Bakken formation

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Bakken Formation is a 40 m thick mineral oil bearing geological formation from the late Devonian to early Mississippian . It covers approximately 520,000 km² under the surface of the Williston Basin , which includes parts of Saskatchewan and Manitoba in Canada and parts of Montana , North Dakota and South Dakota in the USA . There are no outcrops on the earth's surface; the Bakken Formation is mostly at depths of around 3 km. The formation was first described in 1953 by geologist JW Nordquist and was named after Henry Bakken, a farmer from Tioga in northwest North Dakota, on whose land the formation was discovered.

geology

The Bakken Formation typically consists of an upper layer of black shale , a middle silty dolomite and a lower layer of black shale.

The oil deposits in the Bakken not correspond to the classical model of petroleum case , but will as a continuous oil accumulation ( English Continuous Petroleum Accumulation viewed).

Bakken formation stratigraphy

For a long time, the reserves were of little importance, as there were initially large new production projects in Texas, California and the Gulf of Mexico. The increased price of the 1973 oil crisis enabled companies to invest in offshore drilling around the world. In the 21st century, however, the formation became an extremely lucrative source of oil due to permanent improvements in the technology of "fracking" and a rise in the price of oil. In addition, the significantly declining production in the USA should be slowed down.

economy

The preliminary peak of oil production from the Bakken Formation was reached in December 2014. It is the result of the low oil price, which was triggered by OPEC overproduction and later by significant declines in exports. While the funding spans several states, almost all of the funding is in North Dakota. In December 2014, a total of 37.855 million barrels were produced across North Dakota.

In February 2017, the amount was only 28.549 million barrels, but by August 2017, together with the increasing number of wells, it was increased again to 33.098 million barrels. It usually takes months, sometimes years, from drilling to production, and the significant recovery in total production in the USA indicates a further recovery. The area is huge but practically uninhabited in the assisted areas.

For comparison, the output in South Dakota and Montana in December 2014 was 0.16 million barrels and 2.671 million respectively. Production recovered slowly but steadily until August 2017 and was again slightly higher at 0.11 million barrels in South Dakota and at 1.696 million barrels in Montana.

EIA Oct2015 BakkenNewWellProdnPerRig.png
EIA Oct2015 BakkenOilGasProduction.png

Individual evidence

  1. ^ JW Nordquist: Mississippian stratigraphy of northern Montana. Billings Geological Society, 4th Annual Field Conference Guidebook, pp. 68-82, 1953.
  2. ^ Bakken Formation: Will it fuel Canada's oil industry? , June 27, 2008, cbc.ca.
  3. ↑ Bakken Shale Geology
  4. ↑ Nordeng, SH, 2009, The Bakken petroleum system: an example of a continuous petroleum accumulation : North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources Newsletter, Vol. 36, No. 1, pp. 19-22
  5. ^ Energy Information Administration: Bakken region - Drilling productivity report
  6. ^ EIA: Oil Production by State

Coordinates: 48 ° 24 '  N , 102 ° 56'  W