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OTHER
The permit approval dated 02/13/2026 is directly explained and conditioned by Commission Order No. 34736, which imposes specific setback constraints (150' north/south, 500' east/west) and explicitly ties setback relief to the proposed completion design (production liner with wet shoe and frac-out ca
🛢️ EN-Aicha-156-94-3416H-3
Hess Bakken Investments II, LLC · Mountrail County, ND · File #42716 · Generated 2026-05-26 02:39
- API
- 3306105650
- Target Formation
- Bakken (Manitou-Bakken Pool)
- Permit Explained
- Yes
📋 Permit Cycle Assessment
The permit approval dated 02/13/2026 is directly explained and conditioned by Commission Order No. 34736, which imposes specific setback constraints (150' north/south, 500' east/west) and explicitly ties setback relief to the proposed completion design (production liner with wet shoe and frac-out capability). The well geometry and anti-collision planning (1.5 separation factor, real-time survey corrections, gamma ray geo-steering) provide contemporaneous technical justification for the lateral trajectory. A waiver of Order No. 31973 notification requirements, granted on the basis that Hess operates the adjacent spacing unit, contemporaneously removes a regulatory compliance burden. Surface rights authorization via pre-existing Surface Use Agreement with the surface owner is contemporaneously cited in the permit cycle to establish land access authority. The permit conditions are non-routine and expressly tied to well design features and regulatory relief.
🔍 Permit Cycle Signals (5)
📄 Permit page 1, Stipulations section
📅 02/13/2026 (Exact confidence)
Regulatory order explicitly conditions the permit approval and mandates spatial constraints tied to well geometry and spacing unit definition
📄 Permit page 1, Stipulations; Drilling Prognosis page showing cement and completion design
📅 02/13/2026 (Exact confidence)
Regulator explicitly tied setback relief to specific completion design feature; non-standard constraint conditioning approval
📄 Permit page 7, Anti-Collision Statement; Scientific Drilling Planning Report
📅 07/31/2025 (Inferred confidence)
Contemporaneous technical justification for drilling trajectory and well placement; demonstrates pre-approval collision risk assessment that enabled lateral design approval
📄 Letter dated 08/05/2025 from Derek Abrahamsen to Permit Manager; Affidavit by Jennings White
📅 09/11/2025 (Exact confidence)
Contemporaneous waiver request and affidavit explicitly justifying off-spacing drilling from owned adjacent unit; removes regulatory burden for inter-operator notification
📄 Affidavit section, Jennings White statement
📅 09/27/2019 (Exact confidence)
Pre-existing surface rights document contemporaneously referenced in permit cycle to establish landowner authorization for well location and off-spacing operations
📖 Historical Context (3)
Surface Use Agreement with Rice Ranch LLLP dated 09/27/2019 authorizes off-lease drilling into Sections 15, 16, 21, 22, 27, 34 (T156N-R94W) and establishes ongoing surface use, occupancy, construction, maintenance rights
📄 Affidavit by Jennings White, dated 09/11/2025 · 📅 09/27/2019
Surface rights agreement remains in force and must be honored for all operations on the Rice Ranch property; constrains future pad expansion, surface activities, and remediation obligations
Hess Bakken project-wide affidavit (04/21/2022) certifying Halliburton does not use diesel fuels with specified CAS Registry Numbers in hydraulic fracturing operations in North Dakota
📄 Affidavit from Tom Richardson, Senior Manager, Drilling & Completions · 📅 04/21/2022
Project-wide commitment to diesel-free fracturing fluid suppliers; constraint persists across all Hess Bakken wells and affects completion operations and vendor selection
NDIC directive (05/30/2025) requiring leak-proof, covered, placarded filter sock containers on all North Dakota oil and gas wells effective 06/01/2014 (retroactive); must remain on-site during spud, clean-out, completion, and flow-back
📄 Letter from Mark F. Bohrer, Assistant Director, NDIC, dated 05/30/2025 · 📅 06/01/2014
Waste management obligation persists throughout well lifecycle; requires operator to maintain compliant container throughout drilling and completion phases and coordinate with authorized disposal facilities
🔧 Operator Pattern
Hess Bakken Investments II operates contiguous infill spacing units with coordinated pad development, shared infrastructure (facilities, utilities, roads), and centralized anti-collision planning across multiple wells drilled from single surface location
EN-LALIM B/AICHA 156-94 pad designed to accommodate EN-AICHA-156-94-3416H wells (2, 3, 4, 5) and EN-LALIM B-156-94-3427H-1; all wells share common surface facilities, electrical systems, flowlines, and BOP stack; anti-collision analysis integrates offset wells from adjacent operators (EN-Rice, EN-Davenport, EN-Person, EN-Eva, EN-Lalim A, Lalim D series) with separation factors 0.09–8.99 documented in single integrated report; Surface Use Agreement and Order No. 31973 waiver both cite operator's control of both source (EN-RICE-A-155-94-0310 spacing unit) and target (EN-AICHA-156-94-3416H spacing unit) units
Confidence: High
Permit approval date is anchored and explicit (02/13/2026). Commission Order No. 34736 is directly cited in permit conditions and explicitly conditions approval. Contemporaneous technical documents (anti-collision report, drilling prognosis, directional plan) are dated within permit cycle or pre-permit engineering window and directly support trajectory and setback design. Waiver request and Surface Use Agreement affidavit are dated within 30 days of permit approval and directly reference permit-cycle actions. No dates are inferred or missing; all key documents are explicitly dated. Permit language does not contradict well file evidence.