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To: Archie Meeties who wrote (124355)	9/20/2009 7:11:51 PM
From: golfinggramps	Respond to of 206179

A reprint of an article from Richland County Montana. Continental Resources new drilling pad. Home » News » Local News » In & Around Our Area Print this story Post A Comment ShareThis Continental introduces eco-friendly technology BY LINDSEY BRIGHT Special to the Herald Published on Friday, September 18, 2009 2:46 PM MDT It’s a business, the oil industry. As such, producers seek to not only make economics work for them, but also appease the public. One way, during this green era, to do that is find ways to lessen the impact production and development will have on the environment. Continental Resources has patented a new design for the oil field called Eco-Pad tm. It’s pronounced ee – coe, not echo. “Its eeco, for economics and ecology,” Jeff Hume, chief operating officer for Continental, said. From the design, the Eco-Pad satisfies both company concerns. Essentially, what the Eco-Pad will allow companies to do is drill four wells from one pad. “The Eco-pad is an environmentally friendly oil and gas production site engineered for increased output efficiency,” said Brian Engel, vice president of public affairs for Continental Resources. The concept for the design came to fruition as Continental was looking for a way to utilize its large acreage position in both the Middle Bakken and Three-Forks/Sanish formation. Continental officials feel the Middle Bakken and TFS are separate producing reservoirs after the results from their Mathistad well came in so strong. From two abutting units, one side will be laid on which four wells will be drilled – two going to the Middle Bakken, two going to the TFS. The lateral legs will go in both directions. “This will leave only a seven-acre footprint during drilling,” Hume said. The minimization of well sites lessens the impact of drilling and maintenance not only for the environment but the company as well. Less roads will need to be built and ultimately less infrastructure. And, as is sometimes the case, what is good for the environment is also good for the wallet. Less pipeline will have to be laid. Instead of building a pipeline going to separate wells for two adjunct units, there will only be one. For maintenance, the oil field service employees will have less driving because there will be more wells in one spot. “We’re building a smaller location,” Hume said. “It’s less dirt, less work.” It’s also less time. The amount of time between drilling one hole to the next can be cut down from days to a mere 12 hours by using a walking rig. And that’s exactly what it sounds like, a rig that walks itself. Continental estimates savings of 10 percent on well cost. Similar designs have been used in Wyoming and Colorado, using a multi-well common pad. Continental has received a permit from the North Dakota Industrial Commission [NDIC]. “We are cautiously optimistic about the concept. It has great potential to reduce costs and surface impacts while recovering more oil and getting both the middle Bakken and Three Forks formations developed more quickly,” says Lynn Helms, the director of NDIC. “The caution comes with knowing that some parts of North Dakota have rough topography, culture or archeology that will make placement of alternating pads a challenge. Once Continental gets up the learning curve a bit it should make it easier to work around topography and other problems.” The company plans on implementing the ECO-Pad for the first time in the fourth quarter. “We have a large acreage and a lot of abutting units,” Hume said. “This will be our practice.” Though, the ECO-Pad cannot be implemented all over the entire oil field, Hume foresees many companies using this new technology in the next years.