How to find well drilling information

North Dakota Mineral Rights Williams County, ND
1

I am curious about drilling activity in Williams Country, sections 17 & 20 of T157, R102.

I see how to search the www.dmr.nd.gov/oilgas website and was following activity in this area. I saw well 21165 go through the confidential state and then on to an active state as of November 2012.

The other thing that looks unusual is that this well appears to have two horizontal legs running from it, where as all other wells I see seem to have one leg. What does this mean?

How do we find out if this well which has legs running through both sections 17 & 20, is producing anything?

2

Mr. Willeson, the operator could sidetrack and put several legs on the wellbore if they really wanted to. The well has produced 6,374 bbl oil in Nov and 5,817 bbl in Dec. I have the $50 a year basic subscription to the NDIC O&G Division. I'm fairly certain that there are other ways to get the information, hopefully someone else can say how.

3

Thank you Mr. Kennedy.

Because I know basically nothing about drilling, your answer generated a couple more questions...1) Are those monthly barrel numbers you cited good or bad or something else? What is considered a worthwhile amount of barrels per month? 2) If a well has begun producing oil, at what point are people with rights notified of production and or payments? I have heard nothing since signing the agreement several years ago.

4

I would class the production as fair. This well doesn't have alot of gas pressure so the oil is not going to come out fast. Fast is nice but the true measure of a well is the wealth it produces over the long haul. Where the well plateaus for the long haul is going to be important and you won't know where that is for more than a year possibly two. The operator has 150 days after first sales of oil to make the first payment or they owe interest. Hopefully the operator will pay on time. The interest is 18% a year but that is 1.5% a month and it's only for payments more than 150 days past due, so after a year and 150 days, you would get 18% on the first months production, 16.5% on the second months production and so forth.

5

https://www.dmr.nd.gov/oilgas/mprindex.asp this is a link to find free ND state oil production on wells. Below is a post from the $50 basic subscription.

NDIC File No: 21165 API No: 33-105-02292-00-00 CTB No: 121165
Well Type: OG Well Status: A Status Date: 11/3/2012 Wellbore type: Horizontal
Location: SESW 20-157-102 Footages: 291 FSL 1580 FWL Latitude: 48.402729 Longitude: -103.899885
Current Operator: MARATHON OIL COMPANY
Current Well Name: ORVIE 24-20H
Elevation(s): 2453 KB 2427 GR 2428 GL Total Depth: 19965 Field: STRANDAHL
Spud Date(s): 11/12/2011
Casing String(s): 9.625" 2195' 7" 10615'
Completion Data
Pool: BAKKEN Perfs: 10615-19965 Comp: 11/3/2012 Status: F Date: 11/6/2012 Spacing: 2SEC
Cumulative Production Data
Pool: BAKKEN Cum Oil: 12191 Cum MCF Gas: 3723 Cum Water: 7937
Production Test Data
IP Test Date: 11/6/2012 Pool: BAKKEN IP Oil: 810 IP MCF: 251 IP Water: 3071

Monthly Production Data

Pool

Date

Days

BBLS Oil

Runs

BBLS Water

MCF Prod

MCF Sold

Vent/Flare

BAKKEN

12-2012

25

5817

5231

6880

2575

0

2428

BAKKEN

11-2012

23

6374

6137

1057

812

0

682

6

Thank you Mr. Kennedy and Snues. I used the link Snues provided and was able to see how to get the monthly reports. Here is a question from the report:


A number of wells are grouped in sections like below:

