Sunday, December 29, 2013

Wells Coming Off Confidential List Over The Weekend, Monday; EOG Reports A Huge Well; MRO With A High-IP Well; Newfield, Whiting WIth Huge Wells

Active rigs:


12/29/201312/29/201212/29/201112/29/201012/29/2009
Active Rigs18718719615675

Wells coming off confidential list over the weekend, Monday:

Monday, December 30, 2013:
  • 24512, 1,982, Whiting, Taylor 14-7-2H, Sioux, t7/13; cum 40K 10/13;
  • 24513, 1,657, Whiting, Taylor 14-7H, Sioux, t7/13; cum 38K 10/13;
  • 25058, drl, Hess, BB-Chapin 151-95-0506H-3, Blue Buttes, no production data,
  • 25185, drl, Slawson, River Rat Federal 4-23-14TFH, Four Bears, no production data,  
  • 25657, 2,289, QEP, Ernie 3-10-2-11LL,  Grail, t10/13; cum 12K 10/13;
  • 25744, 1,736, Newfield, Johnsrud 151-98-31-30-3H, Siverston, t9/13; cum 28K 10/13;
  • 25752, 115, Legacy, Legacy Et Al Bernstein 13-7 2H, Red Rock, a Spearfish well; t8/13; cum 14K 10/13;
Sunday, December 29, 2013:
  • 25479, drl, CLR, Malcolm 3-20H, Sauk, no production data,
  • 25842, 2,585, MRO, Jodi Aubol 41-14H,  Reunion Bay, 4 sections; no production data,
Saturday, December 28, 2013:
  • 23268, 1,487, EOG, Bear Den 25-16H,  Spotted Horn, t7/13; cum 91K 10/13;
  • 25057, drl, Hess, BB-Chapin 151-95-0506H-2,  Blue Buttes, no production data,
  • 25071, drl, Hess, EN-Hermanson A 155-93-3601H-5, Robinson Lake, no production data,
  • 25495, 557, Slawson, Walleye (Fedeeral) 3-12-11TFH, Sanish, t11/13; cum 14K 11/13;
  • 25743, 1,734, Newfield, Johnsrud 151-98-31-30-2H, Siverston, t9/13; cum 10/13;
**********************************

24512, see above, Whiting, Taylor 14-7-2H, Sioux:

DateOil RunsMCF Sold
10-201377834001
9-201347531372
8-20135096187
7-2013211390

24513, see above, Whiting, Taylor 14-7H, Sioux:

DateOil RunsMCF Sold
10-201347931778
9-201353131584
8-20136307130
7-2013214010

25744, see above, Newfield, Johnsrud 151-98-31-30-3H, Siverston:

DateOil RunsMCF Sold
10-2013125855560
9-2013147281683


 23268, see above, EOG, Bear Den 25-16H,  Spotted Horn (91K to date):

DateOil RunsMCF Sold
10-20131712920848
9-2013195790
8-20133173511924
7-2013191244488
6-201332760

25495, see above, Slawson, Walleye (Fedeeral) 3-12-11TFH, Sanish:

DateOil RunsMCF Sold
11-2013134210


25743, see above, Newfield, Johnsrud 151-98-31-30-2H, Siverston:

DateOil RunsMCF Sold
10-20131189920334
9-20131897720969
8-20138380
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Subtle Change In CLR's Proposed Horizontal Placement In The Better Bakken?

There are certainly some observant and some astute readers out there.

Take a look at these graphics.

I believe the proposed well pattern on those two graphics are the same; if not, the differences are very, very subtle.

