EPA: Air Safe, Minor Maintenance Issues

That was the headline in today's Williston Herald following the EPA visit to Williston.

Whew.

I didn't read the article, so I don't know if there was any mention of dust.

Random Update of Williston Development -- The Heart of The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

For newbies, the Williston I grew up in had one or two movie theaters, two or three major / regional grocery stores, one truck stop, three or four motels of any note, and a population of around 10,000.

The following was announced just this week. This comes on top of everything that has been built in Williston since the boom began.

These were originally linked in the Williston Wire.

• Confluence of Harvest Hills, apartment complex, 42 separate units, pre-fab, Aurora, Nebraska, to open in mid-August
• MainStay Suites will open this fall; 26th Street; extended stay hotel; 89 units (I've lost count of the new motels/hotels/inns that have opened in Williston since the boom began)
• Minnesota-based Coborn's will build five (5) grocery stores in western North Dakota
• New, unspecified retail stores and restaurants will start making their way to Williston, starting this autumn
• construction to begin soon on new 12-screen movie theater; 10 months to complete;

NDIC Hearing Dockets -- August 22 and August 23, 2012

For more information regarding "Hearing Dockets," please click here.

Miscellaneous Comments Regarding Cases Below

There are a couple of cases regarding the Madison formation. If anyone is interested in a Madison well that has produced more than a million bbls so far and is still producing, click here.

