Crescent Point Energy Trust announced on Dec. 11 that due to the increasing size and productivity of the Bakken resource play, Crescent Point is upwardly revising its 2008 capital expenditure budget as well from $150 million to $225 million.

With the increased capital budget, Crescent Point is upwardly revising its average production forecast for 2008 by five per cent to 32,750 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d). More than 37 per cent of Crescent Point's production is expected to be from the Viewfield Bakken play. Their netback on the Bakken oil play averaged $62.71 per boe in the third quarter of 2007.

Over the course of the past several months, Crescent Point has aggressively expanded the size of the Bakken resource play by drilling a number of step out sells with 100 per cent success.

The company now estimates that the Bakken formation may contain up to three billion barrels of original oil in place.

Crescent Point has complemented its drilling success with significant land acquisitions, Crown land sales and freehold land acquisitions. The Trust has grown its undeveloped Bakken land holdings by more than 150 per cent from 143 net sections acquired in the acquisition of Mission Oil and Gas Inc. to 360 net sections.

The company continues to refine the fracture stimulation techniques that are key to unlocking the value potential of the Bakken resource play. With current versions of fracture stimulation techniques, Crescent Point has increased first month average production rates to more than 200 boe/d per fracture stimulated well.

In total, Crescent Point will drill up to 140 (105.7 net) wells in 2008, including 79 (65.5 net) Bakken horizontal wells. They will also fracture stimulate up to 92 (77.2 net) Bakken horizontal wells.

Crescent Point currently has 74 (65.9 net) Bakken horizontal wells in inventory awaiting fracture stimulation, with risked net production additions of approximately 5,000 boe/d.