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Thursday, July 21, 2011

Schlumberger To Announce Earnings Before Opening Bell Friday Morning

CEO announces he will step down; successor in line.

Shares spiked a bit today suggesting folks are excited about SLB's earnings, especially after hearing HAL saying oil services industry could not keep with demand.

Airport Boardings At Williston Double -- Hit All-Time High -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Link here.
Airport boardings in Williston set an all-time record last month.

Statistics from the North Dakota Aeronautics Commission show that Sloulin Field International Airport recorded 2,549 boardings in June.

This was up from the 1,315 recorded in 2010, a 94 percent increase.
"94 percent increase" --> almost 100% which is doubling.

Entire state saw increase:
Airline boardings at North Dakota's eight major airports set a June record.


The state Aeronautics Commission reports that 73,100 people boarded planes during the month, up 9 percent over the year.

Boardings at the Williston airport nearly doubled over the year. Minot saw the biggest increase in actual passengers, with 5,551 more boardings over the year.
For newbies, for various reasons, many folks traveling to and from Williston use Minot airport as their gateway.

XOM Interested In Acquiring More Shale (Natural Gas) -- Not a Bakken Story

ExxonMobil announced a long-term strategic move about a year ago to acquire more natural gas assets. XOM bought XTO this past year. XTO is in the Bakken which is primarily an oil play.

But XOM is interested in more natural gas reserves. The New York Times recently reported natural gas was a losing proposition, but it certainly seems to have been shoddy reporting, or market tinkering (manipulation?).

Note:
Three years after Exxon abandoned the Barnett shale in north Texas because of lagging returns, XTO-operated wells in the region are among the most profitable in the company’s portfolio, even after a 67 percent slide in U.S. gas prices since 2008, he said. 
And:
“The economic returns are very good,” Williams said during the interview in XTO’s offices in a 90-year-old bank building in Fort Worth, Texas. “We’re running economics on every individual well. We’re making sure each well makes economic sense before we drill it. We’re not drilling anything that’s losing money.”

Exxon has purchased shale fields that hold more than 10 trillion cubic feet of gas since the XTO transaction, the company’s biggest purchase in more than a decade, Williams said. Ten trillion cubic feet of gas is enough to supply U.S. household demand for two years, based on Bloomberg calculations.
The Bakken is an oil play, not a natural gas play but something tells me when XOM is looking for more shale acquisitions, XOM, as well as others, are looking at the Bakken. Most agree the Bakken is in early innings in a 100-year play.

C&J Energy Services: Hydraulic Fracking Company Goes Public -- Bakken?


C&J opens at $30, three percent higher than its IPO last week.


Original Post
Link here.

Contracts include EOG, but not sure if C&J in the Bakken.
C&J Energy Services owns four hydraulic fracturing fleets with 142,000 total horsepower. The company has four other fleets under construction, and estimates that total horsepower will reach 270,000 by the end of 2012. C&J Energy Services also owns 14 coiled tubing units and 25 pressure pumping units. The company earned 80% of its revenues in the first quarter of 2011 from providing hydraulic fracturing services to operators trying to enhance production from wells drilled into formations with low permeability. Its four operating fleets are under term contracts with EXCO Resources (NYSE:XCO), EOG Resources, Penn Virginia, and Anadarko Petroleum. The company's fifth fleet, which is under construction, will be available in August 2011, and is under contract with Plains Exploration and Production. The other three fleets are currently without contracts, and are set to be delivered before the end of 2012.

Carpe Diem Has Another Post on the North Dakota Oil Patch -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Link here.
1. A new record for monthly production: 1,120,4576 barrels, a 21% increase from last May, and a 75% increase from two years ago (the link includes a chart).

2. A new record for average daily production: 361,438 barrels. 

3. A new record number of wells producing: 5,329.

4. A new record for oil-related jobs 15,200 (see chart), which is more than double the number of North Dakota oil jobs two years ago. 
The most interesting statistic that comes out of this is the average number of bbls/well: 68.


This number has always surprised me: how few bbls the "average" well produces. There are so many ways to look at this. When I go through the NDIC database there are a lot of wells producing 300 bbls/month which is only 10 bbls/day, and yet the oil companies would not keep these wells on-line if they weren't profitable. In fact, these wells paid for themselves a long time ago, and it costs almost nothing to keep these wells going: a bit of electricity to keep the pumps running, a little routine maintenance, a bit of bookkeeping, and that's about it. If the old wells are hooked into a pipeline, the expense is even less. At $75/bbl, that's about $750/day for a well that is paid for. There aren't many jobs in North Dakota that pay you $750/day ($275,000/year). The price of oil continues to increase, by the way.

A lot of those old wells were drilled at  time when dry holes were not unexpected. Now, a dry hole in North Dakota rates a headline, they are so rare. That has brought the cost per bbl produced way down; when you hit a couple of dry wells, that can really affect your bottom line.

But most important is this: these old wells producing 300 bbls/month are often targeting legacy formations like the Red River or the Madison. A lot of these fields will be rejuvenated when enhanced oil recovery (water flooding and CO2 injection). Even better: the leases for these wells are "held by production," allowing time for the operators to go back in and target other formations from these same wells or new wells. The new formations: Bakken, Three Forks, Three Forks Sanish, and the Tyler.

The new Bakken wells are paying for themselves "at the wellhead" in less than three years; the exceptional Bakken wells pay for themselves "at the wellhead" in less than six months. And these wells are likely to produce for 30 years; BEXP suggests they could produce for 39 years.

This Will Be a Gut-Check For Folks Who Want To Feel Good -- Paying More For Electric Vehicles

The price of an "average" car has dropped this year, to slightly below $20,000.

But not so for electric vehicles: they're going to get much more expensive, especially in California.
The state has run out of the $5,000 rebates it was giving people who purchased all-electric vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf and Tesla Roadster.

That's on top of a price increase for the Nissan Leaf. The automaker said this week that it would raise the price of the base model when the 2012 cars come out this fall by $2,420 to $36,050, including destination charge. The higher-trim-level Leaf SL will go up $3,530 to $38,100, including destination charge.
This is nothing new, but it was printed March 25, 2011, with updated data.

Marcellus Oil Production Jumps; Job Opportunities Skyrocket -- Not a Bakken Story

Link here.

I wonder if the New York Times will report this story on natural gas? After their shoddy reporting on this subject.

Record IP In The Williston Basin

Question 9 from the FAQ page (note: this page may not always be updated. I am likely to update this on the FAQ page).

What is the record IP to date in the Williston Basin? 
From a November 11, 2014, post (see also the November 25, 2014, post, same subject); The first well, in the Middle Bakken formation, was completed with 94 stages and was flowing 7,120 BOE/d on October 10, 2014, according to the operator. When the well was completed, it established a world record for number of stages in a single well.
Soon after, an offset well in the Upper Three Forks formation was completed with 104 stages. This well was flowing 7,824 BOE/d on October 11, 2014. This was a hybrid completion comprising 97 NCS GripShift cemented casing sleeves, with seven NCS BallShift cemented ball-drop sleeves in the lower section of the well. In both wells, all stages were successfully fractured.
More to follow: in 2Q14 earnings report, WLL: Tarpon Well Completed in 2nd Bench of Three Forks Flowing 6,071 boepd. Not a record in the Bakken -- see Statoil's #23992. But still, this is huge for the second bench.
Statoil reported an IP of 5,417 on September 26, 2013: #23992, Beaux 18-19 7H, Banks oil field. Based on its IP for natural gas (9,663), this well had an IP of 7,083 boepd
Statoil reported an IP of 5,387 on July 19, 2013: #23387, Beaux 18-19 4H, Banks oil field. This might be a new record (this is the IP for crude oil only).
The initial production of any well, self-reported by the producer, is becoming less meaningful over time. Having said that, it looks like the record IP for a Bakken well is now 5,200a Newfield well (July, 2011): 18691, 5,200, NFX, Wisness Federal 152-96-4-2H, Westberg, Bakken.
Statoil reported on July 10, 2013: 23385, 5,070, Beaux 18-19 6H, Banks, t6/13; cum -- ; 7 days to drill the lateral; I did not see completion data; 31 swell packers planned; 
Two earlier wells: a Whiting well which had an IP of 4,761 boepd: file #17612, 4,761 boepd IP, Whiting, Maki 11-27H, Mountrail County, Sanish field.  This is still current as of February 20, 2010. Since then, BEXP claims to have set a record with the Sorenson 29-32 1-H, #18654, with a 24-hour flowback of 5,133 bopd. However, the NDIC reported an IP of 2,944. BEXP also reported the Jack Cvancara 19-18 #1H (this site is down) in the Ross project area with a 24-hour flowback of 5,035.
New record in the Bakken, November 3, 2011The Tarpon Federal 21-4H is a Whiting  Petroleum operated well and had a 24-hour initial production (IP) rate of 7,009 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE), setting a new Williston Basin record for a Bakken well.
Whiting said this was a record TFS well at the time, early 2012, file #20526, Smith 34-12TFH, 2,446, 102K in first 4.5 months.

    Newfield Reports a "Personal Best" in the Bakken: 5,300 BOEPD - A Short Lateral

    Link here: 2Q11 earnings report -- press release.

    Of the recent completions, eight of the nine wells were super extended laterals and had an average lateral length of more than 9,500’. Average gross initial production (24-hour) from the nine wells completed in the second quarter was 2,100 BOEPD. The wells were drilled and completed for an average of approximately $9.8 million (gross).

    Recent results include a “Company-best” – the Wiseness (sic) Federal 152-96-4-2H, which had gross initial production (24-hour average) of 5,200 BOEPD. The well has a 5,300’ lateral and was drilled and completed for approximately $5.9 million (gross). SHORT LATERAL, record production for Newfield.
    The "Wiseness" is spelled "Wisness" at the NDIC site; it is still on the confidential list. It is in Westberg oil field; it is about a township in size, west of the anticline (I believe) and southeast of Williston, south of the river. 

    Earnings:
    For the second quarter of 2011, Newfield recorded net income of $219 million, or $1.62 per diluted share. Net income for the second quarter includes a net unrealized gain on commodity derivatives of $129 million ($81 million after-tax), or $0.60 per share. Without the effect of this item, net income for the second quarter of 2011 would have been $138 million, or $1.02 per share.
    Bakken ops:
    The Company has an inventory of 10 wells that have been drilled and are in various stages of completion. Newfield expects to complete a total of 13 wells in the third quarter of 2011.

    Oil: Hits $100 -- Again -- Even I Am Surprised

    Updates

    The original post was posted one minute ago. I see now that the price of oil just went over $100, and the stock market is surging.

    Original Post

    The price of oil will fluctuate significantly but at the moment, oil is up $1.42, almost hitting $100.

    My hunch: $100 is a psychological barrier and once that is hit again, we will see some scary numbers.

    Remember, six months ago, "they" were predicting much higher prices for oil this summer, which have not yet materialized. "Everyone" agrees that average price for WTI oil for 2011 will be $100. If so, the price has to go up a fair amount since we've been below $100 for most of the year.

    The SPR release -- all 17 hours of global consumption -- must have worked its way through the system by now.

    CVX may hit a new 52-week high today. KOG down a bit at the moment (profit-taking, no doubt). EOG up. HES up. CLR up.

    Top News Stories By Month

    These lists will end up being the hardest for me to compile.

     Top stories for July, 2022 -- start with Week 26 

     

    Top stories for June, 2022

    Fourth straight quarter of double-digit growth in North Dakota taxable sales
    Chord Energy: Oasis + Whiting.
    The Saudis may have dis-invited Biden.
    Inflation at 40-year high.
    Price of gasoline across the US at $5.00 / gallon.
    White House press secretary says $5- gasoline vs $60,000 EV is comparing "apples to oranges"
    National policy makers finally realize it's a refining story, not an oil production story.
    Devon enters the Bakken; acquires RimRock assets.
    White House press secretary says it is the patriotic duty of refiners to sell their refined products at a loss.
    Bridger Pipeline has its permits.
    SCOTUS "overturns" Roe vs Wade. Will cost the GOP in the mid-term elections.
    EIA "systems failure" (see below)

    Chevron exits California; moves to Texas

    NCAA football: USC and UCLA to join the Big 10, exit the PAC-12.

    Top stories for May, 2022

    Saudi Arabia is big winner.
    US Senate committee votes to recommend NOPEC bill.
    Boeing to exit Chicago; move to Washington (DC).
    TLIS: another Rivian wannabe.
    EOG declares a special dividend of $1.80 on top of regular dividend of 75 cents; total dividends paid this quarter could fund 150 wells.
    The incredible Baily oil field.
    With record high gasoline prices, the Biden administration scraps new leasing in Alaska, GoM.
    Baby formula shortage; turned out to be much more severe than many expected; caught administration completely flat-footed; even Amazon is out of formula.
    Uvalde shooter kills 19 fourth graders, two teachers.

