Saturday, May 28, 2011

Trivial Chatter -- Painted Woods Oil Field -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

This evening I took the opportunity to see the flooding of the Missouri around Williston, North Dakota. It is quite remarkable.

On the way back home I drove through Painted Woods oil field, and was amazed at all the activity. It is one thing to post about the Bakken based on what I read, but it's quite another thing to actually drive through it. I didn't have much time so it was a quick look, but here are some of the wells in the Painted Woods oil field. Talk in Williston is that this field has turned out to be quite a good field.

Again, for newbies, I use 100,000 bbls of cumulative oil as a significant milestone. Once a well hits 100,000 bbls (in my mind), it's free and clear for the rest of its producing history. 

This is a "cut and paste" from the Painted Woods field update:

New wells posted at second update (May 28, 2011) following original post:
  • 18906, BEXP, 2,640, Michael Owan 26-35 1-H; IP 7/10; 75K as of 3/11
  • 18992, Slawson, 826, Stampede 1-36-25H; IP 11/10; 33K as of 3/11
  • 18796, BEXP, 2,213, Abe Owan 21-16 1-H; IP 9/10; 62K as of 3/11
  • 18955, BEXP, 2,278, Weisz 11-14 1-H; IP 8/10; 72K as of 3/11
  • 19031, BEXP, 1,773, Boots 13-24 1-H; IP 9/10; 41K as of 3/11
  • 19085, BEXP, TD, Brad Olson 9-16 3H; IP 4/11;
  • 19086, BEXP, 2,472, Brad Olson 9-16 2H; IP 11/10;47K as of 3/11
  • 19389, BEXP, 1,936, M. Olson 20-29 1-H; IP 12/10; 48K as of 3/11
Five new wells posted at first update following original post:
  • 18791, BEXP, 1,578, Abe 30-31 1H, spudded 4/10; 75K as of 3/11
  • 18443, BEXP, 1,976, Owan 29-32 1H, spudded 4/10; 76K as of 3/11
  • 18771, Zenergy, 683, Johnson 29-30H, spudded 4/10; 55K as of 3/11 (Squires field)
  • 18793, EOG, 274, Mont 100-28H, spudded 3/10; 25K as of 3/11 (Squires field)
  • 18622, EOG, 680, Mont 1-28H, spudded 3/10; 30K as of 3/11 (Squires field)
The Squires wells were listed because they are so close to the Painted Woods field.

Gee! The New York Times Likes Oil --

Link here.

I have not read the article. I saw the source, read the first three paragraphs, realized it was old news, and moved on.
The Texas field, known as the Eagle Ford, is just one of about 20 new onshore oil fields that advocates say could collectively increase the nation’s oil output by 25 percent within a decade — without the dangers of drilling in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico or the delicate coastal areas off Alaska.
Enjoy. Let me know if the New York Times is fair and balanced.

I'm sure Snopes.com will say this is all hyped.

Triangle Petroleum Doubles Its Acreage -- North Dakota Bakken (Montana)

Triangle Petroleum recently announced a 42,000 net-acre acquisition in the Bakken (Montana side of the border). This will bring Triangle's Bakken property to about 72,000 net acres.

This was announced a few days ago, but  I am only now getting caught up after being on Amtrak for a couple of days.

The press release states this is the North Dakota Bakken (Williston Basin) but I have to remind folks that there is an Alberta Bakken in Montana and sometimes these two "pools" are misidentified.

Flooding in Western North Dakota

Links
Updates

August 31, 2013: Update on repairs --
Work is also being done on the dam's massive flood control gates, all 28 of them. The gates have the capacity to release 660,000 cfs at maximum operating pool of 1,854 feet. A record level of 1,854.8 feet occurred in 1975. Lake Sakakawea reached 1,854.6 feet on July 1, 2011.
"The gates had never been used prior to 2011," noted Lindquist. "We're conducting testing to insure the welds and structural integrity of the gates. We'll be painting them and replacing seals. Meanwhile, everything remains operational."
Corps preparing for rest of summer, looking to 2012. High levels will persist; wet areas receding very slowly, and still huge amounts of water to pass through. July 29, 2011.

Leak in the Dike At Williston; Corps Closes Levee to the Public, June 1, 2011
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has restricted all public access to a seven-mile portion of the levee around Williston.

Corps officials said crews have been working to fix a small "boil", or leak in the levee as well as conduct inspections.
Wolf Point, Montana, to see flooding, Billings Gazette, May 31, 2011.


In the middle of the worse flooding on the Missouri in its history, the US Army Corps of Engineers found time (May 31, 2011) to release the results of this study:
The Army Corps of Engineers has released a final environmental study on the impact of building nesting habitat for endangered birds on the Missouri River.

Parts of the river between Fort Peck, Mont., and Sioux City, Iowa, are designated as critical habitat for the piping plover and interior least tern. Both species build nests on sandbars and sandy shoreline.
Something tells me the Corps releasing water from Ft Peck dam has inundated all those sandbars. May 31, 2011.
First time ever: Corps Will Raise Spillway Gates at Garrison; Public Cleared Out, May 31, 2011

From a Bismarck resident, Sunday, May 30, 2011:
"...Many of the homes near the river are already 3 feet deep in water and they haven’t even started the really high water releases yet from the dam.  They were releasing 12 cubic feet per second....today they are 120 cfs and will go to the max of 150 csf in a week.  They are estimating about $300,000,000 worth of homes will be lost.  They are also saying there will be water filling the basements for 2 months.......and the whole town could lose water and sewage (in 3 to 4 weeks).   The National Guard is here plus about 8,000 to 10,000 people are volunteering with sandbagging, etc.  They have moved a lot of the animals from the zoo....can’t move the big Kodiac bears as they are about 20 years old and would not survive the anesthetics.  So, if it gets too bad they will destroy them.  It is really sad here.  Will likely hit the national news in a week or two when the pictures are more shocking..."
May 30, 2011: South Dakota flooding due to release of water at Garrison Dam. Cities affected: Pierre, Yankton.

