🛢️ BILLINGSLEY 1-12-13 2TFH (renamed HERCULES 1-12-13 2TFH)

Phoenix Operating LLC · Burke County, ND · File #42557 · Generated 2026-02-13 12:33

API: 3301302005
Target Formation: Middle Bakken
Permit Explained: Yes

📋 Permit Cycle Assessment

The permit approval dated 2025-05-01 (dirt work date) is directly explained by Commission Order No. 33922 setback and spacing conditions codified in the APD stipulations. Five contemporaneous waiver approvals (2025-12-15 to 2025-12-24) modify routine drilling and completion requirements but do not change the fundamental permit justification. The permit hinges on operator compliance with 150'/500' setbacks and commitment to back-to-back drilling to justify 1920-acre spacing. All waiver submissions and approvals occur within 12 days of permit issuance, supporting pre-drill design finalization. No evidence of regulatory orders, geologist mandates, or external constraints that would alter the permit's basis exists in the file beyond the standard spacing and setback regime under Order 33922.

🔍 Permit Cycle Signals (5)

Commission Order No. 33922 setback requirement and conditional spacing justification

Direct

📄 APD Permit Information, Stipulations section (Page 1 of 10)
📅 2025-05-01 (Exact confidence)

Permit approval is explicitly conditioned on 150' N/S setback and 500' E/W setback within 1920-acre spacing unit. Approval further conditioned on back-to-back drilling with another well complying 1220' setback to justify spacing. This is the direct regulatory constraint that gates the permit.

Tubing/Packer Waiver (NDAC 43-02-03-21) approved with technical assurances and flowback monitoring condition

Direct

📄 Sundry Form 288117; Approved 2025-12-16
📅 2025-12-16 (Exact confidence)

Non-routine waiver conditioning well completion design. Operator provided seven technical assurances tied to casing strength, pressure monitoring (300# gauge on surface casing during flowback), and equipment installation sequencing. Waiver approved ahead of planned start date 2026-10-04, enabling production equipment deferral during flowback.

Open Hole Log Waiver (NDAC 43-02-03-31) justified by nearby offsetting well with sufficient logs

Supporting

📄 Sundry Form 288113; Approved 2025-12-15
📅 2025-12-15 (Exact confidence)

Operator exempts open hole logs on target well but commits to GR-CBL from TD to ground level. Justification rests on BRUSVEN 32-1 (NDIC File #12101) within one mile with adequate formation tops data. This waiver streamlines drilling operations and is explicitly approved by State Geologist.

Filter Sock Container Waiver (NDAC 43-02-03-19.2) – operator claims no filter media use during drilling

Supporting

📄 Sundry Form 288115; Approved 2025-12-24
📅 2025-12-15 (Exact confidence)

Waiver limits to drilling phase only, operator states no filter media used. Waiver tied to operational practice and reduces on-site containment requirements during drilling. Approved contemporaneously with permit.

Drill Cuttings Sampling Waiver (NDAC 43-02-03-38.1) – vertical section exemption with pad-mate sampling cross-reference

Supporting

📄 Sundry Form 288103; Approved 2025-12-16
📅 2025-12-15 (Exact confidence)

Operator exempts 30' cuttings collection in vertical portion of HERCULES 2TFH but commits to collecting samples from BILLINGSLEY 1-12-13 3H (Well File #42558) on same pad for Base of Last Salt to kickoff point. Resumes standard 30' collection in curve and lateral. Structured as pad-level sampling strategy.

📖 Historical Context (2)

Abandoned gas pipeline on pad location requiring mitigation during construction (polyethylene line, purged, cut and capped on both ends)
📄 Email exchange dated 2025-12-09 to 2025-12-11 between NDIC and Phoenix/Phoenix Energy; pipeline noted on plat drawings · 📅 2025-12-09
Operator committed to locating line during construction and coordinating with Steel Reef (abandoned line operator). Line marked for possible removal. This is a forward-facing environmental and safety constraint that persists through drilling phase and impacts pad access road routing and excavation protocols. Not disclosed in permit stipulations but documented contemporaneously in regulatory correspondence.

Cores and Samples Collection Requirements per ND Century Code §38-08-04 and NDAC 43-02-03-38.1
📄 State Geologist letter dated 2025-12-29 to Phoenix Operating LLC (Well File 42557, HERCULES 1-12-13 2TFH) · 📅 2025-12-29
Operator must submit all cores and core chips to State Core and Sample Library within 180 days of drilling completion; samples within 30 days. Samples required from Base of Last Charles Salt onward at specified intervals (30' maximum vertical/build, 200' maximum horizontal). Violation subject to civil penalty up to $12,500 per day. This is a standing operational and regulatory obligation extending beyond drilling to post-completion archival.

🔧 Operator Pattern

Phoenix Operating LLC demonstrates structured permit compliance through advance waiver requests and technical submissions. All waiver requests (five forms submitted 2025-12-15) include operator justifications and are approved within regulatory timelines. Operator proactively disclosed back-build order waiver requirement in separate November 13, 2025 letter to regulator. Abandoned infrastructure (gas pipeline) was cooperatively reported and mitigation coordinated with third-party operators (Phoenix Energy, Steel Reef) without regulatory intervention.
Waiver submissions clustered 2025-12-15 (four forms) with consistent regulatory specialist (Jakob Wheeler) and differentiated reviewer expertise (Emma Neigum, Stephen Fried, Ross Edison). Technical assurances in tubing/packer waiver (Sundry 288117) demonstrate engineering rigor (API burst rating, safety factor 0.85, pressure gauge specification). Closed mud system and remote shutoff device requirements in APD accepted without modification. Well location plat certified by registered land surveyor. Drilling plan includes detailed casing, cementing, and mud programs with named disposal contractor (Smoky Butte Environmental LLC).

Confidence: High
All permit approval dates, waiver submission dates, and approvals are explicitly documented with precise timestamps and form identifiers. Commission Order No. 33922 and spacing unit geometry are referenced in the permit stipulations, providing clear regulatory linkage. Five contemporaneous waiver approvals with discrete technical justifications confirm permit-cycle materials are present and legible. State Geologist letter dated 2025-12-29 (post-permit) sets standing obligations but does not condition the permit itself. No conflicting or ambiguous dates; all OCR-extracted text is consistent across multiple document types (forms, letters, technical plans, emails). The abandoned pipeline issue is documented in contemporaneous regulatory correspondence but not reflected in permit stipulations, indicating it was flagged after permit issuance and resolved through operational protocol rather than permit modification.