Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Mixed Reports on Oil Supplies

Some say we have more crude oil than ever, and others say not. I guess it depends what you are measuring.

On a completely different note, this link has nothing to do with the Bakken, but brings back great memories. The reason I post this at the Bakken site is because the bass player for the group singing this 1963 hit song was from North Dakota. Yup.

Comparing 60-Day Averages with IPs -- Small (Very Small -- in fact, teensie, weensie) Case Study

I recently generated some discussion regarding the IPs reported by Hess. It was pointed out that a Hess IP of 342 was based on methodology related closely to the average of the first 60 days of production.

In comparison (albeit a different field, the Sanish vs the Alger), these are some recent Whiting wells based on Whiting's corporate presentation. The first number is the IP as reported by Whiting, followed by the 60-day average production:
  • Lahti 24-22H:  2,058; 953
  • Hansen 12-20H: 4,144; 982
  • Iverson 21-14H: 2,551; 1,056
  • Olson 11-14 TFH: 1,640; 601
  • Littlefield 12.34H: 1,942, 1,139
  • Lacey 12-1H: 3,445; 1,007
  • Fladeland 21-12H: 2,690; 1,109
  • Fladeland 44-9H: 2,301; 684
  • Jorgenson 12-27H: 2,893; 1,276
It appears that the Sanish and the Parshall oil fields in the Bakken are among the "sweet spots" in the Bakken, but having said that .... well, I'll leave it at that.

Newfield Has Another Nice Well

Newfield is reporting another nice well in the Westberg oil field. Newfield reported a nice well from that same field yesterday, also. Two in a row.

Another Record Year for North Dakota Agriculture (Nothing To Do With the Bakken)

For those interested in an agricultural update in North Dakota, this is a nice look at the 2010 harvest for potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, edible beans and corn. I will have to look for another article on grain harvest.

1 Million Barrels/Day By 2020?

The one million barrels/day figure was cited again in this story in which TransCanada is reported to commit to carrying up to 100,000 bopd from the Bakken. TransCanada expects to tap into North Dakota crude at Baker, Montana, starting in 2013.

The takeaway capacity for North Dakota crude is about 425,000 bopd, combining pipeline, truck, and rail. North Dakota production is around 315,000 bopd, but folks have been repeating the mantra "one million bopd by 2020."

Incidentally, these numbers conflict with stories about the bottleneck of transporting oil out of the state. Analysts explain that the North Dakota crude is discounted by more than 10 percent because of lack of capacity. That's because much of the 425,000 bopd takeaway capacity is due to truck and rail shipments which is much more expensive than pipeline.

Back of the envelope calculations: North Dakota production is now at 315,000 bopd. Increasing production by 10 percent every year from now until 2020 will result in 900,000 bopd by 2020.

Another article on this story regarding TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline can be found in the Billings Gazette.com.