🛢️ Gail Arnold 33-28-21 4H

Phoenix Operating LLC · Divide County County, ND · File #42017 · Generated 2026-02-13 12:33

API: 3302301634
Target Formation: Middle Bakken
Permit Explained: Yes

📋 Permit Cycle Assessment

The permit file contains comprehensive contemporaneous documentation explaining the permit action. Five regulatory signals directly justify or condition the approved wellbore design and drilling operations. Three waiver approvals (drill cuttings sampling, open hole logs, filter sock container) granted 06/18/2025–06/19/2025 modify standard drilling and logging requirements with explicit justifications tied to offset well data and operational practice. One tubing/packer variance approved 06/18/2025 conditions completion design with specific casing ratings and assurances. The primary wellbore stipulation (Bakken Setback Summary) ties approved 150/500-foot setback geometry to production liner wet shoe design, establishing a causal link between casing design and setback authority. Actual drilling commenced 09/30/2025; well reached TD 10/27/2025. All waivers and variances were in effect prior to spud date, constraining and conditioning drilling and completion execution throughout the permit cycle.

🔍 Permit Cycle Signals (5)

Approval of waiver for drill cutting sample collection in vertical section (Base of Last Salt to KOP)

Direct

📄 WELL SUNDRY FORM, FORM ID: 254326, dated 06/18/2025
📅 06/19/2025 (Exact confidence)

Operator requested and received approval to waive 30-foot sample collection in vertical section and collect instead from offset well (Gail Arnold 33-28-21 1H). Samples resumed in curve and lateral sections. This modified sampling obligation directly conditions drilling execution.

Approval of waiver for open hole logs under NDAC Rule 43-02-03-31

Direct

📄 WELL SUNDRY FORM, FORM ID: 254298, dated 06/18/2025
📅 06/19/2025 (Exact confidence)

Operator justified open hole log waiver based on proximate offset well (MOE TRUST 33-28-160-98H 1BP, within 1 mile) with sufficient formation tops data. GR-CBL log from TD to ground level specified as alternative. This waiver directly conditions logging requirements for the permit.

Approval of filter sock container waiver for drilling phase

Direct

📄 WELL SUNDRY FORM, FORM ID: 254332, dated 06/18/2025
📅 06/19/2025 (Exact confidence)

Operator requested and received exemption from NDAC Section 43-02-03-19.2 filter media storage requirement, stating no filter media used during drilling. Waiver explicitly limited to drilling phase only. Conditions operational waste management requirements.

Approval of tubing/packer variance under NDAC 43-02-03-21

Direct

📄 WELL SUNDRY FORM, FORM ID: 254343, dated 06/18/2025
📅 06/18/2025 (Exact confidence)

Operator requested and received variance to tubing/packer requirement with seven specific assurances including casing burst rating (11,220 psi), safety factor (0.85), monitoring capabilities, and provisional installation timeline (01/04/2026 start date). Directly conditions completion design and equipment requirements.

Bakken Setback Stipulation—production liner with wet shoe and frac-out capability

Direct

📄 APPLICATION FOR PERMIT FOR NEW WELL - HORIZONTAL, STIPULATIONS section, NDIC Field Order Info
📅 Relative (permit date unknown in extraction) (Inferred confidence)

Permit stipulation explicitly defines setback geometry (150 feet north/south, 500 feet east/west within 1920-acre spacing unit) justified by production liner cemented in lateral with wet shoe and frac-out capability. North setback expressly depends on this completion design feature. Fundamental condition of wellbore placement approval.

📖 Historical Context (4)

Five-well pad configuration (Gail Arnold 33-28-21 1H through 5H-LL plus SWD) with staggered surface locations and integrated directional drilling
📄 Well Summary, Geological Summary, PAD LAYOUT and SECTION BREAKDOWN drawings · 📅 Relative (design phase preceding 09/30/2025 spud)
Multi-well pad geometry establishes long-term spacing unit constraints and operational interdependencies. Surface locations separated by 30 feet (NS spacing) along same FWL, requiring coordinated drilling sequencing and bleed-off management. Directional anticollision analysis confirms minimum separation factors >1.3 to offset wells on same pad (Gail Arnold 33-28-21 3H: SF=1.393; 5H-LL: SF=1.319). These constraints condition future completions and production operations on the pad and may affect future well drilling or abandonment sequencing.

