🛢️ MH Hecker 1-14H

Murfin Drilling Company, Inc. · Dunn County, ND · File #41917 · Generated 2026-02-13 12:33

API: 3302505084
Target Formation: Middle Bakken
Permit Explained: Partially

📋 Permit Cycle Assessment

The well file contains clear evidence explaining the July 23, 2025 completion method waiver approval (Form 259757). This approval is directly justified by: (1) directional survey data showing actual BHL location at 10083' S, confirming the well stayed within the permitted legal boundary (max 10153.6' S); and (2) the operator's technical proposal for a wet shoe with no frac-out capability, which required the 100' setback at toe and was accepted by the NDIC (Reviewer: Emma Neigum, Effective Date 07/23/2025). However, the file does NOT contain contemporaneous documentation explaining the original permit approval dated 05/15/2025. The original permit (Form 41917, dated 5/15/2025) stipulates a fully cemented shoe with no ability to frac out, but no pre-permit technical justification, engineering analysis, or regulatory memo explaining why that design was approved is present. The file contains extensive supporting documents (drilling prognosis, anticollision analysis, directional planning, geological report) that were prepared before permit issuance, but none explicitly link those analyses to the permit approval decision itself. The first permit-cycle signal directly conditioning approval is the Change in Completion Method waiver dated 07/23/2025, which retroactively modified the original May 15 approval based on actual drilling and survey data.

🔍 Permit Cycle Signals (5)

Change in Completion Method — 100' south setback requirement with wet shoe, no frac out

Direct

📄 FORM ID: 259757 (Sundry Form) — Dated 07/23/2025, Approved
📅 07/23/2025 (Exact confidence)

Regulator-issued waiver conditioning approval of completion design. Wet shoe with no ability to frac out the shoe required revised toe design with 100' setback at bottom hole. Engineering justification tied to directional survey data showing as-drilled wellbore at 10083' S BHL coordinate versus legal maximum of 10103' S. This directly modified the originally permitted completion method.

As-drilled wellbore coordinates confirm legal compliance — BHL 10083' S vs. legal max 10153.6' S

Supporting

📄 Directional Survey Report (MH Hecker 1-14H ST-01, completed 07/14/2025); Sidetrack survey points show final TVD 10621' MD at end of tangent
📅 07/14/2025 (Exact confidence)

Survey data demonstrates actual drilled location within permitted setback boundaries. This validated the operator's request to modify completion method from fully cemented shoe (original permit) to wet shoe configuration. The as-drilled confirmation was prerequisite to approval of waiver dated 07/23/2025.

Sidetrack operation executed 07/12/2025 due to abnormally high gamma readings in main lateral (18810'-18870' MD)

Supporting

📄 Drilling Prognosis / Geological Report — Sample descriptions note pyrite and shale anomaly; Decision to pull back and sidetrack from 18495' MD noted in operations section
📅 07/12/2025 (Exact confidence)

Non-routine drilling event (sidetrack) was executed in-hole without prior permit modification. Operator acknowledged this in permit application assertion (requirement to contact NDIC Field Inspector to seek proper plug back procedures in event of sidetrack — checkbox marked 'Yes'). This event may condition future completion staging or perforation design but was handled operationally during drilling phase, not as a post-hoc permit waiver.

Filter Sock Container Waiver — Approved 05/16/2025 (Form ID: 247999)

Direct

📄 Sundry Form FORM ID 247999 — Request for Consideration/Waiver — Filter Sock Container Waiver for all phases
📅 05/16/2025 (Exact confidence)

Regulator-approved waiver permitting deferral of filter sock container deployment to only when filtration operations occur (drill out phase of completion). Reduces on-site waste accumulation during non-filtration phases. This is a conditional operational waiver, not a structural permit modification.

Open Hole Log Waiver — Approved 05/16/2025 (Form ID: 247997)

Direct

📄 Sundry Form FORM ID 247997 — Request for Consideration/Waiver — Open Hole Log Waiver under NDIC Rule 43-02-03-31
📅 05/16/2025 (Exact confidence)

Operator justified waiver of open hole log requirement by reference to offset well (Hecker 1-15A, File 8396) within 1 mile with sufficient formation tops; GR-CBL to be run from TD to surface. This waiver does not explain the new permit approval (permits logged formation tops and GR log requirement separately); it conditions the scope of logging obligations pre-spud.