    Top stories for April, 2022

    Premium oil development acreage continues to expand in North Dakota.
    China's lock downs.
    Germany's automobile manufacturing slows, stops.
    Saudi Arabia's foreign exchange reserves continue steep slide.
    Europe's urgent need for natural gas.
    All indications: Russia's economy will implode by summer, 2022.
    ATT - Warner Bros Discovery -- merger-spin-off complete.
    Week 0: Biden Surge
    President Biden backtracks: will now allow drilling on federal land.
    Haynesville natural gas production hits all-time high
    .
    Bakken's RimRock oil and gas up for sale.
    An XTO Pelton well maintained incredible production over three years.
    Biden blinked: opens federal land to drilling (and, fracking, OMG).
    US exports record amount of crude oil and refined oil products.
    This is where it ends; the mask mandate ended
    .
    Schlumberger making hay.
    Kevin O'Leary visits North Dakota; another cryptocurrency venture?
    XTO reports completion of two huge DUCs.
    North Dakota's April blizzard shut in 60% of North Dakota crude oil production.
    Diesel is still the top international energy story; ULSD is new buzzword.
    Buffett makes huge investment in CVX.
    The Enerplus winter fur pad wells are incredible.
    A 250,000-bbl crude oil pipeline, Watford City, ND, to Baker, MT.

    Top stories for March, 2022

    Russian economy imploding; death by a thousand cuts.
    Crude oil surges in prices as White House considers ban on importing Russian oil.
    Another global SPR release
    US crude oil demand setting new records.
    North Dakota on its way to being #1 state for GDP.
    Continental Resources will partner with Summit Carbon Solutions on carbon capture and sequestration
    ; will check off the ESG box.
    XOM to sell Bakken assets?
    US CPI at 7.9%; highest in more than 40 years
    .
    Russia on brink of insolvency
    .
    Diesel will be a top five story for 2022
    . And, here.
    Oasis - Whiting announce merger. And, here.
    Bill to release 260 million bbls of oil from the SPR introduced
    .
    At $120 oil, Saudi Arabia is dropping rigs
    .
    Cheniere has sold out of natural gas through 2040
    .
    WTI off the chart
    . Sunday, March 6, WTI surged.
    $9 gasoline: California
    .
    Buffett keeps buying more OXY. And here.
    Apple announces its most powerful chip ever.
    Crude oil volatility: spikes to $140; then quickly falls back to $90;
    The myth of spare capacity.
    Diesel to be one of the big energy stories in 2022.
    Lots of hand-wringing, not much of a story: the Fed raises the "Fed rate" by 0.25%; first raise in years; inflation coming in at 7.9%;Oasis pays first variable dividend of $3.00 / share.
    The MRO Marion well hits 500K bbls crude oil in about 18 months
    .
    The spectacular MRO wells in the Antelope-Sanish
    .
    Administration has change of heart; FERC to approve pipelines

    US crude oil supply drops below 27 days
    ;
    Biden announces SPR release of one million bbls per day for six months. All SPR release posts will be followed here.
    ISO NE: trending toward $1,000 / MWh
    .

    Top stories for February, 2022

    Inflation at 7.5%; highest since 1982.
    Mask mandates ending across the country; proposal to vaccinate "under-5" pulled back.
    North Dakota minerals belong to tribes.
    Whiting to start drilling 3-mile lateral wells in the Sanish
    .
    Staggering production reported by three MRO wells
    .
    A staggering MRO well.
    Trudeau kills Canadian Trans Mountain Pipeline
    .
    Mexico to become net importer of crude oil
    .
    US clearly outproducing Russia, Saudi Arabia.
    California gasoline price hits all-time high.
    Dated Brent sells for $100.80.
    SPR inventories continue to fall; big headline; little story.
    Ukraine likely to have a new government by this time next week
    ;
    Brent goes over $106
    Biden announces his nominee to the US Supreme Court; if approved, 2/9 of court will be African-American forever;
    Phil Mickelson and KPMG part ways;
    USPS sticks with gasoline-ICE delivery vans;
    New England burned more oil this winter than any time in past decade to generate electricity;
    US Supreme Court won't take the DAPL case; technically DAPL is operating without a permit;

    Top stories for January, 2022

    NDSU claims yet another national championship
    Daimler Truck Group spinoff closes
    ; ticker symbol as of January 6, 2022.
    US sets Covid records; "everyone" has it" -- CNBC -- January 7, 2022
    FDA significantly expands Pfizer vaccine emergency use authorization;
    Mexico to phase out all crude oil exports by 2023

    Reversal of US Capline Pipeline helps Canada set export records.
    Is OPEC running out of spare capacity?
    $80 oil. $84 oil.
    Lime Rock Resources acquires Abraxas' Bakken assets;
    Oasis finds another sweet spot
    .
    Everything points to a "soft" takeover of Ukraine by Russia by Valentine's Day.
    Full crypto collapse underway.
    ISO NE burning record amounts of oil to keep the lights on
    . And, here. And, here.
    Operators fracking drilled wells as quickly as possible.
    Evolution Petroleum enters the Williston Basin
    ;
    Samson Oil & Gas Bakken assets up for sale
    ;
    BR wants to unitize Haystack Butte
    ;
    Ranking of Bakken producers
    ;
    An old 2008 MRO well with a 54X jump in production;
    New England cyclone-bomb; Winter Storm Kenan, and, here; NE ISO on the brink of disaster.
    Enerplus very active: in the FB Leviathan; winter fur pad;

    Top stories for December 2021

    WTI hits $77; EOG breakeven at $30; covers dividend at $36.
    US Covid cases set all-time record.
    XOM to sell Fayetteville assets to Presidio Petroleum?

    US crude oil in storage goes below 27 days
    for first time in a very long time.
    ET-WMB merger goes down in flames
    .
    USGS releases 2021 geological survey
    of the Bakken/Three Forks, disappointing, ant-climactic; and, here. Ovintiv with permits for nine wells on one pad.
    Capline reversal at full capacity
    .
    US LNG exports continue to surge. And, here.
    High price of gasoline: Biden administration turns to oil industry for help.
    Russia unable / unwilling able to provide adequate natural gas for Europe
    .
    Brandon's SecEnergy to oil companies: "drill, drill, drill
    ."
    Elon Musk: Time's person of the year.
    Production per US rig has almost doubled since 2019
    .
    Coal
    Spare capacity being questioned. And, here.
    Housing starts surge.
    Covid spurs biggest rise in life-insurance payouts in a century
    .
    Inflation spikes.
    Bruin's FB Belford wells rolling out Bakken 4.5
    .
    The Midwest Carbon Express would be the world's largest
    .
    Random look at Sinclair in the Bakken
    .
    Devon: $10,000 bonuses
    .
    AAPL breakout. Apple granted delay in Epic case.
    UK/EU energy crisis continues
    .
    US to become global leader in LNG exports
    .
    Daimler spins off Truck Group
    .
    Williston mayor Howard Klug on Fox and Friends Sunday morning.
    MRO: operator of the year?
    The MRO Fisher USA well: 400K with huge jump in production.
    MRO Fisher USA: a 30-fold jump in production
    .
    Omnicron emerges; New York governor calls it a "disaster emergency." WHO skips calling it the "Xi" variant; takes the next Greek letter, omicron. Omicron turns out to be a dud.
    Flash cash on Friday, day after Thanksgiving;

    Top stories for November 2021

    CLR enters the Permian. Says it cost them $8,000 / acre. And, here. And, here.
    Brandon turned 79 years old, Saturday, November 20, 2021.
    CLR's Woodrow Star "A" is back on line
    .
    Boom: ISM manufacturing literally off the chart
    .
    Global CO2 emissions revised notably downward; no one notices

    Saudi to Brandon: "You do your job; we'll do ours.
    "
    European energy crisis: it's not even winter yet
    .
    US equity markets on a tear.
    And, here; and, here. And, here. And, here. The roaring '20s. And, here.
    Bonanza Creek is now Civitas.
    Maine says "no" to huge transmission line to bring electricity to Boston;
    An old Petro-Hunt Charlson well trending toward one million bbls crude oil cumulative
    , one section;
    Is the DAPL at risk of being superfluous?
    Loses market cap record to MSFT
    .
    Smith and Wesson moves to Tennessee. Adios, Springfield.
    Grain-by-rail
    : North Dakota co-op / railroad sets record -- 142-railcar, 8,500-foot unit train.
    The Rivian IPO
    . Bobcats on steroids. With Rivian IPO, Big Three: Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid.
    WTI plunges;
    Corn shipping on ND rail
    .
    North Dakota sets natural gas capture record: 94%
    .
    A new operator in North Dakota
    ; and, here.
    Grayson Mill looking to have twenty wells in the middle of nowhere
    .
    The Fufeng gambit: the Chinese and Grand Forks
    .
    "I don't have that number in front of me."
    Announces two-billion gallon release of crude oil from SPR
    . US SPR at 18-year low.
    WHO skips "XI"; moves to Omicrom for new Covid variant
    ;
    Samsung to build second "chip" plant in Texas; $17 billion;
    Apple announces acceleration of its autonomous vehicle program
    ;
    Williston: top-growing micro-city in America
    .
    After fifteen years, a huge jump in production
    ;

    Top stories for October 2021

    Saudi foreign exchange reserves surge;
    The Permian is the global swing producer
    ;
    Summit Carbon Solutions
    .
    Project Tundra, CCS, not going well
    .
    US continues to set petroleum export records
    .
    Apple to build huge campus in Culver City, west LA
    . Apple revolution.
    WTI cracks $85
    Bitcoin cracks $61K
    Shatner goes where no 90-year-old has gone before
    .
    Trenton, ND, population 272, wins $2.8 billion lottery
    .
    Amber Renee- R: finally drilled, completed, reporting;
    Henry Hub flows hit 13-year high
    ;
    WTI breaks $80
    ;
    OPEC+ doesn't have the capacity
    ; Saudi Arabia oil reserves are plummeting.
    Antarctica: record low temps since records began; Arctic ice sheet furthest since 2021
    ;
    KMI proposes short connecting pipeline in Williams County
    ; note the price/mile;
    Williston has grown much larger over the years
    .
    Oasis on a roll; Oasis Midstream announces merger with Crestwood Equity Partners
    ;

     

    Top stories for September 2021

    Ford announces four new "greenfield" EV, battery factories;
    Global energy is now the #1 story worldwide. Period. Dot.
    UK natural gas energy prices surging
    .
    NDIC website remains compromised for the second straight month;
    NOG looking to buy a stake in Comstock Resources in the Bakken;
    General Milley botches Afghanistan evacuation; drone kills innocent family of ten, including seven children;
    Surging natural gas prices;
    Surging, all-time record prices for natural gas in UK and Europe; UK, EU energy crisis;
    Venezuela hits rock bottom; China eyeing opportunities
    Covid-19 is so yesterday
    ;
    Enbridge buys Moda;
    Chevron looking to sell Eagle Ford assets;
    ND county with highest GDP per capita
    ; and, here;
    Top growing counties in the US;
    Random update of two monster EOG wells;
    The Bakken is back: the core is expanding. and, here;
    Update: the Whiting $271 million Sanish deal;
    NOG looking to buy a stake in Comstock Resources in the Bakken;
    ND's Basin Electric Power Co-Op to expand carbon capture
    ;
    ConConchCOP;
    Pipeline: WMB;
    Bobcat and radar;
    Ivermectin: summary of evidence
    .
    Surging US equity markets. And, here. The US 2021 September swoon. Equity surge. And, here.
    COP buys Shell's assets in the Permian. And, here. Increases dividend by seven percent.
    GM to replace batteries in every Chevy Bolt.
    Williston is back! A new building boom.
    Australia's "Great Barrier Reef" is at record high; record levels of coral coverage;
    Merck announces "pill" to treat those who test positive for Covid-19.

    Top stories for August 2021

    Tokyo Olympoics end; lowest television ratings on record
    US exits Afghanistan; within hours Taliban has Kabul surrounded; first US military casualties since February, 2020: thirteen reported.
    Now that the Keystone XL has been killed, US crude oil imports from Russia are hitting all-time highs;
    DAPL update: tribes ask for extension.
    Saudi's fortunes recover
    ;
    Japanese delegation visiting North Dakota
    ;
    US implied oil demand: 23 million bopd
    ;
    Resident Biden orders release of SPR oil (August, 2021)
    California will carry two sets of energy books to meet ESG goals
    .
    US LNG exports smashing records
    ;
    Despite small number of active rigs, Aramco posts nearly 300% leap in 2Q21 profits
    ;
    Europe has a real natural gas problem on its hands.
    Surging energy prices in Europe, Asia; natural gas prices in the UK;
    Privately-owned Cargill reports biggest profit in its 156-year history.
    Energy story after energy story of new records.
    Another M&A story: Chesapeake and Vine.
    Coal demand is spiking.
    Work on the Red River Water Supply Project commences.
    Three-well blowout/fire north of Charlson
    .
    EOR project, Liberty Resources, east of Tioga
    .
    Bakken wells simply get better and better.

