We have 8 wells in Mckenzie County ND, 7 are no longer confidential they show "NC" the last one says CONFIDENTIAL WELL PLUGGED OR PRODUCING: We are unable to get anymore information even though seven of them are public. How long can a well sit after coming off the confidential list before some real info. is available.
Welcome to the world of "Not Completed".... Operators are finalizing drilling operations to TD (total depth) and then opting to not complete (fracking and building infrastructure such as tanks, piping and gas gathering lines) until later. My family is waiting on Continental that has drilled 15 of 30 wells on an Ecopad in the Alkali Creek field in Mountrail County. The first well was spudded 4-23-14 and the last well came off confidential 1-29-15. They immediately fracked and completed 7 as they drilled the next 8 and those wells came off confidential 3-8-15. The first 7 are still listed SI (shut in) and producing nothing and it sounds like there is currently completion activity on the next 8. My cousin stopped by and observed a fracking crew working on the well site.
While it would be nice to be receiving royalty revenue, it would be a shame to see the high IP (initial production) volume sold at such low current prices. I'm sure the all the oil companies have the same thinking that it is better to not complete the wells and leave the product in the ground (cheapest holing tanks made) while crude prices are so low and to complete and start pumping when prices have recovered somewhat. Are we going to see $100.00+ per Bbl (barrel)? Don't know if we will see that again, but I hate to see them producing and selling oil while it's so low either. The one thing I have learned about leases and royalties is that they will happen when they happen and we have no control or prior knowledge about production until one receives a division order and the checks start coming in.
If you don't use it already the best site is the ND state Oil and Gas site:
https://www.dmr.nd.gov/oilgas/
A basic subscription is a great buy for a LOT of knowledge and the premium subscription is invaluable if you have a lot of mineral acres.
We are going to see more of this hunkering down and storing of oil "in place" for quite a while. There has already been a huge reduction in drilling activities outside the "sweet spot" in the center of the Bakken field. Completions done at a later date has been in place for quite a few months. There has been price reductions and belt tightening all across the "completion" industry so the prices to complete a well are now much lower.
How long will this last? Crude prices will be the main factor in that equation and only the oil companies know what timing they will have on completion and commencement of production of a new well.
Hope this helps!
Thanks for the info Steve. I do go on the ND dmr site daily and have for a long time. My dad is getting is 93 and could do this research for himself but...He looks forward to out weekly conversation and update on his oil property. He would rather see it stay in the ground, and at the same time wants to know what is going on. Once the wells come off of the confidential list, you would only hope to get more information then you did when it was on the list. I have thought about paying for a subscription to dmr or drilling edge but...??? I will probably pay for the same info I already get. So again Steve...you gave me some good info as to what is happening with your property and with that, I can share a little with dad too. His first well is not NA now..shut in?
Jennifer,
Glad I could shed light on what is going on back there. I manage all the oil stuff for my mom who just turned 80. I'm getting close to retiring so it is a joy to "peel the onion" to keep abreast of activities back there. I have the luxury of having family living near our minerals so I have a little leg up on what is going on also. They keep a close eye on activity coming and going. It's kinda like being a detective in that there isn't a lot of info out there but just enough if you put the pieces together properly everything starts to make sense. An example is that we have been leasing acreage near the mouth of the White Earth River (Mountrail County) for many years and they finally spud a well in on 7-11-2011 with a IP date of 12-5 of that same year. There was a 2nd well drilled spud 7-14 and IP of 12-24. I believe the Division Order for both wells came out in February. Both wells sit on a 2 section 1260 acre spacing/drilling unit.
About 6 months or so ago, as I was snooping through the GIS Map server, I noticed a new 2560 acre drilling unit that included the section where we have minerals and these 2 existing wells and with a little more snooping of the Field Orders and Daily Activity Reports I found that there were 5 new wells proposed and permitted. 1 was going in the opposite direction to be included in our lease, 3 into our existing 2 section drill unit and 1 going into the new 4 section unit. Again just speculation of where they were going but as the first well came out of confidential status I found there is a small map in the upper left corner of the Scout Ticket Data page that shows the orientation of the well bore to the drilling unit and the size of the drilling unit in acres. Bummer that the 1 well from the 4 section unit will have 1/2 of the royalties than the other existing wells and the 3 new wells but it will still be a few more "pennies from Heaven".