From Neil (again, not sure exactly when these numbers apply, due to fact, I got to e-mail late, and still catching up:
Fort Peck power house 10,000
Fort Peck spillway 40,000
Milk River 10,000
Yellowstone 75,000 - unsure if this will maintain.
Expected gauge at Culbertson after a few days 60,000-probably Sunday or so.
Expected gauge are Williston after a few days 135,000
I am also told that the Milk River watershed in Canada has seen some major rain and that might bump the Milk substantially during these high releases.
Sunday, May 29, 2011: Corps to release more water at Garrison.

Neil sent this note, Saturday evening, May 28:
On Thursday Fort Peck will go to 50,000 cfs. With the Milk River and others the flow at Williston bridge will be 140,000 cfs.
Gregg sent this note, Saturday, May 28, 5:05 p.m.:
The corp of engineers,state,city, and county officials are having a briefing, 5:30 Bismarck time. KFYR radio will be broadcast it over the internet.
Its a real drama playing out down there.

http://www.kfyr.com/main.html
Original Post

For those interested in a "almost-instantaneous" information on water flowing into Sakakawea Lake (behind Garrison Dam, North Dakota) and water being released, this is some interesting information.

I have to thank "Don" for putting all this information together and sending it forward:

The total inflow to Garrison/Lake Sakakawea from these three (3) sources is (as I) type: 121,400 cubic feet  per second.

The release is 90,000 cubic feet per second.

These flows will go up or down. But there is only 4 ft in the Lake Sakakawea before it breaches the spillway locks on the east side of Garrison Dam. 

76,900 cft per sec from the Yellowstone River;  25,200 from the Missouri (Big MO), and 19,300 from the Little Missouri.
The Yellowstone River near Sidney, Montana:
BIG Missouri near Culbertson, Montana:
Little Missouri in Medora, North Dakota:
I cannot even imagine 30,000 cubic feet of water per second net inflow into the lake. Per second.

Peak Oil? What Peak Oil? -- Yes, I Know the Story Is About Natural Gas But One Gets the Point

Link here. From Rigzone:
For now, state geologists are finished with their research in central North Carolina.

After studying 59,000 acres in the Deep River basin for 15 years, they have concluded that Lee, Chatham and Moore counties could produce enough natural gas from shale to make North Carolina self-sufficient for 40 years at current levels of consumption.

"That's what we think," said Kenneth Taylor, chief of the N.C. Geological Survey. "We could become a net exporter." 

Samson Update on Everett 1-15H -- Bakken, North Dakota USA

Link here.
Samson O&G advised that the Everett #1-15H well is drilling ahead in the lateral at a measured depth of 13,107 feet.

The lateral is being drilled whilst observing characteristic oil and gas shows. The Everett #1-15H well is Samson’s sixth Bakken well in the North Stockyard Field.
Meanwhile, they are still working on Earl:
Significant progress has been made in recovering the parted tubing string which was being used to drill the isolation plugs in the Earl #1-13H well. The remaining tubing and drilling assembly consists of a 1,200 feet section and the top of this fish has been conditioned such that it should be able to be extracted in the next 24 hours.

I Guess Minnesota Enjoys Those Higher Utility Bills -- Governor Vetoes Bill To Lower Utility Costs

Yup, the governor vetoed the bill. Meanwhile, states on the East Coast are dropping out of "cap and trade" agreements. As long as residents enjoy paying higher utility costs, that's their choice. Meanwhile, one can expect that manufacturers with high electricity needs (like technology companies) will simply choose other states in which to locate (or relocate).


Follow this incredible story here.

Nice Article on Water For Fracking -- Human Interest Story -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Nice story on the water haulers in the Bakken. I believe this is about how Harold Hamm (CLR/Founder and CEO) started out in the oil business in Oklahoma three or four decades ago.

It's a regional link, so unfortunately, it's likely to be broken soon. Enjoy it while you can. From the McKenzie County Farmer.
It takes as much as one million gallons of water to frac a single Bakken oil well. Frac water is freshwater that is used to pressurize and fracture oil-bearing formations to increase permeability and enhance the flow and recovery of oil.

Frac water is typically transported in 7,500 to 8,000-gallon tanker trucks from a freshwater well to the oil well location, so it takes at least 125 tanker loads per well. It’s easy to see that getting water to a well site can be a time-consuming effort, and if trucks are waiting in line for hours, like they were last Thursday in Watford City, it can be frustrating for the truck driver as well as the oil company.

Oil companies typically send trucks to the closest water source, and last Thursday it was easy to see that Watford City was the closest source for many drivers, as there were 25 waiting in line to fill their tanks.
“I’ve been waiting for three hours and I have about another hour till it’s my turn,” says Alan Barth, who has contracted his truck to Missouri Basin Well Service. “I do get paid by the hour, so that makes it a little easier waiting in line. But it is still frustrating because I want to be productive for the company.”