If The Well Is Dry, Why Would One Need an Air Quality Permit for A Well That Will Be Abandoned? Good Question.

This is very clever. The link will be broken soon; a regional newspaper.

The oil and gas industry is arguing air quality permits should not be required until after a well is drilled and strikes oil.  If the well is dry, why would an air quality permit be needed for that well?

Actually, the permits should be granted for an entire field, if not for the entire state, but that's another story. The EPA method "nickles and dimes" the E&P industry into a death by a thousand cuts, as I mix my metaphors.

This reminds me of a personal story about 40 years ago. I was selling books door-to-door in New Jersey for the summer to help pay for college. I was given outstanding training on sales and logistics with regard to my sales territory. The company told me not to apply for a "permit" to sell door-to-door because the city would drag its feet and by the time I got a permit, the summer would be over. Instead, the company told me to begin selling, and that if picked up by the police, at worse I would be jailed overnight (the company would post bail), and, at best, the permit application process would most likely be expedited.

I took that advice.

About a month into selling my books, I crossed a jurisdictional line, into a new suburb that required permits to solicit. It was about 5:00 p.m. when I knocked on the door of the home of a police detective. He asked me if I was selling something. I immediately realized why he was asking and I said I wasn't selling anything unless he bought. Until he bought something, I was only showing my merchandise.

He did not see the humor. I was not being humorous. I was about as scared as I have ever been, looking forward to a night in jail and a criminal record.

After the second or third time, denying that I was selling anything, the police detective told me to get into his unmarked police car. "We were going downtown."

When we got downtown, I was booked, photographed (mug shot),  fingerprinted, asked to fill out a form to apply for a permit, and by 7:00 p.m. that night I had my permit and was back selling books door-to-door. (Interestingly enough, I am not on the "no-fly" list.)

What a hoot. That reminds me of another police story which I will post later. It's too good to pass up.

For those who have put the Super Bowl half-time entertainment on mute, here is something you might enjoy (more "spectacular" than the Super Bowl half-time act and with a much better-looking group).

Spectacular/Moulin Rouge

Unemployment Benefits -- Nothing To Do With The Bakken

I have very mixed feelings about unemployment benefits being extended out to 99 weeks (just short of two years).

There is no question that the extension was the right thing to do in the big scheme of things.

What amazes me is that last month (December, 2010) and again this month (January, 2011) the "talking heads" on television (particularly CNBC) "pooh-poohed" the idea that extending the benefits had any effect on the unemployment numbers; or that it might have some relevancy for the fact that the percent of Americans now in the work force is at a record low.

It tells me that these talking  heads have no understanding of human psychology.

It is my opinion, and I'm probably wrong on this, too, that there is a subset of the American workforce that is not looking for working, or turning down "undesirable" jobs because of the extension:

• One of two spouses who have children who used to work but can now afford to stay home with their children (not necessarily bad)
• Workers who would only be able to find minimum wage jobs; they won't look
• Adult children who had jobs, but now collecting unemployment can get a bit of help from their spouses, or their parents
• State, federal and union workers who are well trained to search the internet for "good" jobs and will turn down or not bother to seek "less than good jobs." I saw civilians in the military who spent an hour or so each day at work on government time looking for a better job; classifications are such that they know exactly what the jobs pay and can sort through them by classification

Again, I have mixed feelings about the unemployment extension. There is no question that the extension was the right thing to do in the big scheme of things, but to deny that it has nothing to do with unemployment numbers or the decrease in overall workforce is denying the obvious.

It is interesting to see that one can get about $800/week in Massachusetts for unemployment benefits. Boston is a high-cost area, but western Massachusetts is much more like the rust belt of mid-America. At $800/week and 40 hours/week, that works out to $20/hour. One can be eligible for as much as $942/week in Massachusetts.

Record Construction in the Heart of the Bakken to Continue -- WIll Need Improved Infrastructure -- North Dakota, USA

It's too easy to breeze through yet another Bakken posting.

Williston, the heart of the Bakken, is not a very large city. In 2009, it was a busy year for the Bakken; the city of Williston issued 257 building permits. That's a huge number of permits for Williston.

But wow! In 2010, the city had a whopping 770 permits. I truly cannot fathom a city the size of Williston going from less than 300 permits in one year to almost 800 permits the following  year. That's essentially tripling the number of permits in one year. One wonders where all the carpenters, bricklayers electricians, plumbers, architects, building inspectors came from. 

