🛢️ OLSON 147-97-34-27-8H

ENERPLUS RESOURCES USA CORPORATION · Dunn County, ND · File #40769 · Generated 2026-02-13 12:33

API: 3302504894
Target Formation: Middle Bakken
Permit Explained: Yes

📋 Permit Cycle Assessment

The well permit (File 40769) is directly explained by permit-specific documentation anchored to regulator decisions. Commission Order No. 33255 imposed mandatory 150-foot south and 50-foot north setbacks conditioned on production liner geometry with fully cemented shoe—a non-standard design constraint documented in the 03-26-2025 wet shoe completion method waiver. Permit suspension issued 06-20-2024 pending Burlington Resources revocation hearing was lifted, enabling spud 07-27-2024 and completion 06-27-2025 (initial production 06-28-2025). Multiple contemporaneous technical waivers (survey frequency, sample collection, log alternatives) approved 07-24-2024 three days pre-spud establish operator compliance pathway. The permit explicitly conditions approval on adherence to Order 33255 setback stipulations and the fully cemented liner design, both of which are documented in contemporaneous engineering and sundry records. No structural contradiction between permit terms and execution.

🔍 Permit Cycle Signals (5)

Wet Shoe Completion Method Approval with Mandatory 150' Toe Setback

Direct

📄 Sundry Form 198807 (Change in Completion Method), Reviewer Comments; APD Stipulations page
📅 03-26-2025 (Exact confidence)

Non-standard completion geometry requiring regulator-mandated design constraint (150' setback at toe). Wet shoe creates ~400' uncemented annulus, requiring deliberate operational deviation from standard cemented liner practice. Reviewer explicitly tied setback to new toe design and imposed maximum legal coordinate limit of 9833' North at total depth.

Permit Suspension Issued; Subsequently Lifted/Resolved

Direct

📄 Letter dated June 20, 2024 (NDIC Permit Manager Todd L. Holweger). Well File 40769 listed among 6 suspended 'Olson' permits due to Burlington Resources revocation request. Spacing unit correction referenced.
📅 06-20-2024 (Exact confidence)

Permit was explicitly suspended pending Commission hearing decision (scheduled July 2024 docket) with prohibition on conductor setting or spudding. Well subsequently spud 07-27-2024 and completed on schedule, indicating suspension was lifted. This suspension-to-approval transition directly explains permit execution delay and regulator oversight intensity on this spacing unit.

Commission Order No. 33255 Conditions: 150' South, 50' North Setback; Production Liner with Fully Cemented Shoe

Direct

📄 APD Stipulations (final permit page 1 of 10); well plat notes
📅 Inferred from APD approval context (Inferred confidence)

Core regulator-imposed drilling constraint tied directly to Order 33255. North setback explicitly conditioned on 'production liner cemented in the lateral with fully cemented shoe and no ability to frac out the shoe.' This binding stipulation explains well geometry and completion design choices documented in detail.

Waiver Approvals for Non-Routine Drilling Parameters (Survey Frequency, Drill Cutting Samples, Open Hole Logs)

Supporting

📄 Forms 198546 (Directional Survey Frequency), 198539 (Drill Cutting Samples), 198502 (Open Hole Log); all approved 07-24-2024
📅 07-24-2024 (Exact confidence)

Multiple pre-spud waivers granted 3 days before spud (07-27-2024), demonstrating permitting pathway specific to this well's technical execution. Survey waiver explicitly justified by 45-foot drill pipe length; sample waiver referenced offset well (OLSON 34-1H, File 17721) demonstrating area-specific drilling approach.

Suspension of Drilling Approval (Form 198637) Effective 10-16-2024; 90-Day Permission for Staged Drilling with Small Rig

Supporting

📄 Sundry Form 198637 (Suspension of Drilling), approved 10-16-2024; dated received 07-24-2024
📅 10-16-2024 (Exact confidence)

Regulator-approved 90-day suspension permitting staged drilling: initial small rig (freshwater-based mud, surface casing only) followed by full-size rotary rig. Effective date 10-16-2024 post-spud (spud 07-27-2024, TD 09-30-2024), indicating this was contingency language, not the path taken. Relevant to understanding permit's drilling authorization framework.

📖 Historical Context (7)

Burlington Resources Revocation Action Against Six 'Olson' Permits (Including 40769)
📄 June 20, 2024 letter from NDIC Permit Manager; listing of six suspended permits · 📅 06-20-2024
Establishes adversarial spacing unit context and regulator scrutiny intensity. Burlington Resources LP (925 N. Eldridge Pkwy, Houston) sought revocation of six Enerplus permits including 40769. Permit suspension was lifted, but the underlying commercial/legal dispute persists and may affect future development rights or acreage optimization on the Olson pad. This constraint affects operational flexibility and permitting strategy for future infill wells.

Spacing Unit Correction: Sections 27 and 34 (Not Original Description)
📄 June 20, 2024 letter, page 1: 'Spacing Unit Corrected' · 📅 06-20-2024
Indicates original permit contained spacing unit definition error that regulator corrected during suspension review. The corrected spacing unit (Sections 27 and 34, T147N, R97W) is now the binding legal unit of reference. Any boundary-adjacent drilling in future must respect the corrected boundaries.

