Whiting Petroleum Corp., Denver, (NYSE: WLL) recently completed two Bakken shale wells in North Dakota with total initial production of 6,991 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Whiting tested Rigel State 11-16H in Sanish Field in Mountrail Country on April 12 at 3,405 barrels of oil and 2.9 million cubic feet of gas for a total 3,889 barrels of oil equivalent per day. This is the second highest initial flow rate of any Whiting-operated Bakken well. The initial production rate was gauged on a 36/64-inch choke with a flowing casing pressure of 981 pounds-per-square-inch. Whiting drilled the Rigel State well in the east-central portion of the field. Whiting is operator and holds a 64% working interest (52% net revenue interest) in the new producer.

Approximately two miles to the northwest, Whiting completed TTT Ranch 11-6H on April 18 and tested it at an initial daily rate of 2,825 barrels of oil and 1.7 million cubic feet of gas for total 3,102 barrels equivalent per day. Production rate was gauged on a 34/64-inch choke with a flowing casing pressure of 900 pounds-per-square-inch. Whiting is operator and holds 85% working interest (69% net revenue interest).

Whiting drilled two infill wells in Sanish Field in 2008, the McNamara 42-26H and Fladeland 12-18H. Results from both infill wells continue to be encouraging. The Fladeland 12-18H was drilled on the company’s primary development plan of two wells per 1,280-acre spacing unit, was completed next to the Abbott 11-18H well to the north and the Maynard Uran 11-24H and Smith 11-20H wells to the south. The results from the Fladeland well continue to show no interference with the existing offset producing wells. The Fladeland well’s initial production rates are also consistent with the production rates of other comparable wells in the area.

Whiting completed a total 10 new producers in Sanish Field between Jan. 1 and April 20. The company holds interests in a total of 125,557 gross acres (83,606 net acres) in the field. Total net production in both the Sanish and Parshall fields in Mountrail County averaged 14,930 barrels equivalent per day in March, up 5% from 14,165 barrels equivalent in December and 260% from 4,150 barrels equivalent in March 2008.

Whiting expects its 17-mile oil line connecting Sanish Field to the Enbridge pipeline in Stanley, N.D., a to be in service in the third quarter. The eight-inch diameter line will have a daily capacity of approximately 65,000 barrels of oil per day. Enbridge Inc. has announced plans to expand its oil pipeline in Mountrail County, to a daily capacity of 161,000 barrels of oil per day from its current capacity of 110,000 barrels per day. This expansion is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2010.

Whiting has operations in the Permian Basin, Rockies, Midcontinent, Gulf Coast and Michigan regions of the U.S.