Marathon Oil Plans To Spend $1 Billion in the Bakken in 2014

Marathon Oil Bakken Initial Production Improvement
Marathon Oil Bakken Initial Production Improvement

Marathon Oil plans to spend $1 billion of its $3.6 billion budget in North America in the Bakken in 2014.

As a result, the company's production is expected to grow from a little less than 40,000 boe/d in 2013 to a little less than 50,000 boe/d in 2014.

Marathon will run six rigs in 2014, with one rig dedicated to recompleting Bakken wells that were stimulated with open hole completions.

Read more:Marathon Oil's Bakken Production Flat in Q3 - Drilling Faster

The company has transitioned from open hole completions to 20-stage completions then to 30-stage completions today. Over the first 1,000 days of a wells life, Marathon's current 30-stage completions are producing 122% more than open hole completions were a short time ago.

We believe this standard of performance, coupled with continued resource growth, fully supports an accelerated investment in our three high-quality resource plays — the Eagle Ford, Bakken and Oklahoma Woodford.
— Lee Tillman, CEO,

Marathon Oil's 2014 Expectations and Highlights

  • Targeted spud to total depth of 15 days
  • Well costs target of $7.0-7.8 million
  • Testing 4 Middle Bakken and 4 Three Forks (1st bench) wells per 1,280-acre unit
  • Planning 6 Three Forks (2nd bench) well tests
  • Potential to recomplete 100 wells that were stimulated with a open hole completion (increasing reserves 280,000 boe per well)
  • Inventory of ~2,300 gross wells over 370,000 net acres in the Bakken and Three Forks
  • Probable resources of 630 million barrels
  • Expecting production to grow to ~70,000 boe/d by 2017

Read the company's full capital budget press release at marathonoil.com