Green Glob in Space -- Absolutely Nothing To Do With The Bakken

The DrudgeReport linked this story: a mysterious green glob spawning stars in an area of the universe where stars are generally not born.

One of my favorite books is Hydrogen: The Essential Element by John S. Rigden which coincidentally I'm reading again. Rigden provides the background that explains why this mysterious green glob is so interesting and exciting.

But the reason I'm posting the story is because of this:

The blob was discovered by elementary school teacher Hanny van Arkel, who was 24 at the time, as part of a worldwide Galaxy Zoo project where everyday people can look at archived star photographs to catalog new objects.

Van Arkel said when she first saw the odd object in 2007 it appeared blue and smaller. The Hubble photo provides a clear picture and better explanation for what is happening around the blob.

I find that just so very rewarding. Imagine how thrilled this young woman feels for having discovered something so incredibly interesting and something which might lead to better understanding of our universe.

Synthetic Proppants: Another North Dakota Opportunity?

On two occasions in the past I posted short blurbs and links to Carbo Ceramics (CRR) -- major provider of proppants for hydraulic fracking. The first post was back in August, 2010.  A subsequent post was in October, 2010.

When I was first alerted to CRR (not CCR -- that's a great musical group), I said to myself I need to do a full stand-alone post on proppants.

I let it slip and the story got ahead of me. I apologize.

The folks over on the Bakken Shale Discussion Board posted this today: a worldwide supply crunch of proppants. It's a Bloomberg.com article with a Bismarck, ND, byline.

The natural question was whether North Dakota could manufacture proppants, after all they are being manufactured in Illinois and Texas.

Coincidentally, this article appeared in this month's issue of Geo News by Fred J. Anderson. Again, a big thank you to someone else who saw it and forwarded it to me.

Investopedia on BEXP

If you think I'm inappropriately exuberant about the Bakken, you should read this.

It's amazing how someone can make a great corporate presentation sound several times better.

I don't think there's anything in the article one couldn't find in BEXP's corporate presentation but it is "fun" to read.

Nine (9) New Permits -- North Dakota, USA

Producers: Oasis, Sequel, Zenergy, Anschutz (2), Whiting (2), Crescent Point, BEXP.

Fields: Flat Top Butte, Banks, Manning, Murphy Creek, Sanish, Todd, and two wildcats.

The Oasis wildcat is about five miles (almost) directly south of Williston, and according to the GIS map server, on the west side of the river (or south side from Williston). I am not sure how accurate the GIS map server is with regards to the changing shoreline of the Missouri River and the Lake. It looks like it will be a long lateral.

The other wildcat is "out in the middle of nowhere" -- about nine miles northwest of Wildrose, which is well north of Williston. This is a Crescent Point permit.

Another permit caught my eye, 20282, BEXP, Williston Airport 2-11 1-H, Todd oil field; section 2-T154N-R101W. This is actually inside Williston city limits. It seems I read recently that FAA had to sign off on this to make sure the drilling rig would not interfere with radar or aircraft. This, too, will be the talk of the town. Can you imagine all the folks in Williston who might have "old" mineral rights under their homes? It is my understanding the city recently asked all such folks to "donate" their mineral rights to the city. Yeah, right. It's hard to believe that with all the drilling that needs to be done, BEXP would decide to drill inside Williston city limits.

I had not heard of Flat Top Butte oil field before. It is located about 35 miles north of Medora, putting it i the southwest sector of North Dakota. There is some old activity there, including some short laterals drilled in the last boom. Sequel has the new permit in Flat Top. 

Stronger Than Expected Demand to Drive Prices

Link here.

More later.

167: Current Number of Active Rigs -- North Dakota, USA

The highest number of active rigs I actually saw at the NDIC website was 166, a couple of weeks ago (before the December weather blew through), but in an update, NDIC/Director stated there were a record 168 active rigs in the state. From that article, I post the record at 168 active rigs (see sidebar at the right).

However, 167 is the highest I have actually seen at the NDIC website; previous high, as noted was 166.

Pipeline Update: Data Points, North Dakota, USA

Data points from a recent "Oil Patch Hotline" article regarding pipeline activity in North Dakota (it is not possible to link/search archived articles at that site without a subscription):

• $1 billion in anticipated or recently completed pipeline in North Dakota
• By end of 2011, anticipate pipeline takeaway capacity of 553,000 bbls/day
• By 2013, anticipate 738,000 bbls/day moving through the system
• Only 58,000 bopd would remain in North Dakota for refining (Tesoro, Bismarck)
• Enbridge will move the largest amount: 330,000 bopd
• In addition, by 2013, through the rail shipping points: 220,000 bopd
• The largest rail shipping point is EOG's Stanley facility; currently 65,000 bopd
• Hess is currently building a $50 million rail shipping facility near Tioga; 60,000 bopd by 2012