Beach Buys Stake in Sundance Bakken Shale

Australia’s Beach Energy has acquired a stake in Sundance Energy’s South Antelope oil prospect in the Bakken Shale of North Dakota, USA.

A horizontal well is scheduled to be drilled in the prospect in late May 2010 and following its completion, Beach will also participate in a second horizontal well on an adjacent lease area.

The initial well will target potential gross reserves of about 450,000 barrels of oil in dolomitic siltstones and sandstones in the Bakken Shale.

Recent horizontal drilling and subsequent multi-stage fracturing in this area resulted in initial rates in excess of 1,500bopd.

The South Antelope prospect is located at a depth of 2,600m and the horizontal well about 1.4km in length.

The combined gross potential reserves for the two wells is over 1 million barrels of oil.

Beach will experience rapidly evolving technology associated with oil and gas production from shale formations through the interest in which the firm has invested $1.3m.