American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2015 - 45

allowing immediate review of agency actions not in compliance with notice requirements, and establishes a substantial evidence standard for affirming rule-making
decisions, the congressional website says.
The House of Representatives approved the measure 250-175 on Jan. 13
and advanced it to the Senate.
Indian Tribal Energy
Barrasso worked with Senator Jon
Tester, D-Mt., to write legislation designed to give Indian tribes additional tools
to develop energy resources on tribal
lands. He says S 209, the Indian Tribal Energy Development and Self-Determination
Act Amendments of 2015 also will help
create jobs on Indian lands.
"For years, Indian tribes have expressed concerns about federal laws and
regulations regarding energy development," he says. "My bill will help jumpstart tribal energy and economic development by streamlining the approval process
and reducing regulatory red tape. This will
give folks in Indian country the tools they
need to increase our nation's energy security while creating good-paying jobs in
their communities."
Tester adds that S 209 puts tribes in
control of their energy resources, and increases opportunities for renewable ener-

gy projects. The steps that took tribal leaders years to navigate would take a few
months under the bill, he says, allowing
tribes more time to focus on creating an
energy-efficient future.
EPAct included an Indian energy title,
which the senators say was enacted to deal
with the delays and uncertainties inherent
in the Bureau of Indian Affairs' energy
leasing process. Title V was intended to

provide Indian tribes with an alternative
way to develop their energy resources. S
209 offers amendments to that process, including streamlining the process to approve tribal energy resource agreements,
which grant authority to a tribe to review
and approve leases, business agreements
and rights of way for energy projects on
tribal lands without requiring approval by
the secretary of energy.
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Continental Says Its Wells Show SCOOP's Potential
OKLAHOMA CITY-Four new wells
confirm the repeatability and growth potential of the Springer play in the South
Central Oklahoma Oil Province (SCOOP),
asserts Harold G. Hamm, chairman and
chief executive officer of Continental
Resources Inc.
"These individual delineation wells in
the play are generating excellent returns,
with shallow decline rates compared with
other unconventional resource plays,"
Hamm says. "We expect to realize even
stronger well economics as development
drilling gets under way utilizing extended laterals, pad drilling, and other drilling
and completion efficiencies."
The four wells have an average horizontal lateral length of 4,475 feet, Continental
says, adding it is projecting estimated ulti-

mate recoveries of 940,000 gross barrels of
oil equivalent in the oil fairway of the play
for a well with a 4,500-foot lateral.
The company says the average completed well cost has been in line with projected costs of $9.7 million a well. The four
newest wells were drilled to average vertical depths of 12,625 feet.
"The Springer adds another significant
oil resource driver to Continental's strategic growth outlook. It's distinguishing itself
as the most productive play in Oklahoma,
and it's right in our backyard," says Hamm.
According to Continental, its current
Springer production is 6,000 net boe/d
(9,200 gross boe/d), of which 70 percent
is crude oil. The company says it has nine
operated drilling rigs active in the Springer
play.
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FEBRUARY 2015 45

American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2015

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