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Sunday, May 15, 2011

Ursa's Borseth 15-22 1H: Why The Bakken Remains Exciting -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

This Ursa well is out in the middle of nowhere as far as Bakken activity is concerned. It's 11 miles directly south of Watford City on US Highway 85, but it is a wildcat, and absolutely no activity in the immediate area. None. Nada. Zilch. And this is the result:
An IP of 2,015 -- a very nice well. It turns out there is a string of wells east of this well in Haystack Butte oil field, most of which are still confidential. Three, however, have come off the confidential list and are good wells:
  • 18841, 1,833, Conoco (BR), Amanda 21-14H, Haystack Butte, Bakken
  • 19437, 2,805, BR, Inga 24-12H, Haystack Butte, Bakken
  • 19129, 1,680, BR, Aiden 31-13H, Haystack Butte, Bakken
So, bottom line: another great well (based on IP); a wildcat in an area not yet designated as an oil field, and it will open up an entire new area for drilling (or as the drillers call it: "derisking" an entire area).

And this well is right on Highway 85: 0.25 miles to the west of the highway. It has to be exciting for Ursa. And for those following the Bakken in general.

Biggest Energy Story of the Week: EnCana Extends CNG Corridor

Readers interested in the compressed natural gas story should read this link first.
  • Wyoming is converting its state government fleet to natural gas; first state to do this?
  • UPS is setting up a natural gas corridor from Los Angeles to Las Vegas to Salt Lake City.
Now EnCana is setting up a natural gas corridor from Rock Springs to Salt Lake City. Incredible stuff.

I honestly think this might be the biggest energy story this week.

UPDATE / SPECIAL

After posting the above, I received the following from Anon 1 (see comments below for original comment; I have re-posted it here with minor edits):


These CNG corridors are happening in several places. Utah was way ahead, years ago.

Now, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Shreveport area, Louisiana; Bradford County, Pennsylvania; etc.

CHK announced major funding to support it. (Maybe in the last CHK earnings call.) Encana and others are doing a lot. All CHK vehicles will be CNG or LNG in 4 years or so. A huge fleet. Encana water disposal contractor in the Haynesville will be all LNG. A couple hundred trucks. Mobile fuel source. This is significant.

http://www.encana.com/news/newsreleases/2011/0405-lng-fueling-stations.html

Cross Canada corridor, west to east. A lot in OK. CHK has team to advise fleet owners, government or private. Movement in city bus and delivery service vehicles. Some in city and utility vehicles.

ATT.

IIRC.

It might be enough to largely solve the chicken and egg problem. But, the fleets need to use facilities open to the public to make it work. If government vehicles buy at public stations, in quantity, the problem may be solved. [I agree; out in San Pedro, California -- south Los Angeles -- where I spend a lot of time, there is a CNG station just a block from our house -- but it is used only be city vehicles; I've always thought it needs to be open to the public, but it's probably a liability issue and a low volume issue.]

A couple of GM vehicles. Ford coming. They make lots around the world where they sell.

Some stations are not close by. But, if you are in the area: https://foursquare.com/venue/10142931

Closer to home:


http://www.chk.com/news/articles/pressreleases/04-05-11%20800th%20vehicle%20conversion.pdf

http://www.investingdaily.com/tes/18600/a-big-month-for-natural-gas-vehicles.html

map: http://marcelluscoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/MSC_NGV_Study.pdf

http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2011/04/25/529508-vehicles-are-lining-up-for-act-expo-2011.html

http://www.loves.com/AboutUs/MediaCenter/News/PressReleaseFeb252011.aspx

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/04/pa_getting_into_the_engergy_bu.html

Additional comment:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704740604576301550341227910.html?ru=yahoo&mod=yahoo_hs

"An 18-wheeler can burn as much fuel in a year as 40 cars. What if it burned domestic natural gas instead of imported oil?"

Update on The Heath (Montana) and The Tyler (North Dakota) for Investors

Link here.

Just a reminder: I update news regarding the Tyler / Heath formation at the sidebar on the right.

Somewhere I read (and posted): we should expect more Tyler activity in North Dakota later this year.

Update on Railroad Activity in The Bakken-- North Dakota, USA

Link here.

For investors, one of my best holdings ever was Burlington Northern (BNI). I was not happy when Warren Buffett bought it. That will turn out to be one of his best investments ever.
As more oil companies establish wells in the Bakken, railroads stand to transport more inbound carloads of frac sand, drilling pipe and other materials used to build wells or horizontally drill. And as more crude oil is extracted, the roads figure to transport lots of it to refineries and other end users thousands of miles away in the Gulf Coast, California, Oklahoma or points in Canada.
Rail transport is significantly cheaper than truck and more flexible than pipelines to move crude long distances, and an economical way to deliver inbound materials, so it's starting to become oil producers' mode of choice.

By 2011's end, about 1,800 new wells — each requiring 23 carloads of rail-delivered materials during construction — are projected to join the thousands already operating in the Bakken. At 2010's end, daily production had exceeded 300,000 barrels, outstripping available transportation capacity and hastening the need for more rail infrastructure.

Another Bullish Story About The Bakken

Link here. From the BillingsGazette.com/Business.
Reports of record-breaking oil wells coming online in the prolific Bakken formation may not eliminate the sting of $4 gas. But at least there’s some satisfaction knowing the domestic oil industry is working to quench the nation’s huge thirst for energy.

And unless oil prices suddenly plummet — something industry experts don’t expect anytime soon — drilling in Eastern Montana and western North Dakota is expected to continue at a brisk pace.

