Bakken Shale Oil Formation - Largest Oil Pool
Found - Parshall Field in Bakken Shale
The Bakken Shale Oil field, which stretches down from Canada into North Dakota and Montana, could hold 3.65 billion barrels in oil reserves which
would be the largest finding in U.S history next to the Oil fields in Alaska. This oil shale formation is located
in the Williston Basin according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Bakken formation is a rich deposit that the
U.S. Geological Survey calls the largest continuous oil accumulation it has ever assessed. On top of this, landowners
are striking it rich as they sell their drilling rights ( mineral rights ) to drilling companies. Looking for an Oil field Job in Bakken Formation? Check out my Bakken Jobs Section.
In 1995, the USGS surveyed the Bakken area in which they found roughly 151 million barrels of recoverable
oil. Since then, there have been many technological advances causing the big spike to 3.65 billion barrels of recoverable
oil. The biggest oil field, which is located at the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska ( ANWAR ), could potentially hold up to 10 billion barrels of oil.
The Bakken Shale Formation Play, also referred
to as the North Dakota Shale, was deposited in the more central and deeper portion of the Williston Basin. In addition
to North Dakota, Montana, and Saskatchewan, a small part of Manitoba is involved in Canada. The Williston
Basin extends down into South Dakota as well but is not considered part of the Bakken Oil Shale Play.
Where
is Oil in Bakken Shale Formation being drilled the most? There has been a record number of oil drilling
rigs grinding away at the land. There are now over 4,500 active oil wells in North Dakota and that estimate is forecast
to rise as more and more oil is extracted. Some of the sweet spots in Baken Shale Oil Field by city are:
Beluh, Hazen, Parshall, Garison, Washburn. Bakken Shale Oil Find Counties: Montrail County, Dunn County,
Mercer County. If you have land in these areas, you have probably been approached by some of the companies below in
regard to selling your mineral rights. Some of you might even work on an oil rig in the bakken formation.
Oil companies are using Horizontal Drilling under the town
of Parshall, which is home to less then 1,000 in population. Another area is benethe Lake Sakakawea.
This reservoir extends over 180 miles and joins the Missouri River. A hot spot in the Bakken Shale right now is
an area called the Three Forks - Sanish area. A company called Petro-Hunt actually has one of the best wells drilled in the Sanish/Three Forks along the Nesson Anticline that has been a producing 1,500 barrels a day. The Sanish Three Forks area
has been very exciting for companies such as XTO Energy and Continental Resources also. See Below! The Sanish - Three Forks region is located in Montrail, McKenzie, and Dunn
County in North Dakota as well as several other nearby counties. The three forks area is located below the upper
Bakken Shale zone and could potentially be a whole new oil reservoir. This would open up a whole new opportunity
for companies that have a position in the Sanish/Three Forks region in the Bakken Shale. The ( TFS ) Three Forks Region has the potential to add significant oil reserves. Only time will tell!
Natural Gas is also found deep down in Bakken Shale Field. The USGS estimated
that there could be 1.85 Trillion cubic feet in this area as well as nearly 148 million barrels of Natural Gas Liquids.
New Technology - Horizontal Drilling, has made all of this possible because before the year 2000 almost no oil
or gas was extracted from Bakken Shale, which extends nearly 2 miles below the earths surface vertically. Now,
after they drill vertically, the drill horizontally! They is very expensive but affordable if you can
get great results!
Bakken Shale Formation 2009: Due to the current economic crisis,
oil prices have dropped by 2/3 from the price during the summer of 2008. This economic recession has caused banks
to tighten lending as well. Both of these factors are causing the companies below to scale back on their drilling operations.
As the price of oil rises in the second half of 2009, companies will be back exploring the Bakken Shale like never before!
Considering a job in the Bakken Formation? Click Here
- Continental Resources CLR - Continental CLR is the largest leaseholder in the Bakken Shale. CLR now has
525,000 acres in North Dakota and Montana and is also very active in the Three Forks - Sanish zone. 2009 Update: Continental participated in completing 26 gross wells (7.4 net) in North Dakota during the first three months of 2009.
These wells produced at an average rate of 489 Boepd during their seven-day production period tests. Well test period results
in this press release are seven consecutive day averages.
