"Dozens of fruitful wells beneath the rich Bakken shale in North Dakota continue to fuel a hunch among oilmen and geologists that another vast crude-bearing formation may be buried in the state's vast oil patch.
Lynn Helms, director of the state Department of Mineral Resources, said recent production results from 103 newly tapped wells in the Three Forks-Sanish formation show many that are "as good or better" than some in the Bakken, which lies two miles under the surface in western North Dakota and holds billions of barrels of oil."
"State and industry officials are conducting a study to determine whether the Three Forks is a unique reservoir. The plan is to compare results from closely spaced wells, one aiming for the Three Forks, and the other at the Bakken. Researchers will look at pressure changes in the formations to determine if they are connected.
Results from the study could be ready later this year, officials say. It already is spurring some speculation that the state has billions of barrels more in oil reserves."
"Eventually, it could equal the Bakken, which is remarkable, and that's an understatement," Helms said"
"Kelso, of Whiting Petroleum, said his company's drilling activity shows that Three Forks likely is a separate formation. He said core samples taken from the Bakken and Three Forks show more hydrocarbons in the latter."
"From the core samples, Three Forks looks better for us than the Bakken," he said.
Promising production results from the Three Forks could mean that companies that come up empty in the Bakken could use existing leases to drill in the same area for Three Forks oil."
Kessel believes that not all of the Three Forks is laden with oil.
"Right now, we're doing Bakken, and in those areas it doesn't look like the Three Forks is going to work," he said.
"With Three Forks, you have got to find a sweet spot where it develops," Kessel said. "It is not sandwiched like the Bakken between two shales producing oil."
TF-S:sta on tihkunut tietoja(ja öljyä) viimeisen parin vuoden aikana, mutta kunnollista kuvaa siitä ei ole pystynyt muodostamaan. Selvää on että se on paikoittain Bakkenia selvästi öljyrikkaampi ja kyseessä saattaa olla miljardien tynnyrien reserveistä. TF-S rajoittuu alueeltaan ilmeisesti lähinnä Pohjois-Dakotaan(pieneltä osin Montanaan), joten Montanan ja Saskatchewanin acreage ei sisällä TF-S-potentiaalia. Koska TF-S on Bakken kerroksien alapuolella on kaivon keskimääräiset kustannukset korkeammat kuin perus Bakken-kaivoissa.j
Alla on pari kuvaa Whiting Petroleumin heinäkuun presentaatiosta, toisessa Bakkenin läpileikkaus ja toisessa Sanish-Parshall rajat.
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