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🛢️ ALE 2335-8BH
KODA Resources Operating, LLC · Divide County, ND · File #42590 · Generated 2026-02-13 12:33
- API
- 3302301724
- Target Formation
- Middle Bakken
- Permit Explained
- Partially
📋 Permit Cycle Assessment
The permit approval (File No. 42590, issued 12/29/2025, dirt work date 06/01/2026) is conditioned on four direct regulatory constraints: (1) Commission Order No. 34741 pool definition and setback geometry tied to wet-shoe completion design; (2) aquifer stipulation requiring onsite inspection and closed mud system/liner installation; (3) anti-collision avoidance modeling demonstrating safe spacing within an eight-well pad; and (4) mandatory core and sample collection per state geologic survey rules. The drilling plan indicates no coring or samples will be collected, creating an apparent contradiction with the 12/29/2025 cores-and-samples letter—this discrepancy is not resolved in the file. The permit setbacks (150 ft N/S, 500 ft E/W) and completion design (4.5-inch production liner, wet-shoe frac-out) are explicitly justified by pool geology and directional constraints. The aquifer stipulation represents a material operational constraint (closed system, impermeable liner) that deviates from standard horizontal Bakken drilling. Overall, the critical permit conditions are explained by regulatory orders, pool definitions, and technical submissions (anticollision, directional design), but the samples/cores mandate remains unresolved operationally.
🔍 Permit Cycle Signals (5)
📄 APD Permit, Stipulations section, Aquifer stipulation row
📅 12/29/2025 (Exact confidence)
Non-routine aquifer-related constraint tied to well location; conditioning approval on pre-drilling site inspection and operational modifications (closed loop, liner). This is a direct regulatory condition limiting standard drilling practices.
📄 APD Permit, Stipulations section, Bakken Setback Summary Statement and NDIC Field Order Info rows
📅 12/29/2025 (Exact confidence)
Completion geometry (wet shoe with frac-out capability) explicitly referenced to justify setback requirements. Non-routine because setback justification is tied to specific lithologic pool definition and completion design, not generic spacing.
📄 APD Permit, Stipulations section, NDIC Field Order Info and Daneville-Bakken Pool definition rows
📅 12/29/2025 (Exact confidence)
Regulatory order establishes pool definition that anchors all casing and setback design. Without this order, well geometry cannot be justified.
📄 Cores and Samples letter from State Geologist Ross Edison, dated 12/29/2025
📅 12/29/2025 (Exact confidence)
Regulatory requirement issued same day as permit approval. Mandates specific operational intervals and post-drilling deadlines. Non-routine because drilling plan (Section 5 of APD) states 'No coring is planned' and 'No samples are planned'—creating a potential conflict requiring resolution.
📄 KLX Anticollision Report dated 29 October 2025, Summary table, and Separation Factor Plot
📅 2025-10-29 (Exact confidence)
Anti-collision analysis demonstrates well path optimization and risk mitigation for a complex pad with eight laterals. The Level 2 warning on Ale 2335-4BHN indicates the regulatory framework requires but tolerates controlled proximity to adjacent laterals (separation factor >1.0 = acceptable). This justifies the directional design and well spacing.
📖 Historical Context (4)
Surface Use Agreement executed 12/18/2025 with surface owner Albert & Michelle Metz, effective 11/05/2025, covering drilling, completing, and producing of eight wells (Ale 2335-1BHN through 8BH). Prior affidavit of pending agreement dated 11/06/2025 indicated negotiations ongoing at time of initial permitting.
📄 Affidavit of Surface Use Agreement and Affidavit of Pending Surface Use Agreement, both signed by Jason McLaren, Land Manager · 📅 2025-12-18 | Pending: 2025-11-06
Surface use agreement defines operator's right to conduct drilling operations and establishes liability framework for damages. The delay in execution (pending on 11/06, executed 12/18) created a 42-day gap during which the operator had only verbal permission from surface owner. This affects operational continuity and indemnification during drilling phase. Agreement remains in effect for all future phases (completion, production).
Waiver request for Order 31973 three-day waiting period prior to construction (dated 11/11/2025). KODA is majority working interest holder in both spacing units (51.64% in northern DSU, 83.33% in Daneville DSU), qualifying for waiver as operator of adjacent spacing unit.
