Friday, March 4, 2011

521 Encore Wells Transferred to Denbury -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

If one wants to get an inkling of the magnitude of the deal in which Denbury bought Encore, check out the March 3, 2011, daily activity report.

521 Encore wells were officially transferred to Denbury --- 521 wells. It's a pretty impressive list. That's a lot of wells for just one transaction. That's a of wells for just one basin (the Williston Basin) and Encore was a relatively small company among those in the Bakken.

Due to the comment below (March 16, 2011), I will add this: more correctly, the wells have been transferred to Denbury Onshore, LLC.

LINN Energy on Jim Cramer's "Mad Money" -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

The LINN Energy CEO mentioned Williston Basin several times and the Bakken just as many times.

Jim Cramer still acts as if he's never heard of the Bakken. He started talking about the Bakken this past week and one genuinely gets the feeling he missed it (the Bakken). This blog was started about two years ago because I felt folks were underestimating -- or misunderestimating, as a former president might say -- the Bakken.

One of the wells that was completed and reported in today's daily activity report had an IP of 1 bopd (that's not a typo: 1 bopd).
  • 19229, 1, Sagebrush, Cameron 1-14, Midale (not a Bakken)
In the old days a well with an IP of 1 bopd would not have been economical. At $104/bbl (and rising), even this well could be productive. Smile.

Wow: Eleven (11) New Permits -- North Dakota, USA

Producers:  Zenergy (3), BR (3),  EOG (2), G3 (2), CLR

Fields: Climax, Strandahl, Banks, Spotted Horn, Parshall, Keene, Bailey and one wildcat.

Two of the Zenergy wells will be on one pad in the Banks oil field.

The CLR wildcat is in Williams County.

North Dakota is on track for 1,842 new permits this calendar year (2011).

Back to The Record: 172 Active Drilling Records

That's it. Nothing else.

Good luck to all. Hopefully that 173rd rig is moving to your land over the weekend.

No Plan B

I am unable post as much as I normally do because I have a full teaching schedule today (yes, as a substitute teacher). Right now I happen to have a few minutes free and just noticed another spike in the price of oil (2:00 p.m. CST, Friday, March 4, 2011).

I have no idea what the pundits on CNBC are saying that explains this most recent spike, but I'm sure it has to do with the weak dollar and the continuing violence in the Mideast.

But it's not that; the dollar can't possibly be that much weaker today than it was yesterday that would cause such a spike in the price of oil, especially considering the "good" jobs report this morning. And it certainly cannot be the violence in the Mideast. After all, less than a "millionpointfive" barrels of oil per day have been taken off the global market due to Libya and Saudi Arabia can easily make up the difference (they say). [I don't agree that Saudi Arabia can easily make up the difference, but that's another story for another day.]

No, the reason for the spike in the price of oil is that there is no Plan B.

The administration's Plan A for energy independence was wind and solar power. There was no Plan B for a "perfect storm" causing a spike to $1XX/bbl, or, heaven forbid, $2XX/bbl.

This administration's policy is never let a crisis go to waste, and its energy policy has now become a game of chicken.

[When we were teenagers, we would play "chicken" on our bicycles. Two males on bicycles would set up about a city block from each other, and then on "start" would race madly toward each other. It was the "chicken" who would turn first to avoid collision, to avoid disaster.]

The administration is playing "chicken" with the American consumer.

The administration is seeing how high the price of oil goes before the consumer says "enough is enough." As noted before, there is no shortage of oil in this country. The tanks are brimming at Cushing, Oklahoma. The "perfect storm" is caused by the perception that there will be a shortage of oil going forward, six months from now. (The Steven Chu effect.)

There are things this administration could do right now to reassure the Americans that there is plenty of oil. Remember: the Cushing tanks are more than full, and no one has even hinted that there is a need to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

But never let a crisis go to waste. See how far we can push this and Americans will demand more wind energy, more solar energy, and more electric vehicles.  That's Plan A. Unfortuntely there is no Plan B.

Enough Water in Western North Dakota for Fracking? You Betcha

As posted earlier, the US Army Corps of Engineers has agreed to release 100,000 acre-feet of water from the Missouri River for industrial uses (fracking).  For a fee.

When this discussion first came up, the Corps said there was not enough water in the Missouri for fracking.

100,000 acre-feet is enough to frack 10,000 wells/year. That is about ten times more water than needed. It is estimated that somewhere between 1,000 and 1,500 wells will be fracked in North Dakota this calendar year.

It was interesting to note that within the past couple of weeks it has come to light that the US Army Corps of Engineers flood plan for western North Dakota is .... drum roll .... 100,000 acre-feet above the plan.

I have not seen anyone else note the coincidental nature of these two facts: how much the Corps is willing to release, and the current state of the Corps' flood plan. The numbers were identical.

Today, it is being reported that flooding is expected again this spring in western North Dakota.
The National Weather Service says flooding risk is "well above average" for many locations on the James, Knife, Cannonball and Little Missouri rivers and Little Muddy, Apple and Beaver creeks.

According to a flood outlook the National Weather Service released on Thursday, all historical weather patterns would produce flooding in many locations in western or central North Dakota. That means something out of the ordinary would have to happen for flooding to be averted in those places, given the current snowpack and water flow conditions. Knife River, Apple Creek, Little Muddy Creek, James River and Pipestem Creek all are very likely to face flooding, according to the historical models, hydrologist Allen Schlag said.
By the way, BEXP has started taking water from the Missouri, previously reported at this site.

46-Unit Townhouse Project (Williston); Rail Project Moves Forward (Trenton) -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

A permit request for a 46-unit townhouse project in Williston has been given approval, and a new oil loading rail terminal near Trenton is moving forward.
Aspen, Colo.-based Stryker/Brown Architects is planning to build The Aspens Williston, a 46-unit townhouse project.

The units are to be located at the intersection of 17th Avenue West and 32nd Street West.  The project should be completed by the autumn of 2011. 
The rail terminal will be near Highway 1804 and the access point will be Marley Crossing.
Salt Lake City-based developer Savage Companies was granted a zone change from Agricultural zoning to Industrial.

The zone change was for use of the Trenton Railport project, which is to go on a 270-acre site.