Oasis Petroleum Is Testing Bakken & Three Forks Well Spacing

Bakken & Three Forks Well Spacing Tests

Oasis Petroleum believes the company can drill four Middle Bakken and four Three Forks wells on each 1,280-acre unit, but the future might be more dense drilling than they currently suggest.

Oasis is testing up to seven wells per formation in the Bakken and the first bench of the Three Forks (TFS 1).

The company also notes that other operators are testing as many as eight wells per formation in the Middle Bakken and Three Forks 1st, 2nd, and 3rd benches.

Watch for results over the next few months to determine how many wells can be drilled in the Bakken and the Three Forks' first bench. It will probably be late next year before we know how many wells can be drilled targeting the lower Three Forks intervals.

Oasis and Continetnal Resources have the most downspacing pilots being tested, but we'll see results from Kodiak and Whiting as well.

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

Oasis Petroleum Bakken Map

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.