📄 Affidavit - Request for Waiver to Three-Day Waiting Period, dated 11/11/2025 · 📅 2025-11-11
Waiver status determines construction commencement authorization. If approved, allows immediate location construction post-permit issuance without three-day hold. If denied, imposes scheduling constraint. The working interest affidavit (51.64% and 83.33%) is material to pad economics and operational control during all drilling, completion, and production phases.
BLM notification email dated 12/22/2025 from ND Petroleum Engineer indicating wells (ALE 2335-5BH, 6BH, 7BH, 8BH in 2880-acre DSU) may be subject to federal permit requirement. Directs operator to contact BLM Dickinson office (701-227-7713) to ensure proper federal documentation filing.
📄 Email from Nathaniel H. Erbele (ND DMR) to Amy Doebele (UELS), dated 12/22/2025 · 📅 2025-12-22
Potential federal mineral interest in spacing unit creates dual permitting obligation (state APD + federal APD or waiver). Incomplete federal documentation could delay or invalidate drilling authorization for four of eight wells. Status of federal permit application/compliance is not documented in file; this is a material compliance gap affecting operability of majority of pad.
Drilling plan (KODA Drilling Plan, undated but referenced in well planning report dated 10/29/2025) specifies evaluation program: 'No coring is planned. No DST's are planned. No samples are planned.' However, cores and samples letter (12/29/2025) mandates collection of sample cuttings at 30-foot intervals (vertical/build) and 200-foot intervals (lateral), submission within 30 days.
📄 KODA Drilling Plan, Section 5, Evaluation Program; Cores and Samples letter from State Geologist dated 12/29/2025 · 📅 Unknown (Drilling Plan) vs. 2025-12-29 (Cores/Samples letter)
Unresolved operational conflict: drilling plan commits to zero sampling, but regulatory letter requires sampling collection and submission. Operator must either (1) amend drilling plan via Sundry Notice to commit to sampling, (2) petition State Geologist for waiver, or (3) face violation of NDAC 43-02-03-38.1 with penalties up to $12,500/day. This must be resolved before spudding (planned 06/01/2026).
🔧 Operator Pattern
KODA Resources Operating, LLC demonstrates multi-well pad development strategy in Daneville Field (Divide County). Operator controls majority working interest (51.64%–83.33%) in two adjacent spacing units, enabling coordinated eight-well development from single location (ALE 23 Pad). Directional design and anti-collision modeling indicate sophisticated well planning; wet-shoe completions and frac-out capability suggest long-lateral, multi-stage stimulation strategy.
Eight wells permitted in single pad; two spacing units (3840-acre northern DSU, 2880-acre Daneville DSU) developed simultaneously; directional planning report (KLX, 29 October 2025) documents 15,436-foot lateral with staged build and turn geometry; anticollision report evaluates offset risk against legacy and offset-pad wells; surface use agreement covers all eight wells with single surface owner; waiver of Order 31973 three-day hold requests immediate construction authorization post-permit; working interest affidavit filed 11/06/2025 affirming majority position in both units.
Confidence: High
Permit approval date is unambiguous (12/29/2025, file number 42590). All contemporaneous regulatory signals (Commission Order 34741, aquifer stipulation, cores/samples letter, construction notification requirement) are dated 12/29/2025 or earlier. Directional and anticollision analysis (10/29/2025) clearly precedes permit issuance. Surface use agreement (effective 11/05/2025, executed 12/18/2025) brackets permit approval. Federal minerals notification (12/22/2025) postdates approval but within seven days, indicating parallel regulatory process. Drilling plan evaluation section directly conflicts with cores/samples mandate—both documents are in file but dates lack clarity on which revision is binding. Anti-collision modeling is explicit and technical, with named offset wells and calculated separation factors. Aquifer stipulation is structural and non-routine, clearly conditioning approval. One material gap: federal permit status for four wells remains undocumented (BLM notification sent but compliance unknown). Overall permit-cycle explanation is high-confidence; operational conflict (sampling) and federal permitting gap reduce confidence on execution readiness to medium-high.