Hardy Radcliffe Formation - Part One The Bakken Oil Formation, much of which extends into Southeastern Saskatchewan from Montana and North Dakota, is being described by many as the largest conventional oil discovery in Canada since 1957.
The formation yields 41 degree light sweet crude. Not only is this oil high quality, but plentiful too, with estimates between 25 billion and 400 billion barrels of oil in place. It has been estimated that the Canadian side of the play holds up to 1.3 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil.
Oil production in the Saskatchewan Bakken has increased drastically from 200 bbls/d in 2004, to a current rate of over 56,000 bbls/d and climbing. Since production began in 2002, Saskatchewan's Bakken play has produced about four million barrels of oil.
With high light oil prices, new technology, continual discoveries, and a supportive government, the Saskatchewan Bakken continues to provide those who invest in it with consistently high net-backs. With all of this opportunity, major industry players are scrambling to gain a foothold in the Bakken as are a number of juniors who see the inherent potential here.
The Hardy Bakken Field in Southeastern Saskatchewan was discovered in 2008 by individuals involved in the original Bakken discoveries in Montana and North Dakota. The Hardy area falls along a well documented oil migration pathway that extends from the heart of the Williston Basin in North Dakota out to the old Bakken producing Roncott field (just Northeast of Hardy). One exploration company has participated in the second Bakken horizontal well in the Hardy field which is considered a successful well (initial rates of ~164 barrels of oil per day) and proves the area's potential. Three others are on the way.