    CLR with nine rigs;
    COP looking to sell Bakken assets.
    One word: incredible
    .
    ONEOK expanding its Bear Creek plant southwest of Killdeer
    .
    Lodgepole reef well: 27x jump in production.
    Best operators in the Bakken.
    Devon.
    The real cost of killing the Keystone XL
    .
    Delta variant surges. (August, 2021)
    WTI drops below $63. (August, 2021)
    North Dakota retains #2 spot as nation's second-largest oil producer.
    Spiritwood: Marathon - Archer-Daniels-Midland joint venture, renewable diesel from soybeans.
    Blue hydrogen in North Dakota -- it's happening.
    The lower Three Forks: update; GeoNews
    ;
    The Three Forks lower benches, and fracking sand
    The lower Three Forks
    ;
    CLR's FIU inventory

    North Dakota is #2 among states generating electricity from wind and solar.
    Apple, Inc: most profitable company in the world. Saudi Aramco falls to #2
    .The next big thing: cryptocurrency.
    How long have we been working on battery technology?

    Top stories for July 2021

    Sir Richard Branson makes history flying to near-space (?). Also, here.
    Apple supplier readies 2-nm chips for 2024
    ;
    Natural gas prices / shortage in Europe
    ;
    Shell to develop GOM "Whale" project
    .
    Exxon's margins completely off the charts for petrochemical units
    ;
    Saudi Arabia suddenly cancels Motiva expansion plans
    ;
    DAPL activist now a felon; eight years in prison.
    Apple in talks to acquire NFL's SNF ticket.
    Chevron considering exiting the Permian?
    Marathon's Tesoro High Plains crude pipeline still at risk.
    Proterra buses. The Proterra bus story.
    GM tells Bolt owners to park their cars outside; away from structures; fire risk
    .
    GM recalls Chevy Bolts (second time these cars have been recalled); serious, serious problems;
    Saudi Arabia foreign exchange reserves: an all-time low
    ? And, here.
    Jim Cramer calls the top in oil: $72.
    A well to watch: the WLL Littlefield well
    ;
    North Dakota pipeline carrying one-third of Bakken oil at risk
    .
    New seed-cleaning facility in Williston
    ;
    Whiting to acquire additional acres in the Bakken;
    Long pole in the tent in the Bakken: frack crews;
    Update: Dickinson renewable diesel plant
    ;
    MDU begins construction on natural gas pipeline gathering expansion

    Liberty Resources to try EOR again.
    A WPX Nokota well produced at a rate of 160,000 bbls over thirty days
    .

    Top stories for June 2021

    WTI hits $75;
    US pulling "all" ground troops out of Afghanistan
    Blue hydrogen, Mitsubishi.
    The US economy is on fire; no one is going back to work.
    Record number of jobs available in the US.
    Conversation has changed: now it's all about the demand surge;
    Shell considers selling its assets in the Permian.
    Oasis returns to the Bakken
    Biden kills Arctic refuge drilling;
    Shell says Pemex can have it;
    Is the pandemic over?
    Gasoline trending toward $6/gallon;
    Could Denbury be the next acquisition?
    Nascent hydrogen industry in North Dakota? Could involve DCG in Beulah, ND
    WBI pipeline gets FERC approval; connects Tioga Plant to northern border;
    Enerplus with permits for a nine-well Tennis pad well
    ;
    Oasis Rolfsrud well with five-fold jump in production;
    Bakken natural gas pipeline expansion approved
    ;
    Most visited site for the week;
    MDU makes the Fortune 500;
    TC Energy abandons the Keystone XL
    OPEC in disarray
    Saudi's foreign exchange reserves plummet
    Saudi Arabia in transition
    .
    Saudi Arabia in transition. How much oil can Saudi Arabia really produce?
    Meridian Davis refinery "on the ropes"
    First production numbers of Petro-Hunt well re-entered, lengthened.
    MRO has completed all of its spectacular wells on the P-R-S-4W pad
    Folks think $6 billion from the SPR can help pay for the $1-trillion-infrastructure bill
    CLR: Rodney 1-29H re-frack.

    Top stories for May 2021

    Oasis exits the Permian; returns to the Bakken as a pure-play Bakken operator;
    ND Supreme Court rules for oil companies on royalties
    ; and, here;
    Chip shortage
    ;
    DAPL is allowed to remain open;
    Saturn Oil & Gas: Oxbow acquisition north of Williston
    ;
    Colonial Pipeline shutdown by hackers
    ;
    ADM to build North Dakota's first-ever dedicated soybean crushing plant and refinery
    ;
    Pemex racking up millions of dollars in late payments to oil companies;
    Cabot (Marcellus) and Cimarex (Permian) merge
    .
    Merger: Bonanza Creek Energy / Extraction Oil & Gas
    ;
    North Dakota crude oil production back over 1.1 million bopd;
    Enerplus acquisition in the Bakken, an update
    ; Bruin acquisition;
    EOG with six new Liberty LR permits
    .
    EOG with first permits in the Bakken this calendar year
    .
    CLR proposed up to sixteen wells on one 2560-acre unit
    .
    CLR begins to drill the Long Creek Unit
    ; and, here.
    US equity markets soar; no stopping this market except a black swan
    ;
    Amazon acquires eleven seasons of NFL's Thursday Night Football
    ;
    Amazon acquires MGM catalogue.
    Marcellus: EQT buy's Alta's northeast Pennsylvania's assets;
    Sempra delays FID on mega-LNG export terminal
    ;
    EOG: like most operators, huge quarter; declares special dividend; here;
    Oasis picks Bakken acreage
    ; here;
    PXD says its breakeven in the Permian: $15/bbl
    ;
    CLR with eight new permits in Brooklyn oil field
    ; and, here;
    A five day frack, Hess, EN-Labar
    ;
    A closer look at the monster well Petro-Hunt is bringing back on line;
    Waltons buy 2,000-acre ranch in southwestern North Dakota;
    A Bruin well goes over 650K Bbls crude oil in less than two years;
    Bridger pipeline approved; North Dakota PSC approves Bridger pipeline.
    Petro-Hunt Charlson well with jump in production for the second time.
    Capline pipeline reversal; DAPL implications? 
    Marathon to run Dickinson refinery with wind energy.
    Business is booming in Williston
    .

    Top stories for April 2021 

    $80-oil by the end of the year -- Goldman Sachs;
    WTI breaks through $64
    ; later, $65;
    Happy Birthday to the Williston Oil Basin: 70 years old
    ; also, here;
    Pemex telegraphs it may "restructure";
    Peak oil: Saudi Arabia;
    Significantly worse: Saudi Arabia's foreign exchange reserves;
    US gasoline demand hits nine million bbls/day.
    US auto sales surge; Tesla blows through analysts' forecasts;
    Covid-19 in Michigan out of control;
    PXD pays top dollar for DoublePoint Energy
    ; analysis;
    The four recent Permian deals;
    DAPL to stay open for the time being; and, here;
    Liberty Pipeline killed;
    Enerplus to acquire a few Hess acres
    ;
    CLR appears to have fracked 20 Simmental / Angus wells
    ;
    CLR ramping up Bakken operations;
    Does Williams County have a future with regard to oil?

    RimRock with eight new FBIR Johnson permits
    ;
    Oil-rich Bakken shale shows promise of natural gas growth despite fewer rigs
    ;
    Seasonal flu" a thing of the past;
     Mideast break-even points;
    US equity markets keep setting new all-time records;
    North Dakota crude oil production drops almost 6% month-over-month;
    DAPL pipeline still in purgatory, or is it "in limbo"?
    CLR: damn the torpedoes ... eight more permits;
    A stratigraphic study of the Tyler formation
    ;
    NBA viewership approaching historic lows
    Corn prices soar
    ;
    The Red River diversion project
    ;
    Earth Day and the resurgence of global coal demand; and, here; here; here; here; India;
    Census: Texas gains two US House seats; California, NYC each lose one seat
    ;
    NYC to "fully re-open" July 1, 2021
    ;
    The bankruptcy numbers in the oil patch, 2015 - 2021
    ;
    Prince Philip, dead at 99

    Top stories for March 2021

    US shuts down Canadian oil by killing Keystone; prefers Russian oil with greater CO2 emissions;
    Biden flip-flops -- allows leasing on federal land; apologists: 60-day moratorium ends;
    All Apple retail stores in the US are now open
    ;
    Coming out of the pandemic, global economy surging;
    US economy on a tear; and, here; S&P hits all-time record, goes above 4,000
    Automobile sales are surging;
    WTI plunges as European nations extend lockdowns;
    Weekly EIA petroleum report: so many records broken
    ; and, here;
    Gasoline draw was the largest since 1990
    ; records go back only to 1990;
    ERCOT first CEO; seven of 15 directors resign
    ;
    Why the February freeze won't change Texas; archived here;
    Those $7,000 Texas utility bills "wiped out";
    How shutting down the DAPL would impact the Bakken -- RBN Energy
    ;
    Energy emissions rebounding above pre-crisis levels

    OPEC maintains cuts in production; huge surprise;
    Enbridge acquires Blueknight Energy assets
    ;
    US Saudi oil imports slow to a trickle
    ;
    Saudi Arabia's exports continue to fall;
    US overtakes Saudi Arabia as India's second highest crude oil importer in February, 2021
    ;
    Rig counts in Saudi Arabia jump
    ;
    Ovintiv selling assets in the Eagle Ford;
    Pioneer Energy acquires DoublePoint Energy in $6.4 billion deal
    ; commentary;
    Devon announces industry-first variable cash dividend;
    Jump in production, an Ovintiv Bernice well
    ;
    Nine Point Energy files for bankruptcy;
    EOG ends drilling / fracking operations in the Bakken;
    Deep and deeper: CLR releases results of two "deep" wells;
    A spectacular MRO Three Forks second bench well
    ;
    An eleven-pad well;
    Projections for 2021
    CBR on steroids -- the Canadian Pacific acquires Kansas City Southern;
    Legacy Fund deposits: fourth straight month of increasing deposits
    ;
    Daughter wells not as good as parent wells? Oh, give me a break!
    Suez Canal back to normal;
    Tesla blows through analysts' forecasts.
    South Dakota attorney general pleads not guilty to three misdemeanor charges related to "hit and run"

    Top stories for February 2021

    Reparations.
    Daimler to split truck division from company; Daimler splits off its truck division;
    Ford forced to curtail F-150 production, semiconductor chip shortage
    ;
    US crude oil exports hit record high in 2020;
    Enerplus putting together its "whale" pad
    ;
    Hess drills an EN-Labar well in record time;
    The incredible IP reported by the Hess AN-Baohmback well;
    Texas freeze; here; the initial blast; hope springs eternal; forecast;
    Buffett initiates $4 billion position in Chevron;
    CLR has just completed eighteen wells in Elm Tree
    CLR's thirty Dennis / Flint Chips permits; another six Flint Chips permits; here; here; here; and, here;
    Equinor sells Bakken assets to Houston-based company;
    Saudi Arabia's financial situation continues to deteriorate; but Biden will get this turned around;
    NASA's Perseverance transmits incredible video footage from Mars
    ;
    Saudi Arabia borrows at negative rates for first time ever;
    Apple to partner with Target;
    EOG: "double premium"; double-talk? 4Q20 earnings;

    Top stories for January 2021

    Freezing weather in China; record snow in Madrid; headed to the US;
    US shale producers outperformed NOCs and Supermajors in 2020;
    Active rigs trending toward new low;
    Semiconductor shortage; Toyota shuts down production in China due to "chip" shortage;
    US imports no Saudi crude oil: first time since 1985;
    First-ever ethane-produced electricity power plant slated to be built west of Williston, ND
    ;
    Biden revokes XL pipeline permit
    ;
    La Vaca Muerta esta muerta; and, here;
    North Dakota leads the nation in the vaccination rollout program
    ;
    Hess reports another one for the record books;
    A Hess EN-Labar well extrapolates to 100K over 30 days;
    Enerplus to acquire Bruin; and, here;
    EIA predicts CO2 emissions will surge over next two years;
    Biden backtracks: allow leasing to continue on BLM;
    In case you missed it, the old Long X bridge project is finally completed;

    Top Stories for December 2020

    Hewlett Packard Enterprise leaving Silicon Valley, heading for Texas.
    Saudi oil imports to US hit all-time lows.
    Tesla to be added to S&P 500;
    Texas to have America's largest solar farm;
    Williston's Christmas tree is taller than heavier than the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center
    ;
    MRO: reports a record-setting well
    ;
    All three major indices hit all0time intra-day highs
    ;
    IPOs: DASH, ABNB;
    Unitization;
    US economy: US household net worth rose to an all-time record in 3Q20; US shipping ports setting all-time records; stock market hitting all-time highs;
    why Dominion got into trouble
    ;
    WPX reporting huge Topaz wells
    ;
    Commentary; the Topaz wells here;
    December propane exports hit all-time high
    ;

