News
County oil production down in February
Scott Wagar
04/15/2014
The North Dakota Industrial Commission’s Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) has released its preliminary production figures for oil and gas production for the state of North Dakota for the month of February, which shows that Bottineau County produced less oil and gas in February than in January.
BOTTINEAU COUNTY
In January, Bottineau County had 539 productive wells which produced 203,340 barrels of oil and 26,574 MCF in gas production.
In February, the county, saw 542 working wells with preliminary numbers that show 182,367 barrels of oil that were produced and 24,550 MCF in flaring.
Wells capable of production during February stood at 646.
STATE
The state had 10,114 active wells in January, which produced 28,988,908 barrels of oil in the month with 31,407,401 MCF in gas.
In February, DMR preliminary numbers showed 10,186 wells manufacturing oil with preliminary numbers of 26,637,513 barrels of oil and 29,785,161 MCF in flaring.
DAILY FIGURES
In daily figures for oil manufacturing, North Dakota saw an increase in oil and gas production in its daily figures.
In January, oil production in the state saw 935,126 barrels a day, while February’s preliminary numbers show 951,340 barrels each day.
Gas production in January was at 1,013,142 MCF per day, while February saw 1,063,756 MCF each day.
PRODUCING WELLS
In January, the unconventional Bakken-Three Forks saw 10,114 producing wells, while February preliminary numbers saw 10,186 producing wells which came from legacy conventional pools, which are pool formations like the Madison, Red River and Spearfish (which Bottineau County is in). February initial number in producing wells is an all time record in the state of North Dakota.
In February, the unconventional Bakken-Three Forks formations made up 69 percent (7,065) of the producing wells, while the legacy convention pool formations like the Madison, Red River and Spearfish (which Bottineau County is in) stood at 31 (3,121).
RIG COUNT
Drilling rig counts from January to February didn’t change much, but well completions were up by a little.
“The drilling rig count was pretty much unchanged from January to February,” said Lynn Helms, director and regulator of oil production for the NDIC’s Department of Mineral Resources.
“The number of well completions was up slightly from 60 to 70. Days from spud to initial production decreased eight days to 114.”
“Investor confidence appears to be growing. There were still 100 wells shut in for the Tioga gas plant conversion in an attempt to minimize flaring, but the biggest production impact story was still the weather,” Helms said. “February had 18 days with temperatures five plus degrees below normal. Add to that four days with wind gusts too high for completion work and progress is slow.”
Helms added that 95 percent of drilling still targets the Bakken and Three Forks formations.
DRILLING PERMITS
When it comes to drilling permit activity in the state, February saw a huge decrease increase in permits, but have now returned to normal in March with operators preparing for the summer.
FORT BERTHOLD RESERVATION:
The Fort Berthold Reservation numbers are as follows for February:
● 24 drilling rigs with eight fee lands and 16 on trust lands
● 271,121 barrels of oil per day with 98,786 from trust lands and 172,335 from fee lands
● 1,163 active wells with 722 on trust lands and 441 on fee lands
● 153 wells waiting on completion
● 296 approved drilling permits with 238 on trust lands and 21 on fee lands
● 2,206 additional potential future wells with 1,546 on trust lands and 660 on fee lands