Brigham Exploration of Austin, Texas, has announced that a recently completed North Dakota well, known as Sorenson 29-32 #2H, produced a record 5,330 barrels of oil equivalent (a mixture of natural gas and oil) during a 24-hour test.

In Montana, Brigham Energy’s Johnson 30-19#1H well 12 miles northest of Fairview in Richland County produced 2,962 barrels during its 24-hour test, also a record.
I remain inappropriately exuberant about the Bakken.

Investors Only: Nine Companies That Had a Great 1Q11 -- Seeking Alpha

Link here.

Companies mentioned:
  • BEXP
  • EOG
  • Cabot Oil and Gas
  • Swift Energy
  • Stone Energy 
  • Double Eagle Petroleum
  • Range Resources
  • Apache
  • Pioneer Natural Resources
There were a lot of extenuating circumstances / headwinds for the oil and gas companies in 1Q11 -- hedging losses due to spike in oil prices / mark-to-market paper loss; and severe weather conditions in the midwest.

I am looking forward to a huge 2Q11 and probably even a better 3Q11. It could be a very, very good 2Q11 for investors.

Northwest Pacific May Turn Off Wind Turbines -- Too Much Electricity -- Rates Up Anyway To Pay For All Those Wind Turbines

Link here.

I'm sure the rates are up for any number of reasons, but somehow this all seems a bit perplexing.

McKenzie County's Taxable Sales up 50% in 2010 -- Watford City -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Link here. This link will definitely break early.
Continued energy development fueled Watford City’s and McKenzie County’s economic growth in 2010 as taxable sales and purchases in McKenzie County and Watford City grew by nearly 50 percent during the 2010 calendar year  according to the figures released by the office of the North Dakota Tax Commissioner.

According to the recent report by North Dakota Tax Commissioner Cory Fong, McKenzie County’s taxable sales and purchases during calendar year 2010 totalled $78,060,687 compared to $52,412,321 during 2009, an increase of 48.94 percent.

Watford City’s taxable sales and purchases during 2010 were up 49.08 percent over 2009 sales increasing from $47,653,892 in 2009 to $71,041,443 in 2010.
Compare with earlier story on North Dakota's taxable sales in 2010, statewide, Fargo (#1) and Williston (#2). 

Overall

The four major population centers
  • Bismarck, Fargo, Grand Forks, and Minot - growth ranged from 3.9 percent in Grand Forks to 18.2 percent in Minot.
Of the 200 cities
  • Plaza led the growth of all cities: up 284.3 percent growth over 2009
  • Tower City was next, increasing by 237.1 percent
  • Gladstone was up 154.8 percent, Tioga grew by 125 percent
  • Lignite was up 104.3 percent.
Included in the fourth quarter report are statistics for each of the state’s 53 counties.
  • Burke County led all counties with a 241.8 percent growth over 2009
  • Williams County was next, increasing by 128.8 percent
  • Dunn County was up 90.5 percent
  • Mountrail County was up by 84.2 percent
  • Billings County up by 64.1 percent

Feds to Cape Wind: Not So Fast!

Upate
Not so fast, there, big boy! The Feds say "no."
Cape Wind’s attempt to win a US Department of Energy loan guarantee has been placed on hold, in a setback to efforts by the nation’s first offshore wind farm to secure financing.

In a letter sent this week, the department said that with the multibillion dollar loan program’s September expiration date approaching, remaining funds would be used on projects whose applications were further along.

“This is not a statement about the quality of your project, but simply about its readiness to proceed at this time,’’ read the letter, sent to Cape Wind and other applicants whose projects were placed on hold.
And so it goes. 
Original Posting
CapeWind updates are at this post.

Cape Wind finally gets Federal permit -- it took ten (10) years. And there are still obstacles, least of which is financing.

President Obama says he will look into streamlining the permitting process.

MDU's Knife River To Open Plant in Williston -- Heart of the Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Link here (regional links break early and break often). A big "thank you" to Don for alerting me to this story.
Knife River Corporation announced plans today to open a Western North Dakota Division with full aggregate, ready-mix, asphalt and concrete construction services. Headquartered in Williston, division employees will perform private and public work throughout western North Dakota and eastern Montana.
This was announced on April 11; a couple days later there was an article detailing the amount of money flowing to the oil patch in North Dakota. Perhaps the most amount of money ever appropriated for road construction and maintenance has been earmarked for the Bakken: $610 million plus another $100 million for other oi-related impact projects over the next two years.

So, MDU's Knife River decision to set up shop in Williston is huge.

One of the first things I thought of when I read this: the huge additional workforce that will be needed. Initially, my hunch is that the bulk of the workforce will come out of Boise, Idaha; Bismarck; and, perhaps, Minnesota.
The office and all production equipment will be situated on property in north Williston, with plans to have full ready-mix operations available by early May. A spokesman said that when North Dakota's spring road restrictions lift, an asphalt plant transferred from Knife River's Boise, Idaho, operations will be permanently placed. Knife River already has secured a paving contract with the city of Williston.
For investors, despite all the volatility of the stock market recently, MDU has held its own very, very nicely and continues to pay a respectable dividend.

I would be surprised if we did not see a story on Seeking Alpha or Investopedia regarding this recent announcement.

This would also be an opportunity to go back to read all those articles between 2006 and 2008 that said the Bakken was over-hyped. Even Snopes.com, as recently as March, 2010, fails to put the Bakken into perspective.