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Friday, September 9, 2011

Chinese Proppant at Loading Dock -- Williston, North Dakota -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Photos of 3300-lb tote bags of Chinese Mid Pacific proppant on the loading dock at Williston train depot, this date. For more on types of ceramic proppants in the Bakken, click here.

Some comments.

This is the first time I have actually ever seen ceramic proppants.

When we got out of the car to look at the sacks close up, I almost slipped and fell. The proppants are extremely slippery. In my hand, my first thought was this is just like graphite lubricant. Perfectly spherical, almost too small to see individual spheres, they are that small. They leave no ash, dust, or discoloration on the hand with casual inspection. Something tells me with heavy handling, the hands become very gray.



Moon dust?







Below: This was the only sign of security in the area. Had this sign not been there, I would have picked up one of the sacks and put it in the trunk of our sedan. I walked into the area around the sign: I saw no "watchman on duty." I saw no video camera. I neither saw nor heard any dog. Something tells me that even if you walked off with a bag of Chinese ceramic proppant, you would a) have no use for it; and, b) have no one to sell it to.


Three (3) New Permits -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Update

Some folks might be concerned about the small number of permits a couple of days this past week. Not to worry; this will take care of itself. I haven't checked lately but I think we are on track for 1,750 new permits this year.

It sure beats a permitorium.

Original Post
Daily activity report, September 9, 2011 --

Operators: Whiting, Liberty Resources, and Legacy Oil

Fields: Sanish, and two wildcats

This is the second permit for Liberty Resources; this one is northeast of Williston in a pretty good area.

Newfield reported an awesome well today:
  • 20108, 2,789, Newfield, Lawlar 151-98-31-30-1H, McKenzie County
Other than that, pretty unexciting report except for this bit of trivia:
NDIC File No: 20361     API No: 33-061-01668-00-00
Well Type: ST     Well Status: DRL     Status Date: 3/9/2011
Wellbore type: Directional
Location: NWNE 11-156-94     Footages: 735 FNL 2510 FEL     Latitude:
48.354399     Longitude: -102.730415
Current Operator: HESS CORPORATION
Current Well Name: EN-PERSON OBSERVATION- 11-31
Elevation(s): 2177 GL     Total Depth:       Field: BIG BUTTE
Spud Date(s):  3/9/2011
Casing String(s): 9.625" 1902'
Completion Data
   Pool: THREE FORKS     Status: DRL     Date: 3/9/2011 
What do you notice?  Pool: Three Forks.  Generally speaking, all wells targeting Bakken formations (3) and Three Forks formations (1 - 5), the pool has been administratively designated the "Bakken Pool."  See hearing dockets, and see numerous other file reports in which wells targeted the Three Forks and the pool was designated as "Bakken Pool."  Occasionally, we have seen "Sanish Pool."

For Investors: More Evidence Oil Service Companies May Be Preferable to Major Oil Companies

Link here.

Halliburton discusses prospects for global production.

This was near the end of the story:
Much of the work is being ordered by national oil companies, who are less likely than they have been in the past to share their resources with international oil companies, instead turning to service companies to help them extract their reserves, Lesar said. Four of Halliburton's top ten customers are now national oil companies, he said.

"National" oil companies refers to the "foreign" country's own national oil company, such as China's CNOOC -- in the future national companies like CNOOC will partner less with major oil companies like XOM, CVX, and COP, and more often with SLB, HAL, and BHI.

Seat Belts: Wear 'Em -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Two rollover accidents in past 24 hours in the Bakken; one a small vehicle; the other a 18-wheeler.

One driver died.

One survived.

One driver was 46 years old.

One driver was 23 years old.

One was wearing his seat belt. He survived.

One wasn't wearing his seat belt. He did not survive.

By the way, it was the 23-year-old who was wearing his seat belt.

No California License Plates in the Bakken -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Someone else pointed this out to me: there are no California license plates in the Bakken.

There have been numerous stories of the people, vehicles, and license plates from across the country, and I have spotted "them all" in Wal-Mart parking lot. The joke making the rounds is that there are no more folks in Idaho: they have all moved to North Dakota.

But one state is missing. The state with the second highest unemployment rate, at 12 percent, is right behind Nevada, at 12.1 percent or so.

