American Oil and Gas Reporter - April 2015 - 129

The Energy & Environmental Research Center at the University of North Dakota works
in conjunction with industry partners to improve oil recovery from the Bakken Shale
while reducing its environmental impact. EERC Associate Director John Harju says the
consortium's goals include better understanding of Bakken-Three Forks reservoirs, reduced road-maintenance and wastewater-disposal costs, less freshwater use, and increased revenue from added product streams.

North Dakota's Williston Basin have
formed a consortium with the support of
the North Dakota Industrial Commission's oil and gas research program,
called the Bakken Production Optimization Program. John Harju, associate director for research at the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) at
the University of North Dakota, which
works in conjunction with its industry
partners, says the consortium has focused
on a single 14-well pad, the Hawkinson
pad, drilled by Continental Resources.
"The notion is to better understand the
resource and how to exploit it to ultimately do a better job on the surface," Harju explains. "The early focus in the Bakken was
a single well on 1,280-acre spacing. Now,
there are 16-20 or more wells in a single
spacing unit. Obviously, that means greater
recovery, but there also are challenges in
coordinating that."
The goal of EERC and the consortium's
three-year research program is to simultaneously improve the Bakken system's oil
recovery while reducing its environmental footprint. It claims its results will include better understanding of the BakkenThree Forks reservoirs and subsequent increases in recoverable hydrocarbons; less
truck traffic, resulting in decreased diesel
emissions, road dust and spills; reduced
road maintenance costs, wastewater disposal costs, and freshwater use; reduced
surface impacts; and increased revenue
from added product streams captured earlier in the well life cycle.
As an example, Harju comments, when
a producer has 18 wells on one site, it
brings myriad other challenges, such as
how to manage drilling waste. He says a
full turnkey facility is being installed by
Nuverra Environmental Solutions near
Watford City, N.D., to recycle drill cuttings. The drilling waste will be separated and recycled for a variety of purposes,

including reclaiming diesel for reuse in
drilling mud, for road base, or for deicing
roads in winter, he says.

Handling Associated Gas
Since the Bakken Shale is primarily an
oil play, Harju says much of the consortium's early work has focused on how to
handle the associated gas that is produced along with the crude oil.
"Trying to get a gathering system to
keep up with gas production is a challenge," Harju allows. "There has been
considerable flaring in the Williston
Basin. How do you bring on 20 wells on
a single pad, and what does the gas profile look like-now and two years from
now? Do you overbuild the gas infrastructure or do you stage the completions to
bring the wells on line slowly? Do you
bring one well on every month or one
every two weeks?"

He says the consortium always is looking for multiple solutions because what
works best for one operator at one site may
not be best for another producer at a different location. "We have looked at remote
capture systems deployed for a short period," Harju mentions. "The cost is easier to bear if you are capturing natural gas
liquids on site."
Noting that producers now must file gas
capture plans with their applications for
permits to drill, he says the consortium has
worked with producers and gas gatherers
to improve communications between the
two and to develop plans to gather the gas.
It also is doing modeling to understand
peak rates and technology, thus allowing
producers to stage completions at the
most efficient rate.
"Every producer has a different appetite," Harju reflects. "We are bringing
tools to the key Williston Basin producers so they have a better understanding of
the resource in order to maximize production over the lifetime of the unit, and not
just production on any given day."
Multiwell pad drilling also presents a
design challenge for sizing and placing
separation tanks and treaters, Harju points
out. "The same challenge in handling the
gas flow off a single pad exists for handling
fluids," he attests. "Do you bring 18
wells on at one time or bring them on in
stages? Ultimately, you want a cohesive
program for the optimal footprint."
As the consortium continues its work,
Harju says it will turn its focus to lateral
lengths and optimal lateral spacing, as well
as simultaneous stimulation of multiple
wells and other issues associated with multiwell pad drilling.
Ì

A turnkey waste management facility being installed near Watford City, N.D., will recycle drill cuttings. Among its services is reclaiming diesel for reuse in drilling mud, for
road base, or for deicing roads in winter.

APRIL 2015 129

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