North Dakota Lease Sales Hit Record

The state of North Dakota holds lease sales auctions on a quarterly basis. So far this year North Dakota has held three sales.

To date, in those three sales, North Dakota has leased 137,000 acres for $270 million.

In all of 2009 (four quarterly lease sales), the state leased about the same number of acres for $100 million.

Nearly three-fourths of North Dakota's 1.1 million acres in 16 oil-producing counties are leased.

Reminder: New NDIC Director's Cut Has Been Posted

The current Director's Cut is dated July 19, 2010.

It should be noted that even the director references the "risk" of EPA fracking regulations.
 

NDIC Hearing Dockets, September 15 and 16, 2010

I normally post a line-by-line summary of the monthly NDIC hearing dockets but due to the fact I am still "on the road" I don't have time to do that. For now, I will post a few highlights of the September dockets and then do a more complete summary later.

Here are the highlights of the September hearings. There are two scheduled, the first has eight (8) pages of cases, the second hearing has sixteen (16) full pages and one case on the seventeenth page. [Since the original posting, a couple of supplemental cases have been added, but does not materially change the summary below.]

So, here goes. Again, these are personal notes to help keep me abreast of what's going on. If cryptic, see source.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

13196: Oasis, 2 wells, 1280, Williams
13197: Hess, 3 wells in one 640-acre unit, Williams
13198: Hess, 3 wells in one 640-acre unit, Mountrail
Hess, several 3 wells in 1280-acre units
13209 - 13212: Cornerstone, 3 wells, all 800-acre units (one well each) and 2 640-acre units
13214 - 13233: Helis, pooling, 9 wells
13235: QEP, 30 wells, 640-acre units, Dunn, McLean, Mountrail; see an earlier post of mine connecting the dots with the Arrow Pipeline

Thursday, September 16, 2010

13245: CLR, Eco-Pad, Elm Tree, McKenzie
13246 - 13259: CLR requests to establish multiple 2560-acre and 1280-acre units
13260: Newfield, 15 wells, 1280-acre units, Divide
13261: Samson, 3 wells, 1280, Divide
13262: Samson, 17 wells, 1280, Divide
13274: EOG, multiple wells on a 320-acre unit in Squaw Creek, McKenzie
13275: EOG, 2 wells on one 640-acre unit, McKenzie
13277, EOG, multiple wells on a 320-acre, Squaw Creek, McKenzie
13285 - 13333: CLR, all pooling cases, represents 43 wells, pooling is the last step before drilling
13334: CLR, 7 wells, 1280-acre, Dunn
13335: CLR, 7 wells, 1280-acre, Dunn
13336: CLR, 7 wells, 1280-acre, Dunn
13337: CLR, 7 wells, 1280-acre, Dunn
13340: CLR, 7 wells, 1280-acre, Dunn
13341: CLR, 7 increase density wells, 1280-acre unit, Divide
13342: CLR, 7 increase density wells, 1280-acre unit, Divide
13343: CLR, 7 increase density wells, 1280-acre unit, Divide, Burke, Williams

Ethanol: Nothing To Do With the Bakken, Except Maybe Indirectly

October 21, 2010: government allows 15% ethanol in gasoline blend for automobiles newer than 2007. Today, most companies are reporting increased earnings and higher expectations going forward. One exception: Kellogg.  Kellogg warns again for full year earnings based on lower cereal sales. Corn being used for ethanol ain't gonna help. Also, consumers changing buying patterns: buying breakfast on the run at fast food restaurants; cereal is simply getting too expensive -- over $4.00 a box. I can't afford it any more.

Plain talk about energy, including my favorite: ethanol. "Favorite" as in "favorite scam."