six permits along the horizontal #17117:

• 20500, EN-Person Observation 11-33, east side of the lateral
• 20315, EN-Person Observation 11-22, west side of the lateral
• 20442, EN-Person Observation 2-24, west side of the lateral
• 20361, EN-Person Observation 11-31, west side of the lateral
• 20539, EN-Person Observation 2-32, east side of the lateral
• 20599, EN-Person Observation 2-43, east side of the lateral

#17117, 345, EN-Person-156-94-1102H-1, Big Butte, Bakken, long lateral. Cumulative oil: 98K at about 2.5 years. Yet to pay for itself. Spud 7/3/08; IP test date 9/11/08. [Look how soon after reaching TD they were able to frack, test and calculate IP.] I am unable to determine number of frac stages but based on fact this is an early well, the number of stages was probably low.

********

I assume these vertical wells are for monitoring, but there may be something else going on. Check out this article about EOG in Eagle Ford, south Texas.

********

May 17, 2011: The discussion group is starting to discuss this.

Two (2) New Permits in North Dakota, USA -- Enerplus, Sinclair With Nice Wells

Produers: Hess and CLR.

Fields: Big Butte (see below) and Hamlet.

On the other hand, eighteen wells came off the confidential list. Results are reported elsewhere. However, of the eighteen, four were canceled or expired permits; two targeted the Madison; Enerplus had a great well (3,424 bopd, IP); and, Sinclair had a nice well (1,039, IP).  The others were unremarkable Bakken wells.

I neglected to include the names of these two wells in the original post. Here they are:

• 18546, 3,424, Enerplus, Ethan Hall 6B-31-30-1H, McGregory Buttes, Bakken (50K in  one month)
• 18888, 1,039, Sinclair, Martens 1-5H, Sanish, Bakken

*********

The Hess permit in Big Butte was the fifth of five permits for vertical wells on either side of horizontal #17117, EN-Person-156-94-1102H-1, a long lateral starting in section 11 and ending in section 2, T156N-R94W.  With this permit, there are now five permits/wells along this lateral. They do not have the "H" designation, and this, as well as their name (Person Observation) suggests these vertical wells are monitoring the activity of the horizontal and probably the formations above and below this lateral. [Update, on the March 14, 2011, daily activity report, there is now another permit for another well next to #17117. This permits is 20599, EN-Person Observation 2-43.]

The six permits along the horizontal #17117:

• 20500, SI, EN-Person Observation 11-33, Three Forks,
• 20315, SI, EN-Person Observation 11-22, Duperow,
• 20442, SI, EN-Person Observation 2-24, Three Forks,
• 20361, SI, EN-Person Observation 11-31, Three Forks,
• 20539, SI, EN-Person Observation 2-32, Three Forks,
• 20599, SI, EN-Person Observation 2-43, Three Forks, 

The folks over at the Bakken Shale Discussion Group noted the same thing, and may have more information going forward.

Comment: simply "observation wells." Never any intent to produce from them. -- May 10, 2014.