Mainstream Media Starting To Report What We've Been Saying For Past Few Days: Coal Attracting Investors

Coal is attracting new investors in light of the Japanese nuclear disaster.

That should be a no-brainer, but now we're starting to see mainstream media report on it.

I still get a kick out of Warren Buffett's timing buying Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad a year or so ago. What perfect timing.

The Administration's Worst Nightmare: Coal. Meanwhile, Radioactive Iodine Now Reported in Tokyo Drinking Water

The half-life of radioactive iodine is 8 days.

The sample contained 1.5 becquerals per kg of iodine 131, well below the tolerable limit for food and drink of 300 becquerals per kg, the government added.

When I read that headline, that radioactive iodine is now found in Tokyo drinking water, I imagined what this would mean if our government reported the same thing in one of our major cities.

I can only imagine the first thing folks would do would be to go to bottled water. I remember San Francisco talking about banning bottled water due to plastic waste, but I don't know the status of San Francisco's plans right now.

Meanwhile, when it comes to energy, the administration's worse nightmare: coal.

And the plan when the President was still a senator -- to bankrupt coal plants:


President Obama on Bankrupting Coal-Powered Utilities

Interestingly, that press conference was held in the same city that wants to ban bottled water.

Week 11: March 12 -- March 18, 2011

Permitorium Continues

Increased Activity Around Williston, North Dakota -- the Bakken

The Arnegard Well Fire -- Jaynes Well -- Is Out; Well Will Be Completed

Hess Has Six Wells Monitoring One Long Lateral in the Parshall

Hess Will Spend One-Third of Its North American CAPEX in Ray, North Dakota, Area

First Note on CLR's Hamlet/Salo Eco-Pad in Divide County

How Long Does It Take To Complete a Bakken Well (2011)?

Oasis Has Another Nice Well: Evans 5693 42-27H, Alger Field

Jim Cramer (CNBC "Mad Money") With Several Segments on the Bakken

Earthstone Provides Update

One Coal-To-Gasoline Project Could Provide 15 Percent of California's Gasoline Needs

Voyager (VOG) Now Listed on AMEX; Operational Update

Spearfish Formation: Sour But Light

Keystone XL Delayed Another Year

American Petro-Hunter: Three Pay Zones in Oklahoma. Implications For the Bakken

Legacy Update on Spearfish Wells in Bottineau County

Slick Water Fracking: Terminology Explained

174 Active Rigs: A New Record

Bakken Underappreciated: Harold Hamm

Update on Shipping Bakken Oil by Rail

Honey Production Sets Record: ND Still #1 In USA

Painted Woods With an Extensive Update -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

I have just updated the Painted Woods oil field; link here.

The update is important for three reasons:

• The update demonstrates the huge increase in activity since originally reviewed
• One can compare IPs and cumulative production in the same field between BEXP and other producers
• A comment on flaring

When I first posted a review of the Painted Woods there were only about four wells, most on the confidential list. Since then, dozens more, and many of them off the confidential list with six months or more of production. It should be noted, that production was hit hard in January, 2011, due to blizzards and snow drifts. Oil from new wells is trucked out (pipelines are put in later) and snowdrifts in North Dakota can keep trucks off the roads for days at a time.

Most of the Painted Woods wells are BEXP wells, but there are enough other wells by other producers that one can get a feeling for the difference in IPs and cumulative production among various drillers. It is very, very interesting. I think the discussion regarding "inflated" IPs is starting to gel.

And finally, I added a note about flaring at the bottom of the post on the Painted Woods oil field. I think there are reasonable explanations for the flaring issue.

Update on Fidelity Investments Moving From Massachusetts to New Hampshire to Better Serve Clients Across All Time Zones

 A couple of days ago I posted a story about Fidelity Investments moving their Massachusetts employees at Marlborough to Rhode Island and New Hampshire "to better serve their clients across all time zones."

Well, it appears that the governor of Massachusetts was a) caught off guard; and, b) not particularly happy. The governor was on a two-week trade mission/junket/vacation/whatever.

Also in that story, apparently the Japanese nuclear disaster won't affect the nuclear energy program in Massachusetts:

Questioned about fears of a nuclear disaster after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the governor said he is concerned about the safety of the aging Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, but he supports extending its license next year as long as the proper reviews are conducted.

Yes, I know, this has nothing to do with the Bakken, but I'm traveling and some stories are just too good to pass up.

Hyperion Energy Center: Elk Point, South Dakota (Midway Between Sioux Falls, Sioux City)

Construction on this state-of-the-art, low-sulfur gasoline/diesel producing refinery was due to begin in 2010 but regulatory issues continue. With gasoline headed towards $4.00/gallon, I would assume there would be continued interest.

I haven't checked recently, but it's been my impression that refinery capacity has not been the issue. In fact, the current supply of oil is not even the issue (note: there is about a 22-day supply of oil at Cushing; it wouldn't take much to bring that supply down).

The anticipation of oil shortages in the next six months to a year is what is driving up prices. Issues on the minds of those investing in oil: a) continued unrest in the Mideast (apparently things are not as quiet in Saudi Arabia as one would be led to believe); b) the global recovery driving increased oil demand; c) the nuclear disaster in Japan driving a return to increased fossil fuel use in that country (home of the Kyoto Accords, one might add to which Japan has signed on; isn't that interesting?); and, d) the perceived continued antagonism toward our own domestic energy industry (the failure to string transmission lines from wind turbine farms to urban centers; the reluctance to add strategic pipelines; and, the permitoriums: offshore, North Slope, and on BLM onshore.

Website.

NDIC Newsletters: A Great Source for Information on the Bakken, Other Energy Stories in North Dakota

For newbies (and maybe for regular readers), just a reminder. The NDIC publishes outstanding newsletters twice a year, and can be accessed electronically.

Zenergy Has a Nice Well Southwest of Williston -- Long Frac Delay -- Bakken, North Dakota

When this well came off the confidential list, it was still listed as "DRL" and no further information:

• 19061, 1,215, Oasis/Zenergy, Payette Federal 10-15H, Dore/Wildcat, Bakken, near the confluence south of Fort Buford, south of the river.

But the IP of 1,215 is very, very respectable. 

Now look how long it took to get the well fracked. The well was spudded 7/2/10. The IP test date was 2/23/11. Almost 8 months from spud to IP test date. I can bet that it was all due to fracking bottleneck. Incredible. I may have missed it, but I was unable to see number of frac stages in the well file.