There is HUGE potential!
Poplar Field
In the United States, Magellan owns Poplar, an oil field located in Roosevelt County, Montana. Our acreage position covers substantially all of Poplar Dome, the largest geologic structure in the western Williston Basin whose layer cake structure provides multiple formations with hydrocarbon resource potential.
The field was discovered in the 1950s by Murphy Oil, who actively explored and developed the Charles formation for two decades. By the time Magellan acquired Poplar in 2009, technological advances in oil and gas exploration allowed us to reevaluate Poplar's known formations and to discover new ones.
Magellan's current objectives are to prove up the potential of Poplar's various formations and to establish the viability of a CO2-Enhanced Oil Recovery project in the Charles formation, in which the substantial volume of oil in place offers Magellan a chance to significantly increase its oil reserves.
Location
Poplar, located in the Williston Basin, lies at the western edge of the Bakken oil play, one of the most active exploration and development areas in the world. Poplar's location is in close proximity to two oil pipelines and one gas pipeline. Currently, our oil production is sold into the Clearbrook market.
In the Rocky Mountain region, an infrastructure network for the supply and transportation of CO2 exists and continues to be developed by various parties. This network contributes to the feasibility of developing additional oil reserves from the Charles formation at Poplar via a CO2-Enhanced Oil Recovery project.
For further information on Poplar's location, please click on the tabs above the map below.
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Acreage
Poplar, as the Company defines it, is composed of a 100% working interest in the oil and gas leases within the East Poplar Unit ("EPU"), a federal exploratory unit in Roosevelt County, Montana, totaling approximately 18,000 net acres, and the working interests in various oil and gas leases that are adjacent to or near EPU ("Northwest Poplar" or "NWP") totaling approximately 4,000 net acres.
MapOur interests within EPU include a 100% operated working interest in the interval from the surface to the top of the Bakken/Three Forks formation (the "Shallow Intervals") and an operated working interest below those intervals ranging from 50% to 65%, which include the Bakken/Three Forks, Nisku, and Red River formations (the "Deep Intervals"). VAALCO Energy (USA), Inc. ("VAALCO") owns the remaining working interest in the Deep Intervals. Our interests within NWP are all operated and are the same as within EPU, except in certain leases in which the Company and VAALCO collectively own less than 100% of the working interest.
As a Federal Exploratory Unit, EPU is held entirely by production from any one well within its boundaries. As such, Magellan effectively faces no mandatory expenditure requirements to maintain this acreage, and we have full flexibility in allocating our capital to the highest value-enhancing projects at Poplar.Back to Top
Geology
Poplar dome is the largest geologic structure in the western Williston Basin whose layer cake structure provides multiple formations with hydrocarbon resource potential. As of 2013, the vast majority of production has come from the Charles formation, supplemented by some oil production from the Tyler.
Other formations at Poplar offer the possibility for commercial oil and gas production, including the Judith River, Greenhorn, Piper, Amsden, Bakken/Three Forks, Nisku, Red River, and Winnipeg formations. Please rollover the below stratigraphic column for information on individual formations. Please click on the 3-D tab in the below chart to see an illustration of our 3-D reservoir model.