Dan, earlier today, told me to take a look at a recent case before the NDIC:
Case 21582, CLR, 21582, application of CLR, for an order amending the field rules for the Bear Creek, Cabernet, Corral Creek, Crooked Creek, Jim Creek, Oakdale, and Rattlesnake Point-Bakken Pools, Dunn County, ND, authorizing a total not to exceed fourteen wells on each existing 1280-acre spacing unit within Zones II and III in the Bear Creek-Bakken Pool; Zones III and IV in the Cabernet-Bakken Pool; Zones II, III, and IV in the Corral Creek-Bakken Pool; Zones I and II in the Crooked Creek-Bakken Pool; Zones I, II, III, IV, V, and VI in the Jim Creek-Bakken Pool; Zones I and II in the Oakdale-Bakken Pool; and Zones I, II and III in the Rattlesnake Point-Bakken Pool; a total not to exceed fourteen wells on each 1920-acre spacing unit in Zone VII in the Jim Creek-Bakken Pool; and Zone IV in the Rattlesnake Point- Bakken Pool; and a total not to exceed twenty-eight wells on each existing 2560-acre spacing unit within Zone V in the Corral Creek-Bakken Pool; Zones VIII and IX in the Jim Creek-Bakken Pool; Zones III and IV in the Oakdale- Bakken Pool; and Zones V and VI in the Rattlesnake Point-Bakken Pool, eliminating any tool error requirements and such other relief as is appropriate.
Look at the graphic and see if you see the subtle difference that Dan noted:


Now that I look at it again (for the umpteenth time), maybe the difference is not so subtle.

I've talked about this from the very, very beginning: how fracking should work 360 degrees radially, and should impact other horizontals if drilled within 300 feet or so. But I had not noted the new well pattern proposed by Continental Resources in this case, on the December, 2013, dockets.

For those that don't see the change, here it is: in the earlier links, horizontals in the MB and TF2 were "stacked" directly above each other; while horizontals in the TF1 and TF3 were offset from MB and TF2 and "stacked" directly over each other.

In the newer, proposed configuration, none of the Three Forks horizontals are directly below the middle Bakken horizontals.

In addition, none of the TF wells are "stacked" directly in line with each other: all horizontals are off-set.

It certainly looks to me like this should optimize fracking the entire drilling unit.

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

Also note that the horizontal distance between the middle Bakken wells are 1,320 feet. I've always felt that 500' radially was the maximum distance that fracking was effective, or 1,000 feet between wells. It certainly raises the question, twenty years from now, whether it would make more sense to re-frack the existing middle Bakken wells (1,320 feet apart from each other) or drill/frack new wells between the existing middle Bakken wells. I remain convinced that fracking a new well in the vicinity of an existing well, improves the production of the existing, older well.

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

Regardless, using the same spacing it is easy to see that one could put in additional wells in the above graphic:
  • TF1:  two additional 1/2 wells on the drilling unit lines (one net well)
  • TF3: one additional full well
Thus, 16 wells on a 1280-acre spacing unit, or as many as 32 wells on a 2560-acre spacing unit.

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

See, also a recent post on XTO and KOG leading the charge on increased density projects:
....numerous operators are seeking authority from the commission to drill up to 30 wells on existing 2,560-acre spacing units, up to 16 wells on existing 1,280-acre units, and up to four wells on existing 320-acre units.
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Ah, The Hypocrisy Of Alarm Over Bald Eagle Deaths; ObamaCare in Massachusetts? 44,000 Have Enrolled, 309 Have Paid First Premium

I follow The Los Angeles Times fairly regularly. Its editorial slant, of course, is similar to The New York Times, but in some respects it may be "worse." I generally don't pay much attention to the LA Times. But a couple of interesting stories today.  First. on the front page, on-line:

Bald eagle deaths in Utah alarm and mystify scientists.
Bald eagles are dying in Utah -- 20 in the last few weeks alone -- and nobody can figure out why.

Hundreds of the majestic birds -- many with wing spans of 7 feet or more -- migrate here each winter, gathering along the Great Salt Lake and feasting on carp and other fish that swim in the nearby freshwater bays.

Earlier this month, however, hunters and farmers across five counties in northern and central Utah began finding the normally skittish raptors lying listless, on the ground. Many suffered from seizures, head tremors and paralysis in the legs, feet, and wings.

Several of the ailing birds were taken to the mammoth Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah, where handlers tried to save them. Within 48 hours most were dead.
My hunch: concussions following run-ins with turbines.

What incredible hypocrisy. The headline says scientists are alarmed over the loss of these magnificent birds and The LA Times does not mention that President Obama, with an executive order, provided 30-year immunity to slicers and dicers (aka, wind turbines) with regard to unlimited bird kills, including bald eagles. It's a very, very long article; it is quite an in-depth article and not one word of slicers and dicers.