I have way too much fun "sleuthing out" information and so far most of my initial guesses have been fairly close. Having the right tools though helps immensely. $50.00 vs. free for access to the NDIC site is a matter of what you want to spend vs what the return is for you. $175.00 for premium access may be a little over the top. I had my landman add a premium subscription to the last lease we did with him so in essence it's free to me but the information is priceless. My wife says it's worth it to keep me off the streets and out of the bars! :)
Also in the Scout Ticket Data page it will tell if the well is SI (Shut In).
Hi Steve just letting you know that I am thankful for the information. I too feel like a sleuth and it is kinda fun to follow. I just want to know is the subscription to the DMR worth paying any money for? Do you get anymore information with it then you do by going on the ARC map? I just hate spending money on something if it is of no use. My dad has leased his property to his cousins family for many years, but his cousin doesn't seem to have any information to share with him. I do believe that 1 well is shut in (that would be his 1st well). I also read an article that oil companies were possibly shutting in many wells due to heavy rains??? If a well is shut in what exactly does that mean if 7 of 8 wells show NC and the other shows confidential well plugged or producing? Hope to hear from you and thanks again.
Jennifer
You get the well files (great information) and the production numbers around 14 days before the normal production numbers rapports. Example from one of our wells:
| NDIC File No: 26685 API No: 33-105-03244-00-00 CTB No: 226682 Well Type: OG Well Status: A Status Date: 3/14/2015 Wellbore type: Horizontal Location: LOT4 3-153-99 Footages: 320 FNL 1135 FWL Latitude: 48.110268 Longitude: -103.405345 Current Operator: ZAVANNA, LLC Current Well Name: ANGUS 3-10 5H Elevation(s): 2385 KB 2358 GR 2358 GL Total Depth: 20925 Field: LONG CREEK Spud Date(s): 3/20/2014 Casing String(s): 9.625" 2341' 7" 11515' Completion Data Pool: BAKKEN Perfs: 11515-20925 Comp: 3/14/2015 Status: F Date: 3/23/2015 Spacing: 2SEC Cumulative Production Data Pool: BAKKEN Cum Oil: 32971 Cum MCF Gas: 38109 Cum Water: 18311 Production Test Data IP Test Date: 3/23/2015 Pool: BAKKEN IP Oil: 1543 IP MCF: 1135 IP Water: 1071 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Monthly Production Data
|
jennifer kracht said:
Hi Steve just letting you know that I am thankful for the information. I too feel like a sleuth and it is kinda fun to follow. I just want to know is the subscription to the DMR worth paying any money for? Do you get anymore information with it then you do by going on the ARC map?
While the GIS Map function is good for keying on finding new Permits, Rig location and visual clues on where the well leg is going, the $50.00 subscription is well worth it if you spread the cost out over the year. (My opinion) The GIS Map is good but there is usually a lag between updates so much of the information is old and many things have changed by the time you see it on the map. One must has to make the decision if the cash outlay is worth the information gleaned from the site.
I just hate spending money on something if it is of no use.
This is something that each person has to decide what the info is worth.
My dad has leased his property to his cousins family for many years, but his cousin doesn't seem to have any information to share with him. I do believe that 1 well is shut in (that would be his 1st well). I also read an article that oil companies were possibly shutting in many wells due to heavy rains???
Earlier this year there was a major weather event in ND that did force some wells to be temporarily shut in. I'm sure this was only for a short duration and was not long term.
If a well is shut in what exactly does that mean if 7 of 8 wells show NC and the other shows confidential well plugged or producing? Hope to hear from you and thanks again.
Shut in means pretty much what it says; the pump (if artificial lift) or the valve from the well head (Flowing) is turned off and the flow of oil temporarily shut off. NC normally stands for Not Completed, well drilled to TD (Total Depth) but not completed. There is a huge backlog of completions (fracking and building tank farms, digging gas capture pipeline, etc.) and many of the completion companies have drastically reduced prices so the oil companies are drilling but keeping the oil in storage by not completing the well(s) or not pumping until oil prices come back to a level that they can make money. Continental Resources has done just that on the Jersey wells near the mouth of the White Earth river on my family's mineral holdings. One way to look at it is that if they don't pump (especially during the high IP (Initial Production) ), it just means the royalties during the highest output are not going to be frittered away at the lower price of crude right now. I would rather have no royalties coming in for 4-6 months than to have them pump out and sell the oil at such discounted prices. SI (Shut In) is a temporary event until the wellhead price of oil comes back up. We will probably see a rollercoaster of pricing until OPEC gives up the battle or we get our government to lift the 40 year old ban on exporting crude. Sad to see we have a world market product that we aren't allowed to export, sell and help keep the shale revolution steaming along. The world market will be much better pricing than what we are seeing currently. I think it's only another bump in the road and we will see a surge in production again fairly soon. This current play (Bakken) is much bigger than when I first worked in the Williston Basin patch in the late 70's and early 80's. This time around I have a stake in the royalties.
