Williston resident and longtime journalist Tom Kvamme, center, is interviewed by NBC News correspondent Harry Smith, right, in downtown Williston Wednesday. The NBC News team is in the area reporting on the oil boom and its impacts for a show to air later this fall. It is one of several national and regional media organizations to do a story on the local economy this year. A team from from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune will be here next week.Reminder for newbies: the Bakken is the second largest industrial park in North America, after the Canadian oil sands. The Bakken is the largest industrial park in the US, and is situated for the most part in four counties: Williams, Mountrail, McKenzie, Dunn.
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Thursday, September 22, 2011
NBC To Air Special on the Bakken Later This Autumn -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA
Cut and paste from The Williston Herald:
CCS Opens Shop in Williston -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA
Link here.
CCS Corporation, an integrated oil and gas service company, along with the CEO, staff and the public celebrated the grand opening of its new Williston campus on its one-year anniversary of joining the community.The article says CCS is located at 4904 Second Ave. W., but I thought I saw a sign in front of "their" building on the east side of the Million Dollar Way, north of Williston.
Building Begins for New 270-Unit Apartment Complex - West Williston -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA
Updates
March 23, 2012: a reader sent me a PDF/link showing the status of Harvest Hills Phase I -- all sold! Moving on to Phase II, I assume.
Original Post
Aerie Development Group LLC out of Denver is planning to build a 270-unit apartment complex on the south end of the Harvest Hills Subdivision.By the way, here's a YouTube video of Harvest Hills when topsoil was first beginning to be moved back in June, 2011:
The complex, called The Confluence at Harvest Hills, will be comprised of 60 one-bedroom, 90 two-bedroom and 120 three-bedroom units.
Here's the background story for Harvest Hills. I've posted it before, but it's hard to keep track of all these subdivisions.
Petro-Hunt Wells in the Dublin Oil Field -- Not a Bakken Story
Someone alerted me to the fact that Petro-Hunt has another permit for a vertical well in/near Dublin oil field.
We now have at least three or four new wells -- all by Petro-Hunt -- in/near the Dublin oil field which are vertical wells and probably targeting the Madison. (One Petro-Hunt well is a Bakken.)
- #21568, PNC, PETRO-HUNT, L.L.C., SMITH 157-100-3D-1-1, NESE 3-157N-100W, WILLIAMS CO., 1980' FSL and 660' FEL, WC, WILDCAT, 'Tight Hole'
We now have at least three or four new wells -- all by Petro-Hunt -- in/near the Dublin oil field which are vertical wells and probably targeting the Madison. (One Petro-Hunt well is a Bakken.)
Another Huge Success Story in the Dakotas -- Not a Bakken Story
Update
I posted the original note below at 10:35 p.m. At 10:41 I happened to notice this story while moving from one site to another: North Dakota income up 13 percent. Coincidentally, it shines a spotlight on what I wrote below. How fascinating. By the way, note South Dakota high on that same list, and South Dakota has "no" oil industry, so income improvement is not solely due to oil.
Original Post
Link here. OEM Worldwide, an electronics manufacturer in Watertown broke ground this week on an $11 million expansion project.Someone pointed out that this is probably a non-union workplace since the president has not visited; it was also assumed that if it is a non-union workplace, the NLRB is looking into the legitimacy of the expansion. Don't write me; don't blame me. I am just the messenger.
President and CEO Mike McCammack says the company has grown from 167 employees and $24 million in revenue in 2004 to 260 employees and revenues of more than $50 million today.
My interest: Watertown is in South Dakota, home of my undergraduate alma mater, and state where my dad was born. Fond memories of visiting South Dakota over the years.
Lost Decade -- Sad, Sad Commentary
Only 55 percent of young Americans have jobs. Truly a sad, sad commentary. Lots and lots of explanations, reasons, not all of them political or related to what is going on in Washington, DC.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Unemployment among young adults is at its highest point since World War II, new data show. And it's having a disconcerting impact on the trajectory of their careers and lives.Maybe a long rambling post on this ("only 55 percent of young Americans have jobs") some day, but right now just posting it for my archives.
"We have a monster jobs problem, and young people are the biggest losers," Andrew Sum, an economist with the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University told the Associated Press.