Ah, yes, the hypocrisy.

That was on the news page.

This from the op-ed section: "Fracking" the Monterey Shale -- boon or boondoggle? The op-ed is hardly worth reading; there is nothing there that hasn't been reported a gazillion times before, most of which can be paraphrased: Californians frown on fracking. What caught my interest is that, again, this is a very, very long article, and neither North Dakota nor the Bakken are mentioned. What? But it does mention Kansas:
What began with rudimentary wells in Kansas in the 1940s [fracking] has evolved into a sophisticated technology that is being exported to China, Argentina and South Africa, even as its impact is hotly debated here.
But apparently that is correct:
The first “frack” was performed in western Kansas in 1947. What is relatively new is the combining of horizontal drilling techniques and fracking, but even this process has been used for more than a decade.
Meanwhile, from The Boston Globe, New York fracking advocates tire of wait (link to StarTribune because The Boston Globe requires a subscription):
Born of the energy crisis of the 1970s, gas driller Lenape Resources flourished in western New York for more than three decades — until the revolutionary technology that sparked the nation's shale gas boom brought the industry to a screeching halt in New York under a moratorium now in its sixth year.
Today, Lenape has just five employees, down from 100 in years past. "Those five, we're trying to give them work in Pennsylvania," said John Holko, the company's president. "We're not going to be here much longer."
As another year closes with a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in New York and no timetable for Gov. Andrew Cuomo to decide whether to lift it, drilling interests have all but given up on the state, and environmental groups are pressing for a permanent ban.
Advancements in horizontal drilling and fracking — which releases gas from rock by injecting a well with a mix of water, sand and chemicals at high pressure — have yielded so much gas from the Marcellus Shale underlying much of the Mid-Atlantic region that gas prices have plummeted. As a result, the less productive vertical wells still allowed in New York are no longer in demand, Holko said.
Also in The Boston Globe, the state's ObamaCare website is doing so badly that Massachusetts and Vermont have suspended payments to the developer:
Even as President Obama’s health insurance website limps to recovery, at least two states that used the same contractor and are still plagued with malfunctions — Massachusetts and Vermont — are taking preliminary steps to recoup taxpayer dollars.
Massachusetts officials are reviewing legal options against CGI Group, a Montreal-based information technology company, and will make recommendations on how to seek financial redress at a Jan. 9 meeting.
So far, the state has paid $11 million of its $69 million contract with CGI. It will not pay a penny more until a functioning website has been delivered, said Jason Lefferts, spokesman for the Commonwealth Health Connector, the state’s insurance marketplace.
However, this is the bigger story, and one I have blogged about before. Just because one has enrolled does not mean one will actually buy the "selected" product. Look at this data point, also from The Boston Globe:
By Thursday afternoon, just 309 people had paid their first premium to fully enroll in a plan through the Connector. More than 44,000 people have completed applications to date, but many others have faced roadblocks in getting that far.
People are focused on the wrong metric (how many are enrolling). The important metrics: a) how many are paying their premiums; and, b) who is paying their premiums.

The administration can extend the deadline as far into the future as they want, but no one is covered if they haven't paid their premium.
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Saturday, December 28, 2013

Top Stories Of 2013

This is "final" but it could be updated.

Top Story of the Year:
ONEOK to invest almost $1 billion in the Bakken in new natural gas gathering, processing

The world:
Great Britain lifts ban on fracking to exploit shale gas reserves

The nation:
US oil production surges to highest levels since 1989, almost 25 years ago -- CarpeDiem

North Dakota:
New four-lane bridge across Missouri southwest of Williston announced
 
Minnesota:
$70 million, 5-year construction project, Minneapolis, MN, to support the Bakken -- biggest story of the week

Most exciting operator in the Bakken in 2013:
EOG
  • revolutionary completion techniques (60+ stages; 12 million lbs sand)
  • owns own sand resources
  • ramps up in Parshall (from one rig to seven rigs)
  • payback in less than 12 months: wells in both the Bakken and Eagle Ford
  • operates in top three US plays: Bakken, Eagle Ford, Permian
  • predicted to be be largest producer in continental US by 2018 
Most surprising story of 2013:
Harold Hamm, CLR/CEO, divorce proceedings; affair in 2010

