🛢️ WEST SHELL 2-9-4H

IRON OIL OPERATING, LLC · Mountrail County, ND · File #42608 · Generated 2026-02-13 12:33

API: 3306105634
Target Formation: Middle Bakken
Permit Explained: Yes

📋 Permit Cycle Assessment

The permit approval is explained by a non-routine well geometry: the production liner cemented in the lateral with a wet shoe and no ability to frac out the shoe. This design constraint directly justifies the reduced 100' north setback (versus 150–500' on other boundaries), explicitly stated in the permit stipulation. Additionally, the permit is conditioned on back-to-back drilling with an offset well meeting a 1220' setback requirement, which constrains operational execution sequence to justify the 1280-acre spacing unit. Contemporaneous geologist correspondence (01/5/2026 cores-and-samples order) imposes statutory sampling and core preservation requirements tied to drilling operations. These signals—completion design variance, spacing coordination requirement, and geologist-mandated cores/samples protocol—are time-bound to the permit approval date and collectively explain the permit action. Standard operational controls (closed mud system, shutoff devices, berm) do not differentiate this permit from routine horizontal drilling approvals and do not explain the permit.

🔍 Permit Cycle Signals (5)

Production liner cemented in lateral with wet shoe and no ability to frac out the shoe — North boundary setback reduced to 100' (versus standard greater setbacks); conditioning factor directly stated in permit stipulation.

Direct

📄 APPLICATION FOR PERMIT FOR NEW WELL - HORIZONTAL; STIPULATIONS section; 'Conditions of Approval'
📅 2026-01-05 (Exact confidence)

Permit explicitly ties reduced north setback (100' vs. 150–500' on other boundaries) to specific completion design (wet shoe, no frac-out capability). This non-routine geometry constraint is the direct justification for variance from standard spacing unit setbacks.

Requirement to drill back-to-back with another well complying with 1220' setback in order to justify the 1280-acre spacing unit.

Direct

📄 APPLICATION FOR PERMIT FOR NEW WELL - HORIZONTAL; STIPULATIONS section; 'Conditions of Approval' — 'In order to justify the spacing unit, the West Shell 2-9-4H must be drilled back-to-back with another well that complies with a 1220" setback.'
📅 2026-01-05 (Exact confidence)

Explicit regulatory condition restricting well execution sequence and geometry. Spacing justification is contingent on offsetting well compliance — non-routine obligation tied directly to this permit approval.

Commission Order No. 35019 referenced as basis for approval; Parshall-Bakken Pool definition specified in permit conditions (50' above top of Bakken to above Birdbear Formation).

Supporting

📄 APPLICATION FOR PERMIT FOR NEW WELL - HORIZONTAL; STIPULATIONS section; 'NDIC Field Order Info' — 'Pursuant to Commission Order No. 35019, approval to drill the well is hereby given.'
📅 2026-01-05 (Exact confidence)

Pool definition is regulatory framework within which this permit sits; Order No. 35019 is the delegating authority. While standard boilerplate, it establishes the regulatory premise for approval.

Closed mud system with no cuttings pit; remote or automatic shutoff devices required on all equipment; perimeter berm required surrounding entire location.

Supporting

📄 APPLICATION FOR PERMIT FOR NEW WELL - HORIZONTAL; STIPULATIONS section; 'Permit Review Policy' and 'Conditions of Approval'
📅 2026-01-05 (Exact confidence)

Standard operational and environmental controls. Not tied to non-routine geometry or risk differential specific to this permit. Included only for completeness; does not explain permit variance.

Cores and Samples letter (dated 2026-01-05) imposing North Dakota Century Code Section 38-08-04 compliance: all cores and samples must be submitted to State Geologist; samples collected from Base of Last Charles Salt at 30' intervals (vertical/build) and 200' intervals (horizontal); samples delivered within 30 days; cores within 180 days.

Direct

📄 CORES AND SAMPLES letter; dated 1/5/2026; signature block: Ross Edison, Geologist; Mark F. Bohrer, Nathan D. Anderson, Edward C. Murphy (regulatory signatories)
📅 2026-01-05 (Exact confidence)

Geologist-mandated condition tied to drilling operations. Contemporaneous with permit approval and conditioning well execution; statutory compliance order (not routine APD language).

📖 Historical Context (2)

Filter sock and filter media disposal requirement (North Dakota Administrative Code Section 43-02-03-19.2; dated May 30, 2025 general industry letter). Leakproof container required on-site during spud, clean-out, completion, and flow-back operations; covered, placarded, filled with filters only; disposal in authorized facility per state/federal law.
📄 Letter dated May 30, 2025; subject line 'Filter Socks and Other Filter Media — Leak Proof Container Required — Oil and Gas Wells'; addressed to 'Dear Operator'; effective June 1, 2014 (standing requirement). · 📅 2025-05-30
This is a standing operational obligation that persists throughout well execution (spud through completion/flow-back). Not permit-specific but sector-wide; however, it constrains fluid handling and disposal practices during all operational phases of this well. Operator compliance is mandatory and auditable.

Well construction diagram and completion design documented in permit file: 4.5' cemented lateral liner (13.54 HCP-110) from MD 8,510 to 19,422 feet, with wet shoe sub at toe (no ability to frac out shoe); bridge plug required at toe; approximately 50 stages planned, 10MM lbs proppant, 300M barrels slurry.
📄 WELL CONSTRUCTION DIAGRAM, 'West Shell 2-9-4H'; specifications and schematic detail provided. · 📅 Unknown
The completion design (wet shoe with no frac-out capability) is the structural rationale for the setback variance and the requirement to drill back-to-back with an offset well. This design carries forward as an execution constraint and will govern fracturing operations and zone isolation procedures throughout the completion phase.

🔧 Operator Pattern

Iron Oil Operating, LLC is a small independent operator based in Billings, Montana (corporate address: 2507 Montana Avenue). No violations or non-compliance signals appear in the file. Operator demonstrates compliance with contemporaneous regulatory directives (cores/samples, filter disposal). Well name convention (WEST SHELL 2-9-4H) and pad-level multi-well planning (WEST SHELL 1-9-4H shown on same pad) suggest coordinated development program in Parshall Field.
Permit file, location photographs, multi-well pad layout, access road design (supporting infrastructure for coordinated drilling). No adverse regulatory history or stipulation overrides documented in file.

Confidence: High
Permit approval date is explicit (01/5/2026). Key permit-cycle signals are clearly articulated in the permit stipulations and directly traceable to well geometry (wet shoe, no frac-out, reduced setback). Contemporaneous geologist letter is formally dated and signed. Well construction diagram and completion design specifications are detailed and on-site in the file. Spacing coordination requirement is unambiguous ('must be drilled back-to-back'). No material date conflicts or ambiguities. File contains complete survey plats, directional plots, and engineering drawings supporting permit conditions. Historical context signals are clearly separated from permit-cycle signals and do not conflate background with causal approval logic.