🛢️ ANDERSON RANCH 11-14H

BURLINGTON RESOURCES OIL & GAS COMPANY LP · McKenzie County, ND · File #16730 · Generated 2026-04-04 15:56

API: 3305302815
Target Formation: Bakken
Permit Explained: Yes

📋 Permit Cycle Assessment

The P&A permit approval (effective 06/25/2025, work date 06/30/2025) is directly explained by sustained uneconomic well performance. The well went offline 09/05/2024 with a diagnosed pump intake issue and was producing 3 barrels/day or less at the time of closure decision. The permit conditions the approval on a specific multi-stage cement plug design tailored to the well's geometry (horizontal lateral to 20,160' MD) and formation sequence, with mandatory NDIC inspector notification 48 hours before operations and post-completion Form 2 filing. The cement program (five plugs totaling ~288 sacks) and perforation strategy (at 100', 2,186', 4,619') directly reflect this well's technical and spatial characteristics. No regulatory orders or external stipulations are evident; the approval is based on operator-submitted technical justification and standard P&A protocol.

🔍 Permit Cycle Signals (5)

Plug & Abandonment approval via Sundry Form (File 16730, Form ID 255057) with effective date 06/25/2025 and work date 06/30/2025

Direct

📄 Sundry Information sheet; P&A Procedure document prepared by Francisco Gamarra, Engineer
📅 06/25/2025 (Exact confidence)

This is the direct regulatory approval for the P&A action. The permit anchors the closure authority and prescribes the specific cement plug design, perforation intervals, and operational sequence.

Well offline since 09/05/2024 with pump intake issue; production 3 BBL/day or less; P&A justified by cashflow-negative economics and high failure rate with no uplift opportunities

Supporting

📄 P&A Procedure document, 'Objectives/SOP Deviations' section
📅 Unknown (Missing confidence)

Operational justification for permit approval. Demonstrates well no longer meets economic thresholds for continued production, directly supporting the regulatory basis for closure.

Last well intervention February 2023 (stuck rod pump replacement); prior history shows production decline from 474 BOPD (2007) to commercial non-viability

Supporting

📄 P&A Procedure document, 'Objectives/SOP Deviations' section and Well Completion Report Form 6
📅 02-2023 (Inferred confidence)

Establishes sustained uneconomic performance trajectory supporting the immediate P&A approval rationale.

Specific cement plug design with five plug intervals (100', 250', 292', 250', 250') per NDIC guidelines, with perf points at 100', 2186', 4619' and corresponding retainer/CIBP setups

Direct

📄 P&A Procedure document, 'P&A Procedure' steps 1-17 and 'Summary of cmt plugs' section
📅 06/23/2025 (Exact confidence)

Non-routine P&A design tied to well geometry (horizontal, 20,160' MD, 10,640' TVD) and formation structure. Requires engineer certification and reflects technical conditions of this specific well.

Notification requirement to NDIC inspector (Glark-Shackelford, 701-495-2034 / eshackelford@nd.gov) 48 hours before P&A operations; Form 2 submission after completion

Direct

📄 P&A Procedure document, 'Objectives/SOP Deviations' section and final P&A procedure notes
📅 06/25/2025 (Exact confidence)

Regulatory compliance requirement embedded in the permit approval, binding on execution timing and reporting.

📖 Historical Context (4)

Cement Bond Log deficiency (April 2008): Top of cement behind 7-inch casing at 6,284 feet did not isolate Dakota Group (Newcastle Sand at 4,627 feet). NDIC approved annulus monitoring in lieu of immediate squeeze, conditioned on ongoing pressure surveillance and mandatory remedial action prior to abandonment.
📄 April 9, 2008 NDIC letter from Bruce Juenker, Geologist; NDAC Section 43-02-03-21 requirement · 📅 Unknown
This standing obligation carries forward to the P&A permit. The cement design in the current P&A procedure must address the Dakota Group isolation deficit previously allowed under monitoring. The permit's specific plug design (including perforations and retainers at depths related to formation tops) directly reflects resolution of this long-standing compliance issue.

Stripper Well determination filed June 27, 2016 and approved July 1, 2016 by NDIC. Well qualified as stripper property for Bakken Pool based on average daily production of 23.5 barrels of oil during January 1, 2014 – December 31, 2014 period.
📄 July 1, 2016 Stripper Well Determination letter from David J. McCusker, Petroleum Engineer · 📅 Unknown
Establishes the well's tax classification history and marks the point at which production fell below commercial thresholds. The 2016 stripper classification presaged the 2024 offline status and supports the regulatory basis for closure in 2025.

Spill incident January 3, 2014: 5 barrels crude oil released from separator fire tube gasket leak; contained on well site; cleanup completed January 20, 2014. Operator (Burlington Resources) notified NDIC/NDDH January 4, 2014.
📄 Spill/Incident Report dated January 4, 2014 (1/3/2014 incident); follow-up spill report form · 📅 Unknown
Documents operational reliability issues independent of production performance. Combined with subsequent pump failures (February 2023) and pump intake diagnosis (2024), establishes a pattern of mechanical deterioration and maintenance intensity that supported the economic non-viability conclusion.

Original development drilling and completion November 2007: horizontal well drilled to 20,160' MD with open-hole fracture completion; initial production 474 BOPD / 207 BWPD with flowing casing pressure 1,750 psi. Rod pump installed March 2008.
📄 Well Completion Report (Form 6), Drilling Plan, and Actual Wellpath Report (Baker Hughes survey); spud 09/01/2007, TD 09/28/2007 · 📅 Unknown
Establishes baseline performance and well design parameters. The 17-year production decline from 474 BOPD to <3 BOPD, combined with increasing mechanical interventions, directly supports the permit's closure rationale. The P&A design must account for the lateral geometry and open-hole completion legacy.

🔧 Operator Pattern

Operator transitioned from Burlington Resources to ConocoPhillips management (name change evident in regulatory filings circa 2012); portfolio-wide asset consolidation and stripper well focus 2014–2016; subsequent well abandonment program driven by sustained low-commodity-price environment and decline curve steepness.
Dual operator naming in file (Burlington Resources Oil & Gas Company LP and ConocoPhillips); November 2016 NDIC notice requesting Form 4 sundry notices for 43 wells transitioning from flowing to rod pump production (portfolio-wide production method change); 2014–2016 stripper well determinations across multiple Burlington/ConocoPhillips wells; 2025 P&A approval reflects mature-field disposition strategy consistent with broader abandonment programs filed for analogous low-producing Bakken horizontals.

Confidence: High
All permit-cycle signals derive from contemporaneous regulatory filings (NDIC Form 4 Sundry notices, Form 6 completion reports, engineer-certified P&A procedures) and direct operational data (production logs, intervention history, pump failure diagnosis). The well file contains complete permit approval documentation with explicit work dates and technical specifications. Historical context signals are supported by dated regulatory orders and incident reports. No OCR errors or missing critical dates. The only minor ambiguity is the precise date the well was diagnosed with pump intake issue, inferred as 2024 from offline date (09/05/2024) and P&A justification language; this does not materially affect permit explanation.