Continental Resources (CLR) reported earnings for the first quarter of 2010, and held a conference call on May 6, 2010, to discuss the results. During the call the company made comments on some of its operations, including the Bakken Shale in North Dakota and Montana.
Continental Resources recently raised the estimated ultimate recovery (EUR) on Bakken Shale wells in North Dakota, as the company has refined its completion technique.
Continental Resources is now using a EUR of 518,000 barrels oil equivalent per well.
EUR’s
“We’ve increased the estimated ultimate recoveries (EUR) at the company to 518,000 BOE, this is a 20% improvement in just six months, Bakken is still getting better folks. It is based on higher initial production in North Dakota wells, and our experience there and stronger performance over 30, 60, and 90 days.”
Rig Count
“Now we operate 23 rigs under contract with 15 of those in the Bakken. By the end of May, we expect to add two more in Bakken. We have a clear focus in oil and liquids price, and very important total production volume increased related to this build up and Continental rigs are still coming in future. So you can expect to see a surge in second half of 2010 and 2011’s production rates from Continental.”
“So to give you a total picture of activity, today we have 15 active operated rigs in Bakken. We’ve planned to move two new rigs into the play by next month. One rig is drilling in Montana, and the remaining 14 are in the North Dakota Bakken.”
Montana Bakken
“The Montana Bakken dropped from 6,100 to 5,300 barrels of oil per day due to limited drilling activity during the past 12 months, and during the first quarter.”
Source: Seeking Alpha