Elsewhere someone asked how to generate a PDF of a screen shot of the GIS map server.
It's incredibly easy: simply choose the area of the map you want to take a "photo" of, and then click on "Generate PDF" on the sidebar on the left on the GIS map server.
It may take a few minutes to complete, so just sit back a few minutes and see if the PDF will generate. You have to allow pop-ups.
I've tried map servers for oil and gas from other states, and none of them are as easy to use as the one from NDIC. I am very impressed.
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Friday, September 30, 2011
The Face of the Bakken in the Wall Street Journal -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA
Updates
November 26, 2016: flashback. This post was originally posted back in 2011, and then tagged for follow-up in 2016. Now I have tagged it for 2021. Note that back in 2011, President Obama said that a battery would be developed that would equate to 130 miles per gallon.
We now have EVs that can go 200 miles on one charge. Miles per gallon / battery conversion here. The 2017 Chevy Bolt is rated at around 120 MPGe. Almost there.
Original Post
Link here. This is the WSJ's weekend interview; a big thank you to Chris for alerting me to it.
Harold Hamm, the Oklahoma-based founder and CEO of Continental Resources, the 14th-largest oil company in America, is a man who thinks big. He came to Washington last month to spread a needed message of economic optimism: With the right set of national energy policies, the United States could be "completely energy independent by the end of the decade. We can be the Saudi Arabia of oil and natural gas in the 21st century."Not only riding the wrong horse, he's riding with the wrong posse.
"President Obama is riding the wrong horse on energy," he adds. We can't come anywhere near the scale of energy production to achieve energy independence by pouring tax dollars into "green energy" sources like wind and solar, he argues. It has to come from oil and gas.
How much oil in the Bakken?
How much oil does Bakken have? The official estimate of the U.S. Geological Survey a few years ago was between four and five billion barrels. Mr. Hamm disagrees: "No way. We estimate that the entire field, fully developed, in Bakken is 24 billion barrels."
If he's right, that'll double America's proven oil reserves.
"Bakken is almost twice as big as the oil reserve in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska," he continues. According to Department of Energy data, North Dakota is on pace to surpass California in oil production in the next few years. Mr. Hamm explains over lunch in Washington, D.C., that the more his company drills, the more oil it finds. Continental Resources has seen its "proved reserves" of oil and natural gas (mostly in North Dakota) skyrocket to 421 million barrels this summer from 118 million barrels in 2006.The president's reaction:
When it was Mr. Hamm's turn to talk briefly with President Obama, "I told him of the revolution in the oil and gas industry and how we have the capacity to produce enough oil to enable America to replace OPEC. I wanted to make sure he knew about this."
The president's reaction?
"[President Obama] turned to me and said,
'Oil and gas will be important for the next few years. But we need to go on to green and alternative energy. [Energy] Secretary [Steven] Chu has assured me that within five years, we can have a battery developed that will make a car with the equivalent of 130 miles per gallon.'"
Mr. Hamm holds his head in his hands and says, "Even if you believed that, why would you want to stop oil and gas development? It was pretty disappointing."I've tagged this note for follow-up in October, 2016, five years from now.
Oil and Gas: The Long View
From Merrill Lynch, published in September (2011) issue of the CFA Institute:
The overall pattern in global oil consumption growth shown in Figure 5 is formidable. The forecast is for an average increase of 1.4 million barrels per day through 2015, compared with the average increase of 1.1 million barrels per day over the past 25 years. Even considering some of the efficiency gains, a deceleration in the rate of growth in consumption does not seem likely.The reference to the Bakken:
Of the various emerging market countries, th dominant player is China. Over the forecast period, China will account for 32 percent of the overall growth in consumption or 2.6 million barrels of oil per day. In fact, the growing demand in China is averaging close to 500,000 barrels per day, which is a growth rate of about 5 percent a year. Other Asian countries account for 23 percent of the overall growth in consumption, and the Middle East accounts for 19 percent.
Much of the growth in oil demand in China is a result of strong demand for cars and light commercial vehicles. Figure 6 shows the sales of cars and light commercial vehicles in Western Europe, North America, and China from 1998 and estimated through 2015. The Western European automobile market was fairly flat, declined during the financial crisis, and is enjoying some recovery now. The North American market suffered an even bigger decline during the crisis but has had an impressive recovery.
The most interesting fact, however, is that China’s car market now exceeds 20 million vehicles per year. It is expected to continue to grow through 2015. To sustain this level of growth, oil demand will need to be 350,000 barrels per day per year. Oil demand in the Middle East is also rapidly expanding. In fact, the expectation is that annual demand in the Middle East will expand by about 300,000 barrels per day per year.
I say that because both the oil sands of Canada and the Bakken and Eagle Ford shales in the United States have tremendous potential. With the oil shales, the development will take 10 to 15 years, and although it is not prolific in terms of individual well production, it is highly economic production that is economically better than $50 a barrel. The estimateThe article is eleven pages long with some very interesting statistics. Perhaps more later.
is that 2 million barrels per day could be developed from those two oil shale sources, in addition to an incremental 1.5 million barrels from the Canadian sands.
