Jake.It might be a good idea to keep an eye on some of these...

Jake.
It might be a good idea to keep an eye on some of these companies. I’ve broken them up into 2 groups “Top Players” and “Speculative Players”. There list can go on, however, you can try and compare with assets held by Molopo.

Tahi, I think you’re right! Most small caps, whether on the TSX or in the US, have money issues and their assets haven't really produced big numbers yet. A quick look at the charts shows most of the “Top” players climbing steadily, whereas most of the “Specs” have been in decline or flat. Naturally, companies with experience in the Bakken are expected by many analysts to do better as production is ramped up.

Top players in the Bakken

Continental Resources Inc. is the largest leaseholder in the Bakken region with 901,000 acres. Continental has seen its share price surge by more than 66% in the last four months to hit $80. Results of 13 wells recently completed into the Bakken formation in North Dakota and Montana were as follows:
Dunn County, North Dakota: Dvirnak 3-7H - 2,115 BOE per day, Dvirnak 2-7H - 2,094 BOE per day, Entzel 1-26H - 1,726 BOE per day, Pletan 3-18H - 1,526 BOE per day, Grande 1-18H - 1,514 BOE per day, Pletan 4-18H - 1,618 BOE per day.
McKenzie County, North Dakota: Durham 1-2H - 2,003 BOE per day, Mack 4-2H - 1,585 BOE per day, Palmer 1-25H - 1,534 BOE per day, Patterson 1-13H - 1,498 BOE per day.
Richland County, Montana: Jeannette 2-11H - 793 BOE per day, Harold 1-14H - 632 BOE per day, Thelma 2-14H - 510 BOE per day
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE%3ACLR

Hess Corp. and Whiting Petroleum Corp., meanwhile, are two of the other largest leaseholders in the Bakken with 900,000 acres and 680,000 acres respectively.
Hess Corporation expects Bakken production to ramp up quickly over the next 4 years:
2011 – 30,000 BOE per day. 2012 – 60,000 BOE per day. 2015 – 120,000 BOE per day.
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE%3Ahes
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE%3Awll

Rosetta Resources reported initial results from the company’s Bakken horizontal well program in the Southern Alberta Basin. The production figures seemed to disappoint investors who were expecting higher numbers. Rosetta Resources has drilled and completed two wells into the Middle Bakken formation and reported initial production rates of 154 and 104 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) per day on these two wells. Rosetta Resources is also testing the resource potential of the Three Forks and Banff formations in the Southern Alberta Basin of Montana. The company has 300,000 net acres and plans to spend $37 million, or 5% of its capital budget in 2012 to evaluate this acreage.
http://www.google.com/finance?q=rosetta+resources

Other companies considered pure Bakken plays include Statoil ASA with 378,100 acres.
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE%3ASTO

Oasis Petroleum Inc. with 318,942 acres.
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE%3Aoas

Northern Oil & Gas Inc. with 150,000 acres.
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE%3Anog

Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp. with 95,000 acres.
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSEAMEX%3AkOG

Marathon Oil (MRO) has 406,000 net acres under lease in North Dakota that is prospective for the Bakken play. The company recently disclosed the following information on its operations there: December 2011 production from the Bakken averaged 24,000 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) per day, up from 10,000 BOE per day in December 2010.
http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE%3AMRO

Speculative players in the Bakken

Mountainview Energy Ltd is currently drilling and developing oil and gas in the Williston Basin Bakken/Three Forks play and the South Alberta Bakken play.
http://www.google.ca/finance?q=CVE%3AMVW

Primary Petroleum. It has about 235 sections.
http://www.google.ca/finance?q=CVE%3APIE

Bowood Energy Inc.
http://www.google.ca/finance?q=CVE%3Abwd

DeeThree Exploration Ltd.
http://www.google.ca/finance?q=TSE%3ADTX

Reliable Energy is a pure Bakken player with an enviable position in the Kirkella area of South-East Saskatchewan and South-West Manitoba where it is pursuing high netback light sweet Bakken oil on the Canadian side of the play. Reliable has access to 194 gross sections of land with a 75% WI (working interest). Its joint venture partner for the remaining 25% WI is no other than Crescent Point Energy which also owns about 14% of Reliable. Reliable Energy is the operator. REL’s core area enjoys multi-formation potential and posses high operating margins ($57 profit on $84 CAD oil). As a bonus, the company also holds 100,000 net acres in Blaine Country, Montana currently under exploration for Bakken oil potential. This tract of land is considered a wild card that provides a huge upside if the Bakken oil play is proven. Reliable is on track to exit 2011 producing more than 900 bopd with a 100% light oil weighting. The company built an inventory of more than 450 net locations in its primary area which translates into a multi-year development program.
http://www.google.ca/finance?q=CVE%3AREL

Torquay Oil holds 55,000 net acres of land in SE Saskatchewan’s Lake Alma area that is prospective for the Bakken formation. TOC assembled a drilling inventory of more than 200 net locations on this land alone close to the Montana/North Dakota US border. It holds various small parcels of land prospective for other formations in SE Saskatchewan but its flagship property at Lake Alma provides a lot of exposure to the Bakken play. TOC is currently producing 500 bopd (95% oil). TOC is still considered an exploration play so watch for a huge revaluation by Mr. Market when the company releases results from its Lake Alma area.
http://www.google.ca/finance?q=CVE%3ATOC.A

Enterprise Energy Resources is another pure Bakken player with 100% of its land on the US side of the play. The company is mainly focused on North East Montana where it holds 31,000 net acres prospective for Bakken oil. In North Eastern Montana the key geological elements for the Bakken are all present with comparable thickness but at shallower depth compared to North Dakota which translates into lower drilling costs. EER has no production as of yet and should be considered a play on land as it has secured its land base at a low cost of $420/acre. The company expects to close on another 30,000 net acres in NE Montana at a similar cost bringing its total land base up to 60,000 net acres. This early entry has strategic benefits as the Bakken oil play is expanding from North Dakota into Montana where it is becoming increasingly competitive. Please remember that this is another exploratory play as the land has not been proven to produce economically from the Bakken yet.
http://www.google.ca/finance?q=CVE%3AEER

For the latest results and investment opportunities in the Bakken Shale.
http://shale.typepad.com/bakkenshale/