The deals:
See sidebar
The KOG - Liberty Resources deal has closed; a bit pricier than originally reported 

Record price per acre:

Bakken Operations:
Increased well density

Most exciting production prediction:
The Bakken potential; heading for 2 million bopd -- Goldman Sachs

Bakken oil field story of the year:
July dockets posted: XTO to drill another 300 wells in Siverston oil field

Biggest story in takeaway capacity:
90% of Bakken oil could go by rail in 2014

Investment story of the year:
The KOG-Liberty Resources deal

The "Other" Williston Basin formations
Random update of a Red River re-entry well

The Williston Wire's Top Ten Stories of 2013 -- My Thoughts
 
CNBC broadcasts from Williston
Number of North Dakota millionaires nearly doubles
Reservation royalties surge on tax agreement
$100 million event center for Dickinson?
Williston Planning/Zoning Commission approves 535-acre residential/commercial development
Fuddruckers, Acme Tool, Famous Dave's, Outlaw Grill, Home of Economy expanding -- Williston
Hertz Equipment Rental moves into spacious facility on 5-acre lot
Second Tractor & Equipment Store to open in Williston
Menard's to build concept store in Williston, 18 acres of shopping pleasure 
A 624-room Bakken Inn to be built in Parshall

The Williston Wire's Top Ten Stories of 2013 -- Their Pick
  • Williston named fastest growing micropolitan. Again.
  • Glut of job openings; more than 700 in Williams County
  • Williston experienced a baby boom
  • New restaurants poured into Williston: Buffalo Wild Wings, Famous Dave's BBQ, Fuddruckers, Doc Hollidays, The Williston Brewing Company, Basil Sushi Bar & Asian Fusion just to name a few
  • Williston City Commission approved an unprecedented annexation of 4,888 acres, increasing the geographical size of Williston to 20.3 square miles
  • Apartment construction boomed in 2013
  • Sloulin Field continued to break enplanement records
  • Babe Ruth World Series drew large crowds and praise
  • Williston State College won the National Junior College Hockey Championship
  • Williston State College saw major transformation

Expanded List of Top Stories of 2013
The Short List

The nation:
EPA says final report on fracking won't be ready until 2016 -- biggest story of the week
US fuel exports surge

The Bakken: production
Whiting's Sanish wells model to 2 million bbls EUR
The Bakken potential; heading for 2 million bopd -- Goldman Sachs
NDIC expects surge in crude oil production this summer

The Bakken: fields
Statoil's Beaux-tiful wells in the Banks oil field
EOG's Parshall field on track to generate revenues in excess of $100 million -- Filloon
July dockets posted: XTO to drill another 300 wells in Siverston oil field
Re-entering/re-completed wells in the Spotted Horn oil field
QEP to unitize the Helis Grail-Bakken oil field14 wells on each 1280-acre spacing unit in Brooklyn-Bakken oil field -- CLR 

The Bakken: formations
The Three Forks potential -- in some areas Three Forks wells are five times better than middle Bakken well

The Bakken: wells
EOG 3-mile long horizontal; 213,000 bbls in less than 5 months
Zenergy's Omlid well: a TF3 headliner
EOG's monster wells
CLR with the "deepest" horizontal well in Williams County
Three CLR Hawkinson wells with total cumulative production over 1 million bbls

The Bakken: well density
Fourteen wells sited in one section in Truax oil field
CLR's Atlanta wells; 14 wells in Baker field
48 wells/spacing unit in the better Bakken -- Lynn Helms
Fourteen wells in one section in Antelope oil field
The downspacing revolution in the Bakken -- Richard Zeits
WPX with eleven wells in one spacing unit
KOG, XTO leading the way on density well drilling
What the success of CLR's Hawkinson wells means for the Bakken
CLR's graphic of 34 wells in one spacing unit
34 wells on a spacing unit -- EOG

The Bakken: operators
Is something going on with Oasis?

