Continental Resources is exploring new Williston Basin formations for stimulated, horizontal potential with 2025-minted D&C recipes.
But which formations are being tested remains under wraps, for now.
“I'm not going to tell you right now,” Continental President and CEO Doug Lawler said with a grin at Hart Energy’s SUPER DUG 2025 Conference & Expo.
Lawler did say the Bakken is “very similar to the Powder River [Basin], though. There are a number of different stratigraphic intervals that have not been fully developed.”
Harold Hamm, Continental’s founder, was asked in another session, “Doug said this morning that y'all are looking at other Williston Basin formations … but he wouldn't tell us what those other ones are. Would you tell us?”
Hamm also laughed, “Well, I like exploration. We're always exploring and [if] we had a real hot play, I wouldn't tell you [yet].”
He added, though, “We do have a deep portfolio of exploration projects I'd say, and it probably is as deep a portfolio as we've had in the last 15 years.”
The operator, which led other explorers at the turn of the century in proving up that the Bakken play worked economically on the North Dakota side of the basin, is now the world’s largest privately held E&P.
Its enterprise value is more than $30 billion, 100% held by Hamm and his family.
At the start at the play in 2000, the Bakken formation—which consists of an upper shale layer, a dolomitic middle member and a lower shale member—was already well known as an oil producer for 50 years, but as a bail-out zone, giving up some oil, at least, when a conventional formation along the stratigraphic column was dry in the well’s location.
The breakthrough came through exposing the super-tight Middle Bakken’s oil to more hole by putting horizontals in it—and then fracture-stimulating the exposed rock to improve porosity, creating channels for the oil to flow.
Three Forks 2, 3, 4
After proving up the Bakken in western North Dakota, Continental tested each of the four underlying benches of the super-tight Three Forks formation, beginning in 2012. Three Forks 1 worked with the drilling and completion (D&C) formula of the time and Continental added it to its well inventory.
However, the lower three were increasingly less economic along the column.
Is there potential now to figure those out with the modern D&C recipe?
Lawler said absolutely, adding: “At what point in time each of those could become potentially commercially viable? It's hard to tell there. There are different geologic attributes, water saturations and things that can potentially impact economics.”
Current OFS best practices are making the Bakken itself economic outside of what has been the Tier 1 heart of the play—fringe areas where the technology of the 2010s made it unprofitable, he added.
“There are many parts of the Bakken play that have not attracted investment … that 10 years ago we didn't think would ever get there. And today we're making wells in some of the poorer-quality rock that are equivalent or as good and just slightly better than some of the core Tier 1 acreage.”
The Williston Basin produces more than 1.2 MMbbl/d currently and has made more than 6 Bbbl of oil to date—nearly all of it since 2000.
“The main story on the Williston is it's far from being over,” Lawler said. “It's been relatively flat in terms of its production for the past several years. Likely, it will continue to be flat.
“But it's a powerful play for us and one that we'll continue to be investing in for the next 10 years-plus.”
In addition to the play’s productivity, the Bakken is known for its wells’ deliverability and the efficiency of operations.
“So we're seeing an expansion in the Bakken and I think, as you described, whether it be in the Three Forks or other potential in the basin, we're going to continue at Continental to exploit and to explore.”
Hamm said, “There are a lot of things to do yet.”