Bakken Oil Production Sees Largest Monthly Increase Ever In June - 50,000+ b/d

August 14, 2013 R.T. Dukes

Genscape is predicting that North Dakota's monthly Bakken production data will show an increase of 54,000 b/d June. The jump surpasses the record of 41,000 b/d set in February of this year and will drive North Dakota oil production above 860,000 b/d.

June will represent only the third time North Dakota production has increased more than 40,000 b/d in a single month (Jul 2011, Feb 2013, Jun 2013).

“Revised August 15, 2013: NDIC reports Bakken oil production grew a little more than 10,000 b/d from May to June.”

May Was A Record Month In The Bakken Too

Production climbed to a record of more than 810,000 barrels per day in May even though it was the wettest month on record in the Bakken. The delays caused by weather primed June to be a good month for production.

Genscape estimates 70% of production moved by rail during the month and that North Dakota production will grow another 68,000 b/d to more than 920,000 b/d by year-end 2013.

Oasis Petroleum's Backlog Of Bakken Wells Waiting To Be Complete Grows

August 13, 2013 R.T. Dukes

Oasis Petroleum's Bakken production held relatively flat at an average of 30,171 boe/d in the second quarter, but expect as much as 10% in the third quarter as more wells are brought online.

The company's inventory of wells drilled and not yet completed swelled to 37 in the quarter, but that number will shrink in the next few months. Oasis is expected to complete 40-45 wells in the third quarter after completing just 51 wells in the first half of the year.

“We completed 20 gross operated wells with an average working interest of 70%, which is in line with what we projected. This allowed us to keep production relatively flat quarter over quarter. We completed 14.7 net operated and non-operated wells in the second quarter of 2013, while our backlog of wells waiting on completion grew significantly as we began pad drilling during the quarter.”

— Thomas B. Nusz, Oasis' CEO

Operated well costs in the Bakken have fallen to $8.2 million or approximately $7.8 million when accounting for savings realized through Oasis Well Services. The company is now running 11 rigs in the region and expects to realize additional savings as operations turn to pad drilling.

Watch for results from two Lower Three Forks wells being drilled in the Indian Hills and North Cottonwood areas. The company's assessment of the play will be completed by year-end and you can expect to see Lower Three Forks wells in the 2014 development plans.

ConocoPhillips' Bakken Oil Production Impacted By Bad Weather - Still Growing

August 12, 2013 R.T. Dukes

ConocoPhillips Bakken Leashold and Mineral Acreage Map

ConocoPhillips' Bakken production grew 3% over the first quarter to average 30,000 boe/d in the second quarter of 2013. Production was impacted by extreme weather in May and June, but the company stated it is "back on track" and running 11 rigs in the region.

See related article: Wet Weather Forcing Delays in Bakken Oilfield.

Conoco plans to grow production from 30,000 boe/d to 45,000 boe/d by 2017. Current development plans project to more like 50,000 boe/d or more over the next few years. It's safe to say the company's published estimates are conservative.

ConocoPhillips has an over 600,000 acre position in the Bakken and expects its ultimate resource potential is more than 600 million barrels.

Read the company's full press release at conocophillips.com

Continental Resources' Three Forks Bench Well Results - Bakken Production Up

August 8, 2013 R.T. Dukes

Continental Resources Three Forks Thickness Map

Continental Resources believes its well results and other industry wells prove the lower Three Forks will be prospective over a 3,800 square mile area. A total of eighteen wells have been drilled in the lower Three Forks and the company has only seen interference with other zones in one unit where there is significant natural fracturing (Colter Unit noted on the map).

Bakken production grew to 88,000 boe/d in the second quarter. That's up 14% from the first quarter and up 65% from the second quarter of 2012. Bakken growth supported a full-year production growth projection increase from 35-40% to 38-40%. Continental is running 20 rigs in the Bakken region.

“We are extremely pleased with our progress to date on productivity and interference testing in the lower Three Forks benches across a large area. Our industry-leading approach to scientifically understanding the field will allow us to optimize the development of America’s greatest oil play - the Bakken.”

— Harold G. Hamm, CEO,

he company participated in the completion of 180 gross (73 net) wells in in the second quarter. The company's backlog of drilled and not yet completed wells stands at 75 wells.

The average well in the North Dakota came online at 1,150 boe/d and wells in Montana came online at 455 boe/d. Three Forks Second Bench and Three Forks Third Bench wells have come online at an average of 1,200 boe/d and 970 boe/d, respectively.

Drilling Faster At Lower Costs

Approximately 70% of Continental's wells are drilled from well pads in the Bakken and spud to total depth has declined by 4 days (20%) compared to one year ago.

“Our initial target was to lower our operated well cost by $1 million per well by year-end 2013 to $8.2 million and now we think we can get to $8.0 million or lower per operated well.”

— Richard E. Muncrief, VP

The best wells in North Dakota have been drilled at a cost of $7.5 million and the best wells in Montana have been drilled for a cost of $6.4 million.

Read more from the company at contres.com

Marathon Oil's Bakken Drilling Speed Improves 10% In The Second Quarter

August 7, 2013 R.T. Dukes

Marathon Oil averaged 25 days from spud to spud in the first quarter and that time improved to 22 days in the second quarter. The company's spud to total depth for each well fell to 15 days.

Marathon hit total depth on 22 wells and brought 16 wells to production. That compares to 18 wells drilled and 22 wells brought to production in the first quarter.

The company's Bakken production grew 5% from 37,000 boe/d to 39,000 boe/d in the second quarter.

“Marathon Oil’s Bakken production averages approximately 90 percent crude oil, 5 percent NGLs and 5 percent natural gas. ”

The company noted average realized prices in the Bakken of:

88.65/bbl of oil
$35.92/bbl of NGLs
$4.47/mcf of gas sold

Read the full press release at marathonoil.com