🛢️ Esther Federal 4697 42-33 2B

Enerplus Resources USA Corporation (Chord Energy subsidiary) · Dunn County, ND · File #42655 · Generated 2026-02-13 12:33

API: 3302505137
Target Formation: Middle Bakken
Permit Explained: Yes

📋 Permit Cycle Assessment

The permit approval (approval date approximately 03/28/2026, Dirt Work Date recorded on permit) is explained by contemporaneous technical and operational submissions. The well-specific completion design (wet shoe configuration) directly justifies the non-routine setback stipulation (150' N/S, 500' E/W). Anti-collision analysis dated 10/30/2025 demonstrates compliance with industry separation safety factors and supports the feasibility of the horizontal trajectory within the multi-well pad context. The operator's control of the adjacent spacing unit eliminates a regulatory constraint, enabling the proposed geometry. Core sampling requirements and filter disposal protocols are standard conditions with no permit-specific justification; closed mud system and remote shutoff devices are boilerplate. The permit is fully conditioned on design-specific technical rationale rather than routine APD language.

🔍 Permit Cycle Signals (4)

Wet shoe cement configuration with production liner and intentional over-displacement creating ~400' uncemented annulus for toe initiation via pump-down perforating on wireline

Direct

📄 Details of Standard Wet Shoe Esther Federal 4697 42-33 2B document
📅 Unknown (Missing confidence)

Non-routine completion design directly tied to permit stipulation requiring production liner cemented in lateral with wet shoe and ability to frac out shoe. This design justifies the 150' north/south and 500' east/west setback configuration specified in the permit.

Anti-collision analysis completed with industry-standard 1.2 separation safety factor maintained during intermediate section drilling; surveys planned at 93'-100' intervals increasing in frequency near lateral crossings; gamma ray signatures used to identify existing wellbores

Supporting

📄 Anti-Collision Statement in operator submission; Anticollision Report dated 10/30/2025
📅 10/30/2025 (Exact confidence)

Anticipates and mitigates collision risk with nearby wells (Esther Federal 4697 42-33 3B, 4B, 5B at 33-99 feet separation; LK Esther 146-97-3328H-1 at 131.65 feet). Directly supports operator's ability to safely execute the horizontal design within the 2,560-acre spacing unit.

Operator is Enerplus (subsidiary of Chord Energy), which is also the operator of the adjacent spacing unit. Waiver of notification requirement under Order No. 31848 requested because applicant controls both units.

Supporting

📄 Letter from Ryan Emery, Enerplus, dated November 12, 2025, re: Wellbore Entering Adjacent Spacing Unit
📅 2025-11-12 (Exact confidence)

Eliminates inter-operator notification burden and cross-unit interference concerns. Contemporaneous with permit cycle; demonstrates regulatory pathway for multi-well pad development under single operator control, which enables the permit geometry.

Setback stipulation explicitly based on production liner cemented in lateral with wet shoe and ability to frac out shoe; north setback 150' (south boundary), east/west setback 500' within 2,560-acre spacing unit (Sections 16, 21, 28, and 33)

Direct

📄 Application for Permit for New Well - Horizontal Oil & Gas, Stipulations section, 'Bakken Setback Summary Statement'
📅 2026-03-28 (Inferred confidence)

Setback configuration is non-routine and directly conditioned by the wet shoe completion design. The stipulation explicitly ties the setback allowance to cement job parameters and operational methodology, establishing that this geometry is not a generic horizontal template but a design-specific constraint approval.

📖 Historical Context (2)

Indirect heater setback exemption from NDIC under Case No. 28949 Order No. 31500 allows placement within 60 feet of wellhead and 21 feet of oil tank (vs. standard 150' setback for boilers/treaters)
📄 Facility Statement in operator submission · 📅 Unknown
This exemption persists as a forward operational constraint. During completion, production, and future workover operations, the indirect heater placement remains subject to this prior exemption and its safety conditions. Any equipment changes or repositioning would require reference back to the original exemption authority.

Multi-well pad development with four lateral wellbores (2B, 3B, 4B, 5B) all from common surface location in SE¼ SW¼ Section 33, with planned BHL locations spanning multiple sections/spacing units requiring coordinated drilling sequence to maintain anti-collision safety factors
📄 Well Location Plat sheets S-1, S-1a, S-3, S-3a; Planned Survey Report; Anticollision Report · 📅 Unknown
The pad development footprint and multi-well coordination constraints remain in effect for the life of the wells. Future drilling on this pad, completions of offset wells, and production operations all must maintain the minimum separation factors (1.2 SF) documented in the anticollision analysis. Any deviation in drilling sequence, survey methods, or well placement on the pad will require re-evaluation against the baseline anti-collision model.

🔧 Operator Pattern

Operator demonstrates capability to manage multi-well pads under unified operator control with sophisticated directional planning, real-time survey integration, and formal anti-collision protocols. Subsidiary (Enerplus) of larger parent (Chord Energy) with standardized documentation and engineering review processes.
Operator submitted detailed well planning documents (Total Directional reports, Planned Survey Reports, Anticollision Reports) all dated 10/30/2025, indicating advanced pre-application technical work. Proactive waiver request for Order No. 31848 notification (dated 11/12/2025) shows regulatory sophistication. Facility statement references prior NDIC exemptions (Case 28949), indicating history of engineering solutions to non-standard site constraints.

Confidence: High
Permit approval date is document-proxied to 03/28/2026 (Dirt Work Date on permit form); all material technical and operational justifications are dated and directly referenced in the permit stipulations. The wet shoe cement design, anti-collision analysis, and setback stipulation form a coherent causal chain. No material contemporaneous documentation is missing. Standard boilerplate conditions (closed mud system, shutoff devices, pool definitions, sample collection) are correctly suppressed as they do not explain permit approval. The file contains complete surveyed coordinates, formation tops, directional design, and offset well data necessary to assess permit-cycle specificity.