In terms of Company-operated wells, Continental completed 12
gross wells (5.3 net) in the North Dakota Bakken in the first quarter of 2009, with all but one targeting the Three Forks/Sanish
(TFS) zone in the play. Initial production for the TFS wells averaged 503 Boepd in seven-day test periods.
As previously
announced, Continental also commenced a pilot carbon dioxide injection project during the first quarter of 2009 to evaluate
the potential for enhanced recovery of oil in Richland County, Montana. Utilizing the huff-and-puff technique, carbon dioxide
was injected, and the carbon dioxide and associated fluids are currently flowing back and being analyzed for performance and
economics.
- Hess HES- Hess ( HES ) is really adding Bakken Shale acreage in the Williston Basin North Dakota. Hess is now the 2nd largest
operator in the Bakken Shale oil field. In the Williston Basin of North Dakota, we have increased our net acreage position
in the Bakken Play to approximately 500,000 acres.
We currently have seven rigs operating in the Bakkenand
will add one additional rig in the fourth quarter. With regard to exploration, on June 5, we announced the successful result
of our Pony #2 sidetrack well on Green Canyon Block 468. Based on drilling results to date, the estimated recoverable reserves
from the field are approximately 200 million barrels of oil equivalent. As for 2009, Hess stated in their 4th quarter
that the Bakken Shale is profitable for them but they shifted their drilling activety downward due to lower crude oil prices.
- XTO Energy XTO XTO buys Headington
Oil company for 1.85 billion. Next was the
Bakken Shale from Headington. In late May,
early June, we just closed that one, a $1.85 billion acquisition that made us one of the largest acreage holders in the Bakken Shale play, one of the best oil plays in
the U.S. That was a 350,000 net acre position and we've added 100,000,
so that make us one of the top two or three acreage holders in the Bakken Shale. Update - In the 3rd quarter, XTO Energy had 450,000
acres in the Williston Basin's Bakken Shale Formation. They have seen positive results in a well drilled in the
Three Forks / Sanish zone with one of their oil wells hitting 1,750 barrels of oil per day.
2009 Update: If you look at Bakken Shale, we currently
have four rigs running. We will drop to three in May. Bakken
is actually running at 700 barrels a day, net above our forecast. That’s one of the reasons our oil forecast has been
upped as our Bakken wells are doing very well.
In fact, we brought in the best Bakken well we’ve
drilled so far, the Boucher 41X-21. It was 2,000 barrel a day plus Three Forks/Sanish well. Actually, it’s better than
the two, the Angelus and Crater that we’ve announced over the last couple of quarters. We are actually choking that
well back and making probably 800 barrels a day of oil at this moment. No reason to pound it at current prices.
And then we completed a couple of wells at over 400 barrels a day equivalent. One of
the things that’s kind of exciting for us, we’ve had a rig sitting on a super pad. And what that is, is a large
pad we have built in South basinarea that has four wells drilled off of it and that all will be completed here in the second
quarter. Two Three Forks/Sanish and two Middle Bakken,
the wells in that particular area are very good; some of our offset guys had 1,000 barrel a day plus Three Forks wells, as
well as Middle Bakken. So, we should see a nice
bump in oil out of the Bakken in the second quarter
here.
- Northern Oil & Gas NOG - has entered into an agreement to purchase certain oil & gas leases covering approximately 24,000
net acres in Dunn County, North Dakota. With the addition of the Dunn County leasehold, Northern now holds approximately 60,000 net acres in the growing North Dakota Bakken trend.
July 21st, 2008- Northern Oil & Gas NOG announces completion of three Bakken Shale wells bringing the total to eleven wells drilled.
In addition, Northern holds a working interest in an additional fourteen wells that are in the drilling or completion stages
and is included in nearly 70 permitted or docketed-for-permit drilling locations that are expected to drill between now and
early 2009. Northern Oil controls approximately 60,000 net acres in the North Dakota Bakken play, yielding over 90 net well
locations based on 640 acre drilling units. In addition, Northern controls approximately 22,000 net acres in Sheridan County,
Montana and has successfully completed two wells to the Red River formation.