📖 Historical Context (3)

Sidetrack operation (Open Hole — 18495' MD) executed 07/12/2025 after detection of anomalous formation (elevated shale, pyrite, siltstone) in main lateral at 18810'-18870' MD
📄 Drilling Prognosis — Operations Section; Geological Report — Sample Descriptions (18810-18870 interval); Directional Survey Report ST-01 (Sidetrack survey from 18480' MD to 21177' MD final TD) · 📅 Unknown
Sidetrack alters post-drilling operational sequence and perforation strategy. Original main lateral was plugged back; production liner cemented in sidetrack lateral. This affects future well integrity assessments, plug integrity verification, and any future workover decisions. The well file documents the decision and execution but does not contain NDIC approval of the sidetrack procedure, suggesting it was treated as an operational decision within permitted drilling phase rather than requiring a formal waiver.

Access road relocation per Dunn County sight distance requirement — approach permit obtained; layout updated 05/27/2025 (Form ID: 249665)
📄 Sundry Form FORM ID 249665 — Supplemental Information — Submit Revised/Corrected Information; includes updated construction layout map showing new road approach point · 📅 Unknown
Road relocation is permanent change to surface facility footprint and egress/access infrastructure. Affects emergency response routing, third-party liability exposure, and site security. The new approach point is documented in regulatory file as approved; any future facility decommissioning, reclamation, or regulatory inspection must reference the final approved road location, not the original design shown in the May 6, 2025 drilling prognosis.

Samples and cores submitted to North Dakota Geological Survey per mandatory requirement (Letter dated 5/19/2025 from Ross Edison, Geologist)
📄 Letter from ND Department of Mineral Resources — Cores and Samples Notification (Signed by Ross Edison, Geologist) · 📅 Unknown
Operator is obligated to deliver all cuttings samples and any cores to State Core Library within 30-180 days of completion. Non-compliance triggers civil penalties up to $12,500 per day. Samples collected at 30' intervals (vertical/build) and 200' intervals (lateral) per regulations. This obligation persists post-completion and must be tracked independently of drilling and completion operations.

🔧 Operator Pattern

Murfin Drilling Company demonstrates proactive regulatory engagement through advance waiver requests and timely operational notifications. The operator obtained waivers for filter sock containers (05/16/2025) and open hole logs (05/16/2025) pre-spud, executed a sidetrack in-hole without formal prior waiver request (suggesting confidence in field decision authority), and promptly filed sundries for spud (06/11/2025, effective 06/13/2025), well status updates (01/12/2026 for first production), and completion method modification (07/23/2025). Access road modification was negotiated with county and documented via sundry. Operator is also responsible for adjacent spacing unit (self-operator waiver to affidavit requirement under Order 31848). No non-compliance flags or late filings are evident.
Five sundry forms filed between 05/16/2025 (filter sock + log waivers) and 01/14/2026 (first production notification). Original permit approved 05/15/2025 with 12 active stipulations and conditions. Directional surveys certified and submitted (completed 07/14/2025, per 'certsurvey@nd.gov' requirement). Geological report (drilling prognosis) and anticollision analysis completed pre-spud. No evidence of pending enforcement actions, compliance violations, or regulatory correspondence requesting corrective action in file.

Confidence: Medium
High confidence in identifying the July 23, 2025 completion method waiver as the primary contemporaneous permit-cycle signal — document is explicit, regulator-signed, and directly tied to directional survey data. High confidence in identifying historical non-routine signals (sidetrack, road relocation, sample delivery obligation) with clear document location and operational impact. Medium confidence in assessing whether the ORIGINAL permit approval (May 15, 2025) is adequately explained because the permit document itself does not cite pre-permit analysis, but supporting technical documents (prognosis, anticollision, directional plan) are present in file and were clearly prepared before approval. The gap is absence of a permit reviewer memo or approval rationale, not absence of technical documentation. Confidence is reduced by incomplete OCR in some directional survey tables and lack of explicit regulatory correspondence from permit manager Todd Holweger explaining May 15 decision logic. File contains no evidence that the well was denied or modified by regulatory order post-approval, so the May 15 permit as issued appears to have stood until the July 23 waiver.