Exxon more than doubles daily Bakken output since XTO buy

Exxon Mobil Corp.’s production from the Bakken petroleum system has more than doubled since it entered the Williston basin in mid-2010 with its acquisition of XTO Energy, a company executive said July 26.

“We have moved into a development phase across our roughly 400,000 net acre leasehold. In the first half of 2012, we turned 40 wells to sales, nearly double the pace of 2011. In the second quarter of 2012, our gross operated Bakken production increased by 60 percent over the prior year quarter. Since our entry into the play, we have more than doubled gross operative production to approximately 32,000 oil equivalent barrels per day,” David Rosenthal, Exxon vice president of investor relations, said in an earnings call.

A total of 10 rigs are working in the Bakken, Rosenthal said.

The company is also increasing its acreage in the Utica and Woodford Ardmore plays, he said.

From an “Exxon Mobil perspective, I can tell you as we move out of these delineation appraisal and valuation of programs into full development, you’ll continue to see the ramp-up that I mentioned … particularly in places like the Bakken,” Rosenthal said in the question and answer session following his presentation, per a transcription provided by www.SeekingAlpha.com.

—Kay Cashman