    Top Stories for November 2020

    Saudi Aramco's profit plunges;
    North Dakota leads the nation in number of new Chinese flu cases per capita; and, here;
    And just like that, they quit drilling in North Dakota
    ;
    Saudi Arabia says current revenue won't meet obligations; Saudi with staggering losses
    ;
    Mexico will grant SRE a conditional export permit (spoiler alert: Mexico needs the cash);
    Oasis: court approves pre-packaged restructuring program
    ;
    Home sales surging. At 14-year high
    .
    Migration from NYC, San Francisco continues
    . And, here.
    Sempra's new LNG export terminal on west coast of Baja California.
    Sempra's new LNG export terminal on west coast of Baja California.
    The new Apple chip, the  new Apple computers
    .
    Low-water fracks
    ;
    Saudi Aramco's IPO was a really, really bad idea;

    Top Stories for October 2020


    President Trump returns to White House after diagnosis of Covid-19; three nights at Walter Reed; Washington Post asks if it's time to defund Walter Reed;
    US overtakes USA to become largest LPG supplier to China
    ;
    OPEC basket drops below $39;
    Mexico misses production forecast; down to 1.7 million bpd
    ;
    MRO: operator of  the year?
    The Bakken is back; crude oil production up 12% month-over-month;
    DAPL expansion approved by Illinois;
    Intermodal shipping facility in Minot comes on line;
    Conoco-Concho deal announced;
    Pioneer (father)-Parsley (son) to merge; and, here;
    North Dakota oil production increases by a whopping 12% month-over-month; local media ignores;
    BR's Zephyr production jumps;
    Legacy Fund deposits continue to grow;
    Mideast in deep doo-doo; and, here;
    Newest US Supreme Court justice sworn in on Hillary's birthday
    ;
    COP could wave good-bye to Alaska;
    New Long X bridge now open; currently two lanes; will eventually be four lanes;
    COP getting active in the Bakken
    ; and, here; and, here;
    BR eyeing to double number of wells in a Hawkeye drilling unit
    ;
    MRO continues to report huge wells in the Bakken
    ;
    MRO reports four huge DUCs
    ;
    MRO with interesting completion strategies; and, here;

    Top Stories for September 2020

    Kuwait's crude oil burn rate sets record (to run a/c)
    US housing sales soar
    ;
    Devon - WPX announce merger
    ;
    Natural gas in storage continues to set new records
    ;
    Oasis Oil files for reorganization; prepackaged
    ;
    Meridian refinery cleared to begin construction
    ;
    It is now clear that MRO has the best wells in the Bakken, bar none;
    Record IP for MRO in the Bakken
    ;
    MRO's pads in the Bakken
    ;
    Four huge MRO wells
    ;
    Williston named North Dakota's city of the year
    ;
    RBG dies at age 87;
    Thirteen Charolais permits pending for CLR
    ;
    Slawson: nine new Genesis/Genekat Federal/Loon Federal permits
    ;
    Pemex production drops to 1.857 million bopd
    ;
    North Dakota's natural gas production increases 17% month-over-month
    ;
    BR: 30 wells in a 2560-acre unit
    ;
    BR: 15 wells in a 1280-acre unit
    ; and, here;
    WPX: eight wells one a 1280-acre unit
    ;
    Slawson: 18 wells in one case;

    Hess: 15 wells on one 1280-acre unit
    ;
    Incredible wells becoming the norm
    ;
    Newfield Moberg well
    ;
    Short-lateral EOG well
    ;
    US crude oil imports from Saudi Arabia at all-tie low
    ;
    NOG announces first acquisition in the Delaware Basin, paying upwards of $30,000/acre
    ;
    An Oasis Rolfso N well goes over 500K bbls crude oil
    ;
    East coast newspapers reporting North Dakota is a hot spot for the coronavirus
    ;

    Top Stories for August 2020
      
    ND Supreme Court rules in favor of family over state re: minerals;
    Federal government loan to pay city's portion of new airport;
    Bakken labor force near all-time high;
    North Dakota's $38 million lawsuit against US Army COE allowed to proceed;

    Saudi's crude oil exports drop to lowest on record
    ;
    US natural gas power generation hits record
    ; and, here;
    US oil exports to China soar 139% in July, 2020;
    US oil exports to China may set record next month
    ;
    MRO hitting on all cylinders in Reunion Bay
    : huge IPs; and, here; anticipates 18 wells on one drilling unit;
    US home sales surge; strongest monthly gain since 1968
    ;
    Joe Biden informed by DNC he picked Kamala Harris to be his running mate;
    Whiting reorganization plan okay'd by court
    ;
    Bakken natural gas surges
    ;
    OXY warrants
    .
    Saudi Armaco's publicly traded company in deep doo-doo; here; and, here;
    MRO reports two incredible DUCs
    ;
    MRO reports a monster DUC
    ;
    Social distancing
    .
    Apple, Inc, overtakes Saudi Aramco as most valuable company;
    NASDAQ hits 29th record close of the year
    ;
    Housing industry booming in North Dakota
    ;

    Top Stories for July 2020
     
     
    Top Stories for June 2020

    MRO looking to put twenty-three wells on one 2560-acre unit
    Land grab by the state

    Murex: to re-enter two old wells
    ;
    The industry is still studying communication between wells due to fracking
    ;
    Bruin: reporting spectacular wells
    ;
    Re-fracking in the Bakken
    ;
    The incredible BR Tailgunner pad

    Amtrak to cut service to Williston to three days per week
    ;
    NOG announces core bolt-on acquisition

    MRO reports four incredible DUCs
    ;
    Bakken EURs keep increasing
    :
    Legacy Fund deposits plummet

    Fifty-fold jump in production -- Petro-Hunt, Charlson oil field
    ;

    Top Stories for May 2020


    Top Stories For April 2020 
        
    Boris Johnson released from hospital;
    Paddlefish season canceled this year;
    The year we start seeing a surge in wells reaching  500K crude oil cumulative 

    Top Stories For March 2020 

    Saudi Arabia to flood the world with oil; no love lost between Prince MBS and dictator-for-life Putin; and, here
    Trump way ahead of the curve on this one; bans travel for non-Americans from all of Europe, to include the UK
    US "net exporter" of petroleum first time since 1973;
    Biden captures party's nomination;
    Tom Hanks and wife "recover" from Wuhan flu
    Boris Johnson; and, Prince of Wales (the old guy), both test positive; Queen apparently "safe"; 

    Top Stories For February 2020

    The year many wells start going over 500K cumulative;
    Coronavirus: 2019-nCoV;
    US crude oil exports hit all-tine record;
    Nancy Pelosi tearing an official copy of the president's state of the union address in half;
    "Totally acquitted" forever;
    Emoluments lawsuit slammed by federal court, 3 - 0
     Record low unemployment; huge jobs report; and, here; and, here;
    Record stock market indices;
    Record US satisfaction;
    US GDP: staggering;
    US proved reserves increase another 12% in 2018;
    US natural gas production growth: staggering;
    New Mexico goes over 1 million bopd;
    Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead;
    So much work yet to be done in the Bakken;
    Coronavirus jumps to South Korea;
    Sweden says no additional money to fight global warming;
    Saudi Arabia with an existential crisis;
    CNN viewership collapses;
    CLR: damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead; Cedar Coulee;
    Apache ditches (writes-off) Alpine High in the Permian;
    Jet fuel supplied plummets;
    The Hess Ortloff wells: an injectivity test;
    Kraken: looking to drill nearly 100 wells in one township; and, here;
    CLR wants 20 wells in one drilling unit in Cedar Coulee; and, here;Williams "cancels" the Pennsylvania-New York Constitution Pipeline;

    Top Stories For January 2020

    The month ends with US Senate yet to vote acquittal for President Trump
    US sets new all-time production record
    Britain officially out of the EU;
    Chevron, XOM: quarterly losses, huge; Chevron announces dividend increase;
     Halo effect pushes this old well over 500K bbls crude oil;
    US kills Iranian top general;
    US returns as net oil exporter; and, here;
    US awards most expensive shipbuilding contract ever;
    WTI surges
    Third lowest number of permits issued in the past nine years
    US crude oil exports surge; up over 30% week-over-week; and, here;
    WPX acquires Felix Energy;
    Re-fracking: an incredible CLR Mountain Gap well;
    #30541, Bruin, Fort Berthold; 600,000 bbls in less than two years;North Dakota hits all-time record population;
    US gasoline inventories at record high; google doofus-in-chief;
    India about ready to import much more US crude oil;
    Making Texas great: the top largest planned petrochemical and plastics plants;
    Outrigger-XOM deal.
    Halo effect on many, many wells near the Kraken Bigfoot wells;
    100-stage wells; 20+ million lbs of sand; 3-section long fracks;
    Gulf of Mexico hits record daily production;
    California-based utility to open regional HQ center in Houston
    US economy on fire; another incredible jobs report; Dow briefly touches 29,000 for first time
    Record state multi-family apartment complex sale in the Bakken;California Tesla registrations plummet;
    NDIC reports 21 wells on one day (clearing a backlog, not a fracklog)
    CLR looking to put 24 wells in one drilling unit;
    ND $800-million, greenfield, Theodore-Roosevelt refinery in trouble;
    Saudi Arabia foreign exchange reserves surge after IPO launched;
    Well permitted in 2012, finally drilled/completed eight years later;
    Economy remains on a tear; housing;
    US housing starts soar 17% in December; 13-year high
    US housing starts soared 41% year-on-year basis
    All three major equity indices hit all-time highs
    Impeachment is forever!
    Development wells: two 10-well pads 2,000 feet apart;
    US weekly crude oil production hits 13 million bopd;
    Top Stories For December 2019 

    US shale oil (West Texas light, Bakken) in top demand by global refiners;
    Mega-fracks by Slawson; 92-stage fracks;
    Rising Bakken gas production displacing western Canadian gas on pipelines;
    XTO's unitized Hofflund oil field; the unitized Grinnel oil field; and, here;
    Provide production growth in decreasing-rig environment; and, here;
    RBN Energy post on ONEOK's new Elk Creek NGL pipeline;
    North Dakota sets all-time production record; whopping month-over-month jump in production;
    Oil production tops 1.5 million bopd
    Whiting: canceled permits; here; here; here; new permits; update here;
    Whiting cancels seventeen permits
    Saudi Arabia foreign exchange reserves trending toward an all-time low;
    Saudi Aramco IPO launched; largest company in the world;
    Independence Day for America -- September 30, 2019 -- a day that will live in history;
    Four wells, each have gone over 500,000 bbls cumulative;
    A Petro-Hunt Wisness well goes over 500,000 bbls cumulative;
    A BR well goes over 500,000 bbls cumulative;
    XTO well goes over 500,000 bbls cumulative;
    Hess receives approval for Bakken EOR
    CLR founder Harold Hamm steps down as CEO ("but not going anywhere")
    CLR's Uhlman / Pittsburgh wells updated; some huge jumps in production;
    Hess announces thirteen completed DUCs, huge;
    Midland, TX, now the richest metropolitan area in the US based on per capita income;
    Williston Economic Development office wins international award;
    Manufacturers no longer reporting monthly EV sales;

    Top Stories For November 2019

    Independence Day for America
    The staggering Bakken
    DAPL operator's activity in Texas will positively affect the Bakken;
    The Bird Bear wells have been completed; a neighboring well goes over 500K bbls of crude oil cumulative
    Five incredible MRO DUCs;
    Breakeven points; and, here;
    A CLR Hawkinson well with a 13-fold jump in production;
    A BR well, only two years old, goes over 500,000 bbls of crude oil cumulative;
    Schwab moving out of California; moving to Texas; here; and, here;
    CLR reports an 81-stage frack;
    Is EOG about ready to exit the Bakken?
    ONEOK bringing additional natural gas processing on line in North Dakota
    A Whiting Rolla Federal well goes over 500,000  bbls crude oil;
    A Bruin Fort Berthold well goes over 500,000 bbls crude oil; drilled in 2013;
    A WPX Lawrence Bull well with 300,000+ bbls crude oil in ten months;
    Saudi Arabia delays payment on Sabic deal by four years;
    Something going on in Haystack Butte?
    First trade surplus in petroleum for the US in more than 40 years;
    MRO: breaks the $5 million floor for completed well costs
    North Dakota: hardest working state in the US -- WalletHub;
    XTO: existing wells to be used as EOR pilot study
    Wells drilled back in 2010 that have produced in excess of 500,000 bbls of oil
    Worse sugar beet harvest in 75 years;

