A Brigham Exploration Co. well in Mountrail County was flowing 765 barrels of oil a day from its first successfully completed test well in the Three Forks Formation, the Oil & Gas Journal Online reported earlier this month.
The well is in Alger Township in west-central Mountrail County and south of the community of Ross. The Three Forks Formation is located just below the Bakken Formation and is also getting attention in the North Dakota oilfields. Some officials believe it's a reservoir separate from the now well-known and oil-rich Bakken Formation and that the Three Forks Formation may be capable of being another major producer of oil in North Dakota. "It is actually the Sanish zone of the Three Forks Formation," said Bruce Hicks, assistant director of the North Dakota Oil and Gas Division. The N.D. Oil and Gas Division, a division of the N.D. Department of Mineral Resources, regulates the drilling of oil and gas in North Dakota. Hicks said the Sanish zone is a sandy interval found at the top of the Three Forks Formation and is usually 10 to 20 feet thick. He said the top of the Sanish zone is located usually within 10 feet below the base of the Bakken Formation. Hicks said there has always been some interest in the Sanish zone. "The middle Bakken zone has been the focus of the main Bakken play," he said. "Many companies thought the Sanish zone was in communication with the middle Bakken, but through further investigation, some believe it may hold a great potential for additional oil reserves in the future." Ron Ness, Bismarck, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, also referred to the Three Forks-Sanish Formation when he spoke last month about the area oil boom to members of the Minot Area Chamber of Commerce's Energy Committee. "This is the big question right now," Ness told the Energy Committee members in regard to the Three Forks-Sanish Formation. He said the Three Forks-Sanish Formation is "very important all the way across the Bakken Formation in North Dakota because it may determine the ability to have success in some of the areas where the Bakken wasn't looking like it might work." He said the Three Forks-Sanish Formation "may double the productivity of areas like Mountrail County where you essentially drill another well under the Bakken." Brigham Exploration officials said the Mountrail County well in the Ross area, combined with recent Three Forks discoveries drilled nearby by other companies, likely delineates a second field immediately below the Bakken Formation for the company to develop. "We might not only have the Bakken but the Three Forks as a reservoir as well," said Rob Roosa, finance manager for Brigham Exploration Co. at its corporate headquarters in Austin, Texas. Brigham, one of a number of companies currently drilling in North Dakota, also is participating in another Three Forks well, this one in Powers Township in northwest Mountrail County. Results of that well are expected in late November. In June, Continental Resources, an Oklahoma-based company, reported a new well in Dunn County was Continental's first well in the Three Forks-Sanish Formation. The company reported that well was producing an average of about 700 barrels of oil a day in its first week of production in May. As for statistics on the number of permits or wells drilled in the Three Forks-Sanish, Hicks said, "The stratigraphic interval currently defining the Bakken Pool includes the Sanish zone in almost all fields that have been spaced, therefore, no statistics can be pulled from our database. Over 500 Bakken wells have been drilled to date and I would guess that less than 20 have been in the Sanish." How does the Three Forks-Sanish Formation production compares to the Bakken production? "Production information is limited on the Sanish zone and it would not be a good comparison to make at this time," Hicks said. "In some areas of the Williston Basin it appears the Sanish wells may have potential approaching that of the middle Bakken wells. There is not enough evidence at this time to determine if additional reserves are being produced or if it is just accelerating production." Ness told the Chamber's Energy Committee members "the vote is still out" on the Three Forks-Sanish Formation. "It will be interesting to see how it unfolds," he added. He said the large Sinclair Field in Canada is" all Three Forks." "So, as you move north in the (Williston) Basin, industry might have success up there now looking a little deeper actually," Ness said. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Bakken Shale Discussion" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/bakken-shale-discussion?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