The Bakken: crude by rail (CBR)
90% of Bakken oil could go by rail in 2014
CBR expansion at New Town planned
BNSF to add second stretch of mainline track, Ray to Tioga, 12 miles
BNSF to invest $220 million in CAPEX in North Dakota in 2013
Two more terminals raise capacity to almost 500,000 bopd; capacity jumps 50% in June
New Frontier to build rail/industrial yard in Williston
Stark County approves new rail transloading facility 

The Bakken: takeaway capacity
Enbridge keeps adding to its $6 billion pipeline project

The deals:
See sidebar
Oasis acquires 161,000 net acres in the Bakken
Petro-Hunt sells 17,000 net acres to Whiting, $260 million cash; the deal
The KOG - Liberty Resources deal has closed; a bit pricier than originally reported 
Analysis of KOG-Liberty Resources deal
The KOG-Liberty Resources deal -- Mike Filloon (one of numerous stories on the deal)
Zenergy to sell Bakken assets; estimated at $1 billion 

The Bakken: investments
EOG drills well in western North Dakota with payback in six months
Hess increases dividend by 150%
Five Bakken wells with revenues over $17 million in less then two years - Filloon
KOG market cap passes US Steel
ONEOK to spin off ONE Gas
OXY USA to sell its position in the Bakken?

The Bakken: taxable sales receipts
Williston beats Fargo in taxable sales; 8th month in a row

The Bakken: fracking

EOG reports a 62-stage fracked well
EOG reports a 61-stage well; a 55-stage well; 12 million lbs sand
EOG monster wells: 49 stages and 10 million pounds of sand
SBR terminal to be built in New Town, North Dakota 
Refracking in the Bakken
Whiting's new completion technique
Statoil receives first permits to use high-salt produced water for fracking
Re-fracking the Bakken: an update on the MRO experience  

The Bakken: natural gas
ONEOK to add fifth natural gas gathering and processing unit; this one near Watford City
ONEOK to invest almost $1 billion in new natural gas gathering, processing

The Bakken: miscellaneous
The three biggest energy stories of 2013 (2 of 3 involve the Bakken) -- The Motley Fool 
The Bakken is a lot bigger than we thought 
Is economic value of Bakken natural gas four times greater than forecast?
If this were the Daytona 500, the Bakken is at "Mile 50"; 30 years of drilling yet to go
It appears the reservation (BLM) is main source of flaring in the Bakken
Update on EOG's waterflooding experience in the Bakken 

Development/Infrastructure/economy:
Williston will need $625 million/year for next six years for infrastructure
Five-lane highway, Williston to Watford City, announced
WAWS water at 13-mile corner, north of Williston
Bobcat, bigger than ever, back in Bismarck
Williston's Buffalo Wild Wings outsells all other BWWs in the nation
Growers to build $1 billion fertilizer factory near Grand Forks using Bakken natural gas
First new US refinery in almost 40 years; breaks ground in North Dakota
Native America refinery to break ground in August
New $12 million water treatment plant for Parshall  

The "other Williston Basin formations
Random update of a Red River re-entry well
MRO targeting the Tyler formation in southwest North Dakota
MRO permits another Tyler well in Slope County

Renewable energy meets reality:
Slicers and dicers given 30-year immunity re: bird kills

Commentaries, Resources
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Nine States Declared Economic Winners For 2013 -- The Washington Post

A reader sent me this link earlier this morning, from The Washington Post. It's a fun article to scroll through.

North Dakota won in the following categories:
  • fastest job growth
  • fastest growing wages
  • average hourly earnings
  • average weekly earnings
  • tax collections
North Dakota could not compete in these categories for obvious reasons (year-over-year comparisons):
  • fastest decline in unemployment
  • most frugal states
  • fastest rebounding housing market
Safety: go to the link to see how North Dakota compares with South Dakota. Be sure to scroll over the state to get the actual number; the color of state is not particularly helpful.

The article concludes:
So, congratulations to top officials in Colorado, North Dakota, North Carolina, New Mexico, New Jersey, Texas, Hawaii, Nevada and the District of Columbia: You won 2013, in some form or another. 
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