Dunn County Closes Roads Due to Snow
Oil and Gas Conversion Calculator
Almost 15 Percent of North Dakota Wells Shut In Due to Weather (677 Wells Shut In)
URSA Announces an Important Well
Bull Butte Oil Field Update
Dimond Oil Field Update
BEXP Presentation, February, Vail, Colorado, Credit Suisse Conference
Revisiting the Heart Butte Oil Field -- Arrow Pipeline and XTO
Saudi Arabia Reserves May Be Overstated By 40 Percent
TransCanada Update: Cushing Extension Now Online
Lodgepole Reef Wells Are Not Fracked
If the Well Is Dry, Why Would One Need an Air Quality Permit
Record Construction in the Heart of the Bakken
Power Grid of the United States
Work Still Going On In the Spearfish
Brent-WTI Spread Explained
IPs and What They Mean
Marathon To Drill Up To 145 Wells in the Williston Basin in 2011
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Friday, February 11, 2011
165 Active Rigs: Bless Those North Dakota Rough Necks, Truckers, Frac Crews, and Everyone Else Associated WIth Moving In, Rigging Up, Drilling, and Completing a Bakken Well
The weather is so bad, or was so bad that almost 15 percent of all North Dakota wells are shut in due to snow and ice on the roads. Temperatures well below zero (although temperature-wise, North Dakota did have some nice days in January, comparatively speaking).
Of the 5,331 active wells in North Dakota, 677 were shut in sometime during January, 2011, due to inclement weather.
And through all of that, I don't think the number of rigs actively drilling ever dropped below 163. The record of number of active rigs drilling in North Dakota is 168.
Tonight there are 165 rigs actively drilling in North Dakota.
Bless the rough necks, the truckers, the frac crews, and everyone else associated with moving in, rigging up, drilling and completing a Bakken well.
Addendum:
After completing the above note, I went back to see if there was any more news out there, and look what I stumbled upon: one of the most prolific Bakken counties in North Dakota has taken the very unusual step to close some roads.
Of the 5,331 active wells in North Dakota, 677 were shut in sometime during January, 2011, due to inclement weather.
And through all of that, I don't think the number of rigs actively drilling ever dropped below 163. The record of number of active rigs drilling in North Dakota is 168.
Tonight there are 165 rigs actively drilling in North Dakota.
Bless the rough necks, the truckers, the frac crews, and everyone else associated with moving in, rigging up, drilling and completing a Bakken well.
Addendum:
After completing the above note, I went back to see if there was any more news out there, and look what I stumbled upon: one of the most prolific Bakken counties in North Dakota has taken the very unusual step to close some roads.
- Dunn County, declaring an official countywide snow emergency, has taken the seldom-taken step of closing some roads in the county until it either quits snowing, or spring comes, whichever is first
- Closures were accomplished to save overtime costs, wear and tear on men and equipment in order to save overtime and wear and tear on men and equipment
- Although not a record, the snow is up to five feet deep on the roads
- But drifting has caused snow to pile up to 10- and 12-feet along the road
- There is no place for the snow removal equipment to put the snow
- The county has 13 graders, 4 pay loaders and 2 caterpillars for 900 miles of road
For Investors: Three Oil / Oil Service Companies Announce Increased Dividends
Transocean Seeks Approval for $1 Billion Dividend
ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend to 66 Cents/Share; Represents 20% Increase
OXY Increases Dividend by 21 Percent
A personal story. Many, many years ago, an oil company, Texaco declared bankruptcy due to a legal judgment against the company. It had nothing to do with the underlying value of the company prior to the judgment. The shares plummeted in price. Oh, I can't remember. I don't know if they plummeted, but they must have gone down. Who buys shares in a company that declares bankruptcy?
In this case, I did.
I couldn't believe it. I was a young investor, didn't have much money, but I thought that an oil company had a lot of assets in the ground, and although it might declare bankruptcy because it could not pay the judgment, something would be worked out.
Texaco suspended its dividends. The company did not pay dividends for three quarters or so. I forget the specifics.
But it finally got through it all, and came back stronger than ever. Texaco rewarded its shareholders -- who hung in with them all those months -- handsomely: a one-time special dividend, and then re-instated the dividend.
Makes me think of the Transocean story. Transocean was one of the companies involved in the Gulf of Mexico spill.
Another story. It's taken quite awhile but remember how COP was said to have overpaid for natural gas assets in the Far East. They probably did. Maybe it worked out, maybe it didn't. I don't know. But they hung in there and now they are increasing their dividend. COP is back.
ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend to 66 Cents/Share; Represents 20% Increase
OXY Increases Dividend by 21 Percent
A personal story. Many, many years ago, an oil company, Texaco declared bankruptcy due to a legal judgment against the company. It had nothing to do with the underlying value of the company prior to the judgment. The shares plummeted in price. Oh, I can't remember. I don't know if they plummeted, but they must have gone down. Who buys shares in a company that declares bankruptcy?
