A Huge "Thank You" To A Reader Alerting Me To A Most Interesting EOG Well

Updates

January 24, 2013: Motley Fool has a nice short piece on EOG. See point #2 below. EOG's sand operations is saving EOG $1 million/well.

Original Post

This is going to be a long rambling note. For some readers, it might be worth reading. I don't know. Maybe I'm reading too much into it.

This is going to be all about EOG. (And again, I apologize if I'm over-reading this or mis-reading something. But I think it's accurate.)

1. I think EOG had the first crude-by-rail oil-loading terminal/facility in the Bakken. At the link, see FAQ #7. The EOG/Stanley operation was scheduled to come on line in February, 2010. In fact, it came in early: the first train left Stanley, North Dakota, on New Year's Eve, December 31, 2009.

2. EOG was one of the first, if not the first Bakken-centric companies, to invest in its own sand pits. One of many stories about these sand pits in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

3. Of course, regular readers are very well aware of the early, very early, success that EOG had in the Parshall oil field. Some can argue that had it not been for EOG and the Parshall oil field, the entire Bakken boom might have been different. Looking back, after initial success in the Parshall field, EOG seemed to be a bit quiet, at least from my perspective. Short laterals only. No fancy stuff at the NDIC hearings. Sitting back and watching? Studying? Eagle Ford? Whatever.

4. In the last day or so I posted a note about EOG's request for 1280-acre spacing for each of four short laterals. Interesting to say the least, but has significant advantages.

5. EOG is drilling some of the longest wells in the Bakken. More to follow when the wells come off the confidential list, but the information is available on the blog for those interested in sleuthing.

6. EOG might have a bigger play in the Eagle Ford than the Bakken.

All of that to say this: EOG is doing some very, very interesting things. I have said many times one of the things about the Bakken that folks seem to forget: the Bakken is a great laboratory.

7. I could be wrong, but the maximum amount of proppant used in long Bakken laterals is about 4 million pounds. Again, I could be wrong. I don't read a lot of file reports, but it seems, if I recall correctly that, some of the most impressive BEXP wells used upwards of 4 million pounds. I forget the max number of frack stages that operators have used, but upwards of 40 frack stages seem to be the upper number so far in the Bakken.

8. So, now a huge "thank you" to a reader for alerting me to this well:

• 20766, 502, EOG, Round Prairie 4-0805H, Round Prairie, middle Bakken, t9/12; cum 50K 11/12:

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	11-2012	25	13143	12851	17489	7834	3318	4393
BAKKEN	10-2012	31	19915	20153	27931	12139	11984	0
BAKKEN	9-2012	24	16830	16007	40125	8771	7387	1271

By any measure, that's pretty impressive: almost 50,000 bbls in less than 3 months. Because of the mediocre IP, I would have missed this had it not been for an alert reader. Thank you. A lot of folks will appreciate this.

9. I have to check a few more wells in this field, but it's my impression that the Round Prairie oil field, northwest of Williston is a so-so field, an average field, at best.  If so, was this just a lucky well, or might there be something else?

10. Why the long rambling note? Re-read paragraph #7 above. I have looked at the well file a dozen times. If I've looked at the well file once, I have looked at it a dozen times. I can read the "37" easily: the well was fracked with 37 stages. Generally, about 100,000 lbs of proppant in today's Bakken wells --> 4 million pounds. But then this: it's difficult to read, but it appears this well was fracked with 9.7 million lbs of sand. No ceramics.

11. I make a fair number of mistakes reading well files, and a fair number of mistakes trying to recall data from earlier posts, so it's always possible I'm over-reading this, or mis-reading this, but if I've got this right, it's another example of some exciting things still going on in the Bakken.

Debt -- Nothing To Do With The Bakken

If you owe the bank a hundred thousand dollars, the bank owns you. If you owe the bank 

a hundred million dollars, you own the bank. 

-- American Proverb, 

from Debt: The First 5,000 Years, 

David Graeber, 

c.2011.

I have not read reviews of this book. I know nothing more about it than what I've read in Chapter One, but I'm already hooked. I seldom read business books any more. I can't recall the last book I read on politics or economics or business (see my library elsewhere).

Regular readers can probably guess my feelings about the national debt, and my feelings about raising the debt ceiling, and my feelings about Tim Geithner's proposal to end the debt ceiling (whatever that means). It will be interesting to see if my thoughts change any after reading this book.

The synopsis of his academic career at Wiki is very, very interesting. Repeat: his "academic career." If you go to the link and don't have time to read all of it, at least read the "academic career" portion, about halfway down, I suppose.

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Don't make any investment decisions based on anything you read at this site. If you have read the book, or if you decide to read the book, you will understand why I placed the disclaimer here. 

Nothing Has Changed. Except That It's Busier -- The Bakken

Remember that story about the new truck stop going up in Grassy Butte?

Here's a Dickinson Press story updating activity in Grassy Butte; references the new Grassy Butte truck stop.

Staying One Step Ahead of the EPA; A Fracking Story

Normally I just update an older post with new information but this is a pretty good story, so I will post it as an "original post" and link an earlier post, same story.

Link here to AP/Yahoo News.

Advances in hydraulic fracturing technology have powered the American natural gas boom. And now hydraulic fracturing could be increasingly powered by the very fuel it has been so successful in coaxing up from the depths.

Oil- and gas-field companies from Pennsylvania to Texas are experimenting with converting the huge diesel pump engines that propel millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals thousands of feet down well bores to break apart rock or tight sands and release the natural gas trapped inside.

The earlier story was here.

Global Warming Pummeling Russia

As "anon 1" points out in the comments below, the snow is so bad, folks end up driving on the wrong side of the road. Truly chaotic.


Link here with some incredible photos.

Unrelenting snowfalls have caused unprecedented chaos in Russia. Over the past week, the country has seen scores of traffic accidents, flight delays and, in some cases, the complete isolation of some remote settlements and towns.

Flashback from East Anglia who started all this:

Climate expert Dr David Viner, who until recently worked at Britain’s world-renowned Climatic Research Unit at the 'famed' University of East Anglia, in 2000 in the Independent made the expert prediction that snow would soon become a “rare and exciting event.”

“Children just aren’t going to know what snow is,” he said. [Show the children the photos at the link above.]

When asked again a few days ago if he still stuck by his prediction he said Yes". ‘We’ve had three weeks of relatively cold weather, and that doesn’t change anything. ‘This winter is just a little cooler than average, and I still think that snow will become an increasingly rare event.’

And so it goes.  I have nothing to add. Comments? Send them to Dr Viner.