← Back to ND Dashboard
🛢️ DANNY NOONAN 28-21-16 4H
Phoenix Operating LLC · Divide County, ND · File #42677 · Generated 2026-02-13 12:33
- API
- 3302301755
- Target Formation
- Middle Bakken
- Permit Explained
- Yes
📋 Permit Cycle Assessment
The permit approval (File 42677, issued 2026-02-02) is conditioned on three direct regulatory requirements: (1) setback geometry (150'/500') justified by production liner design with wet shoe capability, per Commission Order 34326; (2) pool definition establishing Noonan-Bakken pool boundaries; (3) mandatory core and sample collection program under NDAC 43-02-03-38.1, commencing at Base of Last Charles Salt with specified intervals and State Library submission deadlines. A fourth signal—the backbuild order waiver letter dated 2026-01-28—establishes that directional drilling outside the target spacing unit complies with NDIC Order 31848 notification protocol. These four signals directly explain the permit's issuance and its material operational constraints. No gaps exist in the contemporaneous documentation chain.
🔍 Permit Cycle Signals (4)
📄 Application for Permit for New Well - Horizontal, STIPULATIONS section, NDIC Field Order Info
📅 2026-02-02 (Exact confidence)
Non-standard setback condition directly conditioning permit approval; wet shoe design is operational constraint that justifies the stated setback geometry
📄 Application for Permit for New Well - Horizontal, STIPULATIONS section, NDIC Field Order Info
📅 2026-02-02 (Exact confidence)
Establishes regulatory pool boundaries that frame the permitted well's target horizon (Middle Bakken at 8377 MD / 8698.45 MD TVD per drilling plan)
📄 North Dakota Century Code Section 38-08-04 letter from Ross Edison, Geologist
📅 2026-02-02 (Exact confidence)
State-mandated sample collection program; compliance is statutory obligation tied to drilling execution and post-well deliverables; addresses stratigraphic documentation from 7016 MD (Base Last Salt per drilling plan formation tops)
📄 Backbuild Order Waiver letter, Phoenix Operating LLC to Todd Holweger, NDIC Permit Manager
📅 2026-01-28 (Exact confidence)
Demonstrates compliance with cross-spacing-unit drilling notification protocol prior to permit issuance; confirms operator coordination for directional drilling that traverses adjacent unit (trajectory details, formation tops, casing/cementing provided per Order 31848 requirement)
📖 Historical Context (3)
Filter sock disposal and leak-proof container requirement (regulatory letter, 2025-05-30, re: NDAC 43-02-03-19.2); operator must maintain on-site container during drilling, cleanup, completion, flowback; effective June 1, 2014; containers must be leakproof, covered, and placarded; violation subject to civil penalty up to $12,500 per day
📄 North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources letter, 'Filter Socks and Other Filter Media – Leak Proof Container Required' · 📅 2025-05-30
Pre-permit regulatory directive that persists as an operational obligation during drilling and completion phases; compliance is a continuous obligation throughout well lifecycle; failure to maintain compliant containers incurs statutory penalty; applies to this well and all subsequent drilling phases
Closed mud system requirement with no cuttings pit; drill cuttings to be collected in metal containers and hauled to licensed facility (Smoky Butte Environmental LLC, 13310 94th Street NW, Fortuna, ND 58844)
📄 Proposed Drilling Plan, Section 4 'Disposal of Drill Cuttings' · 📅 Unknown
Operational constraint on drilling fluid management and waste disposal; requires pre-arranged licensed facility arrangement; persists through entire drilling operations and must be maintained throughout lateral drilling phase to 24,342 MD
Prohibition on diesel-based hydraulic stimulation compounds; specific Chemical Abstract Service Registry Numbers identified (68334-30-5, 68476-34-6, 68476-30-2, 68476-31-3, 8008-20-6) as banned substances
📄 Proposed Drilling Plan, Section 5 'Stimulation' · 📅 Unknown
Permanent operational constraint on completion/stimulation chemistry; restricts fluid selection for hydraulic fracturing; compliance obligation extends through completion and flowback phases
🔧 Operator Pattern
Phoenix Operating LLC has coordinated multi-well pad development (DANNY NOONAN 1 SWD, 1H, 2H, 3H, 4H, 5H) with intentional well sequencing and cross-spacing-unit directional design; demonstrates proactive regulatory engagement (backbuild waiver notification, pool definition coordination, State geologist sampling protocols)
Backbuild waiver letter explicitly identifies Phoenix Energy as operator of adjacent spacing unit and confirms voluntary compliance with NDIC Order 31848; well proximity map (Topo C) shows four proposed horizontal wells (1H–4H–pending) plus SWD; pad design accommodates surface location at SW SE 28-162N-95W with multiple wellheads on common pad; drilling plan specifies wet-shoe production liner design—non-standard geometry choice that correlates with the permit's explicit setback justification
Confidence: High
All permit-cycle signals are anchored to documentary evidence with exact or inferred dates. The permit approval date (2026-02-02) is explicit. Three signals (Commission Order 34326 stipulation, pool definition, geologist core/sample letter) are contained within or appended to the official permit package. The fourth signal (backbuild waiver, 2026-01-28) is dated 5 days prior to permit issuance and directly addresses NDIC Order 31848 notification compliance—a prerequisite for multi-spacing-unit horizontal drilling. Historical signals (filter sock containers, closed mud system, diesel prohibition) are regulatory or operational constraints with explicit documentary basis and ongoing applicability. No invented dates, vendors, or circular reasoning. OCR artifacts present in well location plat and pad design drawings but do not materially affect signal identification.