I have seen one Nevada plate, but no California plates.

I have opined about this before. Things don't add up. If it's really that bad in California, one would expect at least one California plate here in Williston. Back in the 1980's, a large number of California folks migrated to Williston, albeit some of them were considered a bit out of the mainstream. But California plates are noticeably absent -- and again, it was someone else that pointed this out to me. I had not noticed until then.

Polls in California suggest folks out there are unhappy with the national economy and national politics, but polls actually show Californians generally happy with their state of affairs. My hunch is that folks in California have found ways to cope, and ways to survive economically, even while "unemployed."

Bank of America Could Cut 40,000 Jobs -- Would Take Quite A Few New Hirings Elsewhere To Offset That -- Obama's Half-Trillion Dollar Teachers' Jobs Will Help

Link here: California will probably be hit the hardest; one of six BofA employees is in California.

Link here.
Bank of America Corp officials have discussed slashing roughly 40,000 jobs during the first wave of a restructuring, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the plans.
The number of job cuts are not final and could change. The restructuring aims to reduce the bank's workforce of 280,000 over a period of years, the Journal said.
Link here.
With the national debt already increasing $3 million every minute of every day, Obama wants to repair and modernize 35,000 schools. Obama wants $35 billion to go toward salaries for teachers, firefighters, and police.

Williston, North Dakota -- Heart of the Bakken --$200 Million in Building Permits Hits New Record -- Nearing $200 Million For The Year -- Ran Out Of Land Last Year -- Not A Problem This Year

Update
See first comment below: a request to come before the county commission for a zoning change for a new hotel north of Williston, a Value Place Hotel.

Original Post

This really is incredible, something to ponder for a moment.

Last year, building permits set a record with a value of $100 million (rounded)

This year, as of August, one month past the halfway mark, building permits near $200 million (rounded in value).

I wish there was a way for me to get my mind around this. This is truly incredible.

Link here.
Activity at the Williston Building Department continued at its record pace in August, with a total value of permits for the year nearing the $200 million mark.A total of 134 building permits were issued in August, with a value of more than $36.9 million.
Through August a total of 627 permits have been issued in 2011, with a total value of approximately $189.9 million.

The department's previous record for an entire year was in 2010, when 770 permits valued at $106.2 million were issued.
Link here.
Nearly $37 million worth of building projects rolled through the Williston Building Department last month.

According to the 2011 August Building Permits Report, 63 new single family homes were permitted totaling more than $11 million dollars and 7 commercial projects were permitted worth nearly $21 million. The remainder of the permits was for commercial and residential alterations and garages.

During the month of August, the number of housing units chased the 2010 record of 688 – but that number was shattered this month. As of September 8, 2011, 727 housing units had been permitted.
“Last year the problem was we ran out of land. This year, with the new subdivisions, that’s where everything is going,” says Kelly Aberle, Williston Building Department Office Manager/Plans Examiner.
Data points:
  • Three subdivisions with most housing action: Big Timbers, Granite Peak, and Creekside
  • 727 housing units: 218 are single family home, 407 for apartments, 102 for mobile homes
  • For September: > 100 apartment units
  • New apartment buildings: Big Timbers subdivision; two 36-unit complexes; one 44-unit complex
  • Developers bringing in their own construction crews from across the US
  • What's missing? Retail

For Investors: Market Plunges Again -- Drops Through the 11,000 Floor -- President's Speech: $0.5 Trillion Spending -- No Specifics

Update

Harvard professor: blame Dems for no jobs.
A majority of Americans think President Obama's jobs plan won't help lower the 9.1% U.S. unemployment rate: 51% say it won't work, while just 40% think it will create enough jobs to lower the jobless rate, according to a recent Bloomberg News poll.

Jeffrey Miron, director of undergraduate studies in the department of economics at Harvard University and senior fellow at the Cato Institute agrees with the majority for several reasons.


