XTO Drives Activity with Four Permit Renewals; Hess Updates Four Confidential Wells

The North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources approved two new drilling permits and renewed four others in its latest daily activity report. The new permits were filed by Formentera Operations and Whiting Oil and Gas Corporation, while XTO Energy Inc. accounted for all four renewals.

Permit #43119 was approved for Formentera Operations LLC for the SNEAKY-07-32-PGN S619HX well in Burke County's 'CONFIDENTIAL' field. Permit #43121 was approved for Whiting Oil and Gas Corporation for the TWO PENCE FEDERAL 5102 43-32 5BX well in the SW SE 32-151N-102W location in McKenzie County's Foreman Butte field.

The day's most notable administrative activity came from XTO Energy Inc., which secured renewals for four permits. All four are in McKenzie County and were noted as having a "LOCATION OUTSIDE OF SPACING UNIT," with one also marked for a "PROPOSED DRILLBACK OUTSIDE OF SPACING UNIT." Permit #35135 is for the HARLEY FEDERAL 44X-15DXA well in the Grinnell field. Permits #36740, #36741, and #36742 are all for wells named EDWARDS TRUST FEDERAL in the North Fork field.

In additional filings, Hess Bakken Investments II, LLC updated the status for four wells, moving them to a confidential designation. Two are in Williams County: the GO-ZONA-157-98-3523H-3 and GO-BARB-157-97-3523H-4 wells. The other two are the BW-IDA-LS-149-101-2321H-1 in McKenzie County and the BL-SVOR-156-95-0403H-3 in Williams County.

The filings show continued administrative work in the core Bakken counties of McKenzie and Williams. The new permit for Whiting in McKenzie County's Foreman Butte field and the multiple XTO renewals in the county's Grinnell and North Fork fields highlight ongoing activity in this key producing region. The confidential status updates for Hess wells are a routine part of the drilling process, protecting operator data for a period after completion.