Free to join but for 6 weeks only. Zoom bee is overhyping it....

Free to join but for 6 weeks only. Zoom bee is overhyping it. Expecting 3 million boe proven reserve at the end of 2016 instead of 1 billion boe.

Samson Oil and Gas says 8 Three Forks wells to be added at Slawson-operated Williams County project, 16 wells at Rainbow project

Steve Sutherlin

For Petroleum News Bakken


Australian-based Samson Oil and Gas is eying the Three Forks formation for a new eight well drilling program on its North Stockyard acreage in Williams County, N.D., Terry Barr, Samson CEO said Feb. 18 in a presentation at Enercom in San Francisco.

The Slawson operated North Stockyard project has so far been targeting the Bakken.

The Three Forks drilling will take place on two centrally located pads, with 7,200-foot laterals drilled to the east and the west, Barr said.

Barr said longer wells will give Three Forks wells the ability to compete with Bakken well production in North Stockyard.

“The longer lateral actually just reflects the slightly inferior rock quality that we see in the Three Forks compared to the Bakken,” he said.

“North Stockyard is right in the heart of the Bakken; we have well established production rates in that area; we’re drilling up a proved reserve base; we did sell down a part of it to advance development drilling.” Barr said. The company took in $5.6 million on the sale.

At North Stockyard, Samson holds a 30 percent operating interest and a 23 percent net revenue interest in seven producing wells. The company has a production rate of 130 barrels of oil equivalent per day, which it expects to increase to 1,200 boepd by June, as infill wells come on line.

“We continue to produce while we are advancing this low risk infill development on North Stockyard to be followed by Rainbow,” Barr said.

Rainbow

One township north from North Stockyard, Samson is targeting a June spud date for its first Continental operated well in the Rainbow project, Barr said, adding that the companies are pursuing a permit transfer to Continental.
Sixteen wells are planned at Rainbow, with eight wells targeting the middle Bakken and eight wells targeting the first bench of the Three Forks, he said. The company’s short-term objective is to drill one Bakken well and one Three Forks well.

Samson has two spacing units in 2,560 gross acres at Rainbow, with a 23 percent equity in the Continental operated unit, and a 53 percent equity in the second unit to be drilled later, Barr said.

One of Samson’s longer term objectives is to sell part of its interest in Rainbow.

As the Rainbow wells come on line in February 2015, Samson expects its production to climb to 1,500 boepd, riding a predicted production surge in October from Three Forks wells at North Stockyard.

Samson expects its production to surge well above 2,000 boepd in 2016 as higher equity Rainbow wells come on line.

“We will see Samson’s production growth over the course of the next two years grow quite healthily from this investment in both North Stockyard and Rainbow,” Barr said.

The company’s production growth line shows a decline in the second half of 2016 due to well depletion, Barr said, but the curve does not reflect future additions of acreage to the company’s holdings.

“We would expect to add acreage to our portfolio in this area and that growth will continue, it’s just that we don’t have any more acres at this point and therefore haven’t put anything on this particular production growth graph,” he said.

Samson estimates that its proved production reserves growth, net to the company will rise above 1 million boe in late 2014, from a level below 500,000 boe in January, Barr said. In early 2016, the company expects its proved production reserves to rise above 2 million boe, and to approach 3 million boe later in the year.

“This will be the basis of our borrowing base,” Barr said. As we develop these wells they will go into the borrowing base in terms of our reserves and we expect to be able to finance this drilling program through that facility.”

North Stockyard ops

Samson said in a Feb. 18 operations update that drilling on the Rennerfeldt 2-13-HBK well is completed and a 3,700 foot cemented liner was placed in the Middle Bakken reservoir.
On the Rennerfeldt 1-13-H, the Frontier rig 24 is drilling a 3,600 foot lateral in the Middle Bakken at a depth of 13,817, the company said. The Rennerfeldt wells will be fracked simultaneously.

A preparatory work-over on the Blackdog 3-13-14H well has been completed and the well is ready for fracture stimulation, with the first frack zone perforated, Samson said. The fracture stimulation is scheduled for Feb. 24.

Production was curtailed on the Coopers 2-15-14HBK well for seven days due to flow lines and production equipment being frozen, Samson said. The well is now back on production.