Another Look at the Bakken as a Source Rock

For newbies, and maybe even for some old timers, in light of the debacle in the gulf, this might be a good time to remind folks the geology of the Bakken.

The Bakken is a "world class source rock." Click here for a comprehensive 2007 study/report of this source rock. 

This comes from a rather lengthy posting. 

The Debacle in the Gulf = Boom in North Dakota

I'm not the only one who thinks the debacle in the gulf will benefit North Dakota.

And still another one:  Investopedia: The Bakken Rolls On!

See my most recent posts on this very same subject:
TFS doubles recoverable oil reserves in North Dakota
Whiting: latest example of what the Bakken promises
The fine print: it's all about the Three Forks Sanish

The debacle in the gulf will be the opportunity for the administration to re-write the rules for the domestic oil industry. It won't be pretty.

USGS: TFS = MB

The "title" isn't quite correct, but I thought it looked cool, and it isn't far off.

PrairieBusiness is reporting the results of the recent USGS survey of the Three Forks Sanish. The USGS findings: it is estimated that there are 1.9 billion barrels of recoverable oil in the TFS in North Dakota. This compares with the USGS estimate of 2.1 billion barrels of recoverable oil in the Bakken formations in North Dakota. Most of the oil coming from the Bakken formations is coming from the Middle Bakken (MB).

This is incredible.

Again, because "we" have become so used to "the Bakken" nothing seems to surprise us much any more.

But think about this a minute. Here are some data points:

• The initial discovery of the Bakken resulted in headline stores around the world. We now have a formal survey that confirms what oil industry analysts have been saying about "the Bakken" for the past year or so. There is another formation that is as big as the Bakken. By the way, some folks opine that the TFS might actually be bigger.
• It has been estimated that the Bakken will require thirty years of drilling to exhaust locations; and, that wells will be producing until 2100. If I understand correctly, this estimate was based only on the Bakken formation. If there is another formation that is the same size as the Bakken, ... well ... you can do the math.
• All of the Bakken / TFS is in a politically stable environment.
• Most of the Bakken / TFS is under state land, not federal land. (Compare with Utah, Montana and Wyoming.)
• Companies already have tons of logs, information, data, leases, rights-of-way, rigs-in-place, and, most important, the experience to start drilling this formation immediately (and, indeed, they already have).

I assume folks can think of some other data points that should be added.

Top Stories, Week 22: June 1 - June 8, 2010

Focus on Whiting, June 6, 2010.

Hightlights of the June NDIC Hearing Dockets, June 5, 2010.

Oil Under Lake Sakakawea Now In Play

Oil under Lake Sakakawea is now in play. This has no real significance other than "political" and economical. The lake is a man-made lake and has nothing to do with the oil that happens to be under it. 

The link is to a local newspaper article. Over time, these links are often broken or require a subscription. In case the link is broken, here are the first couple of paragraphs, from the Minot Daily News, June 4, 2010:

NEW TOWN: Three Affiliated Tribes' mineral acres are being tapped for oil under Lake Sakakawea on the Fort Berthold Reservation.

The Minerals Restoration Act of 1984 restored the mineral rights under the lake to the tribe.

Fred Fox, administrator of the tribal Energy Department, said currently, nine to 12 wells are being drilled which go under the lake and about eight wells are producing from under the lake. He said two of the producing wells are on mineral acres owned by the state. Those are located in the northern part of the reservation in the Van Hook Arm.