🛢️ Big Stone 32-29-20 4H

Phoenix Operating LLC · Williams County, North Dakota County, ND · File #42090 · Generated 2026-02-13 12:33

API: 33-105-06628
Target Formation: Middle Bakken
Permit Explained: Yes

📋 Permit Cycle Assessment

The well file contains robust contemporaneous documentation justifying permit approval. Commission Order No. 34436 provides the foundational approval with specific geometric and casing setback stipulations tied to wet-shoe completion design. Five pre-spud waivers (dated 2025-07-07 to 2025-07-10) address non-routine requirements: tubing/packer elimination conditioned on casing integrity monitoring; filter sock container exemption based on operational practice; sampling and logging waivers justified by multi-well pad strategy and offset well data sufficiency. The anticollision report confirms separation factors adequate against multiple offset wells. All waiver approvals predate spud date (2025-11-08), establishing clear regulatory pathway. Post-spud geological summary confirms 100% in-zone drilling in Middle Bakken, validating landing target and formation tops used in permitting. Permit conditions are directly explained by regulatory orders and pre-approved waivers that address specific well design and operational features.

🔍 Permit Cycle Signals (5)

Commission Order No. 34436 approval to drill with 150' setback from north/south boundaries and 500' setback from east/west boundaries within 1920-acre spacing unit (Sections 20, 29, 32, T160N, R98W). North setback conditioned on production liner cemented in lateral with wet shoe and ability to frac out shoe.

Direct

📄 PERMIT INFORMATION - STIPULATIONS section
📅 2025-09-22 (Exact confidence)

Directly conditions permit approval on specific geometric constraints and casing design. Wet shoe requirement ties to completion method referenced in waiver request.

Tubing/Packer Waiver (Form 4, FORM ID 257134) approved 2025-07-07 by Petroleum Engineer, allowing variance to NDAC 43-02-03-21. Operator provides assurances: new API casing with 11,220 psi burst rating, safety factor 0.85, immediate damage detection via monitoring, 300# gauge on surface casing during flowback.

Direct

📄 WELL SUNDRY FORM FILE NUMBER: 42090 - FORM ID: 257134
📅 2025-07-07 (Exact confidence)

Waiver explicitly conditions completion operations by eliminating tubing/packer requirement and substituting monitoring and pressure containment protocol. Effective before spud (2025-11-08).

Filter Sock Container Waiver (Form 4, FORM ID 257127) approved 2025-07-10. Operator requests exemption from NDAC 43-02-03-19.2 container requirement on grounds that operator does not use filter media during drilling process.

Direct

📄 WELL SUNDRY FORM FILE NUMBER: 42090 - FORM ID: 257127
📅 2025-07-10 (Exact confidence)

Non-routine waiver tied to specific operational practice (no filtration system). Eliminates standard waste containment requirement for this well.

Drill Cutting Samples Waiver (Form 4, FORM ID 257116) approved 2025-07-07. Operator requests waiver for collection of samples in vertical portion from Base of Last Salt to KOP. Justification: 30' samples collected from offset well Big Stone 32-29-20 1H (NDIC File #42087) on same pad. Sampling resumes in curve and lateral sections.

Direct

📄 WELL SUNDRY FORM FILE NUMBER: 42090 - FORM ID: 257116
📅 2025-07-07 (Exact confidence)

Waiver reflects multi-well pad strategy: representative sampling via offset well substitutes for duplicative vertical cuttings. Reduces operational burden while satisfying geological assessment requirement.

Open Hole Log Waiver (Form 4, FORM ID 257109) approved 2025-07-07 under NDIC Rule 43-02-03-31. Justification: offset well BRAGG 32-29-160-98H 1NC (NDIC file #20684) within 1 mile has sufficient open logs to establish formation tops. GR-CBL to be run from TD to ground level.

Direct

📄 WELL SUNDRY FORM FILE NUMBER: 42090 - FORM ID: 257109
📅 2025-07-07 (Exact confidence)

Waiver substitutes offset well data for open hole logging; compensatory CBL log required. Enables permit approval without full logging suite based on offset Well offset proximity and data sufficiency.

