Company: "Stacked play" oil formations found in ND
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Buzz up!JAMES MacPHERSON
Published: September 12, 2009
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — One of the oldest and biggest players in North Dakota's oil patch says it has proof that a separate oil-bearing cache lies beneath at least part of the rich Bakken shale formation in the western part of the state.
Testing done in the area found a "stacked play," meaning one oil formation is on top of another, which could allow more oil to be recovered at a lower cost in a smaller area with less environmental damage, said Continental Resources Inc. chief executive Harold Hamm.
"Naturally, we're very pumped up and very excited," Hamm said.
The Enid, Okla.-based company believes that the Three Forks-Sanish formation is a separate oil-producing reservoir, but geologists believe the formation could simply be catching oil leaking from the Bakken.
State geologist Ed Murphy called Continental's findings interesting but said more wells are needed before researchers know for sure the characteristics and potential of the Three Forks formation.
"It could be separate in some areas and joined in others. It's going to take more tests before we make a determination," Murphy said.
Still, the company's tests and other promising results from Three Forks wells have fueled speculation that the formation could add billions of barrels to government reserve estimates.
Wells aiming for the Bakken are drilled vertically to about 10,000 feet, then horizontally for another 10,000 feet. Oil companies liken the technique to drilling through the top of an Oreo cookie and turning sideways to get the creamy filling. It's also is being used for the underlying Three Forks.
Continental, which is marking 20 years in North Dakota, also trademarked the process of drilling multiple wells from one pad, the area cleared for drilling machinery. It plans to drill two wells into the Bakken and another two into the Three Forks from one pad, which means the well site's footprint will be cut from 20 acres to six acres, Hamm said.
The company estimates its ECO-Pad process will cut drilling and well completion costs, which run as high as $7 million in the Bakken, by about 10 percent. The process could be in place by the end of the year.
"It makes a lot of sense, ecologically and economically," Hamm said.
The company also plans to use a single drill rig that can be moved to different sites on a pad, which will require only one road and fewer power lines, pipelines and other infrastructure, he said.
North Dakota's Industrial Commission awarded Continental Resources about $600,000 in February to test the company's theory that the Three Forks-Sanish formation was producing its own oil rather than catching oil seeping from the Bakken.
The company first tapped a Three Forks-Sanish horizontal well near Watford City, about 180 miles northwest of Bismarck, and then a Bakken well about 50 feet above it using fracture stimulation. The drilling technique forces pressurized fluid and sand to break pores in the rock and prop them open to recover oil. Pressure changes in the formations were then studied to determine if they connected.
Hamm said the testing showed two distinct formations. He said the Three Forks well initially fetched 140 barrels daily. The Bakken well fetched about 1,200, making it one of the company's best producers, he said.
"This was drilled partly as a science project and partly as a commercial project," Hamm said. "Our company is convinced they are separate reservoirs in that area."
Continental has until the end of the month to turn in the study to the state. The research then can be shared with other oil companies.
Julie LeFever, a geologist with the state Geological Survey in Grand Forks, has studied the Bakken formation for more than 20 years. She said she has not seen Continental's study but its testing could be unique to one area.
"Whether that holds true of the entire Three Forks, or just that area, we don't know," she said. "There are a limited number of Three Forks wells. I think it's really early."
The Bakken formation encompasses some 25,000 square miles within the Williston Basin in North Dakota and Montana and holds billions of barrels of oil. The U.S. Geological Survey has called it the largest continuous oil accumulation it has ever assessed.
The Three Forks-Sanish formation is made up of sand and porous rock directly below the Bakken shale, which lies two miles under the surface.
Hamm said his company is the largest leaseholder in the Bakken shale formation, with more than 600,000 acres in North Dakota and Montana. The company tapped its first Three Forks well last year, and owns about half the 100 or so wells drilled in the formation to date, he said.
State officials said in July that production results from 103 wells in the Three Forks-Sanish formation show some wells recovering more than 800 barrels a day, considered "as good or better" than some in the Bakken, where the record is thought to be more than 4,000 barrels a day.
http://newsok.com/company-stacked-play-oil-formations-found-in-nd/article/feed/77855?custom_click=headlines_widget
Comments 0
Buzz up!JAMES MacPHERSON
Published: September 12, 2009
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — One of the oldest and biggest players in North Dakota's oil patch says it has proof that a separate oil-bearing cache lies beneath at least part of the rich Bakken shale formation in the western part of the state.