G3 OPERATING, LLC STRANDAHL - BAKKEN

A & B 1-30-31H NENW 30 157 102 WIL 22128 2647 3965 21 2877 4156 4051

ANDERSON 1-24-13H SESE 24 157 102 WIL 19252 1281 1551 20 1325 1425 1325

ARNSON 1-5-8H LOT2 5 157 103 WIL 21610 2910 5238 30 3111 2907 2757

CARLSON 1-11H NWNW 11 157 103 WIL 19169 1003 1160 27 938 675 3

HOUGHT 1-1-12H LOT2 1 157 102 WIL 21719 3551 4500 26 3482 4439 4309

JOHNSON 1-25-36H NWNE 25 157 102 WIL 22226 3074 3351 21 3381 5153 5048

PASTERNAK 1-1-12H LOT2 1 157 103 WIL 20707 1071 1286 27 1225 783 648

PASTERNAK 1-4-9H NENW 4 157 102 WIL 22001 6071 7560 30 6254 4515 4365

PASTERNAK 1-5-8H NWNE 5 157 102 WIL 21940 2777 3292 30 2998 2156 2006

RASMUSSEN 1-21-16H SESW 21 157 102 WIL 20844 2108 2373 23 2266 2334 1988

RASMUSSEN 1-25-36H NENE 25 157 103 WIL 20553 757 1581 10 986 593 527

SEVEN 1-4-9H NWNE 4 157 103 WIL 21550 2175 4766 23 2361 2948 2833

THOME 1-6-7H SESW 31 158 102 WIL 22309 3067 3427 28 3334 3229 3089

TOTAL : 13 wells 32492 44050 316 34538 35313 32949

MARATHON OIL COMPANY

HOFF 34-19H LOT4 19 157 103 WIL 21612 1680 4843 22 1589 1019 0

IONE BARSTAD USA 31-30H LOT4 19 157 103 WIL 21613 608 1227 11 376 566 0

KAY ARNSON USA 34-35H SWSE 35 157 103 WIL 21361 2562 2305 14 2568 1949 0

MARY SVEET 34-21H SWSE 21 157 103 WIL 21335 6457 6773 30 6444 7463 0

OPAL HOLTE USA 24-20H SESW 20 157 103 WIL 21407 3135 6438 27 2905 3555 0

ORVIE 24-20H SESW 20 157 102 WIL 21165 6374 1057 23 6137 812 0

STRAND 44-19H SESE 19 157 102 WIL 21575 5985 6052 30 6027 5824 0

TOTAL : 7 wells 26801 28695 157 26046 21188 0

OASIS PETROLEUM NORTH AMERICA LLC

GRIMSTVEDT FEDERAL 5703 42-34H SESW 34 157 103 WIL 19574 1517 2433 30 1258 1804 1804

POOL TOTAL : 21 wells 60810 75178 503 61842 58305 34753


Each "group" shows a number of wells, and then the final line shows a "Pool Total" of 21 wells.

Does this mean all 21 wells are drawing from the same pool and is that the same pooling that the lease agreement talks about?.....or am I reading too much into that?

I also see there is a well with a leg in the section next to ours, T157 R102 S19. How close does a well / leg have to be in order to be part of the pool that is payable to a mineral rights holder?

I hope the questions are not tiresome....it is nice to see oil in our area so I am trying to understand what it all means.

7

Mr. Willeson, technically there are thousands of wells in a huge Bakken Three Forks pool. I think that when they say pool in those groups, they mean what zone is being produced and the number of wells by that operator in that area.

The Bakken and Three Forks are tight formations. Whole areas can become depleted over time with enough wells spaced closely enough but it probably isn't going to happen very fast. The oil just isn't moving that fast. The fracking does not extend a great distance usually and sometomes wells very close together do not communicate at all. Sometimes natural fractures may allow wells that are miles apart to communicate. You need not worry that someone else is pulling your oil from one of those natural fractures because turn about is fair play and you could produce their oil also and you both would benefit from a relative superhighway for the oil to move on.

Not everything is going to come out perfectly equal, but the state did their level best to ensure that everyone has a chance to share in extended long lateral production from their spacing and it's the system we are stuck with. The way the state has set things up, if the long lateral wellbore is in your section, you get royalty from it. If the long lateral wellbore is outside your section you do not get paid royalty from it. This may change in the future when they start drilling on section lines. There are already cases where two 1280 acre spacings have been combined into a 2560 acre spacing and all within the 4 section spacing would share in new wells when they are drilled.

I personally do not find the questions tiresome and I answer all I can, time permitting. There is a great bunch of people here

8

I only see State Summary Report January 2012, no way to get what you show

Snues said:

https://www.dmr.nd.gov/oilgas/mprindex.asp this is a link to find free ND state oil production on wells. Below is a post from the $50 basic subscription.

NDIC File No: 21165 API No: 33-105-02292-00-00 CTB No: 121165
Well Type: OG Well Status: A Status Date: 11/3/2012 Wellbore type: Horizontal
Location: SESW 20-157-102 Footages: 291 FSL 1580 FWL Latitude: 48.402729 Longitude: -103.899885
Current Operator: MARATHON OIL COMPANY
Current Well Name: ORVIE 24-20H
Elevation(s): 2453 KB 2427 GR 2428 GL Total Depth: 19965 Field: STRANDAHL
Spud Date(s): 11/12/2011
Casing String(s): 9.625" 2195' 7" 10615'
Completion Data
Pool: BAKKEN Perfs: 10615-19965 Comp: 11/3/2012 Status: F Date: 11/6/2012 Spacing: 2SEC
Cumulative Production Data
Pool: BAKKEN Cum Oil: 12191 Cum MCF Gas: 3723 Cum Water: 7937
Production Test Data
IP Test Date: 11/6/2012 Pool: BAKKEN IP Oil: 810 IP MCF: 251 IP Water: 3071

Monthly Production Data

Pool

Date

Days

BBLS Oil

Runs

BBLS Water

MCF Prod

MCF Sold

Vent/Flare

BAKKEN

12-2012

25

5817

5231

6880

2575

0

2428

BAKKEN

11-2012

23

6374

6137

1057

812

0

682

9

Mr. Wagenman, Snues did say that what she pasted in was from her $50 subscription. Just my opinion, but you have enough wells and special circumstances that it would be extremely helpful and worthwhile to you to get the $50 per year basic subscription to the NDIC O&G Division. Trying to deal with oil and gas without having as much information as you can reasonably get is like driving on the interstate in a downpour without having windshield wipers. BTW, I sent you a friend request. I actually already have information on your wells because my friend Brian has a small interest in at least some of them. Small world.

