Dry Hole Noted near Lake Darling

Renville County, North Dakota

Dickinson, N.D., independent Armstrong Operating (Armstrong) has failed to establish shallow reserves in the northern portion of the Williston Basin in North Dakota. Just released from confidential status, state data show the Undlin #17-22, se-nw 17-159n-84w, Renville County, has been abandoned at a total vertical depth of 5,300’ in the Mississippian Mohall.

According to the well file, the Undlin #17-22 was targeting both the Sherwood and Mohall, subintervals of the Madison section. With no significant shows encountered, no cores were obtained or DSTs were performed in this attempt and it was abandoned in November 2018.

Tops picked in this wellbore are the Rierdon at 3,873’, Spearfish at 4,406’, Madison Group Unconformity at 4,692’, Ratcliffe at 4,808’, and the State A Marker was touched at 5,041’. The effort spots some 25 miles northwest of Minot, N.D., and roughly 3 miles east of Lake Darling, just outside the Souris National Wildlife Refuge.

Armstrong’s failure surveys roughly 1.5 miles south of Chola Field, a small Madison oil pool that following its discovery in 1964, has cumulated more than 1.3 mmbo and 924.0 k bw.

The nearest exploration to the Undlin #17-22 is a half-mile to the northwest at a vertical dry hole drilled by Clarion Resources. The Foster #1-18, se-ne 18-159n-84w, bottomed in the Madison section at a depth of 5,301’. One drillstem test was conducted across the Madison interval at 5,213’–5,225’, where the pipe reversed-out 279’ of brackish salt water, with the sampler holding 0.091 cfg and 2,460 cc of water. Tops encountered in this wellbore include the Inyan Kara at 3,264’, Swift at 3,593’, Rierdon at 3,894’, Spearfish at 4,434’, and the Madison Group at 4,722’, measured from a KB elevation of 1,740’. The Foster #1-18 was plugged in 1981 with no production casing run.

Almost a mile north of Armstrong’s dry hole, Tiger Oil (Tiger) drilled a failure at the Roman Catholic of Bismarck #1, nw-sw 8-159n-84w. After tapping the Madison at a depth of 5,102’, one DST was performed in the Madison between 5,000’ and 5,060’. Recovery included 400’ of mud-cut salt water, with the sample chamber containing 2,350 cc of mud-cut salt water. Tiger abandoned their attempt in 1968.

Approximately a mile southeast of the Undlin #17-22, Inexco Oil drilled a small producer at the State-Ran Lock #1-16, ne-se 16-159n-84w. Located in Lockwood Field, this well was given an IPP of 50 bopd and 29 bwpd from vertical Madison perforations at 5,032’–5,044’. The prospect was eventually sold to Ward-Williston Company and was abandoned in 2004 after producing 49.3 k bo, 12.6 mmcfg, and 188.8 k bw.

Following its discovery in 1979, Lockwood Field cumulated more than 176.0 k bo, 45.0 mmcfg, and 1.2 mmbw; the pool no longer produces.

The most recent drilling in the area immediately surrounding Armstrong’s failure is 1.5 miles to the northwest, where Strike Oil found noncommercial Madison reserves at the Savelkoul #7-21, ne-nw 7-159n-84w. This well cumulated 3.4 k bo and 4.2 k bw from straight-hole Madison perforations at 5,026’–5,038’. On-production for less than two years, the Savelkoul #7-21 was abandoned in 2015; no offsets have been drilled to it.

Previous exploration conducted by Armstrong in Renville County took place in June 2017, when the company punched-in a vertical Cambrian test 29 miles northwest of their Undlin #17-22 dry hole. The Hanson #33-43, se-se 33-164n-87w, was a 9,400’-deep effort intended to evaluate Winnipeg and Deadwood Sands believed to exist on the outer rim of a seismically-defined meteor impact crater. The Winnipeg Sand was not encountered, however, and no hydrocarbon shows were reported immediately beneath the Winnipeg in the Deadwood Sand. This failure was plugged and abandoned in 2017.

Armstrong’s Hanson #33-43 spots almost a quarter-mile west of an abandoned field well on the northern flank of Newporte Field, an unusual oil pool in the sense that it is the only reservoir in North Dakota currently producing from both the Ordovician and Cambrian.

Newporte Field, which has cumulated more than 454 k bo, 367 mmcfg, and 770 k bw, is currently producing from one well.

The Undlin #17-22 dry hole is the second wildcat drilled by Armstrong in the northern portion of the Williston Basin during 2018. Approximately 69 miles northwest of their Renville County letdown, the Dickinson-based company also plugged the Pederson #33-3, nw-se 3-160n-96w, Divide County, a 10,750’ Birdbear test.

The Pederson #33-3 surveys almost a half-mile southwest of the Donna #1-3H, ne-ne 3-160n-96w, a horizontal Bakken producer drilled by Continental Resources (Continental). This single-lateral well has a bottom hole terminating in the se-se 10-160n-96w. Completed in May 2010, to date the Continental endeavor has cumulated more than 135 k bo, 201 mmcfg, and 148 k bw.

The Donna #1-3H is located in Hamlet Field, a multi-pay oil pool that following its discovery in 1971, has produced at least 8.2 mmbo, 10.9 bcfg, and 11.1 mmbw from the Bakken, Duperow, Madison, and Winnipegosis. Approximately 70 percent of this crude comes from the horizontal Bakken.