Also From Alison Tonight -- BLM Lease Sale -- May 1, 2026

Locator: 50687B.

This was NOT on my bingo card: a record-setting oil and gas lease sale in the Dakotas. A record sale! I thought the Bakken was dead based on stories from the likes of The New York Times.  

I used to track these quarterly sales but somewhere along the line the agency seemed to have made the site less user-friendly and it wasn't worth the time to try to sort it out. 

The monthly "NDIC Hearing Dockets" are so much more helpful. And this month, particularly interesting. It seems every case was a) multi-section drilling unit; and, a multi-well pad, four to six wells. 

But back to the BLM lease sale -- a record $44 million for 8,989 acres, or an average of $5,000 per acre.

Note also the significantly reduced federal onshore royalty rate -- making it more attractive for operators to operate.  

Alison's Quick Connects -- Friday, May 1, 2026

Locator: 50686B.

Quick connects:

• Hoeven advances North Dakota priorities with Interior Secretary Burgum -- John Hoeven

• Letter: North Dakota needs to isolate economy from global petroleum market -- InForum

• Senator Hoeven pushing Crack the Code 2.0 initiative for coal-fired plants -- KX News

• Conservation organizations protest gas and oil sites near national park -- Dickinson Press

• Bakken remains central to US energy security with some of the finest light, sweet crude on earth -- InForum

• Fedorchak secured clarity for ND producers regarding the Biden-era methane rule -- Julie Fedorchak

• Senator Hoeven explains that we import foreign oil due to mismatch in refining capacity -- KFYR-TV

• North Dakota Industrial Commission votes to commit up to $500M to natgas pipeline -- North Dakota Monitor

• PSC approves power project to serve data center under construction north of Fargo -- North Dakota Monitor

• Trump signs measure stripping protections from Minnesota wilderness area, opening it to mining -- The Hill

• Volatile markets drive North Dakota oil prices as 'Bakken Express' nears launch -- McKenzie County Farmer

• North Dakota oil and gas production continues to see effects from war in Middle East -- The Journal

• Write-in candidate could take late North Dakota legislator's spot in general election -- North Dakota Monitor

• How North Dakota will handle District 11 ballot in wake of passing of Rep. Liz Conmy -- KFYR-TV

• Port: Term limits amendment complicates the process of replacing State Rep. Liz Conmy -- Williston Herald

• Study recommends changes to state legislative calendar in response to term limits -- North Dakota Monitor

• Issue spotlight: Where North Dakota US House candidates stand on the Iran war -- North Dakota Monitor

• Poll shows North Dakotans split on military action in Iran; concern high on gas prices -- North Dakota Monitor

• State lawmakers fail to submit financial disclosure form despite a new law requiring it -- North Dakota Monitor

• Health care worker numbers rising in ND; doctors, physician's assistants see increases -- Dickinson Press

• Pro-business ND Republicans still enjoy strong majority, but there are cracks in the foundation. -- InForum

• North Dakota Department of Commerce opens Innovate ND Grant applications, due May 14 -- KX News

• FAA awards $17.9 millions to 20 airport infrastructure projects across North Dakota -- Dickinson Press

• North Dakota tribal redistricting case still in limbo after Voting Rights Act decision -- North Dakota Monitor

• Next round of federal rural health grants to promote fitness, community gardens -- North Dakota Monitor

• Increasing the fleet: Mercer County Commission acts on significant equipment purchases -- The Beacon

• How Mercer County officials are incorporating public comments into data center ordinances -- The Beacon

• McClusky Gazette seeks buyer; without one, Sheridan County may become news desert -- Dickinson Press

• Officials' leadership recognized during North Dakota League of Cities' Spring Workshop -- Minot Daily News

• Entrepreneurship is vital to overall financial wellbeing of rural communities -- Bowman County Pioneer

• Breakdown of the $232 million proposal to begin Sentinel upgrades on Minot Air Force Base -- KFYR-TV

• Global Strike Command leader: Modernization efforts critical to nation's nuclear defense -- Minot Daily News

• Divide County Commission receives updates on present and future county road projects -- The Journal

• Fire destroys two-story residence with attached garage in McKenzie County -- McKenzie County Farmer

• Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library is not 'progress' for everyone in Medora -- North Dakota Monitor

• Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library shares updates on opening week, America 250 -- Dickinson Press

• Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library executive director receives NDSU Horizon Award -- Dickinson Press

• Minot Public School Board holds first round of contract negotiations with the teachers' union -- KFYR-TV

