Infill drilling potential and fracture staging in the Bakken Formation

摘要

Drilling activity in the Bakken Formation of the Williston Basin has been booming in 2010, with rig counts up to about 120. Many operators have adopted strategies to drill 5,000-ft or 10,000-ft horizontal laterals on 640-acre or 1,280-acre spacing, respectively. These laterals are hydraulically fractured using multiple fracture treatment stages, either using a plug-and-perf or packer-sleeve completion strategy. Service companies have pushed the possible number of stages that can be conducted up to about 40 per well using a combination of completion strategies.