- Q3 2017 Average Production of 114,350 BOE/d; Adjusted for FBIR Asset Sale and Third-Party Outage at High End of Guidance
- Redtail Production Increased 78% Quarter over Quarter
- Q3 2017 Oil Differentials below Low End of Guidance
- New McKenzie County Koala Wells Tracking 1.5 MMBOE Type Curve
- New Williams County Nelson Wells Tracking 1.5 MMBOE Type Curve
- Fourth Quarter Production Forecast to Grow 10% Sequentially to 126,000 BOE/d
Operations Plan On Track with no Change to Capital Budget
During the quarter, Whiting completed 58 gross operated wells at its DJ Basin/Redtail area in Weld County, Colorado and 29 gross operated wells in its Bakken/Three Forks play in the Williston Basin. In the fourth quarter, the Company plans to put 25 gross wells on production in its Redtail area and complete 32 gross wells in the Williston Basin. At year-end, Whiting estimates it will have 39 DUC (drilled uncompleted) wells at Redtail and 50 DUC wells waiting on completion in the Williston Basin.
At the mid-point of guidance, fourth quarter 2017 production is forecast to grow 10% sequentially to 126,000 BOE/d. Third quarter 2017 capital expenditures reflected the large number of wells put on production throughout the quarter. With fewer wells scheduled to commence production, fourth quarter 2017 capital expenditures are forecast to decline to approximately $210 million, consistent with the Company’s full-year 2017 capital budget of $950 million.
Operations Update
Whiting controls 691,880 gross (412,925 net) acres in the Williston Basin and 157,513 gross (131,763 net) acres at its Redtail Niobrara/Codell play in the DJ Basin. In the third quarter 2017, total net production for the Company averaged 114,350 BOE/d. The Bakken/Three Forks play in the Williston Basin averaged 102,015 BOE/d. The Redtail Niobrara/Codell play in the DJ Basin averaged 11,750 BOE/d.
New Williston Basin Enhanced Completions in McKenzie County Tracking a 1.5 MMBOE Type Curve. In late July and August 2017, Whiting completed a six-well pad in its Koala area. An unscheduled gas processing plant outage in the area constrained production from four of the six wells. The remaining two wells, the Koala Federal 31-25HU and the Koala Federal 31-25H, are tracking a 1.5 MMBOE type curve. These wells were completed with an average of 9.8 million pounds of sand and 40 stages.
New Williston Basin Enhanced Completions in Williams County Tracking a 1.5 MMBOE Type Curve. In September 2017, Whiting completed a two-well pad in its Nelson area. These wells were completed in the Three Forks formation and on average are tracking a 1.5 MMBOE type curve. “The wells were completed with an average of 10.0 million pounds of sand and 44 frac stages”.
Redtail Area Production Grows 78% Sequentially. Production at Whiting’s Redtail area grew to 11,750 BOE/d, a 78% increase over second quarter 2017 levels. During the quarter, Whiting completed 58 gross operated wells. 48 of the wells were brought on production in August and September. Redtail wells typically flow back their completion fluid over