Hi, TJ the Newby here. I suppose this is in a thread somewhere, but here goes: The new well is in Divide County ND and is naturally a frakked well. It has been pumping for about 50 days. Latest numbers show over 500 barrels a day, but 75% of that is listed as water. I am told that it is normal, but can get no other info. Do you think this is still water being recovered from the frakking process, or can it be "water table" water? What is normal? If the water is from the process, how long can it take to go away? How is it measured by the Oil Company? They must separate it at the pump somehow .
Mr. Johnson, If you are getting your information from the NDIC, the information is # of days production that month, # of barrels of oil produced, # of barrels sold [runs], amount of salt water produced along WITH the oil, MCF gas produced, MCF gas sold and the dreaded and hateful MCF vent/flared, for which the mineral owner is not paid but I think the operator gets to deduct on his taxes as a loss. There is usually brine water found with the oil, if there wasn't I think there probably wouldn't be oil concentrated enough to be worth exploiting. The oil floats on water and rose to the top. I think that is how they roughly seperate the oil from the brine in the tanks, which leads to discussion of salt water disposal and how much oil is contained still in the brine to be disposed of, called skim oil, which may be recovered before they pump the brine back underground. Mr. Johnson, If your well is off the confidential list, I would be glad to look at the NDIC #'s for you if you are not getting your information from them, all I need is the legal description of where the well is. The latest #'s should be out within a week. I think/hope you are in error that your well flows 500 barrels a day and 75% of that is water. There is also the possibility that your operator is not trying to run the guts out of your well with the prices currently down, after all, every barrel of oil you sell for a wellhead price of $60 is a barrel of oil you can not sell later for a wellhead price of $80, 1/3 more. I think many operators will be producing wells at a rate that pays a few bills, puts a little money in the mineral owners pocket, but the main purpose is to keep the well in good condition for the time when they will really make money. On this one point I believe that the operator is really working in the best interest of you both, when the operator sells the oil for more money you both make more.
Thanks, So after drilling begins, how long before a well is off the confidential list? How does a mineral owner like me get access to such records on a regular basis? I have relatives in that area so do not know if my info is reliable. Is a large amount of water normal at first? Would it likely be water used in the frakking, or more likely a "water table" issue? Water table water seems like what you refer to as "brine water". If so, could that water diminish in favor of a higher concentration of oil at some point? It is speculation of course. Just looking for some general knowledge. Of course, I appreciate the fact that the oil company may hold down production for later higher prices, but at age 64 I'd just as soon see them pumping hard. :-) Thanks again for any opinion you might have. :-) tj
Your numbers seem be to very high for water, maybe you have the first full days of flow back for information, If not, you may want to discuss with the oil company about converting your well into a water disposal well. You will make more money.
Mr. Johnson, the NDIC provides the Confidential List free of charge on their website but it's a long list and I hope you have the wells file # to search with. You can find your well and # by inputing your legal description in the GIS server map. The confidential list will have a date for the well to come off of confidential status if it has been drilled. The water is only a problem if there is nowhere to put it. I have studied wells that produced 100,000 barrels of oil and over 1,000,000 barrels of water, ten barrels of water for every barrel of oil. I suspect that the operator of that well had either a disposal well onsite or a nearby site to dispose of the water at a decent price. I have some water heavy wells myself and it's not the end of the world. As for wanting the operator to pump hard, I think we could see an upward movement in the price of oil in the next 6 months and it might be worth the wait. Canada has been flooding the US with the product of it's tar sands, tar mixed with more volatile products so it can flow in a pipeline. The thing is, at todays price Canadian tar is only breaking even. If I'm right, I'm willing to wait 6 months with my wells not producing at capacity. Might not take even that long. The basic $50, 1 year subscription to the NDIC O&G Division is the best way to keep track of a well in ND, it's what I have. The NDIC are friendly people and will answer a specific question if you know the right thing to ask, I believe there is even an e-mail service to keep you informed of your wells production, which I believe was $15 a couple of years ago. I do not know if this service is still offered and just knowing the production is of little utility as you will be able to get quantity sold from your check stub, which is not the same as what was produced for the month, but are you really interested in how many barrels are carried over in the tank from month to month ? I hope this helps.
The information given to me is you will only make more money if you are the surface owner where the well is located. The mineral owner does not get compensated for a salt water disposal well.
Joe Jackson said:
Your numbers seem be to very high for water, maybe you have the first full days of flow back for information, If not, you may want to discuss with the oil company about converting your well into a water disposal well. You will make more money.
r w kennedy said:
Mr. Johnson, the NDIC provides the Confidential List free of charge on their website but it's a long list and I hope you have the wells file # to search with. You can find your well and # by inputing your legal description in the GIS server map. The confidential list will have a date for the well to come off of confidential status if it has been drilled. The water is only a problem if there is nowhere to put it. I have studied wells that produced 100,000 barrels of oil and over 1,000,000 barrels of water, ten barrels of water for every barrel of oil. I suspect that the operator of that well had either a disposal well onsite or a nearby site to dispose of the water at a decent price. I have some water heavy wells myself and it's not the end of the world. As for wanting the operator to pump hard, I think we could see an upward movement in the price of oil in the next 6 months and it might be worth the wait. Canada has been flooding the US with the product of it's tar sands, tar mixed with more volatile products so it can flow in a pipeline. The thing is, at todays price Canadian tar is only breaking even. If I'm right, I'm willing to wait 6 months with my wells not producing at capacity. Might not take even that long. The basic $50, 1 year subscription to the NDIC O&G Division is the best way to keep track of a well in ND, it's what I have. The NDIC are friendly people and will answer a specific question if you know the right thing to ask, I believe there is even an e-mail service to keep you informed of your wells production, which I believe was $15 a couple of years ago. I do not know if this service is still offered and just knowing the production is of little utility as you will be able to get quantity sold from your check stub, which is not the same as what was produced for the month, but are you really interested in how many barrels are carried over in the tank from month to month ? I hope this helps.