A+AA- OASIS PETROLEUM LOOKS TO DRILL MORE THAN 50 NEW WELLS...

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OASIS PETROLEUM LOOKS TO DRILL MORE THAN 50 NEW WELLS

Written by John Plestina

The boom might be about to get louder in eastern Roosevelt County as Oasis Petroleum prepares to drill about 50 new wells south of Bainville.

“We’ve got 98 wells in Montana at the present time. Most of them are in Roosevelt County right around Bainville and a few in Richland County,” Oasis’ Williston, N.D.-based spokesperson Larry Skaare said.

“We’ve got two rigs that are drilling over there [in the Bainville area] now. One rig will drill between 12 and 24 wells. We might be able to get two wells a month,” he said.

“This will be ongoing for next two years for sure,” Skaare said.

“That would be close to 50 more wells over two years,” he said, adding that it could be more than 50 wells.

Some people said Oasis plans to drill several hundred new oil wells south of Bainville during a recent Roosevelt County Commissioners’ meeting.

Skaare placed the number of future wells much lower.

How many total wells?

“It all depends what happens in the ground,” he said, adding that hitting good oil production would drive a need for continuing drilling.

Other companies are also drilling in eastern Roosevelt County.

Increased drilling and production in the Bainville area translates to more jobs and people relocating to Bainville and Culbertson.

“It will allow people to move in [to eastern Roosevelt County] or commute from Sidney or Williston,” Skaare said.

Both communities lack available rental housing.

We put an average of 100 men to take care of one well, Skaare said. He was referring to the drillers, truck drivers, pumpers and roustabouts.

“It depends on the size of the field,” Skaare said.

“It’s always fun to grow and the company loves to grow. We’re trying to do it right,” he said.

“We don’t want to get into a position where it would cause problems for landowners or anyone else. We just want to do it right,” Skaare said.

Texas-based Oasis Petroleum raised $400 million of long-term debt during November 2011 to fund the company’s drilling program and operations, according to information on Oasis’ website. The company purchased a substantial amount of land in eastern Montana during 2010.

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