    Top Stories For October 2019

    Conan the Belgian Malinois takes out ISIS #1; Conan trumps Trump;
    UK halts all fracking
    MPC to be broken into three companies;
    PetroShale: 320-acre spacing in the Bakken;
    Slawson's dual laterals; some stacked; some not;
    CLR reports an 83-stage frack; 20 million lbs;
    Old Bakken well goes over 500,000 bbls; 18-fold jump in most recent month;
    EOG looks to put 22 wells in one 2560-acre spacing unit;
    Huge spike in gasoline demand;
    California's high price of gasoline;BR looks to put 20 wells on a 2560-acre drilling unit;
    20-fold jump in production -- old Oasis well in Elidah oil field;
    Williston Basin International airport: bigger planes; more passengers;
    Williston, ND: #3 in the US for number of millionaires per capita;
    Williston Basin International airport open for business;
    Denbury and CO2-EOR in southwestern North Dakota
    California gasoline, $6/gallon; Texas, $2/gallon; and, here;
    A Petro-Hunt USA well hits one million bbls production in less than eight years;Staggering jump in production for an old CLR Cedar Coulee well
    Huge jump in production for an old CLR Jack Pennington well
    Nice jump in production for an old CLR Collison well in Avoca oil field;
    4x jump in production, CLR's Carson Peak in the Oakdale
    MRO's Appledoorn well shows a 33x jump in production
    A production jump for the MRO Voigt well 
    A BR Guadalupe well produced more well in last year than preceding nine years
    Tanker day rates surging; hitting new records; $10 million;
    The Bakken "Magic"
    Parent / child wells
    Just too much work to be done in the Bakken
    A new operator in the Bakken: Wave Petroleum;
    A look at 30 wells in a single section in the Elm Tree oil field;
    "Damn the torpedoes; full speed ahead"; CLR's Vardon wells;
    US to become net exporter of total liquids (crude oil and petroleum products)
    Advantaged oil; and, here; and, here;
    Whitiing in talks with Abraxas
    North Dakota "game-changer":
    Slawson with a dual lateral;
    US crude oil imports to plummet next month (October, 2019)
    US to be net exporter of crude oil and petroleum products

    Top Stories For September 2019

    The cruise missile attack on Saudi Arabia  
    Claims that Saudi has returned to pre-attack production capacity
    Saudi switches from sweet oil to sour oil to meet contracts
    Inter-formation uplift?
    Productivity per rig continues to increase in the Bakken
    CLR: 22 wells on a 2560-acre drilling unit in Cedar Coulee
    CLR: upwards of 30 wells on a 2560-acre unit in Elm Tree 
    As predicted years ago, a Bakken well demonstrates a second jump in production;
    Dr Dean Strinden passes away, Williston physician
    For the first time in history, global sales of EVs declined month-over-month;
    Global EV sales fall for first time in modern history; and, here; and, here;
    EV sales for July, 2019 fall 14% year-over-year; Chinese EV sales fall for first time on record in July; US EV sales disappointing;
    Record US SUV sales;
    North Dakota's general fund revenues exceeded forecast;
    US natural gas reserves: 140 years at current demand;
    US the new swing producer;
    Energy Transfer to buy SemGroup for 65% premium, $5 billion
    US economy: longest expansion in history
    T. Boone Pickens dead at 91;

    Saudi Arabia's foreign exchange reserves fall;
    XTO reports 60K+ Bobcat Federal wells using a whopping 18 million lbs proppant;

    Top Stories For August 2019

    US gasoline demand set an all-time record;
    US gasoline demand surges to all-time high;
    First CLR LCU well is being drilled
    Cedar Creek Unit 8B 14X-2A-8 celebrated 58 years of production
    The Bakken is expanding: Tier 2 becoming Tier 1
    Unit trains to Mexico
    Rigs don't matter: Motley Fool
    Bruin reports a huge well in Tyrone oil field north of Williston
    Update: CLR's increased density project in Camp oil field
    Welcome to the one-million-bbl club
    Hess: best-performing US oil company so far this year
    International beef processing plant in Williston
    Cactus II pipeline operational
    Number of ND wells on inactive status near all-time high
    Record flaring; record NG production despite low rig count; despite near record number of wells on inactive status;
    Break-even costs down to $12/bbl in North Dakota
    Seeking that optimum well spacing: RimRock at 14 wells/drilling unit and counting  in South Fork;
    Bonus: $16,000 / acre, Eagle Nest, Dunn County
    Re-fracks in the Helis Grail
    North Dakota ranks #4: energy expenditures as a percent of GDP
    Saudi Arabia in panic mode; price of oil slides; currency war anticipated;
    Saudi US imports at record low;
    Exciting developments in Long Creek oil field
    Long X Bridge replacement update
    Whiting reports huge, unexpected loss; cuts 33% of its workforce

    Top Stories For July 2019 

    Mueller hearing a bust; and, here;
    #2 and #3 hz wells in the entire United States are in North Dakota
    FWIW: US CO2 emissions to drop in 2019
    EOG Austin well still flowing after one million bbls production
    ONEOK announced additional infrastructure
    College student finds 65-million-year-old Triceratops fossil in ND Badlands
    Global energy consumption great at fastest rate in a decade
    China's insatiable energy demand; coal;
    Chinese crude oil refining hits all-time record;
    India's insatiable energy demand;
    North Dakota Supreme Court sides with state on mineral royalties;
    CLR has permits for a 12-well LCU Jessie pad in Long Creek
    MRO came close to breaking all-time 24-hour IP record
    FBIR capture rate: 69%;
    Taxable sales, 1Q19, up almost 10% for the state;
    EIA graphic -- US crude oil production surpassed 12 million bopd in April, 2019
    ND oil production to surge; waiting for infrastructure to catch up;
    Hess reports two record-setting wells in the Bakken
    MRO's re-fracked Bill Connolly well producing at 40x prior to frack
    XTO to build gas plant in Williams County, just west of Williston
    Ray, ND, being considered for new fractionation plant
    Liberty Resources fracks Bakken well with 16 million lbs

    Top Stories For June 2019

    DOW posts best June since 1938
    US crude oil production hits all-time high; does this despite less drilling activity (i.e., fewer rigs); and, here;
    CLR's Monroe well brought back from the dead;
    North Dakota with 15,000 job openings (official); as many as 30,000 (unofficially);
    For the first time in recorded history, the US has more job openings than folks looking for them ... and no wage inflation 
    McKenzie County: #1 oil producing county in US
    The Woodrow Star "A" 1 went off line
    A South Red River B well has gone over the one-million-bbl milestone
    June, 2019, Legacy Fund deposit exceeds annual average for every year but two
    Rystad reports that the US leads the world in oil reserves;
    XOM-SABIC joint venture ethane cracker unit near Corpus Christi announced
    President Trump declares disaster for spring flooding in North Dakota;
    EOR using natural gas
    Liberty Pipeline proposed: Bakken oil from ND to Cushing, OK
    Jargon 101 -- The Bakken Revolution
    Glacier National Park removing signs that say glaciers will disappear by 2020
    US light truck sales, May, 2019 -- highest in almost 15 years
    DAPL okayed -- Iowa Supreme Court
    Slawson may have just established a new, all-time initial production record
    Peregrine Petroleum has its first new permit in a long, long time
    Major increase in hotel occupancy and jump in number of building permits issued, Williston, ND CLR announces initiation of a quarterly dividend
    Weekly rig counts are meaningless

    Top Stories For May 2019 

    Record IP reported by Hess;
    Commentary: short cycle vs high impact;
    Western Natural Resources, KKR to buy Williston assets
    A new operator in the Bakken: KODA Resources; and, here;
    North Dakota sets record for number of non-producing wells
    US to become net exporter of gasoline for first time since JFK was president
    McKenzie County, North Dakota, is the #1 crude oil producing county in the US
    Unexplained jump in production, Petro-Hunt well in Charlson oil field;
    North Dakota electricity demand could almost double by 2040;
    New York denies natural gas pipeline; and, here; and, here;
    OXY-Anadarko-Buffett; and, here; and, what's next for Chevron?
    MRO continues to impress with its re-frack program in the Bailey oil field; and, here; and, here;
    MRO has a well that extrapolates to 135,000 boepd
    2,665 wells are off-line for operational reasons
    CLR gets a great well with a "do-over"
    QEP refracking wells in the Helis Grail
    Petro-Hunt's monster USA well shows another jump in production
    "Parent-Well-Uplift" phenomenon
    Overland Aviation breaks ground for new facility at new Williston airport
    Oasis is back! A 50K+ well;
    MDU to add a half-billion cfpd natural gas capacity in the Bakken
    ONEOK will expand the Bakken NGL Pipeline
    Williams County led the state in taxable sales/purchases growth
    Plastics plant promoter files for bankruptcy
    CO2 EOR resulting in 60% recovery
    Parent-well-uplift; a reader's take on the "halo" effect; Whiting slides; rate of return, infinite;
    Second production jump for a Whiting well
    MDU/WBI proposed a pipeline to connect Tioga with Northern Border Pipeline
    Increasing talk of a petrochemical plant in North Dakota
    Northstar auction;  

    Top Stories For April 2019

    Hess to expand; will have largest natural gas processing plant in North Dakota; Hess earnings; and, here;
    Vantage pipeline updated
    NOG announces "small" acquisition
    ONEOK to expand the Bakken NGL Pipeline
    Chevron to buy Anadarko; and, here;
    US sets all-time energy consumption record in 2018
    Price of gasoline in California spikes; refinery runs well below the 5-year average
    In the Bakken, most wells coming off confidential list, going to DUC status
    Record number of Bakken wells off-line?
    US retail surged in March
    MRO's "small" fracks;
    MRO reported a huge Fannie USA well, low number of stages;
    MRO's completion strategy: small number of stages; less proppant; and, here;
    EOG cancels several Riverview permits
    Freedom Energy with its second North Dakota permit
    Gets worse in the BLM
    Largest cross-border natural gas pipeline to be operational early summer;
    Record low unemployment -- not seen in 50 years; and, here;
      
    Top Stories For March 2019

    Bakken, Niobrara producing at all-time highs -- RBN Energy
    Frack sand revolution
    Bakken: #1 in NGPL yield among US shale plays
    CLR to drill 18 wells in 2560-acre unit; already "a dozen" wells in that area
    Enerplus plans a 9-well "Metamorphic Rock" pad;
    QEP re-fracks the Paul wells;
    Boot Barn opens; other Williston economy stories;
    ND refinery to help greenfield refineries in the Permian
    New ND state law defining mineral rights ownership under "the Lake" ruled constitutional
    Fracking strategies in the Bakken
    Enbridge's Line 3 delayed for at least a year, Minnesota
    Staggering MRO wells have been updated
    Random update of yet another spectacular MRO well;
    Random update of spectacular MRO wells;
    Tier 2/tier 3 looking good
    A Madison well with five horizontals 
    Peregrine acquires interests in McKenzie County
    Ballantyne acquires about 140 Crescent Point Energy wells in Bottineau County

    Top Stories For February 2019

    MRO continues to impress; new MRO well producing at 104K bbls/month;
    MRO re-fracking program in Bailey oil field
    MRO is just incredible; a single well produced at a rate of 99,000 bbls/month
    New non-operating company in North Dakota: Lincoln Energy Partners
    VEAC announces termination of QEP deal;
    Abraxas likely to sell Bakken assets
    Cobra Gas & Oil acquires Enduro's assets in Williston;
    Four counties in western North Dakota will outproduce Venezuela

    Top Stories For January 2019

    Boot Barn coming to Williston
    Bakken well drilled in 2011 closing in on one million bbls
    MRO may have a record well in the Bakken;
    20 - 70 years of Bakken drilling
    North Dakota oil revenue study, 2008 - 2018
    Hess to put 14 wells on one drilling unit just outside of Epping
    North Dakota loess as a potential microproppant
    Jump in production for an EOG Clarks Creek well
    Bruin reports three huge wells in the Bakken 
    Whitting: Generation 4.0 fracking completions
    MRO and Bruin are competing for bragging rights
    A Bruin Fort Berhold well that produced 350K boe in less than five months
    Random update of the MRO Arkin well; low volume proppant
    Shale wells not producing as much as operators predicted
    Oldest wells in North Dakota: to celebrate 65th birthdays
    Happy Birthday, Mr Greni, 46 years old and going strong
    Permitting hit recent record in October, 2018
    Impact of neighboring fracks; and, here; and, here

    Top Stories For December 2018

    US sets record holiday sales; up 42% over previous record set on year 
    The United States becomes a net exporter of crude oil and petroleum products for first time in 75 years
    US producers delivering a one-two punch to OPEC
    Williston office earns international award
    The Bakken setting all kinds of records; Director's Cut -- October, 2018, data;
    A preliminary study of the middle and lower benches of the Three Forks;
    Noble Energy tiptoes into the Bakken
    Bakken sets new natural gas production records; flaring
    Canadian CBR now exceeds Bakken CBR
    Number of active rigs remain at four-year high;
    Canada curtails oil production
    Legacy Fund banks another $70 million;
    NGL pipeline proposed for the Bakken
    Kraken Operating acquires Kaiser-Francis assets in Mountrail County
    Happy Birthday, Ms Kate Hopkins #1 -- 61 years old
    Meridian hires McDermott for Davis Refinery engineering -- Rigzone
    Appeals court dismisses claims against Dakota Access -- Courthouse News
    President Barack Obama takes credit for US shale revolution; and, here.
    Tier 3 looking like Tier 1?
    A 37-year-old Silurian well abandoned after producing one million bbls of oil
    Vern Whitten's top 40 photographs of the Bakken

    Top Stories For November 2018
    US crude oil inventories now over 450 million bbls; more than 7% higher than average.
    North Dakota air ambulance airplane crashed shortly after take-off; all three on board killed
    Legacy Fund deposits hit recent record
    NDIC liberalized flaring rules; in addition, BLM will defer to NDIC, tribal law
    Volume of sand used in middle Bakken vs Three Forks wells
    Kraken to drill as many as 14 wells in one 640-acre unit
    MRO reports eight incredible wells in Reunion Bay
    BR's Dodge wells in Dimmick Lake all back on line
    Update on CLR's plan to unitize Long Creek
    Weekly US crude oil inventories surge; back to re-balancing
    CBR: Obstacles -- focus on the Bakken -- RBN Energy
    Operators showing an interest in 3-mile long laterals?
    Record IPs in the Bakken keep breaking
    Sets several all-time records
    BLM will defer to state, tribe on flaring issues
    Officials see North Dakota crude oil production increasing to over 2 million bopd 
    Well goes from pump to free flowing
    Oasis now modeling1.5 million boe EUR type curve
    Getting ready to start work on "new" natural gas plant near Watford City
    EOG: net income of $1.2 billion vs $101 million one year ago
    Big Oil moves in on tight oil -- Forbes
    Did DNR just swap 200,000 acres in North Dakota for 80,000 acres in the Eagle  Ford?

