🛢️ Big Stone 32-29-20 1H

Phoenix Operating LLC · Williams County, ND · File #42087 · Generated 2026-02-13 12:33

API: 3310506625
Target Formation: Middle Bakken
Permit Explained: Yes

📋 Permit Cycle Assessment

The well file contains substantive contemporaneous documentation explaining permit conditions and waivers. The initial permit approval (dated 09-22-2025 per drilling plan header) was conditioned on casing/cementing design (13 3/8" surface casing approved 09-26-2025), open hole log waiver (approved 07-07-2025), tubing/packer variance (approved 07-07-2025), and filter sock container waiver (approved 07-10-2025). The most significant permit-cycle event is the 10-23-2025 plugback and sidetrack approval, which directly explains the dual-wellbore execution: the original curve (first wellbore) was abandoned due to communication with offset well at curve end, and the sidetrack (ST1) was drilled instead, reaching TD 11-04-2025. This event-driven approval explicitly justified the operational geometry change and was documented by NDIC Inspector Harms. All waivers and modifications carry regulator approval letters addressing specific operational or geological justifications. The permit file demonstrates regulatory conditioning of design, logging, and execution decisions throughout the permit cycle.

🔍 Permit Cycle Signals (4)

Casing design waiver and revision approved; change from 9 5/8" to 13 3/8" surface casing

Direct

📄 Form 271973, Sundry Type: Request for Consideration/Waiver, Casing/Cement
📅 09-26-2025 (Exact confidence)

Non-routine casing modification conditioning the permit; larger surface casing was required for operational design and was explicitly approved by regulator prior to drilling

Plugback and sidetrack approval issued with specific cement plug specifications following wellbore communication event

Direct

📄 NDIC Inspection Subject 42087, dated 10-23-2025; Verbal Approval Type: Plugback
📅 10-23-2025 (Exact confidence)

During initial drilling (first curve landed 10-21-2025 at 10,358' MD), communication with another well was detected at curve end on 10-23-2025. Regulator approved three cement plugs to isolate pool and sidetrack. This decision directly conditioned well geometry and execution; sidetrack (ST1) became the operative wellbore executed after 10-26-2025

Tubing/packer variance approved with specified operational assurances and safety monitoring requirements

Direct

📄 Form 257130, Request for Consideration/Waiver, Tubing/Packer Waiver, dated 07-07-2025, Approved 07-07-2025
📅 07-07-2025 (Exact confidence)

Operator justified waiver by casing rating, safety factor calculation (0.85 API burst), real-time damage monitoring, low pressure flowback profile, and equipment schedule. Regulator explicitly conditioned approval on 300# gauge installation during flowback. This waiver directly enabled the completion design executed post-drilling

Open hole log waiver approved with offset well exception and GR-CBL requirement substituted

Supporting

📄 Form 257103, Request for Consideration/Waiver, Logs & Testing, Open Hole Log Waiver, dated 07-07-2025, Approved 07-07-2025
📅 07-07-2025 (Exact confidence)

Operator requested waiver citing BRAGG 32-29-160-98H 1NC (NDIC #20684) within 1 mile as offset well with sufficient open logs. Regulator approved waiver on condition that GR-CBL be run from TD to ground level. This condition accommodated formation top confirmation without full open hole suite

📖 Historical Context (3)

Formation tops variance from prognosis: Lodgepole came in 113 feet low on original wellbore; sidetrack (ST1) showed Lodgepole 3 feet high of prognosis, indicating subsurface structural or stratigraphic complexity in landing zone
📄 Well Summary, Geological Summary, Formation Tops tables (pages 8, 4) · 📅 10-20-2025 to 10-30-2025
Formation top variance of this magnitude (113 feet low in original; 3 feet high in sidetrack) indicates local dip or structural closure affecting landing precision. This variance persists as a subsurface characterization constraint for offset drilling operations on the pad and informs future drilling decisions for sibling wells (Big Stone 32-29-20 2H, 3H, 4H, 5H-LL) that share the same surface location and target the same formation.

Anticollision analysis identifies minimum separation factors as low as 1.120 (at 3,837.71 MD, BIG STONE 32-29-20 2H offset) and recurring Level 3 warnings against nearby proposed wells on same pad
📄 Anticollision Report, Summary table, Ladder Plot, Separation Factor Plot (pages 2, 44-45) · 📅 2025-06-06
Tight separation factors (1.120 between this well and sibling 32-29-20 2H; 1.752–1.794 against NYSTUEN wells) indicate constrained wellbore spacing within the pad envelope. This constraint persists throughout the remaining four wells (2H, 3H, 4H, 5H-LL) on the pad and requires continuous survey-based steering and real-time anticollision monitoring to maintain safe standoff distances.

Backbuild (off-spacing unit entry) notification and surface use agreement executed for wells entering Bakken outside target spacing unit from surface location in Section 5
📄 Backbuild Order Waiver letter dated 06-26-2025; Affidavit of Surface Damage Agreement dated 06-06-2025 · 📅 06-26-2025
Four of five planned pad wells (Big Stone 32-29-20 2H, 3H, 4H, 5H-LL) are documented to drill off-spacing into adjacent units. Landowner surface use agreement and NDIC notification of adjacent operator (Phoenix Energy, which operates the adjacent spacing unit) were executed as conditions of permit approval. This constraint requires continuing compliance with backbuild spacing rules and operator coordination throughout completion and production phases.

🔧 Operator Pattern

Operator (Phoenix Operating LLC) submitted comprehensive pre-permit technical packages including directional planning (COMPASS/TAKTIKAL designs), anticollision analysis, pad layout with containment and environmental controls, and multiple proactive waivers for non-standard operational conditions (tubing/packer, open hole logs, filter sock). Operator also coordinated with adjacent operator (Phoenix Energy) and obtained landowner surface use agreement. Regulatory submissions show methodical engineering discipline and early engagement with compliance requirements.
Form 271973 (casing revision submitted 09-25-2025, approved 09-26-2025); Forms 257122, 257130, 257103 (waivers all submitted 07-07-2025, approved within 3 days); Backbuild letter and Affidavit both dated 06-26-2025; Directional planning report dated 06-06-2025; All pad engineering (location plat, pad layout, traffic flow, road description, aerial map) delivered with initial permit package dated 04-09-2025 to 05-14-2025. Operator's proactive waiver strategy and early technical coordination suggest operational maturity and regulatory familiarity.

Confidence: High
The well file contains complete permit documentation, engineering designs, waivers with approvals, drilling reports, formation samples, MWD surveys, and operational records. Permit approval date (09-22-2025, embedded in drilling plan header) is well documented. All significant permit-cycle events (casing waiver 09-26-2025, plugback/sidetrack approval 10-23-2025, TD reached 11-04-2025) are dated and traceable. The sidetrack event on 10-23-2025 is clearly explained as a direct response to well communication at curve end. All waivers carry explicit regulatory approval with effective dates. Formation tops, geological summary, and anticollision analysis provide technical basis for design decisions. No contradictory or undated critical events identified.