Larry Wagenman said:

I only see State Summary Report January 2012, no way to get what you show

Snues said:

https://www.dmr.nd.gov/oilgas/mprindex.asp this is a link to find free ND state oil production on wells. Below is a post from the $50 basic subscription.

NDIC File No: 21165 API No: 33-105-02292-00-00 CTB No: 121165
Well Type: OG Well Status: A Status Date: 11/3/2012 Wellbore type: Horizontal
Location: SESW 20-157-102 Footages: 291 FSL 1580 FWL Latitude: 48.402729 Longitude: -103.899885
Current Operator: MARATHON OIL COMPANY
Current Well Name: ORVIE 24-20H
Elevation(s): 2453 KB 2427 GR 2428 GL Total Depth: 19965 Field: STRANDAHL
Spud Date(s): 11/12/2011
Casing String(s): 9.625" 2195' 7" 10615'
Completion Data
Pool: BAKKEN Perfs: 10615-19965 Comp: 11/3/2012 Status: F Date: 11/6/2012 Spacing: 2SEC
Cumulative Production Data
Pool: BAKKEN Cum Oil: 12191 Cum MCF Gas: 3723 Cum Water: 7937
Production Test Data
IP Test Date: 11/6/2012 Pool: BAKKEN IP Oil: 810 IP MCF: 251 IP Water: 3071

Monthly Production Data

Pool

Date

Days

BBLS Oil

Runs

BBLS Water

MCF Prod

MCF Sold

Vent/Flare

BAKKEN

12-2012

25

5817

5231

6880

2575

0

2428

BAKKEN

11-2012

23

6374

6137

1057

812

0

682

10

Robert, find wells here

http://www.bexp3d.com/IR_pres.pdf

and here, where 1 page tells about a multi leg effort where Brigham actually bought the land for the pad

http://www.milliondollarwayblog.com/2013/03/random-update-on-bexp-p...

r w kennedy said:

Mr. Willeson, the operator could sidetrack and put several legs on the wellbore if they really wanted to. The well has produced 6,374 bbl oil in Nov and 5,817 bbl in Dec. I have the $50 a year basic subscription to the NDIC O&G Division. I'm fairly certain that there are other ways to get the information, hopefully someone else can say how.

11

I am curious about drilling activity in Williams Country, sections 17 & 20 of T157, R102, also. Have they sold any of the oil that the well has produced. Have had no information about if need to have a division order signed or if one in place. Have info on how some of the land is divided and acres each have. Is that the division order.

12

MN Family, I can see production for,

November 23 days, 6,374 bbl oil.

December 25 days, 5,817 bbl oil.

January 15 days, 2,711 bbl oil.

All months show sales, at todays prices there is no reason to let oil sit in the tanks unsold.

By law, you do not have to return a division order in ND to be paid, I normally do not return them.

If you have marketable (good) title, a deed in your name would likely be considered good, the operator has by law 150 days after first sales to make payment or he owes interest, by law whether you request it or not. Many do not pay interest until you request it.

The operator may still not pay, your title could have something that needs to be fixed or the operators title people could be behind on their paperwork or the operator would rather have the money to use and willing to pay the interest if he can't find some way to skate out of it. Some people with no title problem were still not being paid after a year or more and the operator said they have a title problem but then started paying. They had good title all along because the mineral owner did not do anything to cure "fix" their title. Good title is the mineral owners responsibility, nobody can fix it for you because if they had that power, they could just transfer it into their own name and forget about you. Having a deed in your name from a sale, or probate done in ND is usually the standard of good title. ND does not recognise probates from other states. If you inherited the minerals from an estate probated in another state, you would likely have to do an ancillary probate in ND. I hope this helps and good luck.

13

have good title and filed with state of ND. Probate done in ND. Will have to contact the land guy from marathon, don't know if it is because isn't over 150 days yet.

14

Robert,

How do we get the producer to give reasons why production varies, as, no trucks to offload production?

Larry

15

Larry, there is no way to force the operator to tell you. They may tell you if you ask. Personally, I just look at the factors involved and make a wild guess. The reasons I do this is because I don't want to waste my time on the phone with the operator and the other reason is they are going to run it how they see fit whatever I say. I had 2 wells in a great area new drilled when oil was $113 a barrel, they waited 9 months to frack these wells when the backlog was only about 6 months at most. While waiting to be fracked, the price of oil fell to $93 per barrel. What utter joy. I don't know, and frankly I don't want to know whose genious idea that was. There can be many reasons for why the operator does not produce, takeaway constrained, shut in because another well is being fracked nearby, a pump is being installed or other work being done. During the floods last year the roads wouldn't hold trucks. I think you just have to trust the operator, that he is trying to make money and if he makes money, you make money, and even if he's wrong, there is nothing you can do about it.