Whiting completes North Ward Estes acquisition

Oct. 10, 2005
Whiting Petroleum Corp., Denver, completed the acquisition of North Ward Estes field in West Texas, where it has 6 rotaries and 15 workover rigs at work on expansion projects.

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Oct. 7 -- Whiting Petroleum Corp., Denver, completed the acquisition of North Ward Estes field in West Texas, where it has 6 rotaries and 15 workover rigs at work on expansion projects.

Seller is Celero Energy LP, Midland. Consideration included $442 million in cash and 441,500 Whiting common shares, or a total of $459 million. The deal took effect July 1, 2005.

The field, in Ward and Winkler counties in the Permian Basin, has 580 producing and 180 injection wells on six base leases covering 58,000 gross and net acres. Recent production averaged 5,700 b/d of oil plus natural gas.

The giant oil field produces mainly from Permian Yates sand at 2,600 ft. Production also comes from Permian Queen sand at 3,000 ft and other formations.

The field's new production opportunities include refrac and waterflood projects to tap proved developed nonproducing reserves, infill, expansion, waterflood restoration, refrac, and carbon dioxide projects, and drilling to new formations including the deeper Pennsylvanian, Montoya, and Ellenburger.

Fieldwide CO2 flooding is to start in 2007 following repressuring of the field by waterflooding, Whiting said earlier this year.