- Marathon Oil Corp MRO - Marathon has a large position in the Bakken Shale play. Marathon oil ( MRO ) currently has 320,000
in the Bakken Oil Shale field. As part of the Company's targeted expansion into key North America resource plays,
it continued to increase production in the Bakken Shale play in North Dakota to 8,500 bpd in first quarter 2009 compared to
3,500 bpd in the same quarter last year.
. - EOG Resources Inc EOG - EOG Resources is very active in the Bakken shale formation play - EOG
plans to resume full crude oil production in the North Dakota Bakken Parshall Field by July. The completion of wells drilled
during EOG's winter program also is expected to commence early in the second half of 2009. To transport its Bakken crude
oil production closer to markets, EOG is moving forward with a project that would utilize rail to move volumes from North
Dakota to a terminal in Oklahoma by early 2010. EOG's total position in both the North Dakota Bakken Core and Bakken
Lite was approximately 400,000 net acres at year-end 2008. EOG Resources on the Three Forks - Sanish area: Mark, what do you think about the prospectively of the Three Forks/Sanish under your acreage and do you have any plans to test the Three Forks/Sanish? We have tested the Three Forks/Sanish in a couple of wells in our Parshall area and a couple of our step-out
wells around Parshall.
- Questar STR - Questar STR has been drillling in Bakken Shale Formation - ( From
Seeking Alpha ) - We've also built a solid position in the North Dakota Bakken oil play, please note that Questar E&P has 78,000 net acres in this play. Let me move
to the Williston Basin in North Dakota. Our Rockies Legacy asset team managers also have some encouraging news on our first
Bakken well in this play. Our first Questar operated
horizontal Bakken well IP at about 960 barrels
of oil equivalent per day in late January. And is averaged about 700 barrels of oil equivalent per day over the first two
weeks in production and that's consistent with our expectations. You may want to refer to our updated Bakken slide on our website.
Now unfortunately the Bakken play is not economic at current oil prices and well costs, so we've released
the rig under the terms of our leases, we have to drill only one more well in 2009. We're going to defer that well to
the second half of this year.
Kodiak's exploration efforts target oil and gas production from the middle member between the
upper and lower Bakken shales, which are the source for existing hydrocarbons. The Three Forks / Sanish Formation, a productive
interval lying directly below the lower Bakken shale, is also expected to be a future exploration target. Commercial production
from the Three Forks / Sanish Formation is being reported by operators in the immediate area.
- Brigham Exploration BEXP - Brigham Exploration BEXP announced the successful completion of two additional Vicksburg wells, and
as a result its Vicksburg net production is approaching record levels. Brigham also announced its second consecutive successful
Williston Basin Red River well, and that full production has resumed on schedule in its Bayou Postillion
Project in Southern Louisiana BEXP News July 15, 2008-
Discovery at Bakken Shale - Brigham Exploration BEXP announces their oil well, Mracheck 15-22 1H located west of Nesson Anticline, is flowing 727 barrels of oil per day.
BEXP also says their first well, Johnson 33 1H located in North Stanley area of Mountrail County, ND, is producing oil equivalent
of 618 barrels per day. Also, they completed two wells in Mountrail County, they are in the process of drilling two more
Bakken Shale wells in the Parshall Austin area, North Dakota, and one more Bakken Shale well in the three forks region ( Montrail County ) for 2008.
- Encore Acquisition Company EAC- Encore EAC recently finished drilling and completing its first
well in the Sanish Formation of the Bakken Shale Trend, the Charlson 11-16H,
in Williams County, North Dakota. The well was brought online on July 23 at an initial production rate of 1,106 BOE per day
flowing up 7" casing. The Company has a 96 percent working interest in the well, which also contains very favorable pay
in the Bakken Formation. The well is approximately four miles northwest of the best Sanish well drilled to date in North Dakota, the USA 2D-3-1H, which has produced over 560,000 BOE in 19 months. Encore EAC owns
10,400 net acres in the Charlson area and can drill or participate in an additional 28 wells on its current acreage position
in this area of the Sanish. The Company is currently drilling a second Sanish well in the Charlson Field, which it plans to
complete in the third quarter. Encore plans to drill a total of six wells in the Sanish in the Charlson Field in 2008. Additionally,
two other Sanish wells will be drilled in the Charlson area offsetting the USA 2D-3-1H well. This area is prospective for
both the Sanish and Bakken Formations, which could significantly add to the total recoverable reserves under the Company's
leases. Encore
has recently expanded its acreage position in the Bakken and Sanish Shale Play to over 240,000
net acres. Encore plans to add a third rig to drill Bakken and Sanish wells in August 2008. Upon arrival of the additional
rig, Encore plans to drill a Sanish well in its Cherry Creek Prospect, where the Company owns a significant lease position
of approximately 70,000 net acres. Encore believes its Cherry Creek Prospect is in the Sanish fairway. The Company also plans
to commence drilling in August in the Company's Almond Prospect, in Mountrail and Ward Counties, North Dakota, in which
the Company currently holds an acreage position of approximately 53,000 net acres. The Almond Prospect is prospective for
both the Sanish and Bakken Formations. The Company expects to drill and complete
five-to-six Bakken and Sanish wells in the third quarter of 2008, as well as re-frac several current Bakken producers.
