Two discoveries appear to have established the first significant oil production in McLean County, N.D.
The discoveries, on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, are far south and east of established Williston basin production.
Balcron Oil Corp., Billings, Mont., an affiliate of Equitable Resources Energy Co Pittsburgh, is operator of both discoveries.
Balcron's 33-15 Wahner, in 15-150n-89w, pumped 130 b/d of 37.6 gravity oil, 115 Mcfd of gas, and 105 b/d of water from perforations at 7,934-56 ft in the Sherwood member of Mississippian Mission Canyon. Total depth is 8,150 ft.
The discovery has been named Lucky Mound field.
It is about 12 miles south southwest of Sherwood oil production in Wabek field and Bluell oil production in adjacent Plaza field. The fields are in Mountrail and Ward counties.
Significant production in North Dakota from Sherwood and Bluell dates to the 1950s, but the first discovery was along the Canadian border far north of McLean County.
Balcron's other discovery is 9 miles south-southeast of the Lucky Mound field discovery well.
Its 42-35 Zahnow-Federal, in 35-149n-89w, is said to have swabbed and flowed 15 bbl/hr of oil during early tests of Sherwood. Balcron has asked temporary spacing for that discovery.
The fields are southwest of Minot, N.D., and east and north of Lake Sakakawea.
LUCKY MOUND'S FUTURE
Balcron has staked several offsets to the Lucky Mound field discovery well.
The company sought to pool 4 1/2 sq miles spaced on 80 acres. That area, if fully developed, would accommodate a 30 40 well field.
The operator's pooling request could be taken as an indication Lucky Mound field may be similar in areal extent to Wabek field, says a source at the North Dakota Geological Survey.
Wabek field reserves appear to be 5-8 million bbl. The field has about 30 producing wells.
Plaza field has 25 wells producing and one being drilled.
Plaza field is slightly downdip from Wabek field and produces from Bluell, the next shallower zone stratigraphically from Sherwood.
Due to the topography during the time of deposition, geologists believe porosity did not develop in Bluell in the Wabek field area but did show up in the offlapping beds at Plaza field.
Lucky Mound field could be analogous to the Plaza/Wabek complex, but that is yet to be proved.
Presidio Oil Co., Denver, which operates Wabek and Plaza fields, completed a Sherwood new pay discovery in 1989 at a well drilled as a southern extension to Plaza field.
That well and one other soon went to water, however. One is idle, the other plugged back to Bluell.
Presidio, which acquired the properties from Home Petroleum Co., is considering exploratory drilling in the general area.
NEARBY ACTIVITY
Exploratory drilling is starting to spring up in several directions from Balcron's discoveries.
Equitable paid nearly $148,000 for about 469 acres of leases near 42-35 Zahnow-Federal at the Fort Berthold Agency lease sale Sept. 19.
Meanwhile, Comdisco Exploration Inc., Denver, staked 1 Hanna, in 29-150n-89w, a McLean County wildcat 3 miles southeast of Balcron's 33-15 Wahner discovery well.
Pacific Enterprises Oil Co. (USA) has spudded a wildcat in 4-153n-87w, Ward County, about 6 miles north of Wabek field.
The only other production in recent memory in McLean County came at the Davis Oil Co. 1 Bears Tail, in 12-148n 90w, completed in 1983 as a 10 b/d oil well from Sherwood at 8,096 8,136 ft.
It produced about 5,000 bbl of oil.
Copyright 1990 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.