The Feds are embarrassingly behind in processing royalty payments for Native Americans living on oil-rich Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.
According to the Bismarck Tribune, about $5 million should be received by tribal members from the federal government this month, again after the personal intervention of Senator Byron Dorgan. Some of the royalty payments had been delayed more than a year simply from bureaucratic foot-dragging.
By the way -- the same bureaucratic environment will be administering ObamaCare. Just saying.
Senator Dorgan was also instrumental in getting the Bureau of Land Management to open the logjam in oil permits affecting the reservation more than a year ago.
How big is the Bakken? That $5 million is just the beginning. The federal agency administering these oil royalty payments for the native Americans in North Dakota says he will have to hire twelve (12) additional bureaucrats / accountants to administer this one program. Incredible.
In fairness to the agency, up to 100 mineral owners can participate in wells in one area. This has been a major issue for oil companies also, finding all the mineral owners tied to a single well. Much of the mineral rights in western North Dakota have been sold and re-sold over the past three generations and last 60 years. Many mineral rights owners are great-grandchildren of original settlers in North Dakota. If one great-grand-couple had six children, who each in turn had six children (we're now up to 36 children in just two generations), one can begin to see the problem.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Eight (8) New Permits in the Bakken Today (ND, USA)
XTO (2), EOG (2), CLR (2), Newfield (1), and Encore (1).
Fields: Murphy Creek, Alger (2), South Tobacco Garden, Hanson, Banks, Midway, and one wildcat.
Fields: Murphy Creek, Alger (2), South Tobacco Garden, Hanson, Banks, Midway, and one wildcat.
American Oil & Gas (AEZ) Reports a Nice Well (Bakken, ND, USA)
Talk about coincidence.
This morning I posted a long note about a string of wells north of Epping, along State Highway 2 into Ray. It was a posting on a completely random area that popped out at me when I looked at the GIS map server this morning. I had no expectation of any imminent results to be announced.
This afternoon, after I got back from my semi-annual dental visit, the results of one of those wells was reported. It was American's (AEZ) Bergstrom 15-23H, #18887.
The IP was ... drum roll ... 2,444. 18,000 barrels in first 20 days. At $55/barrel = $1 million at the wellhead.
This was a wildcat, folks, by a small company operating in the Bakken.
For a better, more complete posting, I should have mentioned that AEZ's first wildcat in this area, the Ron Viall was also a very nice well (1,748), reported back in May, 2010.
This morning I posted a long note about a string of wells north of Epping, along State Highway 2 into Ray. It was a posting on a completely random area that popped out at me when I looked at the GIS map server this morning. I had no expectation of any imminent results to be announced.
This afternoon, after I got back from my semi-annual dental visit, the results of one of those wells was reported. It was American's (AEZ) Bergstrom 15-23H, #18887.
The IP was ... drum roll ... 2,444. 18,000 barrels in first 20 days. At $55/barrel = $1 million at the wellhead.
This was a wildcat, folks, by a small company operating in the Bakken.
For a better, more complete posting, I should have mentioned that AEZ's first wildcat in this area, the Ron Viall was also a very nice well (1,748), reported back in May, 2010.
Anschutz: Open the Cabernet (Bakken, ND, USA)
Details are still sketchy. But to whomever Philip Anschutz sold his Bakken property now "owns" one of the best fields in the North Dakota Bakken: the Cabernet.
The Denver Business Journal reports Anschutz sold his Marcellus and Bakken oil and natural gas shale holdings for $3 billion to an unidentified buyer. That story is dated today, October 21, 2010. The DBJ references the Forbes issue hitting newsstands now, with a cover date of November 8, 2010, in which the magazine profiles Anschutz.
The first paragraph of the Forbes story:
Anschutz had some very, very good acreage in the Fayette and the Cabernet oil fields. My database shows that Anschutz was issued six permits in 2008; 24 in 2009; and, 39 permits in 2010. According to the NDIC website, Anschutz was issued 106 permits (if I counted correctly), many of them going back to the beginning of the current boom. There are a few permits that go back to the 90's -- one each in 1990, 1996, and 1998, for example (again, that was a quick look and I could have missed some). Many of those early wells were wildcats and dry.
The Anschutz story has always fascinated me and one can find much more about Anschutz on this site by using search applications (at the blogsite) including the "bubble cloud" at the very bottom of the blog.
Other Bakken-related blogs also have very interesting information about Anschutz action in the Bakken, particularly in the Cabernet/Fayette oil fields.
The guessing game begins: who bought Anschutz' holdings in the Bakken. If it was a single buyer of both the Marcellus and the Bakken, I would start with EOG, XOM (XTO), COP (BR), Chesapeake. If it was one of the majors (XOM or COP) this will be a huge story. But if so, why is the buyer still unidentified? These are all public companies. Among private companies, is Slawson big enough to have been able to do this? Wouldn't it be interesting if a Chinese company was the buyer? See comments below.
The Denver Business Journal reports Anschutz sold his Marcellus and Bakken oil and natural gas shale holdings for $3 billion to an unidentified buyer. That story is dated today, October 21, 2010. The DBJ references the Forbes issue hitting newsstands now, with a cover date of November 8, 2010, in which the magazine profiles Anschutz.
The first paragraph of the Forbes story:
Philip Anschutz has reason to shout. His holding company has just sold its oil and gas fields in the Marcellus Shale of Pennsylvania and the Bakken Shale of North Dakota for roughly $3 billion--the biggest payday of his life.Meanwhile, an earlier story at Forbes regarding this story is dated October 5, 2010. In that story, Anschutz' sale of the Marcellus shale was noted but stated the Bakken shale holdings had not yet been sold. In that article, the author low-balled the Marcellus deal at $2 billion but could be higher.