- Whiting Petroleum Corporation WLL - Bakken Formation 2009 - Whiting's
net production from the Middle Bakken formation in the Sanish and Parshall fields of Mountrail County, North Dakota averaged
14,165 BOE per day in December 2008, up 14% from the 12,420 BOE average daily rate in September 2008 and up 516% from the
2,300 BOE average daily rate in December 2007. Sanish Field. Whiting's net production from the Sanish field in December 2008 averaged 7,495 BOE per day, an increase of 28% over the field's September 2008 average daily rate of
5,860 BOE and up more than eight-fold from its December 2007 average rate of 800 BOE per day. As is often the case at this
time of year, crude oil sales volumes in December 2008 and the first quarter of 2009 have been affected by winter weather
in North Dakota, which has caused delays in trucking operations and well completion activity. Whiting expects its 17-mile
oil line connecting the Sanish field to the Enbridge pipeline in Stanley, North Dakota to be in service at the end of the
second quarter of 2009. The Company holds interests in a total of 125,557 gross acres
(83,606 net acres) in the Sanish field. Whiting intends to drill an additional 40 operated Bakken wells in the Sanish
field during 2009, with an average working interest of 71%. Eight of these wells were being drilled or completed as of February
13, 2009 and one had been completed as a producer. More........
- St. Mary Exploration SM - St. Mary has exposure to the Bakken Shale - In the Williston Basin, In the Williston Basin, St. Mary recently
drilled and completed its initial three horizontal Bakken test wells in the Company’s Powers Lake and Stillwater
prospects on the Mountrail and Burke county line. While the wells have shown modest production rates, the Company does not
believe that the area will be commercial for the Bakken in the current commodity price and cost environment. Log data from
the first of these wells confirmed the presence of the Three Forks formation under the Bakken, and information from offset
operators suggests that this interval could be prospective on our acreage. In eastern McKenzie County, St. Mary has a
rig scheduled to arrive in November in our Bear Den prospect to drill several horizontal Bakken and Three Forks wells. A recent
St. Mary operated re-entry well targeting the Bakken was successful in this prospect, and the Company is encouraged by
offset operator activity. The Bakken formation in the Bear Den acreage appears to have higher pressure compared to the Company’s
acreage at Powers Lake and Stillwater. As previously announced, St. Mary recently acquired 6,200 net acres in the Bear Den
area which brings the Company’s total acreage in the area to roughly 10,000 net acres. The Company has
approximately 74,000 net acres in non-legacy areas in North Dakota. Declining oil prices combined with widening differentials
and restricted pipeline takeaway capacity are potential limiting factors for future development in the Williston Basin.
Continental Resources Photo CLR
Bakken Shale Map
Talisman Energy TLM - In the Bakken core, Talisman drilled 43 gross (36 net) wells, achieving top tier
performance in drilling costs and production rates. However, the Company has decided to exit southeast Saskatchewan to focus
on more material assets in North America. Yesterday, Talisman entered into an agreement to sell these assets for proceeds
of approximately $720 million. Current production is approximately 8,500 boe/d (net).
Newfield Exploration NFX - Newfield is drilling for Oil in the Bakken Shale formation - Newfield recently
added an additional 14,400 net acres in the Williston Basin of North Dakota. The Company has approximately 500,000 net acres,
with nearly 200,000 acres in prospective development areas. Newfield has drilled 10 successful oil wells in the
Williston Basin and gross operated production is approximately 4,800 BOPD. Recent drilling has been focused in North
Dakota on the southern end of the Nesson Anticline.