For Investors: SeekingAlpha On Bakken Oil Plays -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA
Link here.
Nothing new that regular readers didn't already know.
Some investors just keep accumulating shares.
Nothing new that regular readers didn't already know.
Some investors just keep accumulating shares.
Under the Radar: UK Production Decreases; Consumption Increases
Link here.
Look at the numbers (some numbers rounded):
And then there's the Japanese nuclear story:
Look at the numbers (some numbers rounded):
Shipments of liquefied natural gas made up the bulk of U.K. gas imports for the first time in the second quarter as indigenous production saw its steepest ever decline.That's the UK. Think what is going to be happening in China and India.
The data show that, as some analysts predict LNG prices will revisit previous highs next year, there is little prospect for the U.K. to gain any respite from rising domestic energy bills.
Indigenous U.K. natural gas production fell by a record 25%.
Net imports of gas were up 5.0% despite demand falling almost 20% the previous year because of warmer weather and lower use of gas in power generation.
And then there's the Japanese nuclear story:
Prices of LNG are expected to rise further because, since the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Japan has had to rapidly increase its gas imports for use in alternative power generation.
Prices on the spot market for LNG could revisit the highs of 2008 if around 80% of Japan's nuclear capacity remains offline, Bank of America Merrill Lynch said earlier this month.
"Government-mandated stress tests have stalled the return of all but one nuclear reactor" in Japan, it said. If the restarts aren't approved, "we estimate LNG demand growth in 2012 could reach 8.0 million tons."
"Should this occur, we see spot LNG prices next year rise to $25 per million Btu, similar levels as those seen in 2008, from $17 per MMBtu currently," it said.
Just How Big Is the Marcellus: Depends Upon Whom You Believe
Link here.
Maybe solving the Marcellus Shale missing resources is similar to a Columbo show. That shale has an estimated 410 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of possible reserves according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). So was the recent Marcellus Shale assessment by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) of only 84 Tcf of undiscovered potentially technically recoverable resources merely a Columbo distraction?You know, either way you look at it, 84 or 410 trillion cubic feet is a bit of natural gas.
Side-by-side comparison: government jobs vs private sector jobs
This is the difference between "government/green energy" jobs and "private sector/conventional energy" jobs:
Government/green energy: $1 billion and 900 construction workers; 52 permanent workers.
Private sector/conventional energy: $400 million and 1,000 direct workers, and many behind them.
Government/green energy: $1 billion and 900 construction workers; 52 permanent workers.
Private sector/conventional energy: $400 million and 1,000 direct workers, and many behind them.
Exxon Mobil Corporation’s US marine affiliate, SeaRiver Maritime, Inc., signed an agreement with Aker Philadelphia Shipyard for the construction of two new Liberty Class tankers valued at $400 million, which will create more than 1,000 direct jobs.
The double hull vessels will be used to transport Alaska North Slope crude oil to US West Coast destinations and will be built to include the latest navigation and communications equipment and exceed current environmental and energy efficiency standards.
Re-Fracs -- A Case Study -- North Dakota Petroleum Council -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA
A huge "thank you" to a reader for alerting me to this presentation.
Link here.
In addition to learning more about fracking in general, this presentation is very interesting.
I've gone through the presentation twice, very, very, quickly, and need to spend quite a bit of time to digest all that was presented.
The conclusion slide is very interesting, but one of the things not mentioned is all the "good"sand recovered in a re-frac.
The presentation, by the way, was by XTO, an ExxonMobil subsidiary.
Link here.
In addition to learning more about fracking in general, this presentation is very interesting.
I've gone through the presentation twice, very, very, quickly, and need to spend quite a bit of time to digest all that was presented.
The conclusion slide is very interesting, but one of the things not mentioned is all the "good"sand recovered in a re-frac.
The presentation, by the way, was by XTO, an ExxonMobil subsidiary.
That Didn't Take Long -- Follow-Up to Man-Camp Story -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA
A huge thank-you to CRC for alerting me to this story. It's a big story in more ways than one.
Link here.
I am out and about in the Bakken and cannot access a computer/web browser optimized for my blog. I am using a PC with Microsoft IE browser which does not suit my blogging well. I cannot link easily and I cannot post comments on my own blog! That's why I can't thank CRC directly, at the site where the comment was made. In addition, I am not posting some comments for now that I get because I cannot reply to them. There are some comments that should not be left hanging without a comment from me.
So, some comments and my comments in reply to others will have to wait.
In addition, I may not link quite as often.
Anyway, back to business at hand.
I posted earlier about Dickinson't moratorium on new man-camps (or at least a refusal to permit a 600-bed man-camp being proposed by a developer with an impeccable track record in North Dakota).
At the time I opined that several unintened consequences would develop. Already one of those unintended consequences was reported in the Williston Herald yesterday. Today, the Dickinson Press has a story of another unintended consequence: more truck traffic on asphalt state and county roads. (Regional links break often and break early.)
Link here.