Anschutz had some very, very good acreage in the Fayette and the Cabernet oil fields. My database shows that Anschutz was issued six permits in 2008; 24 in 2009; and, 39 permits in 2010. According to the NDIC website, Anschutz was issued 106 permits (if I counted correctly), many of them going back to the beginning of the current boom. There are a few permits that go back to the 90's -- one each in 1990, 1996, and 1998, for example (again, that was a quick look and I could have missed some). Many of those early wells were wildcats and dry.
The Anschutz story has always fascinated me and one can find much more about Anschutz on this site by using search applications (at the blogsite) including the "bubble cloud" at the very bottom of the blog.
*****
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My Prayer, The Platters
*****
Other Bakken-related blogs also have very interesting information about Anschutz action in the Bakken, particularly in the Cabernet/Fayette oil fields.
The guessing game begins: who bought Anschutz' holdings in the Bakken. If it was a single buyer of both the Marcellus and the Bakken, I would start with EOG, XOM (XTO), COP (BR), Chesapeake. If it was one of the majors (XOM or COP) this will be a huge story. But if so, why is the buyer still unidentified? These are all public companies. Among private companies, is Slawson big enough to have been able to do this? Wouldn't it be interesting if a Chinese company was the buyer? See comments below.
For Epping Folks (Bakken, ND, USA) -- Just West of Ray, North Dakota
I did not get called into work this morning as a substitute teacher, so I get to spend some time on my favorite hobby: looking at NDIC's GIS map server.
Today, I brought up the view of the entire state to see if anything caught my eye. And it jumped right out at me. A little area of white space just north of Williston, four green rigs running west to east stand right out.
Drilling down (no pun intended), just north of Epping, there is a string of ten (10) wells, all either on the confidential list or with a rig on site. And it turns out, there are five rigs on site in this string of wells. It really is quite remarkable for this part of the country. I have driven this area hundreds of times: fairly flat landscape, unbroken by man-made structures, no trees except for wind breaks planted by farmers decades ago, and generally golden-brown with mature or cut grain in late summer until winter snow. Then a light covering of snow mixed with black dirt for much of the winter. And nothing breaking the landscape. I always wondered if there would be oil in this area; it just looked like there should be oil there. Smile.
These wells parallel US Highway 2, almost exactly two miles south of the highway. You might be able to see them on your right as you drive into Ray. Certainly you will see the signs warning you to slow down before entering Ray.
These wells stretch across two townships, T156N-99W and T156N-98W. So, who are the operators for these ten (10) wells: American (AEZ; now part of Hess); and, Newfield. All ten are designated wildcats ( when updated August 12, 2011, these wells were all inside East Fork oil field or Wheelock oil field):
Wells #19739 and #19316 are directly across section lines, 600 feet from each other
Update: see first comment below -- AEZ's first well in this area, the Ron Viall was reported out back in May, 2010, and was also a very good well (1,748). Here's the original post I had regarding the Ron Viall.
Today, I brought up the view of the entire state to see if anything caught my eye. And it jumped right out at me. A little area of white space just north of Williston, four green rigs running west to east stand right out.
Drilling down (no pun intended), just north of Epping, there is a string of ten (10) wells, all either on the confidential list or with a rig on site. And it turns out, there are five rigs on site in this string of wells. It really is quite remarkable for this part of the country. I have driven this area hundreds of times: fairly flat landscape, unbroken by man-made structures, no trees except for wind breaks planted by farmers decades ago, and generally golden-brown with mature or cut grain in late summer until winter snow. Then a light covering of snow mixed with black dirt for much of the winter. And nothing breaking the landscape. I always wondered if there would be oil in this area; it just looked like there should be oil there. Smile.
These wells parallel US Highway 2, almost exactly two miles south of the highway. You might be able to see them on your right as you drive into Ray. Certainly you will see the signs warning you to slow down before entering Ray.
These wells stretch across two townships, T156N-99W and T156N-98W. So, who are the operators for these ten (10) wells: American (AEZ; now part of Hess); and, Newfield. All ten are designated wildcats ( when updated August 12, 2011, these wells were all inside East Fork oil field or Wheelock oil field):
- 19033, Confidential, Newfield, section 20, 156-99
- 19202, 1,010, Newfield, section 21, 156-99
- 18826, 516, Newfield, section 24, 156-99, directly 2 miles north of Epping
- 19087, DRL, Newfield, section 25, 156-99, directly 2 miles north of Eppin; no IP as of June, 2011, but 42K bbls as of June, 2011; spudded 8/10; not fracked as of June 11
- 19395, 778, Hess/AEZ, section 19, 156-98
- 19459, DRL, Hess/AEZ, section 29, 156-98
- 19398, 1,945, Hess/AEZ, section 28, 156-98
- 19739, DRL, Hess/AEZ, section 22, 156-98
- 19316, DRL, Hess/AEZ, section 27, 156-98
- 18887, 2,444, Hess/AEZ, section 23, 156-98, Bergstrom 15-23H, Bakken; huge well; tested 8/10; 82K as of June, 2011
Wells #19739 and #19316 are directly across section lines, 600 feet from each other
Updates
Update: see first comment below -- AEZ's first well in this area, the Ron Viall was reported out back in May, 2010, and was also a very good well (1,748). Here's the original post I had regarding the Ron Viall.
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