Geosteering within 8-foot vertical target window in Middle Bakken C/D facies with 90.8° structural dip; 100% stratigraphic placement achieved
📄 Geological Summary, pages 5–6; MWD Surveys table (final TVD ~9,433.70 feet) · 📅 10/12/2025–10/27/2025 (drilling operations)
Confirmed structural dip (90.8°) and precise facies correlation (B, C, D, E facies all drilled) establish baseline subsurface geometry and stratigraphic framework for the Skabo-Bakken pool at this location. Offset well correlation and real-time geosteering data provide foundation for future wells on this pad and offset locations. Continuous up-dip inclination and C/D facies dominance define optimal reservoir contact parameters applicable to completion design, infill drilling, and reserve estimation.

Anticollision clearance to existing offset wells with minimum separation factors >3.6 (MOE TRUST 33-28-160-98H 1BP: SF=6.770 at closest approach)
📄 Anticollision Report, Summary table and detailed station intervals · 📅 05/24/2025 (planning); confirmed post-survey
Anticollision analysis establishes safe drilling envelope relative to two proximate offset wells (MOE TRUST 33-28-160-98H 1BP and W NYSTUEN 159-98-15-9-4-2H3) and four adjacent wells on same pad. All separation factors exceed operational safety thresholds. This clearance validates current well placement and informs constraints on future offset drilling, sidetrack operations, or remedial work within the spacing unit. Separation factors >3.6 leave margin for subsequent well planning but establish baseline risk envelope.

Spud-to-TD drilling rate of 9.31 days at 25,495 feet MD (average 2,738 ft/day lateral section); no significant drilling incidents or non-routine events documented
📄 Well Summary, Geological Summary (spud 09/30/2025, TD 10/27/2025); Bit Record; Mud Record · 📅 09/30/2025–10/27/2025
Efficient drilling pace and stable hole conditions (OBM lateral mud, consistent gas detection 0.1–0.9 MCF background) confirm formation stability and drilling fluid efficacy for this region and target interval. Consistent mud properties (OWR ~99.9% final lateral section) and controlled pressure regimes establish baseline for future drilling optimization and fluid selection on adjacent wells. No Formation Integrity Test (FIT) issues or casing failures documented, indicating reliable wellbore strength and cement integrity—relevant to completion design and production operations.

🔧 Operator Pattern

Phoenix Operating LLC demonstrates systematic compliance with regulatory waivers and variances through pre-spud documentation and engineering justification. Operator coordinated geologic steering with offset well data (MOE TRUST 1BP) to support waiver requests, leveraged anticollision analysis to validate well placement, and provided detailed engineering assurances (casing ratings, safety factors, monitoring procedures) to secure tubing/packer variance. Pad-level coordination across five wells with integrated directional design.
Three approved waivers (sampling, logging, filter container) all submitted 06/18/2025 with clear operational justification; tubing/packer variance submitted same date with seven specific technical assurances; anticollision report completed 05/24/2025 prior to permitting; well executed on schedule with no documented drilling delays or regulatory non-compliance; geological logging and core sampling fully executed per approved waiver terms (samples collected curve and lateral, submitted to ND Geological Survey Core Library per requirement).

Confidence: High
Well file contains complete permit package (APD, all Form 4 Sundries, directional plans, anticollision reports, wellbore construction details, and post-drilling geological documentation). All five permit-cycle signals have explicit approval dates, regulatory reference citations (NDAC sections, Commission Order 34436), and operator justifications. Waiver approvals include reviewer names and signature authority (Ross Edison, Dan Kuchar, Stephen Fried). Historical signals are anchored to well operations data (spud/TD dates, drilling parameters, survey data). No contradictions or temporal ambiguities in the sequence of permits, waivers, and operations. Geological summary and MWD survey data confirm well reached target formation and maintained design trajectory. Confidence is high that permit cycle signals directly explain the approval and that historical constraints are accurately identified from the well file.