📖 Historical Context (4)

Multi-well pad development: Big Stone 32-29-20 1H, 2H, 3H, 4H, and 5H-LL share surface location in Lot 1 & Lot 2, Section 5, T159N, R98W. Pad layout plans, access roads, containment infrastructure, and pad disturbance areas documented. Off-spacing unit drilling into adjacent Sections 20 and 29 (T160N, R98W).
📄 Well Summary; Backbuild Order Waiver letter (2025-06-26); PAD LAYOUT and TYPICAL RIG LAYOUT drawings · 📅 Unknown
Multi-well pad configuration affects future drilling, completion, and workover operations. Off-spacing unit geometry and anticollision clearances established for subsequent wells on pad. Setback boundaries and spacing unit definitions persist across all pad wells.

Backbuild Order Waiver (letter dated 2025-06-26): Operator (Phoenix Operating) notifies NDIC that wells will traverse adjacent spacing unit; offset operator identified as Phoenix Energy LLC. Operator commits to regulatory compliance and good-neighbor operations. No additional notification required as same corporate entity controls adjacent spacing unit.
📄 Backbuild Order Waiver letter, June 26, 2025 · 📅 Unknown
Off-spacing unit drilling creates ongoing obligation to maintain compliance with directional drilling and completion plan submitted to NDIC. Adjacent spacing unit development may create pressure management implications for future operations. Cross-spacing unit trajectory remains subject to anticollision and setback validation.

Surface use agreement and landowner affidavit (executed 2025-06-26): Phoenix Operating LLC obtained surface rights; landowner aware of multi-well pad and off-spacing unit operations. Affidavit executed by Mark Johnson, EVP Land, Regulatory, & EHS.
📄 AFFIDAVIT OF SURFACE DAMAGE AGREEMENT, dated June 26, 2025 · 📅 Unknown
Surface use agreement binds future operations on Big Stone pad (wells 1H, 2H, 3H, 5H-LL). Landowner notification of off-spacing geometry creates baseline for future surface disturbance, reclamation, and liability framework.

Cores and Samples directive (State Geologist letter, undated): All drill cuttings from Base of Last Charles Salt onward, collected at 30' intervals (vertical/build) and 200' intervals (lateral), must be submitted to ND Geological Survey Core Library within 30 days of completion. Samples must conform to standard envelope and box specifications.
📄 CORES AND SAMPLES letter from State Geologist; NDAC 43-02-03-38.1 reference · 📅 Unknown
Sample submission requirement persists after drilling completion. Deadline of 30 days post-TD (2025-11-28) establishes administrative compliance obligation for sample preservation and delivery to Grand Forks core library by approximately 2025-12-28.

🔧 Operator Pattern

Phoenix Operating LLC demonstrates multi-well pad development strategy in Skabo field with coordinated permitting. Operator routinely requests waivers for non-routine operational practices (no filtration, shared sampling, reduced logging) justified by economics and data sufficiency from offset wells. Operator emphasizes regulatory compliance and good-neighbor operations in backbuild notifications.
Five concurrent waivers approved 2025-07-07 to 2025-07-10; multi-well pad with 5 planned wells from single surface location; off-spacing unit operations via backbuild order coordination with Phoenix Energy LLC; surface agreements and landowner affidavits executed in advance of spud.

Confidence: High
Well file contains complete permit approval documentation (Commission Order No. 34436), five pre-approved sundry waivers with explicit regulatory authority citations and approval dates, anticollision analysis, directional drilling plans, geological summary confirming in-zone landing, and post-drilling wellbore data (MWD surveys, formation tops, cuttings descriptions). Permit approval date (2025-09-22 dirt work authorization) clearly precedes spud (2025-11-08). All waiver dates fall within 4-week pre-spud window, establishing clear temporal nexus. OCR integrity adequate for regulatory document parsing. No material ambiguities in permit conditions or waiver justifications.