Monday, August 2, 2010

Slawson Reports Another Nice Well in the Van Hook

18595, Atlantis Federal 1-34-35H, Van Hook, 1,131, long lateral.

Slawson remains one of my favorite companies. They certainly seem to hit a lot of nice wells. Click on Slawson on the sidebar on the right, or click here. 

Slawson now has seven (7) active rigs in North Dakota (August 2, 2010). This is a new high for them; I believe their previous high was five. 

More Good News for North Dakota Farmers

Headline story elsewhere: drought destroys one-fifth of Russia's crops; will turn to US for imports.

Huge Day in the Bakken: Eleven (11) New Permits. Of Note: Hess

The daily activity report for August 2, 2010, almost blew me away: eleven (11) new permits, including three for Hess and although two are in the SWSE quadrant of section 5-155-93 and one is in the SESW quadrant of the same section, based on the description, it sounds like all three wells will be on one pad. These Hess wells will be in the very good Alger field in Mountrail County. [Note: actually there are probably just 10 new permits today; the first one was reported yesterday, I believe. But it's still double digits.]

Generally there are 3 - 5 new permits each day in the Bakken; when I see six or seven, it's exciting, but seldom do I see new permits in double digits. 

It appears that NDIC is switching to a new category for daily activity reports. In the past, NDIC had a category called "Plugged or Producing" but still on the confidential list. Today's report did not have that category, but did have another category called "Confidential Status Granted." I assume that is the new name for the old "Plugged or Producing" category. As the week plays out, we will know for sure.

If that is accurate, that "Confidential Status Granted" is the new name for the old "Plugged or Producing" category, it is interesting to note that CLR was granted a permit for one of their wells on May 5, 2010, and on today's daily activity report, it is already shown as confidential status granted, meaning that CLR plugged the well or it's producing. I haven't seen a plugged well in ages; this is, no doubt, a producing well. May 5, 2010, to August 2, 2010 -- spud to fracking to completion. Pretty good.

For Investors - Price Action: Oil, Natural Gas, MDU

August 2, 2010, 10:00 a.m.

For investors:

Price of oil breaks through $80.

Natural gas right around the $5.00 mark.

MDU is starting to move, along with the rest of the market.

I don't hold MDU but I used to and I follow it closely. If natural gas breaks through $5.00 and sustains above that level, MDU should do very, very well.

Native Americans Have Friends in High Places

Appeals court sides with Native Americans over environmentalists' concerns in effort to halt drilling of as many as 2,000 wells in Wyoming.

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UPDATES


UPDATE, August 3, 2010: Well, not so fast. The environmentalists will protest all but a handful of these leases. It won't stop the lease action today (August 3, 2010) but it will delay leases being issued until early next year. Of course, this delay gives the environmentalists more time to bring legal action in sympathetic courts. 

New Sub-Division West of Williston, ND (USA)

Granite Peak Development LLC set to develop 40.5-acre tract west of Williston, to include much needed housing.

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