August 22, 2012

18389, Hess et al, proper spacing, Pleasant Valley-Bakken, Mountrail, Williams
18390, BR et al, proper spacing, Lone Butte-Bakken, McKenzie, Dunn
18391, Hess, amend, Blue Buttes. 8 hz wells on each of 17 1280-acre units (136); establish 2 overlapping 2560-acre units, 3 wells on each (6); one 640-acre unit, 4 wells (4); total 146 wells, McKenzie
18392, Hess, establish a 1280-acre unit; 1 hz well; Stark County;
18394, MRO, Twin Buttes and/or Werner-Bakken. Add 6 sections; establish 3 1280-acre units; 4 wells on each, Dunn
17776, cont'd, temporary spacing, MRO, Merlyn Olson, Williams
18395, BR, amend Hawkeye-Bakken; authorize up to 7 hz wells on a 1280-acre unit; 8 hz wells on a 1280-acre unit; establish an overlapping 2560-acre unit for 1 hz well; McKenzie
18396, BR, amend Haystack Butte-Bakken; authorize up to 4 hz wells on each 1280-acre unit (4 units); establish 2 overlapping 2560-acre units for one or more hz wells; McKenzie
17778, cont'd, BR, temporary spacing Red Wing, McKenzie;
18218, cont'd, BR, amend Clear Creek-Bakken, Blue Buttes-Bakken, and Camel Butte-Bakken to establish an overlapping 5120-acre unit for the purpose of drilling up to 2 hz wells between 4 existing 1280-acre units, McKenzie
18220, cont'd, BR, amend Johnson Corner-Bakken and Camel Butte-Bakken, establish an overlapping 5120-acre unit for the purpose of drilling up to 2 hz wells between 2 existing 2560-acre units
18221, cont'd, BR, amend Johnson Corner-Bakken and Pershing-Bakken, to establish an overlapping 5120-acre unit for the purpose of drilling up to 2 hz wells between 2 existing 2560-acre units; McKenzie
18223, cont'd, BR, amend North Fork-Bakken, to establish an overlapping 5120-acre for purpose of drilling up to 2 hz wells between 2 existing 2560-acre units;
18397, Murex, redefine Camel Butte-Red River Pool, McKenzie
17358, cont'd, Murex, temporary spaicng for Reistad, Divide
18398, Petro-Hunt, proper spacing for Powers Lake-Bakken, Mountrail
18399, Petro-Hunt, request to allow Breena to produce at max rate, McKenzie
18400, Oasis, amend Bull Butte-Bakken (Kalil field), to dissovle two 1600-acre units; establish 1 1280-acre unit and drill up to 5 hz wells, and another 7 hz wells; (12 total in one 1280-acre unit), Williams
18401, Oasis, exception to rules for Zaye Federal, McKenzie, Williams
18402, Whiting, nitrogen injectivity test in the Sanish, Mountrail;
17763, cont'd, Whiting, temporary spacing for Cymbaluk, Billings
18028, con'td, Whiting, temporary spacing for Quale, Golden Valley,
18403, Helis, amend Blue Buttes-Bakken, 1 hz well, 1280-acre unit, McKenzie
18404, Sequel, amend Pierre Creek-Bakken, establish a 1280-acre unit; 1 well; McKenzie
18043, cont'd, Sequel, commingling, McKenzie
17779, cont'd, OXY USA, temporary spacing for Spring Creek, Dunn
18034, cont'd, Cornerstone, amend Northeast Foothills-Bakken, establish 6 1280-acre units; Burke
15676, cont'd, XTO, revoke a CLR permit, Carbon, McKenzie
16125, cont'd, XTO, to revoke a CLR permit, Tompkins, McKenzie
18405, QEP, amend Van Hook-Bakken, 4 hz wells in a 640-acre unit; Mountrail;
18406, QEP, amend Van Hook-Bakken, 4 hz wells in a 640-acre unit, Mountrail; 
18407, QEP, amend Heart Butte-Bakken, create 1 2560-acre unit; 12 hz wells; Dunn, McLean; 
17830, cont'd, QEP, see previous dockets, Heart Butte-Bakken, Dunn
18408, Marquis, oil treating and waste processing facility, McKenzie
17588, cont'd, GADECO, exception to rules for Golden, Williams
18409, Sequel, amen Stoneview-Bakken and North Tioga-Bakken, authorize up to 6 hz wells on each of 2 1280-acre units; Divide
18410, Sequel, amend Temple-Bakken, authorize up to 6 hz wells on each of 4 1280-acre units; Williams
18411, Sequel, amend McGregor-Bakken; authorize up to 6 hz wells on each of 2 1280-acre units, Williams
18412 - 18416, Hess, pooling
18417, Hess, amend Wheelock-Bakken, authorize up to 6 hz wells on each of 3 1280-acre units; Williams (18)
18418, Hess, amend Elm Tree-Bakken, authorize up to 8 hz wells on a 1280-acre unit; McKenzie
18419, Hess, amend Westberg-Bakken, authorize up to 8 hz wells on each of 2 1280-acre units; McKenize (16)
18420, Hess, amend Hawkeye-Bakken, authorize up to 8 hz wells on 10 1280-acre units, McKenize (80 wells), McKenzie
18421, Hess, amend Antelope-Sanish, authorize up to 8 hz wells on 6 1280-acre units; McKenzie;  (48 wells) -- These 5 cases: 170 hz wells
18422 - 18423, Petro-Hunt, pooling
18424 - 18427, MRO, pooling
18428, Helis, pooling
18429, Wind River Trucking, SWD
18430 - 18434, American Eagle, pooling
18435 - 18437, KOG, pooling
18438, SM, amend Colgan-Bakken, up to 4 hz wells on 4 1280-acre units, Divide
18439, WaterWorks Killdeer, SWD, Dunn
18440, WaterWorks Killdeer, SWD, Williams
18441, Glenn Aamodt, convert Aamodt 1-19 to a freshwater well; McKenzie

August 23, 2012

18442, BEXP, proper spacing for Avoca-Bakken, Williams,
18443, BEXP, proper spacing for Williston-Bakken, Williams
18444, BEXP et al, proper spacing for Lake Trenton-Bakken, Williams
18445, BEXP, amend Poe-Bakken, flaring, McKenzie
18446, BEXP, amend Squires-Bakken, flaring, Williams
18447, EOG, Parshall well, Parshall-Bakken, commission to review relief granted for water injection well being used as test for water-flooding, Mountrail
18448, EOG, Wayzetta well, Parshall-Bakken, commission to review relief granted for water injection well being used as test for water-flooding, Mountrail
19449, EOG, amend Mandaree-Bakken, establish an overlapping 640-acre unit; 2 hz wells; Dunn
18313, cont'd, EOG et al, flaring, McKenzie, Mountrail
18450, CLR, extend St Demetrius-Bakken, or establish Bakken spacing in the Fairfield Field, create a 1280-acre unit, 1 hz well; Billings
18451, CLR, amend Catwalk-Bakken, create an overlapping 1920-acre unit 1 hz well; Williams
18442, CLR, amend Sadler-Bakken, create an overlapping 2560-acre unit multiple wells; Divide
18453, CLR, amend Hebron and/or Squires-Bakken; create 2 overlapping 1920-acre units, 6 hz wells on each (12 wells); create an overlapping 1920-acre unit, 1 well; create an overlapping 3840-acre unit, 4 wells; create 2 overlapping 2560-acre units, 2 wells on each (4 wells); create an overlapping 2560-acre unit, 14 wells (not a typo); create 2 overlapping 2560-acre units, 12 wells on each (24 wells);  create an overlapping 2240-acre unit, 12 wells; a total of 71 wells?, Williams
18283, cont'd, CLR, amend Cabernet-Bakken, flaring, Dunn,
18454, Corinthian, extend North Souris-Madison, create a 480-acre unit, 3 wells each; Bottineau;
18455, Corinthian, extend Northeast Landa-Spearfish/Madison, create 7 320-acre units; establish approx 160-acre unit; 1 well on each of these units; Bottineau
18456, Corinthian, exception to siting rules, Bottineau
18457, Corinthian, exception to siting rules, Bottineau
18458, Enerplus, amend Heart Butte-Bakken, create a 1280-acre unit, 5 wells; Dunn;
18310, cont'd, amend Mandaree-Bakken, flaring, McKenzie, Dunn
18459, Newfield, extend Haystack Butte or Lone Butte-Bakken, create a 640-acre unit, 7 wells; Dunn;
18460, Newfield, etend Westberg or Clear Creek-Bakken, create a 1280-acre unit, 6 wells; McKenzie
18461, SHD, flaring, Dunn, McLean
18462, Samson Resources, amend Blooming Prairie-Bakken, flaring, Divide
18463, Samson Resources, amend Bluffton-Bakken, flaring, Divide
18464, Samson Resources, amend Juno-Bakken, flaring, Divide
18465, Samson Resources, amend Kimberly-Madison, flaring, Divide
18466, Samson Resources, amend Paulson-Bakken, flaring, Divide
18467, Samson Resources, amend Foothills-Bakken, flaring, Burke
18468, Samson Resources, amend Foothills-Bakken, creast an overlapping 2560-acre unit; 14 wells;
18469, Samson Resources, amend Black Slough and/or Foothills-Bakken, create an overlapping 2560-acre unit, 14 wells; Burke
18292, cont'd, Samson Resources, amend Ambrose-Bakken, create five overlapping 2560-acre units, 14 wells in each unit (70 wells); Divide; these 3 cases -- 98 wells?
18470, Slawson, extend/amend Big Bend or Van Hook-Bakken, create an overlapping 1280-acre unit, 3 wells; Mountrail
18471, Slawson, amend Big Bend-Bakken, create a 1280-acre unit, 6 wells; Mountrail
18472, Slawson, amend Van Hook-Bakken, create a 1280-acre unit, 6 wells; Mountrail
18473, Triangle, amend Otter-Bakken, flaring, Williams
18474, Zavanna, extend/amend Stony Creek and/or Williston-Bakken, or in the alternative establish Bakken spacing in the Springbrook, create 2 1280-acre units; 1 well each; Williams
18475, WPX, amend Bailey-Bakken, alter definition of stratigraphic limits of the pool, Dunn
18476, WPX, amend Bear Den-Bakken, alter definition of stratigraphic limits of the pool, McKenzie
