Encore Plans Major Development In Murphy Creek Field, Dunn Co.

Encore has made public its intentions in the near term for about 40 Bakken wells primarily in the Murphy Creek area in T144, R95 and 96,south and southwest of Killdeer and about 6 miles east of the eastern flank of the Little Knife anticline. The company also has several wells planned in the Whitetail Field area of Billings County in T143, R99, where the company has drilled a test well several months ago in sec. 8 of that township, but no info has been released yet regarding its status. Encore has also identified cost savings and claims well costs have been reduced to $4.5M per well and expects a 30% rate of return.

Whether these 40 wells will ever be drilled is another story, but the company has had one rig running constantly for the past several months. It is currently in the Tree Top Field area of central Billings County testing their lease block in that area. It seems likely it will move back to the Killdeer area in the next few weeks after that hole is finished (and apparently may stay there awhile).

(On the map, the yellow is Encore's leasehold and the gray dots with the circles around them are planned Bakken wells).