The Willston Basin
The Williston Basin is one of North America’s most established unconventional oil-producing regions, extending across western North Dakota, eastern Montana and portions of South Dakota and Canada. The basin is best known for the Bakken and Three Forks formations, which have supported extensive horizontal development for more than a decade.Continued improvements in lateral length, well spacing and completion design have increased the efficiency of development across the basin. United Exploration participates alongside experienced operators in established producing areas of North Dakota and Montana.
About the Willston Basin
The modern development of the Williston Basin has been driven primarily by horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing in the Bakken petroleum system. Oil generated by the Bakken source rocks is produced from the Middle Bakken and the underlying Three Forks reservoirs.Thousands of horizontal wells have established a substantial production history across the region. This extensive dataset allows prospective wells to be evaluated using nearby production, completion designs, decline profiles and operating results.
The basin is supported by mature oilfield infrastructure, including gathering systems, processing facilities, pipelines, rail transportation and an experienced service sector. Although the Bakken and Three Forks remain the principal targets, continued technical refinement and longer laterals have created additional opportunities within established producing areas.
The USGS estimates that the Bakken and Three Forks contain mean undiscovered, technically recoverable resources of approximately 4.3 billion barrels of oil and 4.9 trillion cubic feet of associated natural gas. U.S. Geological Survey
Willston Basin Highlights
The Williston Basin combines a large remaining resource base with extensive production history and mature infrastructure. United Exploration targets development opportunities supported by nearby producing wells and operated by companies with established experience in the region.
- Proven Bakken and Three Forks petroleum system
- Extensive horizontal-well production history
- Development concentrated in established producing areas
- Mature gathering, processing and transportation infrastructure
- Continued improvements in lateral length and completion design
- Large inventory of remaining development locations
- Long-lived oil production with associated natural gas revenue
- Experienced operators and oilfield service providers
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