Brigham Exploration Co., Austin, Texas, (Nasdaq: BEXP)  reports that its first Three Forks well in the Williston Basin was a discovery, producing at a rate of approximately 892 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Brigham controls approximately 27,780 net acres in the Ross area, where Brigham has completed four horizontal Bakken wells, and plans an active development drilling program for the Bakken and Three Forks. The discovery is in Mountrail County, North Dakota.

Brigham chief executive officer Bud Brigham says that in the Ross area Three Forks discovery, Brigham has successfully completed its first Three Forks test, Adix 25 #1H. The well is currently flowing about 765 barrels of oil and 760,000 cubic feet of natural gas per day up 7-inch casing.

“Adix 25 #1H is a very important discovery for us. This well, combined with the recent Three Forks discoveries drilled in the area by Fidelity to the south and Encore to the west of our Ross Area, likely delineates a second field immediately below the Bakken formation for us to develop on our 27,780 net acres in the Ross area,” Brigham says. “Importantly, the Three Forks is a different reservoir from the Bakken, with different attributes; and therefore a different recipe may be optimal for completing these wells. As a result, we may have the opportunity to further optimize the drilling and completion of our Three Forks wells to further enhance performance.”

He adds that development on 320-acre spacing could result in the drilling of 173 net wells to fully develop the Bakken and the Three Forks in the Ross area. JAS