18477, WPX, amend Big Bend-Bakken, alter definition of stratigraphic limits, Mountrail
18478, WPX, ditto, Blue Buttes-Bakken, McKenzie
18479, WPX, ditto, Clarks Creek-Bakken, McKenzie
18480, WPX, ditto, Clear Creek-Bakken, McKenize
18481, WPX, ditto, Corral Creek-Bakken, Dunn
18482, WPX, ditto, Deep Water Creek Bay-Bakken, Dunn, McLean
18483, WPX, ditto, Eagle Nest-Bakken, Dunn, McKenzie
18484, WPX, Four Bears-Bakken, McKenzie, Mountrail
18485, WPX, ditto, Grail-Bakken, McKenzie
18486, WpX, ditto, Hans Creek-Bakken, Dunn
... and this continues through cas 18499
17848, cont'd, Baytex, violation of flaring, Divide
17849, cont'd, Baytex, violation of flaring, Divide
18274, cont'd, G3 Operating, amend Good Luck-Bakken, flaring, Williams
18309, cont'd, Crescent Point et al, amend Little Muddy-Bakken, flaring, Williams
18109, cont'd, Resource Drilling, amend Ross-Bakken, create a 1280-acre unit, 8 wells; Mountrail
1831, cont'd, EOG et al, amend Clear Water-Bakken, flaring, Burke, Mountrail
18305, cont'd, Liberty Resources, amend Tyrone-Bakken, flaring, Williams
18500 - 18510, CLR, pooing
18511, CLR, risk penalty legalese, Milloy, Hebron-Bakken, Williams
18512, CLR, risk penalty legalese, Fasching, Hebron-Bakken, Williams
18513, Denbury, risk penalty legalese, Lund, McKenzie
18514, Denbury, authorize increase density wells, 7 wells in each 1280-acre unit, Arnegard-Bakken, McKenzie
18515, XTO, risk penalty legalese, Willey, Williams
18516, XTO, risk penalty legalese, Arley, Williams
18517, XTO, risk penalty legalese, John, Williams
18518, XTO, 8 wells on each of 9 existing 1280-acre units (72 wells), Temple-Bakken, Williams
18519, XTO, 8 wells on each of 14 existing 1280-acre units (112 wells), Midway-Bakken, Williams
18520, XTO, 8 wells on each of 2 existing 1280-acre units (16 wells), Stoneview-Bakken, Burke
18521, XTO, 8 wells on a 1280-acre unit, Big Butte-Bakken, Mountrail
18522, XTO, 8 wells on an existing 1280-acre unit, Sorkness-Bakken, Mountrail
For these 5 cases, XTO is requesting permits for 216 wells; 
18523, Slawson, risk penalty legalese, Atlas, McKenzie
18524, Slawson, risk penalty legalese, Condor, McKenzie
18525, Slawson, risk penalty legalese Hatchet, McKenzie
18526, Slawson, 6 wells on an existing 1280-acre unit, Van Hook-Bakken, Mountrail
18527, Fidelity, risk penalty legalese, Kevin, Mountrail
18528, Fidelity, risk penalty legalese, Schwartz, Stark,
18529, Newfield, pooling
18530, Newfield, 4 wells on an existing 640-acre unit, Westberg-Bakken, McKenzie;
18531, Newfield, 7 wells on each of 3 existing 1280-acre units, Tobacco Garden-Bakken, McKenzie
18532, Newfield, 7 wells on each of 8 existing 1280-acre units, South Tobacco Garden-Bakken, McKenzie
18533, Newfield, 7 wells on an existing 1280-acre unit, Bear Den-Bakken, McKenzie
18534, Newfield, 7 wells on each of 3 640-acre units, Haystack Butte-Bakken, Dunn
17036, cont'd, Newfield, risk penalty legalese, Sand Creed Federal, McKenzie
18535 - 18539, Samson Resources, pooling,
18351, cont'd, Samson Resources, pooling,
18352, cont'd, Samson Resources, pooling,
18353, cont'd, Samson Resources, pooling,
18354, cont'd, Samson Resources, pooling,
18355, cont'd, Samson Resources, pooling,
18540, Samson Resources, risk penalty legalese, Felton, Burke
18541, Samson Resources, 7 wells on an existing 1280-acre unit, West Ambrose-Bakken, Divide,
18542 - 18549, Liberty Resources, pooling,
18550 - 18554, EOG, pooling
18555, EOG, 3 wells on each of 2 320-acre unit; 3 wells on each of 4 640-acre units; Squaw Creek-Bakken, McKenzie
18556 - 18562, Hunt, pooling,
18563 - 18567, BEXP, pooling,
18568, BEXP, SWD, Williams
18569, Borejaks Energy, SWD
18570, Borejaks Energy, SWD
17883, cont'd, Baytex, flaring, Divide
17884, cont'd, Baytex, flaring, Divide
17885, cont'd, Baytex, flaring, Divide
17886, cont'd, Baytex, flaring, Divide