Drop a line if I can help answer questions you or your Dad may have. I'm not an expert but I did my time in the patch and have a lot of interest with a stake from my families holdings.
Steve
The info from Lars is good but the production data is only available from the NDIC Oil and Gas site after the end on the month. I use it to double check against royalty check totals on production and use the $ amount the oil was sold for as prices on the tickers can be off from what the producer actually sells it for. If it gets sold to the Clearbrook, MN refinery, the price may be within just 35 cents to 75 cents less than the benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) price.The WTI futures price has now pushed well past $60 per barrel...
Steve
To Steve and Lars; Thanks so much for the info. My dad will be happy for the new information...or...that I am keeping him up on it. He is happy to keep the oil in the ground but knowing something is good for him today. Good conversation for us on Father's Day. Jennifer
Steve Gunderson said:
jennifer kracht said:Hi Steve just letting you know that I am thankful for the information. I too feel like a sleuth and it is kinda fun to follow. I just want to know is the subscription to the DMR worth paying any money for? Do you get anymore information with it then you do by going on the ARC map?
While the GIS Map function is good for keying on finding new Permits, Rig location and visual clues on where the well leg is going, the $50.00 subscription is well worth it if you spread the cost out over the year. (My opinion) The GIS Map is good but there is usually a lag between updates so much of the information is old and many things have changed by the time you see it on the map. One must has to make the decision if the cash outlay is worth the information gleaned from the site.
I just hate spending money on something if it is of no use.
This is something that each person has to decide what the info is worth.
My dad has leased his property to his cousins family for many years, but his cousin doesn't seem to have any information to share with him. I do believe that 1 well is shut in (that would be his 1st well). I also read an article that oil companies were possibly shutting in many wells due to heavy rains???
Earlier this year there was a major weather event in ND that did force some wells to be temporarily shut in. I'm sure this was only for a short duration and was not long term.
If a well is shut in what exactly does that mean if 7 of 8 wells show NC and the other shows confidential well plugged or producing? Hope to hear from you and thanks again.
Shut in means pretty much what it says; the pump (if artificial lift) or the valve from the well head (Flowing) is turned off and the flow of oil temporarily shut off. NC normally stands for Not Completed, well drilled to TD (Total Depth) but not completed. There is a huge backlog of completions (fracking and building tank farms, digging gas capture pipeline, etc.) and many of the completion companies have drastically reduced prices so the oil companies are drilling but keeping the oil in storage by not completing the well(s) or not pumping until oil prices come back to a level that they can make money. Continental Resources has done just that on the Jersey wells near the mouth of the White Earth river on my family's mineral holdings. One way to look at it is that if they don't pump (especially during the high IP (Initial Production) ), it just means the royalties during the highest output are not going to be frittered away at the lower price of crude right now. I would rather have no royalties coming in for 4-6 months than to have them pump out and sell the oil at such discounted prices. SI (Shut In) is a temporary event until the wellhead price of oil comes back up. We will probably see a rollercoaster of pricing until OPEC gives up the battle or we get our government to lift the 40 year old ban on exporting crude. Sad to see we have a world market product that we aren't allowed to export, sell and help keep the shale revolution steaming along. The world market will be much better pricing than what we are seeing currently. I think it's only another bump in the road and we will see a surge in production again fairly soon. This current play (Bakken) is much bigger than when I first worked in the Williston Basin patch in the late 70's and early 80's. This time around I have a stake in the royalties.
Drop a line if I can help answer questions you or your Dad may have. I'm not an expert but I did my time in the patch and have a lot of interest with a stake from my families holdings.
Steve
The info from Lars is good but the production data is only available from the NDIC Oil and Gas site after the end on the month. I use it to double check against royalty check totals on production and use the $ amount the oil was sold for as prices on the tickers can be off from what the producer actually sells it for. If it gets sold to the Clearbrook, MN refinery, the price may be within just 35 cents to 75 cents less than the benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) price.The WTI futures price has now pushed well past $60 per barrel...
Steve