Montana activity slowsTrend in declining DSU, drilling apps in North Dakota spills across state line Mike Ellerd Petroleum News Bakken
As Petroleum News Bakken reported in the Nov. 23 edition, drilling and spacing unit applications filed with the North Dakota Industrial Commission were down considerably in November, and that trend is being seen across the state line in Montana where the number of drilling and spacing unit applications on the Montana Board of Oil and Gas Conservation’s December hearing docket declined noticeably from the previous docket in October.
In October, 13 Montana operators filed applications seeking creation of a total of 14 temporary spacing units, permanent status for nine existing temporary units and authorization to drill wells on 15 DSUs. In December, six operators are seeking creation of five new temporary DSUs, permanent status for six DSUs and authorization to drill on four units. Under Montana rules, a DSU is first established as temporary but if and when a well is drilled and goes on production, the status of the DSU must be changed to permanent.
Continental and Oasis Among the Montana operators filing applications the board will consider during a Dec. 4 hearing is Continental Resources which is seeking authorization to drill an additional Bakken/Three Forks well on a permanent unit in the Elm Coulee field in Richland County. Continental is also seeking permanent status for four existing temporary spacing units in the Elm Coulee field in Richland County where the company has producing Bakken/Three Forks wells. Production data for three of the four wells has been posted on the board’s website. One of the wells went on production in June and more than 86 days of production yielded 8,312 barrels for an average of 97 bpd. Another went on production in July and produced 19,076 barrels over 63 days for an average of 303 bpd. And the third well for which data are available went on production in September and over 30 days yielded 3,159 barrels for an average of 105 bpd.
Oasis Petroleum is seeking creation of three temporary overlapping 2,560-acre spacing units and permanent status for an existing 2,560, all in the Elm Coulee Northeast field in Roosevelt County, also in far eastern Montana. The company has a well producing on the temporary 2,560 that went on production in September and yielded 8,250 barrels over the 18 days on production for an average of 458 bpd.
Other applications Other operators asking for new temporary spacing units in Richland and Roosevelt counties are XTO Energy, SM Energy and Kraken Oil and Gas. XTO Energy is seeking authorization to drill wells on three permanent spacing units in the Elm Coulee field in Richland County. SM Energy is asking that the board create a temporary 1,280-acre DSU in Nohly field in Richland County and authorize the drilling of three horizontal Bakken/Three Forks wells. Kraken Oil and Gas is asking the board to create a temporary 1,280 in the northeast Richland and southeast Roosevelt counties and to authorize the drilling of one Bakken/Three Forks well.
In Valley County which borders Roosevelt County on the west, Anadarko Minerals is seeking authorization to drill a vertical wells into the Nisku, Lodgepole, Mission Canyon and Charles A, B, C and D formations. And Anadarko E&P Onshore filed an application seeking permanent status for a spacing unit in the Southern Alberta Bakken area in Toole County in north-central Montana for production from a Bakken/Three Forks well. Production data from that well are not yet available on the board’s website, but the website does indicate that Anadarko E&P has eight other wells permitted in Toole County.
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