Stetson has secured the rights to the land through the working relationship that it has established with First Nations’s bands over the past year. The tribal lands are close to approximately 4,500 additional acres of freehold lands that Stetson has leased, subject to approval of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Stetson considers the tribal lands and the leased freehold lands to be prospective for the development of light oil and solution gas from the Bakken formation.
These lands are located approximately 25 miles south of the Parshall Bakken field, which has the highest reported initial production rates from horizontal wells drilled into the Bakken formation within the Williston Basin. In their public disclosure, several operators in Parshall are reporting initial well production rates over 2,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd), with some wells crossing the 3,000bopd mark.
The Bakken formation has recently been developed utilizing horizontal drilling and new multi-stage fracturing techniques that have resulted in significant production rates. Many Bakken horizontal wells drilled in North Dakota have reported initial production rates in excess of 500bopd.
Stetson will be the operator on its North Dakota lands and will have a minimum 70% working interest up to a maximum 90% working interest, depending on the level of participation by a partner in this prospect.
