Comparing Production by Formation in the Williston Basin -- Emphasis on the Lodgepole -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Link here.

Yesterday I posted a series of numbers comparing formations with the Williston Basin, but I did not post the name of the formations. I wanted folks to look at the data first, ask some questions, and try to guess which formation was producing that amount of oil.

That posting has now been udpated, listing the actual formation against production.

It is quite enlightening. Look at the Lodgepole wells.

For more background on the Lodgepole wells, click here. (Disregard my enthusiasm in earlier posts for Oil for America. My enthusiasm for those wells has abated, pending any new information from this company.)

Memo To Self -- Follow-Up on This 3-Well Pad -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

This is just a memo to remind me to follow up on a three-well pad in Tyrone field.

See Clark well in Tyrone field; followed elsewhere.

Entrepreneurs In the Oil Patch -- Without Help From the Government

This is a New York Times article from the Marcellus, but the same stories are being told in the Bakken.

He parlayed 1 truck into 8 and now has a fleet of 53. Then he revived a weedy rail spur and now leases 210 rail cars to haul more waste containers. His work force grew to 180 from 30 as he created a business that now has revenues of $45 million a year.

Other residents also began taking advantage of the “gas rush.” Some supplied the companies with machine parts; others laid pipe. One entrepreneurial couple opened a food wagon where they also sell alpaca socks to drillers from Louisiana and Texas who were unprepared for the cold.

The gas boom is transforming small towns like this one (population 4,400 and growing) and revitalizing the economy of this once-forgotten stretch of rural northeastern Pennsylvania. The few hotels here have expanded, restaurants are packed and housing rentals have more than doubled.

The New York Times will point out the downside, I'm sure. I didn't read any more than I posted.

The stories are exactly the same in Williston. Some mom-and-pop trucking companies have gone from a handful of trucks to hundreds of trucks. More restaurants would open if employees could be found.

In The Marcellus: Drilling Ten (10) Natural Gas Wells From One Pad

Link here.

In Central Pennsylvania, CONSOL has finished drilling all ten wells on the Hutchinson pad in northwestern Westmoreland County. The 10-well Hutchinson pad, the company believes, is the industry's largest single pad drilled to date in the Marcellus Shale.

Remember: the October hearing dockets has a case presented by QEP for ten wells on a 2560-acre spacing unit. Case 15695. They may not all be on the same pad, but there's not much land to work with in this area where much of it is under water (Missouri River). It will be interesting to follow.

Case 15695:

Application of QEP Energy Co. for an order amending the field rules for the Heart Butte and/or Van Hook Fields creating one 2560-acre spacing unit in the Bakken Pool described as Sections 2 and 3, T.149N., R.92W., Dunn and Mountrail Counties, ND and Sections 34 and 35, T.150N., R.92W., Mountrail County, ND authorizing the drilling of up to ten horizontal wells within each spacing unit at any location .....

Update: screenshot taken May 8, 2014:

The ten wells sit on two 5-well pads, all spaced at four sections:

• 23331, 2,282, QEP, MHA 1-03-34H-150-92, t3/13; cum 114K 3/14;
• 23332, 2,348, QEP, MHA 3-03-34H-150-92, t3/13; cum 116K 3/14;
• 23333, 2,310, QEP, MHA 1-03-35H-150-92, t3/13; cum 110K 3/14;
• 23334, 1,949, QEP, MHA 3-03-35H-150-92, t3/13; cum 90K 3/14;
• 23335, 1,791, QEP, MHA 1-03-35H-150-92, t3/13; cum 74K 3/14;
• 23336, 1,386, QEP, MHA 4-03-35H-150-92, t12/13; cum 21K 3/14;
• 23337, 873, QEP, MHA 1-03-02H-149-92, t12/13; cum 12K 3/14;
• 23338, 1,831, QEP, MHA 3-03-02H-149-92, t12/13; cum 28K 3/14;
• 23339, 2,217, QEP, MHA 2-03-02H-149-92, t12/13; cum 46K 3/14;
• 23340, 2,306, QEP, MHA 4-03-02H-149-92, t12/13; cum 67K 3/14;

The Global Hawk At Grand Forks AFB, ND -- Absolutely Nothing To Do With the Bakken

The Global Hawk at Grand Forks AFB, ND

Some things stick in my craw.

One of those things is when someone tells me that North Dakota doesn't have a diverse enough economy to stay relevant going forward. I've discussed this at length on two recent postings, so I won't go through the litany again.

But, in the process of checking out some of the things going on in North Dakota, I came across the USAF Global Hawk program. Back in the recesses of my mind I was aware of this, I suppose, but I had completely forgotten about it.

