The scuttlebutt in the Bakken right now is that "most five-year leases that expire this year are likely to command a ten-fold increase in the bonus price when the land is again leased." -- John Andrist, Crosby, ND, current ND legislator, past publisher of the Divide County Journal, in the March 30, 2011, Journal.Something tells me there is going to be a lot of drilling going on this summer. Or at least a lot of pads ... and backlogs.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Leases May Command Ten-Fold Increase in the Bonus Price -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA
Link here.
Futures: WTI Oil Up Another Seventy Cents -- Solidly Over $107
I know futures have nothing to do with what happens the next trading day, but when I see WTI oil solidly above $107 (9:15 p.m EST, March 31, 2011) one has to wonder when folks will get excited enough to start writing their congressmen.
By the way, good news for the consumer; I did not know this: President Obama said that every $10 increase in the price of oil only increases price of gasoline by 25 cents/gallon. At $3.50/gallon in our neighborhood, we can still go up 20 more dollars before we hit $4.00/gallon. Pundits say that the breaking point for the consumer is $4.00/gallon.
I guess that's why there is no change in domestic energy policy.
[Remember, if oil goes over $110 tomorrow, it's April Fool's Day -- probably just OPEC trying to play a joke on us.]
By the way, good news for the consumer; I did not know this: President Obama said that every $10 increase in the price of oil only increases price of gasoline by 25 cents/gallon. At $3.50/gallon in our neighborhood, we can still go up 20 more dollars before we hit $4.00/gallon. Pundits say that the breaking point for the consumer is $4.00/gallon.
I guess that's why there is no change in domestic energy policy.
[Remember, if oil goes over $110 tomorrow, it's April Fool's Day -- probably just OPEC trying to play a joke on us.]
ObamaCare? North Dakota Blue Cross to Raise Premiums As Much as 17 Percent; Lower Than What BC Sought -- Nothing To Do With The Bakken
Link here. (Regional links break often; break early.)
Data points:
Data points:
- To take effect May 1, 2011
- Won't affect employer groups: Individuals trying to go it alone are in a world of hurt
- Annual rate increases: 2.4 to16.9 percent (based partly on when ObamaCare took effect)
- Premium hikes were lower than those sought by the insurer (translation: wait until next year)
Five (5) New Permits -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA
Producers: Ward-Williston, Hunt, Denbury, Baytex, and Marathon.
Fields: Northwesthope (Bottineau County), Ross, Siverston, Bailey, and a wildcat.
The Baytex wildcat is in Divide County.
Permits for those five operators are few and far between.
Three recent permits canceled:
Fields: Northwesthope (Bottineau County), Ross, Siverston, Bailey, and a wildcat.
The Baytex wildcat is in Divide County.
Permits for those five operators are few and far between.
Three recent permits canceled:
- 20352, OXY USA, Reistad, Burke County
- 20175, Samson Resources, Tundra, Divide
- 20176, Samson Resources, Titan, Divide
For Investors: CLR -- A Momentum Stock
Another SeekingAlpha. com article. Continental Resources (CLR), the face of the Bakken, is seen as one of six momentum stocks getting increased attention.
Five of the six companies are oil and gas exploration and production. There is nothing new written about CLR in that article that hasn't been reported here or elsewhere.
Five of the six companies are oil and gas exploration and production. There is nothing new written about CLR in that article that hasn't been reported here or elsewhere.
Ms Chu: WTI Oil Will Be Back to $90 In a Month; Supplies Are Overflowing At Cushing; The President: We Need More US Production
Link here for story about American oil supply at Cushing, Oklahoma, overflowing.
Supply shortfall? Mideast turmoil? Strength of the dollar?
The Bakken is robust at $40/barrel. -- Greg Hill, Hess, January 27, 2010, 4Q09 earnings conference call.Link here for story about the President saying we need more US production to decrease oil imports.
US President Barack Obama set a goal of reducing imports of foreign oil by one-third in a little more than a decade, and said that US production will need to rise significantly as a result. That includes adopting incentives to encourage federal leaseholders to begin producing more quickly from tracts they already hold, he said.That and 75 cents will buy you a cup of coffee.