Anyway, that's the ranting and raving. Here's the story.

Original Posting

Link here. Regional media so link will be broken soon.

Improved infrastructure will be needed for continued record construction.

Some projects mentioned in the article:

• Oregon developer plans to construct a 72-unit apartment building in Watford City. Given the level of interest by developers, there could be considerably more housing built. 
• More office openings in Watford City, but they would have to build because there's not much available

Statistics, for 2010 (2009 in parentheses) (some numbers rounded):

• Williston: 770 permits; $106 million (257; $45 million)
• Watford City: 157 permits (111)
• Williams County: 230 permits; $27 million (more than double the permits issued in 2009)
• Ray: 92 permits; $5 million (36; $0.6 million); cannot expand -- no sewer, water
• Tioga:  95 permits (64 permits)
• Stanley: 108 permits (about double from 2009)
• New Town: 24 permits, $20 million
• Parshall (aka "boomtown"): 13 permits; $0.6 million
• Mountrail County: 100 permits (58 in 2009, which was already a very, very busy year)

Other comments and observations:

• Area lumberyards and other material suppliers will find it difficult to ramp up any more, lack of manpower
• Williston spokesmen: 2011 figures could be higher -- additional homes, commercial, and more hotels
• Williston has $185 million in needed infrastructure improvements; $41 million considered urgent
• ND governor is recommending $20 million in state infrastructure funding to assist Williston

Wow, to be 17 years old again!

Proof That the Bakken Is the "Real Thing" -- North Dakota, USA

Al Jazeera -- yes, the news media outlet from the Mideast -- is going to visit the Bakken.

Link here. Regional newspaper, so link will be broken soon.

Producer Kavitha Chekuru, reporter Cath Turner and cameraman Ralf Oberti are planning to arrive in New Town late this week.

Chekuru, who has never been to North Dakota, said they are coming to North Dakota to see how the community and the Three Affiliated Tribes are dealing with the oil boom. She said the tribes have more regulations that they have to work with for oil development than off-reservation oil development involves.

Chekuru became interested in visiting North Dakota last year when she came across a wire story about the latest oil production in N.D. "and was struck by how high it was," she said.

"I started to look more into the location where this was taking place and the Bakken Formation. When I found out that much of the area included Fort Berthold, I thought it would be an interesting side of the 'boom' to look into. I think it is good when we can cover issues impacting the country's tribes as it is not often covered by the mainstream media," she said.

When Al-Jazeera shows up, you know the Bakken is the "real thing."

Power Grid of the United States

This is an excellent interactive link to the power grid of the United States.

Once there you can view state-by-state power generation. One view includes all the power plants in each state. The map is cluttered but you can use the drop-down menu to sort by coal, natural gas, nuclear, wind, and solar.

I could be wrong, but the state-by-state power graphic is a summary of what the state produces, not what it consumes. For example, California produces almost no electricity from coal, but that doesn't mean California residents don't use electricity generated from coal. In fact, a fair amount of California electricity comes from coal plants outside the state.

You don't have to book mark the link; I have it linked under my "Data Links" tab at the top of the blog.

Yes, you can tell I am not doing much while waiting for the Super Bowl. But in my defense, I have read another chapter of Ron Powers' biography of Mark Twain, and have re-read the first three chapters of the memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant this afternoon. I find it fascinating how Mark Twain and Ulysses S. Grant seemed to live in parallel universes as contemporaries.

Hey, Not So Fast: There's Work Still Going on in the Spearfish -- North Dakota, USA

 Officials say work is still going on in the Spearfish in Bottineau County. It's sour oil and Enbridge won't put sour oil into its pipeline system. Therefore, Spearfish oil needs to be trucked to Canada.

Spokesman: the Spearfish is about where the Bakken was back in 2005.  Some say EOG has re-deployed its assets to the Wyoming Niobrara and the Texas Eagle Ford -- which makes a lot  of sense. EOG got shellacked in 3Q10 earnings.  Need to get their act together.

Go to "tags" at bottom of blog to find other postings on the Spearfish, or go to the Spearfish at the sidebar at the right.

The link above will be broken in a few days; regional newspaper link.