     Top Stories For October 2018

    Oasis hits the sweet spot in Willow Creek
    Every well coming off confidential list in 4Q16 has been completed 
    Well drilled back in 2011, comes back on line, stronger than ever
    The estimated cost to re-frack
    NDIC's "Ordinary High Water Mark" Study accepted by NDIC
    Williston revokes liquor license for Hearbreakers; suspends license for anoth  The Brooklyn oil field: the Bakken's "ever-ready" oilfield
    Another MRO well extrapolates to 107,000 bbls in one month; also, here 
    MRO reports a well that produced at a rate of 82,000 bbls in the first month of production
    EOG looks to put "multiple wells" on two 640-acre units
    $8 million/year production for an old CLR well
    Ordinary high water mark survey will be re-visited (again)

    Top Stories For September 2018

    Newfield plans to add 42 wells to three 1280-acre units
    Well in Fort Berthold area produces 150,000 bbls of crude oil in two months
    Record IP in the Bakken?
    EOG well hits one-million-bbl threshold; and, another one here;
    Re-fracking: MRO in the Bailey 
    ONEOK looking at the biggest plant yet?
    Targeting the Madison
    Random update of an old, old CLR North Red River B well
    White Rock Oil & Gas re-enters, re-completes an old Duperow well
    North Dakota flaring getting worse
    Coming out of nowhere: Oasis now the 4th largest producer in North Dakota
    EOG fracking in the Parshall; and, here; and, here;
    EOG's monster wells in Clarks Creek
    Conlin's Furniture to close
    Watford City posts largest jump in elementary school enrollment 
    Filloon on MRO
    MRO likely to be names "North Dakota's operator of the year"; and, here;
    NDIC accepts "ordinary high water mark study" results
    Bruin: almost 100,000 bbls of crude oil from one well in one month
    SHD's Golden well pegs the company's natural gas pressure gauge
    XTO wants to unitize a large area of the Bakken -- good luck with that
    MRO wells in Bailey oil field hitting 300,000+ bbls crude oil in one year
    QEP Tipi with 110,000 bbls in two months
    Equinor picking up the pace: here; and, here; and, here; and, here;
    PetroShale anticipates eleven (11) more wells on an existing 640-acre drilling unit
    ONEOK to build yet another natural gas processing plant, Demicks Lake II
    ONEOK to increase natural gas processing in the Williston Basin
    Williston, Dickinson lead increase in August enplanements (boarding at airports) 

    Top Stories For August 2018

    Whiting buys more Bakken acreage
    NOG announced its largest acquisition in history
    Whiting with permits for an 8-well pad in Tier 2
    MRO continues to report incredible wells;
    BR reporting some huge Midnight Run wells; and, here;
    EOG well, only five years old, goes over one million bbls
    Natural gas expansion project proposed for the Roosevelt Gas Plant near Watford City; would quadruple daily throughput
    The quality of recent Bakken wells is simply staggering. CLR has raised the bar: CLR is now targeting EURs of 1.2 million bbls for wells with optimized completions. See 2Q18 corporate presentation.
    DUCs ontinue to increase in the Bakken -- regardless of what others say
    Breakeven in the Bakken: $35 -- Rystad; $17 in some areas -- NDIC
    Bakken 2.5 -- year-end update, 2017
    Enbridge to buy Spectra Energy Partners
    Whiting bucks trend; using "less" proppant
    CLR: using max amounts of proppant
    CLR fracks a Three Forks Jersey well with 74 stages
    A short lateral EOG well goes over one million bbls -- only ten years old
    US crude oil inventory drops below 23-day-supply -- not seen since 2014
    New single family housing permits increase in Williston (may or may not load)

    Top Stories For July 2018

    COP temporarily exits the Permian; will focus on the Eagle Ford and the Bakken
    North Dakota tax receipts increased well beyond forecasts; and here, 72% higher than projected;
    Petro-Hunt acquires 130 Divide County wells from SM Energy
    The US is THE global swing producer
    New CLR wells produces 150K BOE in thee months
    The spectacular MRO wells in Bailey oil field

    Top Stories For June 2018

    1Q18 taxable sales for the state of North Dakota surge
    North Dakota will out-produce Venezuela by the end of the summer
    Short term, operators in the Permian could face huge challenges; is the Permian gasier than originally thought? The Bakken still looks like the "gold standard."
    The Keystone XL is no closer to completion than it was twelve years ago
    CLR: all optimized completions now exceed 1.1 million boe EUR type curve
    Update on the oldest CLR Anna well
    How neighboring fracks might extend production for older wells  
    Huge initial production from an Antelope-Sanish MRO pad
    CLR is blowing away the competition in the Bakken -- SeekingAlpha contributor
    CLR "massively increasing production"; all optimized completions now have 1.1 million bbl EURs
    An old Slawson Bazooka well updated
    Getting ready to open up Tier 3 and Tier 4 areas?
    Man-camps filling up again in the Bakken 
    Very fitting: Miss Williston wins Miss North Dakota
    Davis Refiner in southwest North Dakota under construction after getting air quality permit
    Legacy Fund deposits set a recent record
    Bloomberg on the Comebakken 
    Governments stepping back from ludicrous renewable mandates

    Top Stories for May 2018

    Bakken crude differentials soar on widening Brent-WTI spread
    Reader identifies five Bakken horizontal wells that have each produced one million bbls to date
    Life history of a Bakken well
    Bakken is top producer among shale plays ranked by productivity of new wells -- EIA
    Random look at several "50K+" wells -- WPX -- Spotted Horn
    MRO in the early running for "best operator of the year"
    Anticipating another 24-well array in a 1280-acre drilling unit
    MRO reports a record well it the Bakken
    CLR has permits for a 12-well pad in Banks oil field
    Bakken shale getting "back in the money" -- Bloomberg
    North Dakota's oil and gas tax revenues now exceeding forecasts 
    WLL conference call: it's all about the Bakken
    MPC buys Andeavor
    Long X bridge, south of Watford City, slated for 4-lane replacement
    New birthing center 
    Shale's best days are behind us -- Art Berman -- I guess that's why records continue to be broken; and, here;
    Curve build study
    CNBC on location in Williston this week
    Crude oil production over the next five years
    US breaks yet another crude oil production record
    Saudi's foreign reserve assets surge  

    Top Stories for April 2018

    MRO's staggering IPs -- recently completed DUCs; and, here
    Newfield may be the best producer in the Bakken -- Filloon
    Different completion strategies being tested
    North Dakota has completed the much-anticipated high water / low water study of the Missouri River in the Bakken
    A must-read commentary on the DAPL over at "Say Anything Blog"
    North Dakota will be more flexible regarding flaring 
    A reminder: how important the DAPL was for North Dakota
    The Madison -- a workover (a frack of sorts) -- jump in production
    Enerplus with permits for a 10-well pad
    Bakken production up 24% year-over-year
    New operator in the Bakken: Challenger Point Energy
    SM Energy to exit the Bakken
    Definition; evolution of completion strategies
    CLR with an 82-stage frack
    CLR with a 71-stage frack 
    Housing shortage in Williston
    Bald eagles make astonishing comeback in North Dakota
    Random look at a Madison well that Cobra is considering for re-entry; the well has produced 613,000 bbls of oil to date; drilled in 1982, celebrating its 36th birthday this year
    NOG to acquire 1,319 acres in perhaps the best Bakken for $49 million, mostly cash

    Top Stories for March 2018

    2017 taxable sales and purchases: up 24% in the Bakken; -3% for most of the rest of the state
    Production per rig, the Bakken beats all other plays
    SHD's "Golden" well has been added to the list of "monster wells"
    CLR EUR type curves up to 1.1 million bbls
    The myths of shale -- Richard Zeits
    Boomtown is back -- Bloomberg
    Another huge re-fracked MRO well
    MRO is reporting huge wells in Bailey oil field
    MRO re-accomplishing a failed frack 
    MRO reports an incredible pad in Antelope oil field
    Random update of an MRO mini re-frack in Antelope oil field
    Frack using 20 million lbs sand
    Huge jump in production in an old WPX well
    A Madison well has a jump in production; month-over-month, production jumped 20x; Madison well fracked; 
    An old EOG short lateral coming up on 600,000 bbls of crude oil cumulative
    Average daily production per well improves in the Bakken
    Huge jump in production in this well; no re-frack data
    Filloon does not see evidence of shale operators running out of drilling locations
    US Army Corps of Engineers miss DAPL deadline
    Two new elementary schools for Williston; addition to Williston High School
    Williston's fire safety rating: jumps to top 2% of the nation

    Top Stories for February 2018

    The Bakken is back! North Dakota led the nation in real GDP growth as the oil and natural gas industry rebounded
    Perhaps the biggest story in the Bakken this month: emergency task force activated to look at ways to handle surging natural gas and natural gas liquids production in the Bakken.  But perhaps as big: Andeavor to build a huge NGL logistics hub at Belfield. Also, here. And, here.  And, here, a $150 million investment in the Bakken.
    NDGS has an update on Three Forks, second bench
    Bakken's natural gas production setting records

    Top Stories for January 2018

    A WPX Hidatsa well may have established a new Bakken production record
    Mapping Williston's new airport
    Bakken truck traffic increases
    WPX with a record-breaking Bakken well
    CLR with a 25-million-lb frack
    Taxable sales surging in the Bakken
    A record well in North Dakota?
    XTO with two 75-stage fracks
    CLR reports an 86-stage frack 
    EOG "returning to the Bakken: permits for a 6-well Austin pad in Parshall oil field
    A monster well -- Whiting's Liffrig well in the Sanish -- has been updated
    Hess-Targa, NG processing plant -- biggest Bakken story of the week
    RimRock to build a $400 million gas gathering system in the Fort Berthold area
    North Dakota on track for new crude oil production record in 2018
    EIA posts update on the Elk Creek pipeline project
    Oldest active well in North Dakota now "inactive" 

    Top Stories for December 2017

    Random update of re-fracked QEP wells in Heart Butte
    The Bakken strikes back, version 2
    Newfield completes seven huge DUCs
    Whiting discovers new oil and gas pool in western North Dakota
    Legacy Fund receives record yearly deposit for December, 2017
    12-mile, 2-foot diameter pipeline proposed in heart of the Bakken
    MRO reports a record DUC
    24 wells on 640-acre spacing: the White Butte Jore Federal wells
    No longer a crime to accidentally kill a migratory bird 
    Jump in production of an old Oasis Lawlar well
    We continue to see unexplained examples of jump in production in individual wells
    The Bakken, an "oily" play is producing more natural gas then the Mediterranean's largest off-shore natural gas field -- by a lot
    Nodding donkeys failing in the Bakken
    Oasis to sell non-core Bakken assets; the past year for Oasis; personal thoughts on the deal;
    Twenty-four wells in one 640-acre drilling unit -- the White Butte Jore Federal wells; and, here;
    Bakken crude oil production jumps 7% month-over-month; only 54 active rigs; almost 900 DUCs; and, almost 1,500 inactive wells
    North Dakota set a new BOE production record
    USGS to reassess the Bakken
    Bakken on its way to 2 million bopd
    Myths about US crude oil production, Richard Zeits
    US / BLM suspends flaring restrictions for one year
    Natural gas production in the Bakken is increasing at a faster rate than oil production
    EOG to report four spectacular Clarks Creek wells 

    Top Stories for November 2017

    MRO reports a well that produced 75,000 bbls in one month
    An astounding 41 permits renewed  
    DAPL means huge earnings for Oasis
    EUR type curves in the Bakken: 1.5 million boe
    QEP talks about re-fracking in earnings call
    the Brooklyn oil field is looking better than ever
    MRO has a huge DUC -- and no one even mentions it
    Whiting reports the results of a thrice-fracked Koala well in Poe oil field
    Oasis has three rigs working one drilling unit
    Whiting has two rigs on the 15-well Mega-Pad in Banks Oil Field
    Newfield reports a 62-stage frack 
    Shooting range opens outside Williston
    North Dakota State wants a "stay" on the mineral rights case  