I am out and about in the Bakken and cannot access a computer/web browser optimized for my blog. I am using a PC with Microsoft IE browser which does not suit my blogging well. I cannot link easily and I cannot post comments on my own blog! That's why I can't thank CRC directly, at the site where the comment was made. In addition, I am not posting some comments for now that I get because I cannot reply to them. There are some comments that should not be left hanging without a comment from me.
So, some comments and my comments in reply to others will have to wait.
In addition, I may not link quite as often.
Anyway, back to business at hand.
I posted earlier about Dickinson't moratorium on new man-camps (or at least a refusal to permit a 600-bed man-camp being proposed by a developer with an impeccable track record in North Dakota).
At the time I opined that several unintened consequences would develop. Already one of those unintended consequences was reported in the Williston Herald yesterday. Today, the Dickinson Press has a story of another unintended consequence: more truck traffic on asphalt state and county roads. (Regional links break often and break early.)
A temporary housing company from Boston has found land in Dunn County for a planned 595-man crew camp.There was no mention of more vehicular traffic in the Dickinson area due to more remote nature of this proposed man-camp.
Though the camp is not being built in Dickinson, Target Logistics President Joe Murphy said it will still affect the city in a positive way.
“It will lessen pressure on the Dickinson housing market,” Murphy said. “It will mitigate the distortion in housing prices.”
Target Logistics applied for a special use permit to build a 600-man crew camp northwest of the 21st Street West and State Avenue intersection earlier this month but was turned down last week by the Dickinson Planning and Zoning Commission.
Following that hearing, several people approached Murphy with ideas for a project location. Ken Kubischta, Dickinson, was one of them.
“(The plan) was nice and neat,” Kubischta said. “Talking to the different people — the survey guy and the people hauling out the scoria for them — they all noted they have a very good reputation for keeping it nice and tight and correct.”
A new proposed site would be located southwest of the Highway 22 and 27th Street West intersection 8 miles north of Dickinson. The land covers almost 25 acres.
EOG With Nice New Well, Antelope Field; Whiting With Nice TFS Well, Sanish -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA
See link here for new wells reporting this quarter.
Whiting has another TFS well in this section:
If newbies want to see the business plans of two different companies operating in the Bakken, they could do no better than looking at Whiting's Sanish field and EOG's Parshall field on the NDIC GIS map server.
- 19790, 1,318, EOG, Clarks Creek 3-0805H, Antelope, Bakken
- 19643, 1,130, Whiting, Hollinger 21-14TFH, Sanish, Bakken
Whiting has another TFS well in this section:
- 19938, CONF, Whiting, Hollinger 11-14TFH, Sanish, Bakken
- 18277, 1,716, Whiting, Iverson 11-14H, Sanish, Bakken
- 18639, 2,309, Whiting, Iverson 21-14H, Sanish, Bakken
If newbies want to see the business plans of two different companies operating in the Bakken, they could do no better than looking at Whiting's Sanish field and EOG's Parshall field on the NDIC GIS map server.
Bird Killers: Some Get a Pass; Some Don't -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA
I've posted this story before, but now I see others have picked up on it (and have even a better job of reporting it -- smile).
Link here.
I won't re-link all the stories, but suffice it, here's the talk down at the local coffee shop: oil companies in North Dakota being charged with killing 26 ducks (most of which would have been on target for hunters this fall).
Meanwhile, whooping crane killers get a pass.
The ducks are not endangered as a diminishing species (that's why they are hunted from Canada to South America). Whooping cranes are at huge risk as a diminishing/lost species. Among everything else (including wind turbines) their natural wild food is at risk in the Gulf of Mexico where they nest.
And that's the talk down at the local coffee shop.
Link here.
I won't re-link all the stories, but suffice it, here's the talk down at the local coffee shop: oil companies in North Dakota being charged with killing 26 ducks (most of which would have been on target for hunters this fall).
Meanwhile, whooping crane killers get a pass.
The ducks are not endangered as a diminishing species (that's why they are hunted from Canada to South America). Whooping cranes are at huge risk as a diminishing/lost species. Among everything else (including wind turbines) their natural wild food is at risk in the Gulf of Mexico where they nest.
And that's the talk down at the local coffee shop.
Military Chaplains May Officiate Same-Sex Unions -- Absolutely Nothing To Do With The Bakken
Link here.
In this case, "follow the money." The officers clubs and enlisted clubs on many Air Force installations were always looking at ways to increase revenue. My hunch is that, at least in the beginning, a fair number of receptions for same-sex unions will be held in the clubs.
I can't speak for US Army, Navy, or Marine installations because I did not serve in those branches.
The Pentagon has decided that military chaplains may perform same-sex unions, whether on or off a military installation.Whenever my "kids" asked me "why" regarding almost anything, I said, a) google it; and/or b) follow the money.
The ruling announced Friday by the Pentagon's personnel chief follows the Sept. 20 repeal of a law that had prohibited gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military.
In this case, "follow the money." The officers clubs and enlisted clubs on many Air Force installations were always looking at ways to increase revenue. My hunch is that, at least in the beginning, a fair number of receptions for same-sex unions will be held in the clubs.
I can't speak for US Army, Navy, or Marine installations because I did not serve in those branches.