Obama drops to new low in polls with jobs program -- Bloomberg. Folks are catching on that this is a half-trillion dollar pay-off to teachers.
A majority of Americans don’t believe President Barack Obama’s $447 billion jobs plan will help lower the unemployment rate, skepticism he must overcome as he presses Congress for action and positions himself for re- election.
The downbeat assessment of the American Jobs Act reflects a growing and broad sense of dissatisfaction with the president. Americans disapprove of his handling of the economy by 62 percent to 33 percent, a Bloomberg National Poll conducted Sept. 9-12 shows. The disapproval number represents a nine point increase from six months ago.
JPMorgan: new international rules (to which US subscribes) are anti-American

Democratic fundraising: August -- worst month of the year.
The Democratic National Committee raised about $5.5 million in August, its worst fundraising month of the year, down from $6.7 million in July, according to figures provided by Democratic officials on Saturday and Federal Election Commission filings.
From the Dickinson Press: President Zero.  The number of jobs the president created in August. Reaganomics beats Obamics.

From The New York Times: Democrats "Fretting" Over Obama's 2012 Re-Election Chances; Could Lead a Losing Ticket. I was curious when mainstream media, particularly TNYT would start turning on Obama. It's subtle but it's real. 

Following my original post, DrudgeReport updated its own description of today's market: "Stocks Slammed" with same link as below.  Some folks wrote me to say that I misread today's market action. I think not. This is not rocket science. Only the most ardent Obama supporters saw silver lining in the dark clouds today. But, wow, what a great buying opportunity for long term investors.

From The New York Times: CEOs say "jobs plan" won't create jobs. Does anyone ever do the math? The article says the $447 billion jobs program "could" create anywhere from 500 thousand to 2 million jobs next year. At 500,000 jobs that works out to $894,000/job; at 2 million jobs, it works out to $238,500. Wouldn't it be more effective to just give 4 million folks $100,000 to spend on retail for the year.

Original Post
From The New York Times:
Stocks on Wall Street declined sharply on Friday in the wake of a speech by President Obama on jobs that added to the uncertainty already weighing on financial markets over European sovereign debt and the weak economic recovery.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 303.34 points, or 2.6 percent, to 10,992.47, breaking through the 11,000 floor for the first time in quite some time.

Time for some golf. I cannot make this stuff up.

With regard to the speech: we waited three weeks for this? A speech requesting to spend another half-trillion dollars and no specifics. The specifics will be quietly sent to Congress in the next week or so.

American Petroleum Institute: "A missed opportunity." My sentiments exactly.

Divide County Could See 4,500 Wells -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Housekeeping chore: update. I missed this earlier this summer.

From the Crosby Journal, August 2, 2011: Divide County could see 4,500 wells.

Area of Divide County: 1,294 squre miles.
A square mile = one section.
4,500 wells/1,294 sections -> 3.5 wells / section.

ND Oil Production Sets Record -- Could Surpass California By End Of Year -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Link here.
North Dakota has reached a new record in daily oil production and could soon surpass California as the No. 3 oil-producing state in the nation.

Department of Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms said numbers released Thursday show daily production for the state in July reached 423,550 barrels. This is an increase of 40,000 barrels more per day compared to June.

Oil production numbers typically lag at least two months

Helms says at the current rate, North Dakota could surpass California by the end of the year.
Data points:
  • North Dakota: 425,000 bopd
  • California: 540,000 bopd
  • Alaska: 550,000 bopd
  • Texas: 1,410,000 bopd

Flashback -- 48,000 Wells Needed To Drill Out the Bakken -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Back on August 16, 2011, I posted my hunch that it would take 36,000 wells to drill out the Bakken. At the time, the general consensus was 20,000. [Later Harold Hamm, CLR/CEO set the number at 48,000.]

Today the Minot News reports that the NDIC has revised the 20,000 figure up to 33,000. That is very, very close to my number of 36,000 back in August.
The number is mindboggling 33,000. That's the number of wells needed to fully develop the Bakken in North Dakota over the next years, said the state's top oil and gas regulator.
Lynn Helms, director of the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources in Bismarck, said North Dakota currently has 6,600 wells capable of producing and about 6,000 wells producing on any given day.

Helms, who spoke Sept. 1 to members of the Minot Area Chamber of Commerce's Energy Committee, said 2,000 is the number of wells a year expected to be drilled in North Dakota.

At that rate, Helms said it will take 225 drilling rigs, which create 47,000 jobs in western North Dakota.
That's a lot of proppant.