North Dakota Well Completion Record Lineage Study 2026: Research question and study design
Completion records describe a constructed well after important physical events have occurred. They should not be read as a duplicate of the permit or as a universal description of the bore. This study uses a bore-centered design that arranges evidence vertically: planned geometry, drilling milestones, completion interval, test conditions, submitted logs, and later status.
The aim is to show which measurement came from which stage. A proposed depth, reported total depth, perforated interval, and test result can all be accurate while answering different questions. The method protects those distinctions and identifies gaps that need technical review.
Anchor the bore identity
Start with the regulator-issued well identifier and any sidetrack, lateral, or bore notation. Preserve the well name, operator, county, surface location, and bottom-hole information as separate attributes. When multiple bores or laterals may share a surface site, a name match is insufficient.
Create an identity confidence note that lists the joining evidence. Exact official identifiers rank above similar names; explicit document cross-references rank above geographic inference. If records appear to describe different bores, stop the merge and create a relationship question for a reviewer.
Arrange milestones without inventing sequence
Capture permit issue, spud, reaching total depth, completion, test, filing, amendment, and current observation as individually labeled events. Do not assume the chronological order when a date is missing or corrected. A filing date describes paperwork; it is not the physical completion date.
The bore column can show gaps. A blank milestone is honest when the reviewed artifacts do not provide it. Filling the gap from a current summary risks turning an undated observation into an historical event.
Keep measurement families apart
Group measurements by purpose. Geometry includes surface and bottom-hole positions and total depth. Construction includes casing and cement information when displayed. Completion includes intervals, stages, or formation references. Performance includes test duration, conditions, and reported volumes.
Units and qualifiers travel with the value. A number without feet, barrels, pressure basis, duration, or test context is unsafe. Normalized units may be added for analysis only when the conversion is documented and the original entry remains visible.
Account for logs and attachments
A completion filing may cite logs, exhibits, or supplemental pages that are not present in the first image a researcher opens. Maintain an attachment inventory with expected item, cited locator, observed status, file hash when preservation is permitted, and follow-up action. “Not in packet” means absent from that captured packet, not nonexistent.
When an amended report appears, compare specific fields and attachments. Preserve the prior report because a replacement can obscure what earlier users saw. The change itself is factual; the reason for change is unknown unless a source states it.
Worked bore-column example
Consider a permit showing a proposed depth, a completion report with a deeper total depth and a named interval, and a current map record with a different operator. The bore identifier connects the observations. Three rows then preserve the proposed measurement, reported constructed measurement, and current party observation.
The researcher does not call the depth difference noncompliance and does not insert the current operator into the historic completion. Instead, the packet asks whether an amendment addresses depth and whether a separate operator-change record explains the party difference. Each question is routed to the professional who owns it.
Handoff for technical review
Present the bore column with a discrepancy schedule. Every issue specifies the measurement family, competing values, units, record dates, and page locators. Index attachments separately so a missing file does not alter a transcribed measurement.
Priority may reflect decision relevance, but the method should not silently discard small differences. A one-foot variance can be immaterial in one context and decisive in another. The technical owner supplies tolerance and disposition; the researcher supplies complete observations.
Validation and limitations
A technical checker should verify bore identity, units, interval ordering, page citations, and attachment inventory. Material measurements deserve double transcription. Range checks can identify likely errors but cannot correct the source. Any correction must retain the original value and explain its basis.
This public-source review, checked October 6, 2026, did not inspect physical cores, validate logs, recalculate tests, confirm field construction, or determine regulatory compliance. Some records may require authorized access or agency requests. The finding is that a bore-centered evidence column makes planned, constructed, tested, and currently displayed facts reviewable without conflating them.
Field protocol
Place API identifier in the bore column beside its unit, qualifier, event date, and page reference. Never borrow the value from a later stage to fill an earlier blank. A second researcher should reperform any material transcription. If the source is unclear, retain the image and route the ambiguity instead of silently repairing what the publisher displayed.
Place bore designation in the bore column beside its unit, qualifier, event date, and page reference. Never borrow the value from a later stage to fill an earlier blank. A second researcher should reperform any material transcription. If the source is unclear, retain the image and route the ambiguity instead of silently repairing what the publisher displayed.
Place permit date in the bore column beside its unit, qualifier, event date, and page reference. Never borrow the value from a later stage to fill an earlier blank. A second researcher should reperform any material transcription. If the source is unclear, retain the image and route the ambiguity instead of silently repairing what the publisher displayed.
Place spud date in the bore column beside its unit, qualifier, event date, and page reference. Never borrow the value from a later stage to fill an earlier blank. A second researcher should reperform any material transcription. If the source is unclear, retain the image and route the ambiguity instead of silently repairing what the publisher displayed.
Place reported total depth in the bore column beside its unit, qualifier, event date, and page reference. Never borrow the value from a later stage to fill an earlier blank. A second researcher should reperform any material transcription. If the source is unclear, retain the image and route the ambiguity instead of silently repairing what the publisher displayed.
Place completion date in the bore column beside its unit, qualifier, event date, and page reference. Never borrow the value from a later stage to fill an earlier blank. A second researcher should reperform any material transcription. If the source is unclear, retain the image and route the ambiguity instead of silently repairing what the publisher displayed.
Place completed interval in the bore column beside its unit, qualifier, event date, and page reference. Never borrow the value from a later stage to fill an earlier blank. A second researcher should reperform any material transcription. If the source is unclear, retain the image and route the ambiguity instead of silently repairing what the publisher displayed.
Place test date in the bore column beside its unit, qualifier, event date, and page reference. Never borrow the value from a later stage to fill an earlier blank. A second researcher should reperform any material transcription. If the source is unclear, retain the image and route the ambiguity instead of silently repairing what the publisher displayed.
Place test duration in the bore column beside its unit, qualifier, event date, and page reference. Never borrow the value from a later stage to fill an earlier blank. A second researcher should reperform any material transcription. If the source is unclear, retain the image and route the ambiguity instead of silently repairing what the publisher displayed.
Place reported volumes in the bore column beside its unit, qualifier, event date, and page reference. Never borrow the value from a later stage to fill an earlier blank. A second researcher should reperform any material transcription. If the source is unclear, retain the image and route the ambiguity instead of silently repairing what the publisher displayed.
Place log inventory in the bore column beside its unit, qualifier, event date, and page reference. Never borrow the value from a later stage to fill an earlier blank. A second researcher should reperform any material transcription. If the source is unclear, retain the image and route the ambiguity instead of silently repairing what the publisher displayed.
Place amendment locator in the bore column beside its unit, qualifier, event date, and page reference. Never borrow the value from a later stage to fill an earlier blank. A second researcher should reperform any material transcription. If the source is unclear, retain the image and route the ambiguity instead of silently repairing what the publisher displayed.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
Does a completion report replace the permit?
No. It reports later activity and must remain linked to, but distinct from, authorized intent.
What does a missing log prove?
Only that the documented search or captured packet did not yield it.
May units be standardized?
Yes for analysis, if the literal value, unit, conversion rule, and reviewer can all be traced.
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