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OPERATIONS
Tonka Energy Partners
Area of Focus

The Williston Basin spans across North Dakota, Montana, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. The Basin is known for its rich deposits of oil and natural gas.  The Bakken and Three Forks formations are the primary focus of exploration and production in recent years.  

The Bakken formation is a shale located within the Williston Basin.  It is known for its low porosity and permeability, which makes it difficult to extract oil and gas.  However, advancements in hydraulic fracturing technology have made it possible to extract oil and gas at commercially viable rates.  The Three Forks formation is another shale located beneath the Bakken.  It is also known for its rich deposits of oil and natural gas, and is often targeted for exploration and production along with the Bakken formation.

TEP’s focus in the Williston Basin varies depending on market conditions and drilling costs.  In general, we tend to focus on areas where operators can extract oil and gas at the lowest cost possible.  This often involves targeting areas where the formations are thicker and where there are fewer drilling challenges such as faults or areas of natural fracturing.  In recent years, there has been a shift towards multi-well pad drilling, which involves drilling multiple wells from a single pad to reduce costs and environmental impact.

 
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Frac ops at a TEP well
Mountrail County, ND
 

Drilling ops at a TEP well
Williams County, ND
 
Evaluation Process

Each acquisition opportunity undergoes a detailed but efficient due diligence process.  After an acquisition is sourced, the TEP management teams runs an internal analysis using a proprietary database of well information.   Simultaneously, nearby comparison wells are scrutinized by their production profiles which factor into our engineering assumptions.  If an opportunity passes the internal review, it is sent to our petroleum engineer, who conducts a thorough engineering analysis.  All acquisitions made to date have been in proven areas where currently producing wells can be utilized in our underwriting.   

All potential acquisitions have a focus on the following criteria: â€‹
  • Production results from nearby producing wells
  • Estimated drilling, completion, and equipment costs
  • Takeaway capacity and infrastructure 
  • Development schedule
  • Completion design
  • Operator
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