How was the Bakken formed?
How was the Bakken formed?
Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing: Advances in drilling and well stimulation made the Bakken Formation a viable oil and gas resource.
When was the Bakken Formation Discovered?
1953
Beginning with the initial discovery in 1953, the Bakken has been a significant contributor to the North Dakota economy. Over 44 million barrels of oil have been produced from this formation, and there is a large potential to add to that total with the current oil play.
Where is the Bakken Formation?
The Bakken Formation is located in western North Dakota, eastern Montana, and southern Saskatchewan, Canada, as a subsurface formation within the Williston Basin. The Williston Basin extends to southwestern Manitoba, east-central North Dakota, northwestern South Dakota, eastern Montana, and southern Saskatchewan.
How deep is the Bakken shale formation?
The depth to the top of the Bakken can vary from a few thousand feet in Canada to more than 10,000 feet in the deeper areas in North Dakota. In terms of geologic age, it was deposited during the upper Devonian and Lower Mississippian periods about 360 million years ago.
How much oil has been produced from the Bakken?
The USGS estimates that there may be 4.4 to 11.4 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil in the Bakken Formation (with a mean estimate of 7.4 billion barrels).
When did the Bakken oil boom start?
2002
Around the year 2002, an oil boom began in the Bakken formation. New technology made it possible for oil companies to get the oil and gas out of the shale rock. This technology was called extended reach horizontal drilling.
Is Bakken oil sweet or sour?
The gas is flammable, corrosive, poisonous, and explosive; thus, oil with higher levels of H2S presents challenges such as “health and environmental risks, corrosion of wellbore, added expense with regard to materials handling and pipeline equipment, and additional refinement requirements.” Bakken oil has historically …
How deep are North Dakota oil wells?
What is the average depth an oil or gas well is drilled in North Dakota? 14,190 feet is the average depth of a well in North Dakota.
What happened to North Dakota oil boom?
Decline. The oil boom in North Dakota experienced a brief decline in 2014 after the Saudi Arabian oil industry increased its output and the price of crude oil fell from $108 to $40.
When was North Dakota oil discovered?
1951
The first blizzard arrived in January. Roughnecks at the remote “wildcat” well in Clarence Iverson’s wheat field northeast of Williston endured a North Dakota winter before finding oil on April 4, 1951. The discovery well launched the first drilling boom of the state’s Williston Basin.