In this case, I did.
I couldn't believe it. I was a young investor, didn't have much money, but I thought that an oil company had a lot of assets in the ground, and although it might declare bankruptcy because it could not pay the judgment, something would be worked out.
Texaco suspended its dividends. The company did not pay dividends for three quarters or so. I forget the specifics.
But it finally got through it all, and came back stronger than ever. Texaco rewarded its shareholders -- who hung in with them all those months -- handsomely: a one-time special dividend, and then re-instated the dividend.
Makes me think of the Transocean story. Transocean was one of the companies involved in the Gulf of Mexico spill.
******
Another story. It's taken quite awhile but remember how COP was said to have overpaid for natural gas assets in the Far East. They probably did. Maybe it worked out, maybe it didn't. I don't know. But they hung in there and now they are increasing their dividend. COP is back.
Rigzone Oil and Gas Conversion Calculator
Rigzone provides a nice oil and gas conversion calculator.
Don't worry about bookmarking it; I have it my "Data Links" tab.
How to use the Rigzone conversion calculator:
If your monthly statement for your well shows 5,303 Mcf gas, just go to the Rigzone calculator, and when you get there, select/click on "Gas Conversions." It's the "second one over."
Use the drop-down menu in the "unit type" selector, and select "Gas Volume."
Select "Thousand Standard Cubic Feet (Mscf )" in the left square box. [Note: "M" --> "thousand']
In the square box on the right, select "Barrel of Oil Equivalent (BOE)."
At this point, you should see:
The 5,303 thousand cubic of gas is equivalent to 884 barrels of oil.
If that same monthly statement for your well showed 5,714 barrels of oil, adding the 884 to that, gives you 6,598 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE).
Generally over time, the amount of natural gas will decrease, and more than likely your natural gas will be flared off (never sold). Due to lack of infrastructure, many oil wells in the Bakken are not hooked up to natural gas lines, and the natural gas is flared, until natural gas pipelines brought in.
I think I have done this correctly. If I have made a mistake, I am hoping someone will let me know. I have a habit of messing up simple calculations. I also mess up dates, calendar and fiscal quarters.
Thank you.
By the way, is 6,000 barrels of oil per month a good well? Depends. If that's the first month and it declines from there, it's not a very good well. The decline rate in the Bakken is horrendous.
However, if the 6,000 barrels of oil in one month is the 30th month of production and your well has stabilized at this rate, it's a great well.
Oh, one last note, the energy value varies from natural gas location to natural gas location. That's why Rigzone places "Standard" in "Million Standard Cubic Feet." The natural gas may not be exactly "standard" but for my purposes, it's close enough.
Don't worry about bookmarking it; I have it my "Data Links" tab.
******
How to use the Rigzone conversion calculator:
If your monthly statement for your well shows 5,303 Mcf gas, just go to the Rigzone calculator, and when you get there, select/click on "Gas Conversions." It's the "second one over."
Use the drop-down menu in the "unit type" selector, and select "Gas Volume."
Select "Thousand Standard Cubic Feet (Mscf )" in the left square box. [Note: "M" --> "thousand']
In the square box on the right, select "Barrel of Oil Equivalent (BOE)."
At this point, you should see:
- "1" in the left box
- "0.1666667" in the right box
- Where you see the "1," type in 5303
- Click on "Barrel of Oil Equivalent (BOE)" in the right box, again,
The 5,303 thousand cubic of gas is equivalent to 884 barrels of oil.
*******
If that same monthly statement for your well showed 5,714 barrels of oil, adding the 884 to that, gives you 6,598 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE).
*******
Generally over time, the amount of natural gas will decrease, and more than likely your natural gas will be flared off (never sold). Due to lack of infrastructure, many oil wells in the Bakken are not hooked up to natural gas lines, and the natural gas is flared, until natural gas pipelines brought in.
******
I think I have done this correctly. If I have made a mistake, I am hoping someone will let me know. I have a habit of messing up simple calculations. I also mess up dates, calendar and fiscal quarters.
Thank you.
******
By the way, is 6,000 barrels of oil per month a good well? Depends. If that's the first month and it declines from there, it's not a very good well. The decline rate in the Bakken is horrendous.
However, if the 6,000 barrels of oil in one month is the 30th month of production and your well has stabilized at this rate, it's a great well.
******
Oh, one last note, the energy value varies from natural gas location to natural gas location. That's why Rigzone places "Standard" in "Million Standard Cubic Feet." The natural gas may not be exactly "standard" but for my purposes, it's close enough.
5000 Wells In North Dakota: Almost 700 Shut In -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA
As usual, I rounded the numbers.
There are 5,331 wells in North Dakota and 677 are shut in.
From the NDIC Director's cut:
I expect producers to miss their production targets in 1Q11.