    Top Stories for October 2017

    No evidence that operators are "running out" of Tier 1 locations in the Bakken
    Linn Energy to sell its assets in Williston Basin
    CLR to add 24 wells to a drilling unit that already has 6 wells
    Two new Liberty Resources wells extend the East Tioga oil field
    CLR makes first sale of Bakken crude oil specifically for overseas destination
    Judge allows DAPL to continue to flow
    Number of Bakken wells producing greater than 30,000 bbls/month surges
    Rig targeting the Madison north of Minot
    Update on a dual completion well.
    MRO reports three huge DUCs; one may be close to an all-time Bakken record
    Five MRO wells with lousy IPs that came back to surprise me

    Top Stories for September 2017

    A new operator in the Bakken
    Update on Halcon's plans to exit the Williston Basin
    New post office in Watford City opens
    Boomtown's taxable sales surge 30%
    MDU to supply Bobcat plant (Gwinner, ND) with natural gas via new pipeline
    Oasis launches a midstream MLP
    The Bakken is among the top five oil and gas plays for IRRs
    Update on the proposed truck route around the northeast side of Williston
    Clean-up begins near Tioga of one of nation's largest onshore oil spills
    A short Bakken lateral, less than ten years old, goes over 1 million bbls crude oil produced
    The Bakken is among the top four oil and gas plays for best break-even prices (Citi)
    $5 million Buck Scheele animal shelter could be completed by next spring
    Legacy Fund breaks through $4 billion in deposits
    Commercial flights at Williston airport remain at capacity
    Can you say "high-intensity"? CLR with a 56-stage, 26-million lb frack
    North Dakota has state's first ever Miss America
    Lynn Helms opines on the $125 billion oil companies have invested in the Bakken
    Taiwan signs huge ND wheat deal 

    Top Stories for August 2017

    President Trump to visit Bismarck next week
    Lewis and Clark Bridge, southwest of Williston, opened
    Williston wastewater facility, opened
    CLR with permits for seven super-long / extended long laterals
    An EOG Austin well hits 1 million bbls produced
    Staggering one-month production in two Bakken wells
    ND well with highest monthly rate of any well in ND history?
    Whiting to sell some Fort Berthold area assets
    US states' fiscal health: North Dakota #2, behind Florida
    Bakken traded higher than WTI this past week
    Natural gas production takes front seat in the oil-driven Bakken
    CLR's Holstein Federal wells are telling us a story 
    Jump in production -- one of the peculiarities of the Bakken
    Re-fracking works
    Fracking the heck out of CLR's Candee 11-9H in Chimney Butte
    $10,000 for a mineral acre in the Bakken
    DAPL upends region's dependence on CBR
    Cardon Global opens new office in Williston; to oversee new Williston airport
    Federal funding now reaches $73 million for this $112 million project
    Water Resource Recovery Facility, Williston, $105 million, ribbon-cutting

    Top Stories for July 2017

    Zuckerberg visits Williston, Boomtown USA
    Halcon selling all of its operated interests in the Bakken
    US crude oil exports hit monthly record
    OPEC production hits new record high
    Oasis reports a nice 50-stage, low-proppant Three Forks 1st bench well
    Oasis plans largest natural gas processing plant through expansion of the Wild Basin Gas Plant
    Putting a new natural gas processing plant into perspective -- it will be the largest in ND
    Hallmark Card on Main Street, Williston, will close
    42 Emerald Oil wells transferred to Petro-Hunt
     
    Top Stories for June 2017

    Another pipeline connection to the DAPL; near Watford City
    Windridge Operating: a new operator in the Bakken?
    Enerplus with some interesting in-fill plans
    Another large natural gas plant for ND
    Triangle USA emerges from bankruptcy under a new name: Nine Point Energy    
    BR to place 16 wells in one drilling unit 
    North Dakota oil industry shows signs of a rebound
    XTO reports an incredible well after being shut in for a few months
    Harold Hamm expands NG deal with South Korea
    MDU with three natural gas projects
    Williams County Public School District 8 breaks ground for new middle school
    Judge orders additional environmental analysis of DAPL
    Huge jump in production after neighboring well fracked
    EOG reports a well completed with almost 12 million lbs of sand

    Top Stories for April 2017

    With DAPL operational (?), update of Bakken takeaway capacity
    Operator considers expanding capacity on natural gas pipeline out of Tioga/Prairie Rose
    A recovery rate of 25%?
    Airport to break ground next week
    Surprise! Surprise! North Dakota production back up over 1 million bopd
    Whiting's 15.3 million lb, 50-stage frack

    Top Stories for March 2017

    Top Stories for February 2017


    Break-even costs for sale drop to $30/bbl
    New operator in the Williston Basin: Bruin E&P Partners

    Top Stories for December 2016

    North Dakota was named to the number one spot on Fast magazine's "business prospect list" for 2017
    Lime Rock's success with OXY USA wells
    Another refinery in the Bakken (Canadian)
    Saudi Arabia's break-even price at $92
    New acronym in the Bakken: NCW
    ND ranked #6 for petroleum investment opportunities worldwide
    the breakeven costs in the Bakken can beat those in the Mideast
    Worker shortage looming in the Bakken? Update
    Overlapping drilling units in the Bakken; operators on top of each other
    Oasis with case on the docket for 90 wells
    Long Creek update, halo effect
    Crescent Point Energy reports a 70-stage fracked well
    Another pipeline expansion proposed for the Bakken
    BHI will build a new fracking and cementing services company with BJ Services name
    US LNG exports continue to surge
    First very large ethane carrier (VLEC) launches from Houston
    Huge livestock auction scheduled for Bowman, ND, in early January
    Mexico jumps to fourth place among world's largest consumers of gasoline
    Mexico is now a net importer of crude oil from the US
    Record snow in the Bakken

    Top Stories For November 2016

    Another pipeline expansion proposed for the Bakken
    North Dakota borrows another $7 million for DAPL-related security costs
    US Army Corps of Engineers closes DAPL protest camp
    North Dakota state attorney rules in favor of DAPL 
    Sunoco Logistics to acquire DAPL operator
    DAPL effect on east coast refineries -- Platts
    Bakken 2.0: nine DUCs completed; most are high-IP wells; twenty-two permits renewed
    Global peak oil demand won't be seen until after 2040 -- there simply is no alternative to fossil fuel energy
    USGS releases new Permian survey, 3x the size of the Bakken
    The USGS 2016 report on the Permian
    Tesoro to buy Western Refining
    Another high-proppant EOG completion 
    Another high-proppant EOG completion
    Update on a re-fracked BR Sun Notch well in Sand Creek
    US Army Corps of Engineers re-imagining the DAPL
    The $500 million fertilizer plant in western North Dakota is at the halfway mark
    Fascinating -- but esoteric -- look at "depth" of Bakken wells
    Mitigation proposal for pressure pulses while fracking neighboring wells
     
    Top Stories For October 2016 

    Western Area Water Supply Authority -- a huge success story -- celebrates its fifth anniversary
    Williston State College extends free college to several more counties in Montana, North Dakota 
    Of all the operators in the Bakken, Halcon continues to report some of the best wells based on IPs; one example here
    Number of potential Whiting drill sites probably under-estimated
    Random update on MRO's mega-fracks  
    CLR's 32 wells in "one location"
     31% production increase, average EURs of almost 1 million boe; consistent production increase regardless of fracking intervals
    CLR's proposed ten-well Bailey/Wiley pad in Pershing oil field
    CLR's proposed thirteen-plus Sakakawea Federal pad in Elm Tree oil field
    Monster frack: "propageddon" -- Chesapeake in the Haynesville, Louisiana
    A Silurian well goes over one million bbls of crude oil production; still producing after 34 years
    Follow-up on Whiting wells that were taken off-line
    MRO "re-covers" a lousy well
    Three more natural gas processing plants coming on line in North Dakota before end of year
    EOG is a winner with a new well design
    Shipment of frack sand to Texas sets record
    MRO sells assets in west Texas, New Mexico, but not in North Dakota
    Results of a re-entered, re-fracked BR well
    SM Energy: going longer, not deeper
    Why Canada needs more diluent, and where they will get it
    Staggering: the building out of US LNG export projects
    Ground breaking for new Williston area airport: $2,000/acre farmland bought for $9,000/acre

    Top Stories For September 2016 

    Bakken losing East Coast market to rising imports -- RBN Energy
    Two Williston hotels to close; El Rancho to be sold
    RockPile gets bought out, expands 
    Bypass around Killdeer, ND, completed
    Just how big is the Bakken?
    Statoil with 55 "pooling" cases in Williams County on the agenda for October
    Operating costs: the Bakken vs Saudi Arabia
    Mike Filloon had another update on Bakken mega-fracks
    On a single day, twenty-eight (28) permits renewed

    Top Stories For August 2016

    CLR may have set a world record drilling the longest horizontal using one bit
    On the docket: Hess to drill 20 new wells in a 2560-acre spacing unit
    EOG will increase production, increase fracking and will do this by NO increase in CAPEX
    An update on a spectacular CLR Holstein Federal well in Elm Tree oil field
    On the docket: Liberty Resources to put as many as 12 wells on a 640-acre drilling unit
    Mega-fracks in the Bakken
    Sandpiper pipeline may be dead
    Oil firms don't have much cash for acquisitions, but SM Energy bought Midland Basin firm for $1 billion
    Best link for the month: fracking pollution story retracted
    Although incredibly small, recent acquisition sheds light on the Bakken; Raisa Energy
    Mark Perry posted some staggering graphs regarding Bakken 1.0
    The STACK is becoming quite extraordinary
    The Dakota Access Pipeline likely to be keystoned
    EURs in the Bakken approaching one million boe
    Dakota Access Pipeline construction halted in North Dakota
    Mega-fracks in McKenzie County -- Filloon
    Downspacing in the Bakken -- Filloon
    Enbridge puts the Sandpiper Pipeline project on hold

    Top Stories for July 2016

    Bakken OOIP; Saudi Arabia's OOIP; Proved, Probable, Possible Reserves
    Possible halo effect on a very old vertical well
    The Mergent Group reports that Bakken DUCs have risen to nearly 1,000
    An MRO well produced 52,000 bbls in first 20 days
    Three new natural gas processing plants should be coming on-line shortly in North Dakota
    Random update of a re-fracked well following a failed frack 
    The US is coming very close to a new record: more than 10 million bbls/day of "gasoline delivered." Record storage at Cushing noted. There is further evidence that OPEC is severely pinched.

    Top Stories for June 2016

    Harold Hamm hints he may have a deal with South Korea
    From the Williston Wire: FBI office to open in Williston; Tioga airport launches $5.5 million expansion project
    India overtakes Japan as the #3 oil-consuming nation in the universe (#1 - the US; #2 - China); the third rock from the sun using more crude oil than ever;
    The USGS bumps up their estimate of technically recoverable natural gas in western Colorado from less then 2 trillion cubic feet to almost 70 trillion cubic feet (a reminder that the Democratic presumptive presidential nominee supports efforts to ban fracking
    "Iowa" says construction can begin on the Dakota Access Pipeline
    Could Minnesota's dithering cost them the Sandpiper?
    Flaring: North Dakota meets the target four years early
    The Panama Canal expansion
    Officials allow Dakota Access Pipeline access under tribal lands in Iowa
    Is CLR "up to something" in the Rattlesnake Point oil field?
    Just how much oil might there be in the Bakken?
    MDU sells Dickinson refinery to Tesoro Corp
    CLR to put in 28 wells in one drilling unit 

    Top Stories for May 2016

    Top Stories for April 2016


    Top Stories for March 2016


    Top Stories for February 2016 

    Whiting and CLR to stop fracking in the Bakken; EOG already had; Statoil already had
    Obama declares war on the US oil and gas industry; favors Iran
    Is the Enbridge Sandpiper pipeline dead?
    US Highway 1804 east of Williston to be widened this summer
    CLR lost almost $700 million on bet price slump wouldn't last long
    Watford City's new high school opens
    Williston High School Coyotes play last game in Phil Jackson Fieldhouse
    Random look at possible halo effect between the TFH and the middle Bakken
    The Saudis admit their target was US shale 
    North Dakota's Triple-A rating downgraded a notch by S&P
    Update on drones in North Dakota 

    Top Stories for January 2016

    Top North Dakota oil producers for 2015
    The first ship of US crude oil departed on December 31, 2015, under relaxation of export rules
    First ship to deliver US crude oil overseas under relaxed export rules arrives at destination
    Third of three US crude oil shipments reached European destinations
    CLR proposes 22 wells on a new 2560-acre unit in Elm Creek oil field
    EOG's $20 million pad in non-core Bakken acreage
    Understanding the Bakken: overlapping units
    Majority of Fidelity wells sold to Kaiser-Francis
    Record number of births at Williston hospital in 2015 
    Statewide, taxable sales plummet 25%; worse in the Bakken counties
    Possible example of "halo effect" in the Bakken, part II
    Possible example of "halo effect" in the Bakken, part I
    Minnesota regulators approve $30 million solar project for emergency power
    Electricity down to 3.5 cents/kw-hour

