Bakken Shale Drilling

Williston Basin Rig Count at 190 on May 17, 2013

Rail Likely Here To Stay
May 17, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Bakken Crude Rail Costs

Bakken Crude Rail Costs | Click to Enlarge

The Williston Basin rig count is up five rigs to 190 rigs running since the end of April.

Activity should be strong throughout the rest of the year.

News from this week was highlighted by our time at Bentek’s annual Benposium Conference. We came away with several Bakken highlights.

One of those is that rail is likely here to stay. Oil will begin moving back onto pipelines, but it will be a dog fight and pipeline operators will have to offer competitive prices. [Read more...]

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Williston Basin Rig Count at 185 – End of April 2013

Bakken Rig Count Down Almost 20% From The Peak
Apr 30, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Williston Basin Rig Map

Williston Basin Rig Map Source Baker Hughes | Click to Enlarge

The Williston Basin rig count settled at 185 rigs running to end April. That’s according to Baker Hughes and includes rigs active in the Montana portion of the basin. [Read more...]

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Bakken Rig Count Down 20% From 2012 Peak

The Initial Rush is Subsiding and Operators Are Moving to Improve Operations.
Jan 4, 2013 By 1 Comment
Walking Rig Photo

Nabors Walking Rig

Bakken drilling activity in North Dakota is at levels not seen in over a year. Approximately 180 rigs were working in the state to start 2013. That’s down from almost 220 in May of 2012. The almost 20% drop has many beginning to wonder how long the boom will last. [Read more...]

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EOG Resources Planning 320 Acre Bakken Wells – Parshall Field

Focusing in on the company's core acreage and slowing down in 2012
Feb 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

EOG Resources released a mixed bag of news for the Bakken in its year-end conference call. The company has successfully tested down-spacing to 320-acres in the Parshall Field of Mountrail County, but is also lowering its Bakken rig count to seven in 2012. EOG will drill 60 net wells in the Bakken and commence a secondary recovery pilot in its core area. The company reported 162 million boe of proved reserves in the Bakken/Three Forks at the end of 2011.

It will be real interesting to see how secondary and even tertiary recovery will fair in the Bakken. Secondary recovery can as much as double the amount of hydrocarbon produced in traditional fields, but it could be much less in unconventional reservoirs like the Bakken. [Read more...]

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Bakken Frack Crews are in Short Supply

Jan 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Bakken Shale drilling has grown to well over 200 rigs working, but the number of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) service crews has not kept pace. The number of wells waiting to be completed in North Dakota has grown to 300 more than normal. The number is holding constant, which means we’re keeping up with the number of rigs working currently, but we won’t elimiate the backlog without additional completion crews.

If the backlog is diminished, North Dakota will continue its path of surpassing OPEC members in total daily production. The state surpassed Ecuador in November of 2011. If the state reaches 800,000 b/d it begin to challenge the ranks of the top 25 countries in the world. [Read more...]

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North Dakota Rig Count Sets Record at 204 – November 2011

Nov 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The North Dakota rig count reached an all time record on November 19, 2011, when the ND Oil & Gas Division announced there were 204 active rigs working in the state.

The overwhelming majority of rigs are targeting the Bakken and Three Forks formations. With oil prices holding strong and gas prices dropping through the fall, I expect we’ll potentially shoot through this record when a few gas directed rigs head our way.

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