• Area high school students selected to attend the North Dakota Leadership Seminar -- Minot Daily News

• From classroom to community: Dickinson students design affordable housing solutions -- Dickinson Press

• $28.5 million agricultural research expansion moving from Maryland to UND and NDSU -- Williston Herald

• Department of Public Instruction proposes tighter guidelines for four-day school week approval -- KFYR-TV

• Port: North Dakota public school schedules should be driven by academics, not athletics -- Williston Herald

• Garden Valley Elementary School reflects on year of innovations, continuing challenges -- Williston Herald

• Dickinson State first college in the state to test a reduced-credit bachelor's degree -- North Dakota Monitor

• $4.8 million recovered from Dickinson Public School scam, still not returned to school -- Dickinson Press

• Killdeer Public Schools superintendent announces upcoming shift to four-day week schedule -- The Beacon

• Trump to pay energy companies to abandon offshore wind ambitions and invest in fossil fuels -- The Hill

• National average gas prices at highest level in four years as result of US-Israeli conflict in Iran -- The Hill

• US signs energy and AI deals worth billions with Balkan countries as its influence widens -- Reuters

• At least six Iranian tankers laden with oil seen loitering near Hormuz port as US blockage tightens -- Oil Price

• The cost of building new U.S. gas-fired power plants increased 66 percent from 2023 to 2025 -- E&E News

• US consumer confidence inches higher in April despite Iran war and soaring gasoline prices -- KX News

• Experts say gas prices won't drop anytime soon; pointing to seasonal demand and global factors -- InForum

• Researchers in China develop modified balsa wood that could make wood part of energy grid -- Oil Price

• Energy crisis triggered by Middle East conflict could hurt EU consumers, industries for years -- Oil Price

• US continues to pile pressure on Iran outside Strait of Hormuz as Trump signals blockade yielding -- Oil Price

• UAE's shocking OPEC exit: What it means for the oil cartel's future and for crude prices -- CNBC

• These Asian nations return to coal for energy in the wake of Hormuz disruption -- The National Interest

• For the first time, a nuclear fusion developer requests connection to a US regional power grid -- E&E News

• House Judiciary ramps up probe into various climate groups improperly influencing judges -- EID Climate

• Climate science's biggest shift in decades: IPCC's scary RCP8.5 is officially dead -- The Honest Broker

• The Trump administration is finally giving Congress a climate change reality check -- Issues and Insights

• EPA Admin Lee Zeldin ignites headed exchange after stumping House Dem on SCOTUS cases -- Fox News

Friday Night -- May 1, 2026

Locator: 50685B.

Trump, Friday night:

• letter to Congress: the war is over between Iran and the US;
• memo to the EU: executive order declaring 25% tariff on autos coming into US

******************************
Back to the Bakken

WTI: $101.90. Down about $5.

Active rigs: 23.

Three new permits, #42891 - #42893, inclusive:

• Operators: Iron Oil Operating (2); Zavanna
• Fields: Parshall (Mountrail County); Stony Creek (Williams County)
• Comments:
• Iron Oil has permits for two Twin Tractors wells, NWNW 23-154-89, 
• to be sited 415 FNL and 729 / 779 FWL.
• Zavanna has a permit for a Boxer well, NENW 22-155-100, 
• to be sited 728 FNL and 2280 FWL.

Three permits were canceled:

• Enerplus, Sleeper, Pin, and Chief, SWSE 20-149-92; Dunn County;  
• aha! sleeper, pin, ad chief are all bowling (pin) word -- the chief is hte #1 pin; a sleeper pin is a pin that is hidden directly behind another pin making it hard to see; and, of course, "pin" is a bowling pin. Ya gotta love it.

The Big Airlines Won -- Killed A Discount Airline -- May 1, 2026

Locator: 50684SPIRIT.

Query: Didn't some other airline try to merge with Spirit Airlines but the merger was shut down by the regulators?

Reply: if folks can't see how and why this played out, they're not paying attention.

Relationship Between The Military And AI -- This Is Not Trivial -- And Not Lost On Savvy Investors -- May 1, 2026

Locator: 50683AI.

One needs to read the history of Palo Alto by Malcolm Harris to get a feeling of what this is all about. This is more than the Industrial Revolution on steroids. It's much, much more.  

Newest wrinkle. From Fox News, May 1, 2026:

Query: 

With the announcement of taking out underwater mines, what do we know about Domino Data Lab?

Reply: