Duperow Re-Established in Grassy Butte Field

McKenzie County, North Dakota

At a recent North Dakota Industrial Commission (NDIC) hearing, Billings, Mont.–based North Range Resources (North Range) requested temporary spacing for a new pay discovery within the confines of Grassy Butte Field, a Madison oil pool spotting some 5 miles northwest of the small community of Grassy Butte, N.D. The company seeks spacing for the Sheep Creek Storm #1-1V, se-ne 1-145n-100w, McKenzie County; a vertical well drilled in late 2016.

North Range’s indicated discovery tapped the Devonian at a vertical depth of 11,712’ and was completed for an IPP of 212 bopd, 2.2 mmcfgpd, and 36 bwpd from perforations in the Duperow at 11,650’–11,656’. First going on-production in December 2016, the Sheep Creek Storm #1-1V has cumulated more than 5.9 k bo, 11.8 mmcfg, and 173 bw. Last gauge submitted to the state reveals the new pay strike is currently averaging 80 bopd, 180 mcfgpd, and 2 bwpd.

There have been two other vertical wells drilled within the same quarter as the Sheep Creek Storm #1-1V. Sitting on the same pad as North Range’s discovery, the Sheep Creek Storm #2-1, se-se 1-145n-100w, was originally drilled by Enron Oil and Gas and was later assigned to Belco Petroleum.

After bottoming in the vertical Madison at a depth of 9,850’, the company perforated the Madison from 9,704’ to 9,709’ and gave this test an IPP of 63 bopd, no gas, and 87 bwpd. Going on-line in January 1983, the Sheep Creek Storm #2-1 cumulated 34.3 k bo, 44.2 mmcfg, and 84.9 k bw prior to its eventual abandonment in 1987.

In May 2016, Basin Shale ND (Basin), who appears to be working with North Range, assumed control of the Sheep Creek Storm #2-1 and received approval from the NDIC to re-enter the well and bring it back into production. Plans called for Basin/North Range to recomplete the Sheep Creek Storm #2-1 in the Midale subinterval of the Mission Canyon. Previously recorded log tops for this prospect include the Madison at 8,875’, Ratcliffe at 9,366’, and the Frobisher was picked at 9,631’ beneath a KB elevation of 2,245’. As of this writing, neither North Range nor Basin has actually worked-over the Sheep Creek Storm #2-1.

The second well offsetting the Sheep Creek Storm #1-1V strike is an Ordovician test drilled in 1981 by Amoco Production (Amoco). The Storm #1, se-ne 1-145n-100w, bottomed in the Red River at a depth of 13,800’. Representing the discovery well for Beicegel Creek Field, the Storm #1 was given an IPP of 168 bopd, 150 mcfgpd, and 19 bwpd from conventional Duperow perforations at 11,636’–11,644’.

Prior to completing the Storm #1 in the Duperow, Amoco recovered 287 bo from the Red River at depths near 13,550’; however, it was determined this zone was noncommercial. During drilling, Amoco conducted a DST in the Mission Canyon from 9,687’ to 9,764’, where the pipe recovered 500’ of oil and 611’ of brackish water, with the sampler holding 0.78 cfg, 600 cc of oil, and 700 cc of water. No production tests were attempted in the Mississippian section. On production for just a year and abandoned in 1982, the Storm #1 is credited with producing 18.7 k bo, 17.9 mmcfg, and 302 bw. The Madison was picked in this wellbore at 8,864’, beneath a KB elevation of 2,442’.

Because of spacing issues, parts of Beicegel Creek Field are interspersed with Grassy Butte Field. Having produced from the Bakken, Duperow, and Red River and currently productive from the Bakken, Beicegel Creek Field has cumulated more than 214 k bo, 742 mmcfg, and 325 k bw following its discovery in 1981.

The only other drilling near North Range’s Duperow discovery is roughly a half-mile to the southeast at Adobe Oil and Gas’s (Adobe’s) Federal Storm #13-6, nw-sw 6-145n-99w, a vertical Red River stepout. This venture was completed for 180 bopd, 3 mmcfgpd, and 60 bwpd from Red River perforations at 13,661’–13,682’. Prior to testing the Red River, an earlier DST was performed in the Madison section between 9,712’ and 9,773’ that reversed out 0.58 bbl of drilling mud, 1.8 bbl of gas-cut drilling mud, and 0.45 bbl of gas- and water-cut drilling mud, with the sample chamber containing 0.4 cfg and 1,730 cc of water.

With operatorship subsequently transferred to Equitable Resources, the Federal Storm #13-6 cumulated more than 20.9 k bo, 467 mmcfg, and 25 k bw from the Ordovician. This prospect was plugged in 1990.