The Influence Of North Dakota's Conservation Program On The Development And Unitization Of The North Tioga-Madison Pool
Authors: Folsom C.B. , Norton Wesley D. , Edwards Mary M. 
Published: December 2007

Publication Rights Reserved

This paper is to be presented at the Rocky Mountain Petroleum Section Regional Meeting in Casper, Wyo., on May 25 and 26, 1964, and is considered the property of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. Permission to publish is hereby restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words, with no illustrations, unless the paper is specifically released to the press by the Editor of the Journal of Petroleum Technology or the Executive Secretary. Such abstract should contain conspicuous acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper is presented. Publication elsewhere after publication in JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY or SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS JOURNAL is usually granted upon request providing proper credit is given that publication and the original presentation of the paper.

Discussion of this paper is invited. Three copies of any discussion should be sent to the Society of Petroleum Engineers office. Such discussion may be presented at the above meeting and, with the paper, may be considered for publication in one of the two SPE magazines.

The North Tioga-Madison pool was created, administratively, when the Tioga-Madison unit was formed in 1958. Wells not included in the Tioga unit, together with an outpost well, were defined as producing from the North Tioga-Madison pool. In order to speed development of the pool, and obtain data necessary for the initiation of secondary recovery operations, wide spacing was prescribed and proved effective. Studies indicated primary recovery of 9.5 million bbl and additional recovery of 28.1 million bbl from pressure maintenance. Delays in the initiation of the unit operation caused the Industrial Commission to restrict production from the pool pending commencement of fluid injection. Disagreements between operators and failure to compromise these differences have been reflected in failure to secure 100 per cent participation of royalty interests, making it impossible to carry out a completely effective project. As a result total ultimate recovery is expected to be less than 30 million bbl, illustrating the necessity of including provisions for compulsory unitization in all oil and gas conservation statutes.

The history of this reservoir points up the desirability of closer cooperation between industry and the regulatory bodies, particularly the technical staffs, and the authors propose a new approach to the problem.

Introduction

The North Tioga area has been selected as a case history in oil conservation, since many of the procedures and policies now in use were first used here or were promulgated as a result of something which happened here. Its history also points up the very real need for a new approach to the problem of organizing cooperative projects for the supplementation of reservoir energy.

The first Madison oil reservoir in the Williston Basin was discovered in the Tioga field by Amerada's No. 1 Oscar Bakken well in April, 1952. The earlier discovery in the Iverson well had been in the Devonian and Silurian; Madison shows in that well were not noted. After the completion of the initial Madison well in the Tioga field, it developed rapidly on 80-acre spacing.

A previous request for 80-acre spacing in the Beaver Lodge field, made by Amerada and Hunt, had been denied by the Commission in Jan., 1952.