That's All, Folks

Five (5) New Permits -- Daily Activity Report -- July 27, 2012

New permits: Five

• Operators: Baytex (3), True Oil, Hunt
• Fields: Red Wing Creek (McKenzie), Blooming Prairie (Divide), Whiteaker (Divide)

Baytex has a permit for a wildcat in Williams County.

Wells released from confidential list:

• 20796, 471, Whiting, Ridl, 34-12TFH, Zenith, t1/12; cum25K 5/12;
• 22154, 637, CLR, Pittsburgh 2-19H, Banks, t4/12; cum 22K 5/12;
• 22219, WI, Ballantyne Oil, Wiborg 3-5, Southwest Landa, a Madison formation well; 

One producing well reported completed:
21682, 968, Denbury Onshore, Lund 44-8NH, McKenzie

Update From a Reader: Newfield Conference Call

I received the following note from a reader. It has a ton of information, so I am including it in its entirety without editing. Once I have it posted, I may come back and summarize the data points. A huge "thank you" to the read for sending me this.

A few days ago, one of your bloggers noted that Newfield did not mention the Bakken  during their recent conference call.   I listened to the entire call and they did make several mentions of the Bakken and their operations.

Most noteable was the addition of one new "walker rig" and the release of an older standard rig. They will operate three rigs for the remainder of 2012 and plan to add a fourth rig in early 2013.

They currently have three pilot programs running to test the best spacing for Bakken and

Three Forks wells.   Their drilling engineer said they will be releasing more info on these

efforts.  He went on to say "these tests may be pretty revealing." Newfield has two middle Bakken wells (Charlotte 1 & 2, 17-150-99) producing from the Middle Bakken with a separation averaging about only 750 feet.   In May, these two wells produced over 16,000 barrels each! Naturally, it will take several months to get a better indication of well interference.

About 3 miles to the northwest of the Charlotte wells, Newfield has four wells in the west half of section 11-150-99.   Three of these are Middle Bakken and one is Three Forks.  All appear to be good producers but time is needed to determine long term effects.   These Middle Bakken wells have horizontal sections 1000 to 1,060 feet apart.   Anyway, they are challenging the 1,320 foot (ore more) separation theories. 

Newfield operates a micro-seismic array covering about 40 sections in the Watford area.

These monitor all fracking to determine length of frack development, etc.  This is most

certainly tied into their current drilling pilot projects.

If separation of 1,000 feet gives more greater ultimate recovery, it's imperative to know this before drilling wider spacing without leaving any economic way to add smaller spacing infills.

Hess is also doing "science" drilling in the Hawkeye Field north of Keene in McKenzie County. Vertical monitor wells are being drilled between horizontal Bakken and Three Forks wells. Hess also has a similar project in western Mountrail County.   This type of information is invaluable before massive infill drilling programs get too far along.

Finally, directly north of Watford City, SM Energy is drilling the first eight-well, 1,280 acre unit, in the Bakken play. (sections 1/12-150-99)  One unit well has produced 150,000 barrels of oil in it's first year; three wells are currently drilling; and, two drilling pads have been completed for wells 5, 6, 7 and 8 (four Bakken and four Three Forks).   This unit is located between the closely spaced Newfield wells mentioned above. 

Several companies have mentioned 8 well units but to the best of my knowledge this is the first one to be implemented.  Several have multiple wells on one drilling pad but they are drilled into two or three different spacing/drilling units.   

Burlington Resources is drilling out two 7-well units in the Hawkeye, north Keene area.  These units are just west of the recently completed Burlington Llano well, 6,800 barrel-IP.

There was a lot of fascinating information in that note.

First, Newfield was concerned about the cost of Bakken wells in an earlier conference call, and there was some question to their plans in the Bakken. This clears things up immensely. It should be noted that in the past six months or so, Continental Resources (CLR) has acquired some Newfield Bakken assets. I try to note that in the daily activity report when a CLR/Newfield well is reported.

It is interesting to note that Newfield plans to add another rig in 2013.

I've blogged for quite some time that based on the NDIC GIS map server and corporate presentations, that the effective radius of fracking seems to be about 500 feet. Regardless of how it pans out, I am thrilled that my earlier blogging about the effective radius of fracking was not that far off target.

Anyway, lots of information in that note. Enjoy. The NDIC site seems to be up "now," but it will be "down" tomorrow, Saturday.