Testing done in the area found a "stacked play," meaning one oil formation is on top of another, which could allow more oil to be recovered at a lower cost in a smaller area with less environmental damage, said Continental Resources Inc. chief executive Harold Hamm.
"Naturally, we're very pumped up and very excited," Hamm said.
The Enid, Okla.-based company believes that the Three Forks-Sanish formation is a separate oil-producing reservoir, but geologists believe the formation could simply be catching oil leaking from the Bakken.
State geologist Ed Murphy called Continental's findings interesting but said more wells are needed before researchers know for sure the characteristics and potential of the Three Forks formation.
"It could be separate in some areas and joined in others. It's going to take more tests before we make a determination," Murphy said.
Still, the company's tests and other promising results from Three Forks wells have fueled speculation that the formation could add billions of barrels to government reserve estimates.
Wells aiming for the Bakken are drilled vertically to about 10,000 feet, then horizontally for another 10,000 feet. Oil companies liken the technique to drilling through the top of an Oreo cookie and turning sideways to get the creamy filling. It's also is being used for the underlying Three Forks.
Continental, which is marking 20 years in North Dakota, also trademarked the process of drilling multiple wells from one pad, the area cleared for drilling machinery. It plans to drill two wells into the Bakken and another two into the Three Forks from one pad, which means the well site's footprint will be cut from 20 acres to six acres, Hamm said.
The company estimates its ECO-Pad process will cut drilling and well completion costs, which run as high as $7 million in the Bakken, by about 10 percent. The process could be in place by the end of the year.
"It makes a lot of sense, ecologically and economically," Hamm said.
The company also plans to use a single drill rig that can be moved to different sites on a pad, which will require only one road and fewer power lines, pipelines and other infrastructure, he said.
North Dakota's Industrial Commission awarded Continental Resources about $600,000 in February to test the company's theory that the Three Forks-Sanish formation was producing its own oil rather than catching oil seeping from the Bakken.
The company first tapped a Three Forks-Sanish horizontal well near Watford City, about 180 miles northwest of Bismarck, and then a Bakken well about 50 feet above it using fracture stimulation. The drilling technique forces pressurized fluid and sand to break pores in the rock and prop them open to recover oil. Pressure changes in the formations were then studied to determine if they connected.
Hamm said the testing showed two distinct formations. He said the Three Forks well initially fetched 140 barrels daily. The Bakken well fetched about 1,200, making it one of the company's best producers, he said.
"This was drilled partly as a science project and partly as a commercial project," Hamm said. "Our company is convinced they are separate reservoirs in that area."
Continental has until the end of the month to turn in the study to the state. The research then can be shared with other oil companies.
Julie LeFever, a geologist with the state Geological Survey in Grand Forks, has studied the Bakken formation for more than 20 years. She said she has not seen Continental's study but its testing could be unique to one area.
"Whether that holds true of the entire Three Forks, or just that area, we don't know," she said. "There are a limited number of Three Forks wells. I think it's really early."
The Bakken formation encompasses some 25,000 square miles within the Williston Basin in North Dakota and Montana and holds billions of barrels of oil. The U.S. Geological Survey has called it the largest continuous oil accumulation it has ever assessed.
The Three Forks-Sanish formation is made up of sand and porous rock directly below the Bakken shale, which lies two miles under the surface.
Hamm said his company is the largest leaseholder in the Bakken shale formation, with more than 600,000 acres in North Dakota and Montana. The company tapped its first Three Forks well last year, and owns about half the 100 or so wells drilled in the formation to date, he said.
State officials said in July that production results from 103 wells in the Three Forks-Sanish formation show some wells recovering more than 800 barrels a day, considered "as good or better" than some in the Bakken, where the record is thought to be more than 4,000 barrels a day.
http://newsok.com/company-stacked-play-oil-formations-found-in-nd/article/feed/77855?custom_click=headlines_widget