Just 55.3 percent of people between 16 and 29 were employed in 2010 on average, the according to new figures released by the Census Bureau. That represents an enormous drop from 67.3 percent in 2000. Among teens the figure was less than 30 percent.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Sorry For Few Posts Today
I was out and about in the Bakken today. I spent the entire day in the Bakken and loved every minute of it.
I had to chuckle thinking about the comments back and forth regarding the 600-bed man camp in Dickinson that was voted down. Perhaps more on that later, but based on what I saw in the Bakken today, it's a non-story.
I drove as far east as Stanley on Highway 2 from Williston, stopping in Stanley and Tioga. The amount of activity along the highway was incredible. The residential areas in both Stanley and Tioga were quiet; one would never know there was any oil activity just outside those towns.
The most remarkable thing I saw on the highway: the very courteous driving by all -- cars, pickups, and semis. Everybody was driving safely, defensively, and appropriately. Folks were driving the speed limit, but no one was speeding. Everyone gave wide berth to vehicles stopped alongside the road. I saw no sheriff vehicles during the entire trip. No speed traps, as such. Just an incredibly pleasant drive.
I will post a rambling, long post over the weekend regarding some thoughts on the Bakken.
But for now, this explains why so few postings today.
I had to chuckle thinking about the comments back and forth regarding the 600-bed man camp in Dickinson that was voted down. Perhaps more on that later, but based on what I saw in the Bakken today, it's a non-story.
I drove as far east as Stanley on Highway 2 from Williston, stopping in Stanley and Tioga. The amount of activity along the highway was incredible. The residential areas in both Stanley and Tioga were quiet; one would never know there was any oil activity just outside those towns.
The most remarkable thing I saw on the highway: the very courteous driving by all -- cars, pickups, and semis. Everybody was driving safely, defensively, and appropriately. Folks were driving the speed limit, but no one was speeding. Everyone gave wide berth to vehicles stopped alongside the road. I saw no sheriff vehicles during the entire trip. No speed traps, as such. Just an incredibly pleasant drive.
I will post a rambling, long post over the weekend regarding some thoughts on the Bakken.
But for now, this explains why so few postings today.
Seven (7) New Permits -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA
Daily activity report, September 22, 2011 --
Operators: CLR (2), MRO, Baytex, Slawson, Petro-Hunt, and Hunt
Fields: Bailey, Chimney Butte, Van Hook, West Ambrose, Viking, Reunion Bay, and one wildcat.
Petro-Hunt has the wildcat in Williams County.
Only one well released from confidential status and it was placed on DRL status.
Operators: CLR (2), MRO, Baytex, Slawson, Petro-Hunt, and Hunt
Fields: Bailey, Chimney Butte, Van Hook, West Ambrose, Viking, Reunion Bay, and one wildcat.
Petro-Hunt has the wildcat in Williams County.
Only one well released from confidential status and it was placed on DRL status.
Jobless Claims Exceed Forcast -- Again
Link here.
It will be interesting to see if price of gasoline at the pump drops proportionately.
More Americans than forecast filed first-time claims for unemployment insurance payments last week as the labor market struggled to improve.With the market in free fall, and oil plummeting in price, something tells me these unemployment numbers are not going to improve.
Applications for jobless benefits decreased 9,000 in the week ended Sept. 17 to 423,000, Labor Department figures showed today. Economists forecast 420,000 claims, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. The average number of claims in the past month rose for a fifth straight week, to the highest level since July 16.
It will be interesting to see if price of gasoline at the pump drops proportionately.
For Investors Only -- Steve Zachritz on NOG's Mid-Year Review
Link here.
Proved reserves rose 121% to 34.8 million boe through the first seven months of the year.The numbers were "done" by one of the most, if not the most, conservative analyst in the field.
69% proven undeveloped which is not aggressive.
90% of the reserves are oil. Note current production is running about 94% oil (gas being flared) but that prices in the Williston Basin for natural gas are pretty good and NOG plans to capture more of the associated gas in its wells as time goes by.
Reserve replacement (change in reserves/ production) was a seemingly dizzying 2,172%, but this a smaller name and you can see big numbers here as they move up the production hockey stick so while it is a nice number it is less relevant than what follows.
Several items are worth noting here beyond the obvious, "wow, that is some serious reserve growth for any full year, let alone half a year."