More on the shut-in wells and emergency closure of roads in Dunn County at this link.
There are 5,331 wells in North Dakota and 677 are shut in.
From the NDIC Director's cut:
Oil production was seriously impacted by severe weather with numerous wells shut in; 677 idle wells, the most shut in since February, 2009, and June, 2002I would imagine the wells that are not shut in, have also been affected. Just because a well is not shut in, doesn't mean the truck can get there on the scheduled day if there is inclement weather.
I expect producers to miss their production targets in 1Q11.
More on the shut-in wells and emergency closure of roads in Dunn County at this link.
Human Interest Story on Tyler Formation -- North Dakota, USA
Link here.
Regional newspaper so link will be broken soon.
The article covers a meeting given by:
Regional newspaper so link will be broken soon.
The article covers a meeting given by:
Cole Gustafson, a researcher from the North Dakota State University extension branch, told the 50 or so in the audience that now is the time to do some planning and thinking.Gustafson was talking about local farmers starting to plan and think about oil industry coming into Hettinger County to tap the Tyler formation.
There has been some leasing activity in northwestern Hettinger County, in the rural area near New England.
Based on geological maps, that area of the county is in a hot zone for the Tyler formation, one that has been vertically drilled in the past couple of decades in Stark and Billings counties and which state oil officials think would respond to horizontal fracture treatments, similar to what's working in the Bakken further north.
Lease offers seem to be fairly modest at about $200 an acre, much lower than Bakken acreage bonuses and an indication that oil developers aren't willing to bet much on future value until someone proves up horizontal drilling success.New England (the North Dakota hamlet) is about 35 miles northeast of Bowman. Bowman is in southwestern North Dakota, near the edge of the Bakken, but near the Three Forks pinchout.
Seven (7) New Permits -- North Dakota, USA
Producers: Zenergy (2), Whiting, North Plains, Tracker, EOG, and BR.
Fields: Clear Water, Siverston, Sanish, Truax, Blue Buttes, and a wildcat.
Wow -- Zenergy with permits for another 2-well pad (as they did yesterday). The pad will be in Siverston field which has been a relatively good field.
EOG got another permit in the Clear Water -- EOG is getting very, very active in the Clear Water.
North Plains is getting active in the Truax, also, which we saw yesterday.
The wildcat, a Tracker well, is in the same area as the Tracker wildcat well permit yesterday, about 13 miles southwest of Watford City.
North Dakota is on track for 1,938 new permits this calendar year.
As far as the rest of the daily activity report goes for today, pretty unremarkable. As noted elsewhere, the BEXP Macklin well has come off confidential list but IP was not in the daily activity report today. It can be found at new wells reporting on this blogsite.
Fields: Clear Water, Siverston, Sanish, Truax, Blue Buttes, and a wildcat.
Wow -- Zenergy with permits for another 2-well pad (as they did yesterday). The pad will be in Siverston field which has been a relatively good field.
EOG got another permit in the Clear Water -- EOG is getting very, very active in the Clear Water.
North Plains is getting active in the Truax, also, which we saw yesterday.
The wildcat, a Tracker well, is in the same area as the Tracker wildcat well permit yesterday, about 13 miles southwest of Watford City.
North Dakota is on track for 1,938 new permits this calendar year.
As far as the rest of the daily activity report goes for today, pretty unremarkable. As noted elsewhere, the BEXP Macklin well has come off confidential list but IP was not in the daily activity report today. It can be found at new wells reporting on this blogsite.
Director's Cut, February, 2011, Released
Source document here.
Production
Production
- Nov Oil: 356,505 bopd
- Dec Oil: 343,867
- Nov Wells: 5,331
- Dec Wells: 5,331 (no change -- ties record)
- Nov Permits: 245 (record)
- Dec Permits: 134
- Nov rig count: 158
- Dec rig count: 163
- Jan rig count: 163
- 95 percent of drilling continues to target the Bakken and Three Forks formation
- Oil production was seriously impacted by severe weather with numerous wells shut in; 677 idle wells, the most shut in since February, 2009, and June, 2002
- "It has been reported that well over one (1) million barrels has been stranded on producing locations periodically."
- Takeaway capacity exceeds production; additional projects should provide adequate capacity until 2015
For those following the news, the impact of severe weather on production was not unexpected.
The BEXP Macklin Well Comes Off The Confidential List Today -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA
On today's daily activity report, a BEXP well will be coming off the confidential list. On the report it will only show DRL status but in fact BEXP has already released the well's IP:
19176, M. Macklin 15-22 1H, 2,312, Cow Creek, a couple of miles directly north of Williston.
The IP, I believe, was a 24-hour flowback.
19176, M. Macklin 15-22 1H, 2,312, Cow Creek, a couple of miles directly north of Williston.
The IP, I believe, was a 24-hour flowback.