Impact of Oil Industry on Northwest North Dakota -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Link here.

A big "thank you" to "anonymous" to alerting me to this site.

Narrative summary:

In Q4 2010, North Dakota employment rose 4.2 percent compared to Q4 2009, an increase of 14,790 jobs. Average weekly wages were higher by 7.6 percent and stood at $809. Of the major industry categories, the largest private employment increases occurred in Mining, Quarrying and Oil and Gas Extraction (+5,686), Health Care and Social Assistance (+1,746), and Transportation and Warehousing (+1,552). The only decline occurred in Administrative and Waste Services (-280).

The county with the largest numeric increase over the year was Williams with 4,907 jobs, a 37.2 percent increase, followed by Stark (+2,074), Cass (+1,888), Mountrail (+1,535), and McKenzie (+981). The county experiencing the largest numeric decrease over Q4 2009 was Stutsman (-404). Five other counties reported triple-digit year-over-year decreases.

Except for Cass County, all counties noted above were in the northwest, where the Bakken interest is most concentrated.

Linked site with raw data. 

Note: North Dakota created almost 15,000 new jobs last year (2010): put that number in perspective -- last month California lost 29,000 jobs; New York state lost 24,000 jobs; and, Pennsylvania lost 15,000 jobs. 

Lizard May Stop Drilling in West Texas -- Not a Bakken Story

Link here.

Here we go again.

Deep in the West Texas sand dunes is something that some say could threaten the state's oil and gas production: A tiny lizard.

But it's not just any lizard: It's a dunes sagebrush lizard, also known as the sand dune lizard.

This little brown reptile is a concern for state officials, who hope that federal officials don't designate it an endangered species. That, they say, could disrupt oil and gas exploration in the heart of Texas' oil country, leading to higher gas prices and shrinking dollars for schools.

"It's reptile dysfunction," said Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, who oversees the permanent school and university funds, which get money from royalties and leases on some of the potentially affected land. "It has the potential to bring oil exploration and production to a halt."

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which has had the issue before it for about a decade, is considering protections because oil and gas exploration and ranching are shrinking the lizard's habitat. A decision could come by year's end.

And to think I just updated this post. 

Another Bakken -- Does This Sound Familiar?

Graphic

From a contributor at SeekingAlpha:

Updates

April 13, 2017: COP to sell its assets in San Juan Basin; $3 billion; to Hilcorp Energy. 

December 21, 2015: BP buys Devon's assets in the San Juan Basin. 

October 31, 2013: a reader sent me this update --

From EnCana in their recent announcements:  In the San Juan Basin , the most recent four wells had initial production rates between 400 bbls/d and 500 bbls/d of oil over the first 30 days. Well costs continue to decrease and the newer wells have been drilled twice as fast as the original wells, some with total well costs under $4.0 million per well. Encana drilled nine wells in the San Juan Basin during the third quarter and currently has 23 wells on production in the play.

April 22, 2013: Encana reports nice productivity.

Encana Corp. on Tuesday announced positive results from its San Juan Basin oil exploration, saying the effort had "reached commerciality" with production expected to exceed 1,700 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

The Canadian company, which has been the most aggressive firm in testing the potential of San Juan Basin oil, said it may add a rig by year's end to the two now operating in the basin.

Original Post

Link here.

The geologists estimated the Mancos Shale holds 59 billion barrels of oil, of which perhaps 3 billion is recoverable -- 10 times more than the [San Juan] basin has produced in the past 90 years.

"That would make this a big, big prize, and that's why these companies are coming in," Dunn said. "If they see success, there will be a boom overnight, assuming the price of oil holds."

San Juan Basin, New Mexico.

The Mancos Shale stretches across the San Juan Basin from Durango, Colo., at its northern extreme nearly to Gallup southward, and from Shiprock to the Chromo, Colo., area.

At 3,600 square miles, the basin is the largest natural gas-producing region in the Rockies.

Natural gas dominates the basin to the north, while oil is thought to be more prevalent in the south. Oil and gas officials say the Mancos Shale is geologically similar to the Niobrara Shale in Northeast Colorado, where production has boomed.

The article mentions the Bakken in passing.

Rigzone.com story here.

Since the San Juan Basin first boomed after World War II, natural gas has formed the backbone of the local energy industry.

Reliable natural gas production brought jobs, pumped tax revenues into government coffers and, in many ways, built Farmington. Oil production, meanwhile, was at best an afterthought.

That may be about to change. New technology, coupled with high oil prices, is spurring renewed interest in oil buried deep within San Juan Basin shales.

"We've always known that there's hydrocarbons in the shales. We haven't been able to get it out in economic quantities," said Steve Dunn, drilling and production manager at Merrion Oil & Gas in Farmington. "That's changing."

Though it's far from certain, oil and gas industry insiders say there's also a realistic possibility that San Juan County could be on the verge of an oil boom.

Several major producers are exploring the potential for drilling San Juan Basin oil, industry officials said. Companies recently have approached local independent oil and gas firms to discuss buying rights in the Mancos Shale, the oil-rich geologic layer of the basin.

More Global Warming

Snow falling in Colorado on summer's eve.

Link here.

"The lingering effects of the La Nina ocean cooling are still playing havoc with local weather patterns."

Yup, it's always something.

Three Forks Iris -- June 20, 2011

Something to take your mind off the market for a few days.

A big thank you to Kathy.

Beartooth Pass -- Global Warming Photo -- June 15, 2011

This is yet to melt. Link here.

For Investors: Five Bakken Stocks Battered by the Market -- Investopedia

Link here.

One thing I don't worry about is pullbacks on shares in Bakken-related companies.

Traders should do well if they are agile.

Investors should do well if they continue to accumulate shares whenever possible.

Perhaps more later. 

Seven (7) New Permits -- Bakken, North Dakota, USa

Daily activity report, June 20, 2011 --

Drillers: BEXP (2), Petro-Hunt (2), BTA (2), and CLR.

Fields: Epping, Little Knife, East Fork, and two wildcats.

Petro-Hunt has the two wildcats, in Williams County.

It looks like everyone is now putting in multi-well pads.  BTA has a multi-well pad permit in Epping field, and BEXP has another multi-pad permit in East Fork.

Of interest, Core 54's Longshot 10-23 1 (a Three Forks well in Stark County) came off the confidential list today but "no data."

Continental Resources had two wells that came off the confidential list today, neither exciting. All results will be posted at the usual site on this blog.