“Last year, American oil production reached its highest level since 2003, and for the first time in more than a decade, oil we imported accounted for less than half the liquid fuel we consumed,” he said in an address to students at Georgetown University. “To keep reducing that reliance on imports, my administration is encouraging offshore oil exploration and production—as long as it’s safe and responsible.”
Supply shortfall? Mideast turmoil? Strength of the dollar?
After following the Federal Reserve's lead for over a decade, the European Central Bank is poised to launch a series of interest rate hikes before the U.S. central bank for the first time in the ECB's history.US inflation to be serious within months: Wal-Mart's CEO.
The change from the traditional pattern reflects the ECB's greater preoccupation with inflation pressures, as well as its higher level of discomfort with the emergency bond-buying programmes run by central banks.
But the "decoupling" of ECB and Fed policies is also the result of an historic shift in the global economy: the increased influence that Asia, rather than the United States, is having on the euro zone's economy.
Inflation is "going to be serious," Wal-Mart U.S. CEO Bill Simon said during a meeting with USA TODAY's editorial board. "We're seeing cost increases starting to come through at a pretty rapid rate."Price of gasoline has doubled under current administration.
Feeling pain at the pump? Gas prices have doubled since Mr. Obama took office. According to the GasBuddy gasoline price tracking web site, the price of a gallon of regular gas was around $1.79 when Mr. Obama took office. Today the national average is $3.58. The lowest average price in the continental United States is $3.31 in Tulsa Oklahoma, the highest is $4.14 in Santa Barbara, CA. Four-dollar-a-gallon gas has arrived on average throughout California, and a number of other states are headed in that direction.
For Investors Only: Motley Fool on BEXP
As noted before, BEXP shows up yet again on another site as a company of interest for investors.
- Earnings expectations this year: $1.14
- Earnings expectations next year: $1.93
- Recent price: $37.
- Next year's p/e: <20 based on recent price and earnings expectations.
While President Obama recently called on the energy industry to produce more oil and gas so as to decrease the amount of imports drastically, critics have been quick to cite a slow permitting process as a major problem. In addition, while he called out both the Marcellus and Eagle Ford shale plays as areas where he sees our future independence coming from, he was also critical of "fracking," the process of accessing the oil hidden in the rock by hydraulic pressure.It should be noted that his Secretary of Energy is a nuclear physicist, and a huge proponent of nuclear power. To the best of my knowledge, fracking has been used for decades, highly regulated, closely watched by the media, and emits no harmful radiation. Nuclear power has been used for decades, is highly regulated and closely watched by the media.
Brigham Exploration and other oil and gas exploration companies have benefited from the hydraulic fracturing process. The President has asked the Secretary of Energy to work with the industry to come up with new techniques on extracting oil and gas.
Rigzone: The President's "New" Energy Policy -- March 30, 2011
Link here.
Speech given March 30, 2011.
March 31, 2011: Price of oil up $2.02, to $106.30, a recent high.
Speech given March 30, 2011.
March 31, 2011: Price of oil up $2.02, to $106.30, a recent high.
1,000 More Man-Camp Units -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA
People unfamiliar with "the Bakken" have no idea how critical the manpower shortage is. Actually, people "unfamiliar with the Bakken" have no idea what the Bakken is, but I digress.
The lack of manpower comes partly from lack of places to house them. This is despite any number of man-camps already in place in the region as well as several new long-term motels in Williston.
The Williams County planning commission has approved four more large man-camps which would bring total number of new beds to over 1,000.
The proposal has to be approved by the Williams County Commission.
Black Gold Oilfield Services
The lack of manpower comes partly from lack of places to house them. This is despite any number of man-camps already in place in the region as well as several new long-term motels in Williston.
The Williams County planning commission has approved four more large man-camps which would bring total number of new beds to over 1,000.
The proposal has to be approved by the Williams County Commission.
Black Gold Oilfield Services
- 374-bed facility; 94 units
- Off Highway 2, next to the ATCO Lodge Williston
- Dorm style rooms; not individual units
- Company is based in Fairbanks, Alaska
- Two requests
- Expand company's current 248-bed facility for an additional 152 beds; total - 400 beds
- Six miles north of Williston
- Also a new facility, located next to the current facility
- Infrastructure is already in; would allow for 1,000-person capacity
- Mobile home park; "fixed" to ground, so taxed
- 151 units
- West side of Trenton, off Highway 1804
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