Our acreage position has prospective targets that include the Bakken Shale, as well as the Madison,
Red River and Three Forks/Sanish. The Jorgenson 1-15H, our first Sanish/Three Forks horizontal well, is an apparent success and the well awaits completion at this time. Flow rates are expected in early November.
We expect to drill four additional operated wells near this well in 2008
- GeoResources GEOI Geo Resources GEOI has recently provided and update to shareholders regarding Bakken Oil Drilling.
GeoResources has completed drilling two shallow horizontal oil wells in its Wayne Field, Bottineau County, North Dakota.
The Company holds a 10 –15% working interest in approximately 26,000
acres in Mountrail County, North Dakota and is participating in numerous Bakken shale wells through
a joint venture. At present, five horizontal Bakken wells in Mountrail County, North Dakota, operated by
Slawson Exploration, are in various stages of drilling and completion.
- Grey Wolf GW - We're pleased to announce that we have recently signed a term contract for a rig that has mobilized and is drilling
in the Bakken shale play in North Dakota. Grey
Wolf targeted this significant resource play in 2007 as a priority for expanding our geographic footprint in the Lower 48.
We expect additional demand for rigs in this resource play in the near term.
- Penn Virginia PVA - ( seeking alpha ) PVA announces that it has established a postion in the Bakken Shale - Penn
Virginia drilled or participated in three Horizontal Bakken Wells in Dunn County in North Dakota. Those wells have – two of the three
have performed very well, the first one is only making about 50 barrels a day of oil. That really is not commercial, but it’s
a data point. And importantly, the second operated well is making about a little over 650 barrels a day, which is a very good
well and we got another one in which we have very small working interest, but again data – this is making 545 barrels
a day - We’ve got about 57,000 acres in the Bakken
- MDU Resources MDU - MDU is active in the Bakken Shale, mostly in the Three Forks area zone. MDU Resources Reports Positive Initial Results From
Three Forks/Sanish Well - MDU recently completed its first operated well in the Three Forks/Sanish formation in the Bakken shale area in Mountrail
County in North Dakota. After the fracture stimulation treatment, the Domaskin 11-29H well’s average production
over the past five days was 634 barrels of oil per day. The well is flowing up 7-inch casing on a 22/64-inch choke.
Fidelity has a 58 percent working interest in this well.
2009 Update: In the Bakken area, our first operated
well came online in April of 2008. We now have 28 operated wells producing approximately 1,700 net barrels per day, plus another
450 net barrels per day from non-operated interests. Results in the continued low oil prices, we reduced our operating rig
count in the Bakken from three rigs to one. With
this remaining rig, we’re focused on drilling in our most prolific area which tends to be the southern portion of our
acreage in Mountrail County.
- Tetron Energy - TEC -Tetron Energy is drilling in the Bakken Shale - Williston Basin. Teton holds a non-operated interest in eight wells,
including seven Bakken wells and one Red River well. The Company has received a permit to drill a Red River well in its Goliath
project in Williams County, North Dakota. The location is built, a rig has been acquired and the well is expected to spud
in November, 2008.
Petroleum Development PETD - We currently own an interest in 13 gross, 3.7 net oil and natural gas wells. Our leasehold encompasses two project areas
in Burke County of approximately 75,100 gross acres with approximately 46,300 net undeveloped acres remaining for development
as of December 31, 2008. The eastern area acreage is prospective for development of oil and gas reserves in the Nesson Formation.
Nesson development wells are approximately 6,000 feet in depth with single or multiple horizontal legs to 4,000 feet or more
in length for a measured length of 10,000 feet or more per leg. The westernmost acreage block is undeveloped and includes
approximately 23,600 gross, 16,200 net acres. The western project targets exploratory horizontal drilling to the Midale/Nesson/Bakken
Formation at depths of approximately 6,800 feet with a lateral leg component of up to 6,100 feet. In 2009, pursuant to a third
party arrangement, we plan to drill up to four exploratory Bakken wells on our acreage with minimal capital obligation on
our part in exchange for an interest in the acreage position.