    Top Stories for December 2015

    Top Stories for November 2015
    Evidence of communication between wells
    More oil is now gathered by pipeline than truck in western North Dakota -- a first
    Increased volumes of fracking sand being ordered from suppliers
    Keystone XL analysts need to be looking west, not east
    Number of North Dakota millionaires jump
    Lime Rock Resources finally posts their Russian Creek acquisition
    a birthday greeting to Mr Woodrow Star "A" 1, 57 years young
    Katie Ledecky named female athlete of the year -- a three-peat

    Top Stories for October 2015
    a wildcat natural gas well east of the Bakken  -- a million boe in the past three years
    Top Stories for September 2015


    Top Stories for August 2015
    Top Stories for July 2015

    Photo of an 18-well super-pad; also here
    Williston's average wage tops $80,000, beating nation average of $72,000
    XTO donates $5 million for affordable housing for teachers, police in three Bakken communities
    QEP using lot of sand, lots of stages
    Whiting to go to 6 rigs in the Bakken; had originally planned to go to nine
    Oasis proposes up to 24 wells in several 1280-acre drilling units
    Oasis proposes 9 wells inside city limits on east side, near University Avenue
    Huge: better and better wells in the Bakken
    Completed wells are showing incredible IPs
    Seven more completed wells with great IPs 
    Four fourth year in row, North Dakota ranked #1 in economic well-being of children
    How much fresh water being used in Bakken fracks? 
    Whiting reports two more incredible Tarpon Federal wells; 90-stage and 62-stage fracks
    All four top Bakken counties in the top ten oil producing counties in the US 
    MRO reports great success in re-fracking a stripper well
    Bakken is #1 in US for increased productivity per rig 
    925 wells waiting to be fracked
    The entire 27th week
    The octofrac
    Top Stories for June, 2015

    Mark Perry's 2-part series on visit to the Bakken
    Taxable sales and purchases hit new record in the Bakken
    Native Americans put screws to pipeline companies
    Under-the-lake pipeline approved
    QEP to request permission for 24 wells on each of two 1280-acre drilling units
    A new term in the Bakken: fracklog
    $1.41 million for 22-acre development site in Sidney, Montana
    Random update on some great Whiting Flatland / Tarpon Federal wells; also here
    Random look at an Antelope drilling unit that could get 16 new wells
    North Dakota ranked #1 in 2014 for fasted GDP growth
    First drone manufactured in North Dakota rolled out
    Dickinson's Menards biggest to date; Williston's Menards will be bigger
    Random update, EOG well, 54-stage frack; 13 million lbs sand
    EOG reports a 63-stage frack; using almost 20 million lbs of sand
    Another example: EOG used almost 20 million lbs of sand in a 50-stage frack; and, a 55-stage frack
    US overtakes Russia as #1 fossil fuel energy producer in the world 
    Putting the Bakken into perspective: 35 billion bbls vs 7 billion bbls from the North Slope
    Fracking has no widespread impact on drinking water. Nada. Zilch. None.
    North Dakota has nation's first unmanned airport
    North Dakota to spend $40 million on US 2 & 85 between Williston, Minot
    Fidelity (MDU oil and gas division) back up for sale
    Random update of the three oldest producing oil wells in North Dakota

    Top Stories for May, 2015


    Top Stories for April, 2015


    Top Stories for March, 2015

    Top Stories for February, 2015

    Top Stories for January, 2015

    MDU will delay marketing Fidelity E&P (Bakken acreage)
    SM Energy to exit mid-Continent, close Tulsa office; focus on Bakken, Eagle Ford
    Amount of crude oil shipped by rail through Nebraska triples
    Random update on BNSF expansion plans
    18 months in the Bakken -- Vern Whitten Photography
    Legislature considering $1.1 billion infrastructure package for the oil patch
    Some politicians want a "do-over" with regard to new flaring rules and conditioning rules
    Record for number of wells coming off confidential list in one day?
    The Williston Wire
    Williston Wire
    Williston Wire's top ten stories of 2014
     
    Slump in oil prices
    Articles tracked here
    Hess to spend 18% less in 2015 in the Bakken; another article here
    North Dakota rig count of interest to Reuters analyst
    Permits canceled; producers abandoned
    Permits, wells possibly affected by slump in oil prices
    A reader's perspective on the Bakken in light of plummeting oil prices
    The US is the new "swing producer"
    Top Stories for December, 2014


    Top Stories for November, 2014

    Top Stories for October, 2014

    New Madison field in the Williston Basin, North Dakota? 
    Update on SHD
    The "Pronghorn"
    The meaning of "LL"
    Enbridge eyes mainline expansion
    COP to cut back drilling in the Bakken due to slump in oil prices
    A Silurian well hits the one-million bbl milestone
    Update on the $4-billion petrochemical plant to be built near Bismarck
    Full ride for Williams County high school graduates who attend Williston State College
    BNSF will add $1,000/old tank car as a surcharge to push operators to use safer tank cars
    Five-year outlook for the Bakken
    A random look at the Silurian
    Countries at risk; Bakken actually sitting in a nice spot
    Williston's taxable sales up 15% year-over-year
    $4 billion plastics plant? In Bismarck?
    $4 billion plastics plant announcement
    WPX names Bakken as one of its key three plays
    Enerplus announces two monster wells in west Antelope oil field
    Alexander bypass complete
    Targa to build 200 MMcf/d natural gas processing plant in McKenzie County
    Bakken nomeclature -- CLR

     
    Top Stories for July, 2014
    Stabilizers: the next big story in the Bakken
    Random update on an incredible Halcon well in McGregory Buttes
    Legacy Fund to receive largest infusion to date 
    Taxable sales and purchases: Williston still leads -- by a huge margin
    ONEOK to build 7th natural gas gathering and processing plant in Williston Basin
    The boom is here to stay -- at least through 2100; five generations of roughnecks
    Whiting to acquire KOG for $3.8 billion; no cash premium; all stock deal
    Bakken well efficiency has topped out; rebuttal
    Top 20 middle Bakken wells
    Million-bbl EURs in the Bakken
    Random update: Halcon well hits 156,487 bbls in less than four months
    Did Whiting set a new record IP in the Bakken (a Three Forks 2nd bench well)
    ONEOK announces new natural gas projects; press release and background
    Big fire in Williston; Red River Supply

    Top Stories for June, 2014

    Strata-X strike natural gas east of the Bakken
    Continental Resources to put 56 wells in one spacing unit
    North Dakota wells average 100 bopd; the US national average is but 10 bopd
    Legacy Oil & Gas buys Corinthian: A cross-border Spearfish play
    Slawson case 22272, NDIC order 24606: almost 500 wells in Big Bend oil field
    Belle Fourche Pipeline #2, Billings County to Dickinson Prairie Refinery
    EPD to build Bakken-to-Cushing crude oil pipeline
    Energy Transfer Parnters proposes Bakken-to-Patoka (IL) crude oil pipeline
    Largest US fertilizer plant ever gets go-ahead approval; Jamestown; $2 billion
    Bakken ethane now reaching feedstock facilities in Alberta, Canada
    Discussion of "zones" in the Bakken
    The second-largest pipeline (in diameter) in North Dakota ready to go on-line
    Hess' Tioga natural gas processing plant is back on-line / Rigzone's perspective
    Architect's drawing of new Williston High School
    Oil demand in US grew at fastest pace in the world in 2013; outstripped China for the first time since 1999
    Dakota Plains Holdings transloading facility, New Town, ND, to begin operations
    Williston to get new high school 
    $56 million recreation center for Watford City; to go forward with new hospital
    Analysts suggest price of oil could surge before end of year (that was before the new Iraqi war)
    CLR to drill 32 wells in multiple spacing units in the Oakdale oil field
    How good are the Bakken wells? Huge, and getting better
    CLR applies for crude oil export permit

    Top Stories for May, 2014

    CLR's Whitman #2, ($20210) goes over the one-million-bbl milestone
    EOG philosophy on re-fracking
    Are we underestimating North America's fracking boom?
    Halcon reports IP of almost 4,000 bopd; no headline; business as usual
    Modeling of the Bakken -- EOG
    Legacy fund over $2 billion; $80 million being added every month
    Swiss developer preparing to break ground on half-billion-dollar project in Williston
    New underpass west of Williston -- graphic
    France, UK to run out of fossil fuel in less than five years
    Triangle Petroleum acquires 46,100 Bakken acreage
    Another huge EOG well in Parshall oil field
    Stockyard Creek oil field infill density: 16 wells/drilling unit -- Samson Oil & Gas
    Twenty-four (24) permits issued on one day
    SM Energy sells some non-core Bakken acreage
    Direct Williston-to-Houston, United Airlines
    What 1% increase in Bakken production means for EURs
    Oil production in Mountrail & McKenzie counties exceeds total production from California or total production from Alaska
    EOG to place 32 wells on a single 640-acre spacing unit
    Active rigs take huge jump in April
    Update on ONEOK's proposed seventh (7th) natural gas facility
    Video of Williston's new recreation center

    Top Stories for April, 2014
    The Torquay (Three Forks) in Canada
    Williston Area Recreation Center opens; accolades start to roll in
    Third CBR terminal proposed for Washington State coast
    Two propane/butane 100-tank-car-unit trains every three days from the Bakken to Washington State
    Spectacular Crescent Point wells being reported in Canada
    Home Depot joins shale rush -- WSJ
    As many as 120,000 wells might be needed in the Bakken; drilling for 60 years
    World's largest truck wash is in the Bakken; south of Williston
    CLR reports a completed Montana Bakken well with six (6) horizontal laterals
    Enerplus, Slawson hitting some big wells; Statoil with another "high-IP well -- almost 5,000 bopd
    The Bakken as laboratory: a new secondary containment system for crude oil pads
    North Dakota revolutionized the US energy industry -- WSJ
    History is made this past week: first BBR unit train all the way to the Gulf Coast
    How much is the Bakken capable of producing?
    Top Stories for March, 2014


    Top Stories for February, 2014

    Producing acres in the Bakken going for $40,000/acre
    Leasing in McKenzie County: $27,300/acre with a 22% royalty
    Random example of how fracking a new well improves production at neighboring, existing well
    Another example of how fracking a new well improves production at a neighboring, existing well
    New railport being considered at Beach, North Dakota
    Another staggering EOG well -- 54 stages; 17 million pounds; 216,000 bbls in less than 5 months
    Bakken production: one million bopd as of February 10, 2014
    Williston apartment rent: highest in the nation
    Comparing the Bakken with South Red River B in the Williston Basin
    Tesoro to expand storage, pipeline in the Bakken
    Tesoro to retrofit railcars 
    BNSF to buy its own fleet of 5,000 new crude oil tank cars with safety features that exceed stds
    Bakken oil rolling through New York state
    Increasing amounts of Bakken crude reaching California 

    Top Stories For January, 2014

    Top Stories for December, 2013


    Top Stories for November, 2013

    Top Stories for October, 2013

    Top Stories for September, 2013

    Top Stories for August, 2013


    Top Stories for July, 2013
    Homebuilding on the upswing in Carpio, north of Minot
    July dockets posted: XTO to drill another 300 wells in Siverston oil field
    EOG's Parshall field on track to generate revenues in excess of $100 million -- Filloon
    It's official -- Williston aka "Boomtown, USA"
    Is economic value of Bakken natural gas four times greater than forecast?
    Zenergy to sell Bakken assets; estimated at $1 billion
    Fuddruckers, Acme Tool, Famous Dave's, Outlaw Grill, Home of Economy expanding -- Williston
    Menard's to build concept store in Williston, 18 acres of shopping pleasure
    Fourteen wells in one section in Antelope oil field
    Huge KOG wells in Pembroke oil field; re-entered; late frack
    The KOG - Liberty Resources deal has closed; a bit pricier than originally reported
    It's official: government says fracking did not cause contamination
    Statoil's Beaux-tiful wells in the Banks oil field 
      
    Top Stories for June, 2013

    Top Stories for May, 2013

    Top Stories for April, 2013
     
    Developers propose new city at 13-mile corner: "Bakken Village": that area is already more populated than 90% of most urban centers in North Dakota

    Top Stories for March, 2013

    Top Stories for February, 2013

    Obama promises to expedite oil production in North Dakota if "sequester" is killed; [note: the sequester was not killed; the Keystone XL 2.0 decision is delayed indefinitely; what was that about a woman scorned?]

    Top Stories for January, 2013


    Top Stories By Year

    2012

    New estimate of original oil in place (OOIP) for the Bakken: one trillion bbls
    Well density in the Bakken
    Helis
    More Bakken oil moved by rail than by pipeline

    All the deals (see sidebar at the right)
    CLR: one million acres in the Bakken
    Chesapeake to leave Dickinson area; may leave Williston Basin
    Bakken could produce 2 million bopd by 2025
    $14,000/acre bonus: North Dakota state land lease sales results; XOM-DNR $15,000/Acre deal
    Monster wells 

    2011

    Williston Development
    Man-Camp Approvals
    International
    Dollars
    Set Backs