The following was sent by a knowledgeable friend. I found it really interesting and hope you do also.
Hi all,
This is a excellent video on how they oil drill the Bakken shale formation wells...some of you may already know how this is done, for the rest of you, it's good to know. For those of you that haven't been following oil development in North Dakota, the Bakken shale underlies about the western third of the state, Northeastern part of Montana. It is estimated to contain over 500 Billion barrels. Yes that is Billion - not a typo. For comparison, Saudia Arabia has 25 billion and Alaska about the same. Recoverable with current technology is apparently 20% although two companies drilled two laterals in the same section in Mountrail County last summer. Up until those, the procedure was to go down vertically in one corner of a section (square mile) and drill horizontally (the lateral) at a diagonal across the section. (The closing scenes in the video are not Bakken wells - the wells are too close together.) One lateral in each section taps into a very small amount of the shale formation. Multiple laterals in one section may substantially increase the recoverable amounts. I've seen the Bakken crude and seen chemical analyses of it - it is very close to kerosene or diesel fuel - some of the sweetest crude in the world. Initial production from the Bakken wells ranges from 300 to 2400 barrels per day depending on location since the shale seems to be different in different areas.
The recently discovered Sanish-Three Forks shale is immediately below the Bakken and underlies all of North Dakota. The Bears Den shale is below that and it also appears to underlie all of North Dakota. No estimates on total oil in either of these yet. All three of these formations extend into Montana and Saskatchewan .
I've seen one article on the Bakken oil developments in the Wall Street Journal - nothing in any of the other media. Do you suppose that they fear support for alternative energy development would collapse if the public knew we have enough oil in North Dakota alone to supply our country's needs for many years to come??
Apparently they would prefer to cover the prairies with wind farms and the deserts with solar panels. Despite climategate and some seriously cold weather this winter they are still pushing global warming. In contrast to most states, North Dakota had $1 Billion surplus last year that they put into public schools and reduced our property taxes. Mostly from the severance tax on oil.
Received this short video from BNC on how they drill the Bakken wells. Enjoy
http://www.northernoil.com/drilling.php
Hi all,
This is a excellent video on how they oil drill the Bakken shale formation wells...some of you may already know how this is done, for the rest of you, it's good to know. For those of you that haven't been following oil development in North Dakota, the Bakken shale underlies about the western third of the state, Northeastern part of Montana. It is estimated to contain over 500 Billion barrels. Yes that is Billion - not a typo. For comparison, Saudia Arabia has 25 billion and Alaska about the same. Recoverable with current technology is apparently 20% although two companies drilled two laterals in the same section in Mountrail County last summer. Up until those, the procedure was to go down vertically in one corner of a section (square mile) and drill horizontally (the lateral) at a diagonal across the section. (The closing scenes in the video are not Bakken wells - the wells are too close together.) One lateral in each section taps into a very small amount of the shale formation. Multiple laterals in one section may substantially increase the recoverable amounts. I've seen the Bakken crude and seen chemical analyses of it - it is very close to kerosene or diesel fuel - some of the sweetest crude in the world. Initial production from the Bakken wells ranges from 300 to 2400 barrels per day depending on location since the shale seems to be different in different areas.
The recently discovered Sanish-Three Forks shale is immediately below the Bakken and underlies all of North Dakota. The Bears Den shale is below that and it also appears to underlie all of North Dakota. No estimates on total oil in either of these yet. All three of these formations extend into Montana and Saskatchewan .
I've seen one article on the Bakken oil developments in the Wall Street Journal - nothing in any of the other media. Do you suppose that they fear support for alternative energy development would collapse if the public knew we have enough oil in North Dakota alone to supply our country's needs for many years to come??
Apparently they would prefer to cover the prairies with wind farms and the deserts with solar panels. Despite climategate and some seriously cold weather this winter they are still pushing global warming. In contrast to most states, North Dakota had $1 Billion surplus last year that they put into public schools and reduced our property taxes. Mostly from the severance tax on oil.
Received this short video from BNC on how they drill the Bakken wells. Enjoy
http://www.northernoil.com/drilling.php
Last edited:
