Silver
Renville County and Ward County, North Dakota
Overview | Activity Map | Log | Drilling Map | Production Map | Seismic Isopach Map
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Three Crown acreage in the Silver Prospect encompasses 3419.839 gross acres and 2806.3684 net acres. The leases are paid up until 2012-2013, and many have three year extension options after the primary term.
OVERVIEW
The USGS recently assessed the Bakken Formation as the largest oil accumulation it has ever reviewed in the lower 48 states. The total mean oil resources (undiscovered technically recoverable resources) are 3.65 Billion barrels of oil in the U.S. portion of the Williston Basin. Two giant (>100 million barrels oil recoverable), highly economic Bakken oil fields, Elm Coulee and Parshall, have been discovered since 2001.
The 2001 discovery of the Elm Coulee field in Richland County, Mt. spurred industry to explore for the Middle Member Bakken in North Dakota. In 2006, the Parshall field, was discovered in Mountrail County, N.D., east of the Nesson Anticline. Other significant Bakken fields are being developed about the Parshall accumulation. These N.D.fields will likely prove contiguous in this resource play.
The rig count in North Dakota has doubled to 93 the past year (per NDIC's rig count list of 10/29/08). The majority of the drilling is taking place east of the Nesson Anticline to exploit the Bakken and Devonian Three Forks Zones (see Bakken Structure Map).
The Parshall field is approximately 100 miles east-northeast of the Elm Coulee field. Unlike Elm Coulee, the reservoir is a mixed sandy carbonate, not clean dolomite, and natural fractures enhance productivity. Multistage frac jobs along lateral lengths of 1500-9000' are conducted to accelerate production from the low permeability reservoir. Initial rates exceeding 3000 BOPD have occurred in the Parshall field. EOG Resources, the primary operator and discoverer of the field, currently assigns gross reserves of ~850MBOE per well at Parshall with 250-450 MBOE per well in Parshall's periphery (http://www.eogresources.com/media/slides/InvPres.pdf p8). It is EOG's most economic project. The crude is high quality, 42 API.
The play boundaries of the Middle Member Bakken play are rapidly expanding. Eight rigs were recently drilling in both the Parshall field and the Sanish field, west of Parshall. In the Ross field area and further north (T156-160N) of the Parshall field Hess, Fidelity, EOG, Brigham, Encore, St. Mary, Oasis, Samson Resources, Cirque, and Golden Eye Resources are active. In the northern area, a clean (<60 API Unit) Middle Member thick Bakken interval, like that at the Parshall field, is being exploited.
The Devonian Three Forks Formation immediately underlying the Bakken also has significant potential as Bakken shales sourced the permeable sands, siltstones, and carbonates. At Antelope field, 152&153N 94W, the Sanish Sand of the Three Forks has produced 12.8MMBO with 300 MBO average cumulative well production. Three Forks discoveries are occurring throughout the area (http://www.bexp3d.com/IR_pres.pdf ) with Petro-Hunt, Continental, Encore, Fidelity, and Samson confirming Three Forks production.
Silver Prospect - Geology
The Silver Prospect is based upon favorable Bakken penetrations in 161N of 87&88W & 160N of 86W with consideration of the regional geology (see Bakken Middle Member Isopach Map). The Clarion Resources' well in Sec 18 of 161-87 encountered more than 20' of Middle Member Bakken with 7' <60 API Units. A core of the Bakken indicated good oil saturations and the zone was DST'd. Like most Bakken DST's, even those conducted within established fields, only small amounts of fluid were recovered, evidencing the low permeability of the Bakken.
Shell drilled 2 wells in Sec 34 of 161-87 in an effort to exploit Devonian reefs of the Winnipegosis Fm. No cores or tests were conducted in the Bakken. Like the Clarion Resources well, over 20' of Middle Member Bakken was penetrated with 6' having <60API Units (see Bakken Type Log). The Upper Bakken Shale has resistivities of 1500-1800 ohms, indicating thermal maturity.
Recurrent basement faulting is believed to be a significant factor at the Parshall field (the Van Hook Arm). In the Silver Area, the Shell wells suggest basement faulting. In Sec 15 of 160N 86W, Shell drilled a basement test in 1980. No cores or DST's of the Bakken were done, but both the Mission Canyon and the Red River cores were noted to be highly vertically fractured. The fracturing may evidence basement faulting associated with a lineament. In this well, the Middle Member of the Bakken has 8' of clean (<60API Units) Middle Member with 16' gross interval.
The Shell wells evince reefal highs, basement highs, and other structural components in the Silver Prospect Area that would enhance the permeability of the Bakken.
Updip of the Shell wells (e.g. 162N), the Middle Member of the Bakken is seldom clean. Consequently, a Bakken stratigraphic trap could exist nearby for the Silver Prospect.
Downdip of the Silver Prospect, Hess is completing two confidential wells in T159N, one in 88W and the other in 89W. The former may be a Three Forks test. Encore Operating, another major Williston Basin company, has staked four wildcats in 157&158N, one in 87W and three in 88W.
Encore will also be testing the Bakken or Three Forks in Section 14 of 159N 87W, immediately south of the Silver Prospect. Earlier this year Golden Eye Resources drilled a pilot hole and cut a core in the Bakken and Upper Three Forks. The core data had sufficient oil saturation that Encore bought the prospect and will drill a Bakken and / or Three Forks test during the 4th quarter of 2008. The well is a tight hole and additional information is not available.
Secondary potential is not only in the Three Forks, but also the Mission Canyon, Winnipegosis, and Cambro-Ordovician Formations. Sizable Mission Canyon fields nearby include the Mouse River Park field (cumulative production 5.4MMBO), Smith field (3.5MMBO), McKinney field (1.2MMBO), and Tolley Field (1.1MMBO).
Ballantye Oil recently permitted a horizontal well in Section 9 of 160 86. This tight hole could be targeting the Bakken / Three Forks section, not the Mission Canyon that has heretofore been the sole producing horizon in the field.
Two 3D "reef" seismic programs very near the Silver Prospect are slated. Numerous zones including the Bakken and Winnipegosis may be targeted, but the Cambro-Ordovician zones of the Deadwood and Winnipeg will also receive a thorough evaluation. They produce at the Newporte field in 163N 87W where Eagle Operating is drilling.
Silver Log (PDF - 900KB)
Silver Drilling Activity Map (PDF - 2.97MB)