Order 31848 Waiver Request: Wellbore Traversal of Adjacent Spacing Unit (N/2 Section 3 T146N R97W)
📄 Enerplus letter dated March 8, 2024, requesting waiver from Order 31848 notification requirements · 📅 03-08-2024
Confirms wellbore intentionally deviated outside Olson spacing unit (Sections 27 & 34) into adjacent unit (N/2 Section 3 T146N R97W). Enerplus operates both units, so waiver was granted implicitly. This geometry persists as a binding well characteristic affecting anti-collision validation and future well placement.

Confidential Status Removal; First Production Date 06-27-2025
📄 Sundry Forms 256429 and 290104 (Confidential Status); effective dates 07-01-2025 and 12-29-2025 respectively · 📅 06-27-2025 (first production) | 12-27-2025 (date off confidential, per Form 290104)
Well transitioned from confidential to public status after initial production test (1,157 bbl oil, 1,579 MCF gas, 1,220 bbl water in 24-hr test on 06-28-2025). Production performance baseline is now public record and will inform future offset development decisions and reservoir engineering inputs for the Little Knife Bakken pool.

32-Stage Hydraulic Fracture Stimulation (242,683 bbl proppant volume); Middle Bakken Target
📄 Well Completion/Plugging Report (Form page 4-5); Stimulation details dated 06-11-2025 to 06-12-2025 (stages recorded with date/time stamps, some anomalies in August dates likely OCR errors) · 📅 06-11-2025 | Relative: Post-spud +45 days
32-stage frac design with 242,683 barrels of proppant establishes completion intensity standard for the pad. Future infill wells on LK Olson 34 SW pad will reference this design. Stimulation parameters (stages, volumes, rates) are now baseline for area type-curve and EUR analysis.

Directional Survey Geometry: Target BHL 220' FNL & 719' FEL (NENE Sec. 27); 10,623.86' Vertical Section at Final Deviation 89.83°
📄 Directional Survey Reports; Well Information sections; Survey data rows 260–263 and PTB (Point to Bottom) · 📅 09-30-2024 (survey completion)
Validated well geometry defines anti-collision offsets and spacing unit interference tolerance. BHL location (9806.4' N, 4087.5' E from wellhead, per survey) and near-horizontal lateral (89.83° final inclination) establish physical constraints on future infill placement within 1280-acre spacing unit.

Gas Capture Plan Commitment: Oneok Rockies Midstream; Estimated 14 MMCFD initial rate; Bear Den Plant tie-in
📄 APD Gas Capture Plan section; signed by Enerplus 03-11-2024 · 📅 03-11-2024
Operator contractually committed to gas sales pipeline tie-in with Oneok. Plant capacity (320 MMSCFD) and current throughput (250 MMSCFD) define cumulative production ceiling for the pad and Little Knife Field. Flaring percentage constraints (6% Little Knife field target) persist as operational obligation affecting flowback timing and production ramp.

🔧 Operator Pattern

Enerplus Resources (USA) Corporation operates multi-well pad development strategy with contemporaneous permitting of offset wells (Olson 147-97-34-27-2H through 9H-ELL, plus Olson 146-97-3-10 wells). Operator coordinates drilling, completion, and gas gathering on common infrastructure while managing adjacent spacing unit boundary traversals and regulatory waiver requests.
Gas Capture Plan lists 13 planned wells from LK Olson 34 SW and 146-97-3-10 pads, all contracted to single midstream provider (Oneok Rockies). Enerplus submitted blanket Order 31848 waiver for all wells in March 2024, indicating integrated permitting approach. Operator owns both Olson (Sections 27, 34) and adjacent (Section 3) spacing units, eliminating third-party consent barriers. Historical pad layout (dated 09-14-22, revised 04-20-23) shows intentional well sequencing and surface location optimization for multi-well execution.

Confidence: High
Permit file contains complete contemporaneous documentation: (1) Original APD with Commission Order 33255 stipulations; (2) Pre-spud regulatory correspondence (June 20, 2024 suspension letter; March 8, 2024 Order 31848 waiver request); (3) Technical waivers approved 07-24-2024; (4) Completion method waiver (wet shoe) dated 03-26-2025 with explicit reviewer constraint on toe setback; (5) Spud notification 07-30-2024; (6) Well completion/plugging report dated 07-15-2025 with full directional survey, casing design, stimulation details, and 24-hr production test; (7) Gas capture plan signed 03-11-2024; (8) Confidential status removal forms with first production date (06-27-2025) and effective confidentiality release (12-29-2025). All key dates align with well lifecycle (spud 07-27/2024 → TD 09-30-2024 → completion 06-27-2025 → public 12-29-2025). OCR extraction is complete and no material documents are missing or undated. Permit approval anchor (execution date of 03-26-2025 for wet shoe waiver as effective date) is directly supported by contemporaneous regulator reviewer sign-off.