N.D.: Oil Rigs Drill on Big Lake

[Mugu]

By JAMES MacPHERSON, Associated Press

BISMARCK, N.D. -

The drilling frenzy in North Dakota's oil patch has now reached beneath the state's biggest lake.

Oil companies have begun tapping crude oil and gas underneath Lake Sakakawea, using advanced horizontal drill techniques.

Lynn Helms, the director of the state Department of Mineral Resources, said it was a logical extension to the formation known as the Middle Bakken, which lies two miles under the surface in western North Dakota and holds millions of barrels of oil.

Wells aiming for the Middle Bakken are drilled vertically to about 10,000 feet, and then "kick out" for as many feet horizontally. The technology has made huge advances in the past decade, industry officials say.


Complete article at:
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/03/17/ap4781804.html