Diverse Strategies Characterize Companies Focusing On Williston Basin By Danny Boyd Like North Dakota's legendary weather, the Bakken/Three Forks is a challenging environment by any measure. But while the geology is complex and the operating challenges can be tough to deal with at times, the Williston Basin holds substantial incentive in the form of premium light, sweet crude oil reserves. That is what made the Bakken one of the first tight oil play hot spots more than two decades ago, and what continues to keep it front and center today. Staying power in the Williston requires equal parts commitment, ingenuity and strategy. It just so happens that those are the exact qualities independents continue to display all across the basin as they implement focused operating and business plans. That includes highgrading drilling inventories, pushing lateral lengths beyond three miles, growing baseline production, testing refracturing and enhanced oil recovery methods to capture the huge upside of original oil remaining in place, and perfecting production techniques to maximize the performance of every well in the portfolio. 44 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER