It's The Fault's Fault

If you recall my discussion of the importance of faults in enhancing natural fracturing in the Murphy Creek area last May, it is theorized that faults serve as a conduit for fluids to migrate along the fault. Those fluids would then dissolve the salt deposits below the Bakken causing the overlying formations, including the Bakken to collapse, which obviously would greatly enhance the fractures.

I theorized (along with probably untold others) that such a collapse area existed in the Murphy Creek area in west central Dunn Co. due to the presence of the Heart River Fault in the area (one of the few major faults in the Basin), and also because of the anomaly uncovered during the drilling of the Adobe Killdeer Federal wildcat well in 1981. That well almost blew out when it encountered what appeared to be a fracture in the lower Lodgepole.

This fracture system has apparently been confirmed by the first Marathon well to be drilled in the area, the Hecker 21-5H, sec. 5, 144N-96W in Dunn Co., which was drilled last year about a mile and a half west of the Adobe well. The Marathon well hit the same "fracture" in the lower Lodgepole at almost the same sub sea depth (6 ft. difference) as was found in the Adobe well. The company ran logs to see what was up with the huge increase in gas and oil shows, but they didn't show any comparable reservoir properties. It was then theorized that the shows were sourced from a "large fracture system below it." The Hecker well was completed for almost 400 bbls/day calculated as an average for seven days of production. Marathon has since drilled two other wells directly offsetting the Hecker well and has more planned.

Indications are that there may be some high volume producers in this area where the fracture system is more extensive or better developed. It's something worth watching to see how it all pans out.