The Global Hawk program is perhaps one of the biggest projects in America's surveillance toolbox -- at least of those projects that one can talk about.

According to wiki:

In role and operational design, the Global Hawk is similar to the Lockheed U-2, the venerable 1950s spy plane. It is a theater commander's asset to provide a broad overview and systematic target surveillance. For this purpose, the Global Hawk is able to provide high resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)—that can penetrate cloud-cover and sandstorms— and Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) imagery at long range with long loiter times over target areas. It can survey as much as 40,000 square miles (103,600 square kilometers) of terrain a day.

It is used as a high-altitude platform for surveillance and security. Missions for the Global Hawk cover the spectrum of intelligence collection capability to support forces in worldwide military operations. According to the Air Force, the capabilities of the aircraft allow more precise targeting of weapons and better protection of forces through superior surveillance capabilities.

It is an incredible aerial platform to say the least.

As noted earlier, I was assigned to Air Combat Command when this platform was being designed, tested, and employed.

In an unusual move, the aircraft entered initial low-rate production concurrently while still in engineering and manufacturing development. Nine production Block 10 aircraft (sometimes referred to as RQ-4A configuration) were produced, two of which were sold to the US Navy. Two more were sent to Iraq to support operations there. The final Block 10 aircraft was delivered on June 26, 2006.

Note: those were Block 10 (first version).

The most recent version is Block 40:

In order to increase the aircraft's capabilities, the airframe was redesigned, with the nose section and wings being stretched. The changes, with the designation RQ-4B Block 20, allow the aircraft to carry up to 3,000 pounds of internal payload. These changes were introduced with the first Block 20 aircraft, the 17th Global Hawk produced, which was rolled out in a ceremony on August 25, 2006. First flight of the Block 20 from the USAF Plant 42 in Palmdale, California to Edwards Air Force Base took place on March 1, 2007. Developmental testing of Block 20 took place in 2008. Future Block 30 and 40 aircraft, similar in size to the Block 20, are scheduled for development from 2008 to 2010. When the Global Hawk was produced it was in a sale plan for more than 5 countries including USA and Germany.

Incredibly, Grand Forks AFB was selected to be one of the very few US bases to take on the Global Hawk mission. That is huge. Absolutely huge.

Data points, records:

• Official world endurance record for unmanned aerial vehicles, at 30 hours, 24 minutes
• Absolute altitude record of 65,381 feet (still holds the record in its class)
• Non-stop flight from Edwards AFB, California, to RAAF Base Edinburgh, Australia: the first pilotless aircraft to crss the Pacific Ocean; 22 hours; record for absolute distance: 8,200 miles)
• Through February, 2010: 1,500 sorties, 30,000 combat hours in Central Command (Mideast)

Back in June, 2011, "Grand Forks AFB Airmen Welcome Global Hawk."

Airmen celebrated the arrival of the RQ-4 Global Hawk during a ceremony here June 1.

The ceremony highlighted the beginning of a new era of remotely piloted aircraft here.

This brings back some great memories. Except when I was on leave (vacation), I was at work seven days/week without fail when in the USAF, for 30 years, and not once did I feel like it was work. Yes, there were days that I did not enjoy, and a few days I did not look forward to, but looking back, it never felt like work. The camaraderie was awesome. The missions were outstanding. I envy the folks that are part of the Global Hawk mission at Grand Forks AFB.

Media gallery for the Grand Forks AFB Global Hawk.

A Feel Good Story -- Nothing You Didn't Already Know -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Link here. (Some numbers rounded)

It is no secret that the oil and gas industry has (and will continue to have) a propensity for job creation. Domestically, look no further than the top-five drilling states for validation. Texas, Oklahoma, North Dakota, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania (in order of largest to smallest number of rigs in each state) currently control nearly 80 percent of all land drilling in the United States. All of these states have unemployment rates that are well below the national average of 9.1 percent. Combined unemployment of the five states, for the most recent month averaged 6.6 percent.

Hiring trends favor regions where drilling is most prevalent.

These five states have 80% of US land rigs and lowest unemployment:

• Texas
• Oklahoma
• North Dakota
• Louisiana
• Pennsylvania

(Pennsylvania! Ya think EPA is gonna stop fracking?)

Add Ohio to the list sometime over the next few years.

But, there are clouds on the horizon:

There is some commitment on the part of operators to continue drilling through the soft patch. However, with a lag of approximately four months baked into the drilling equation for rig demand; we will not know for sure if this is really the case until the winter of 2012. Moreover, OPEC's recent decision to cut its demand forecasts for this year and next suggests there is a growing risk that drilling plans may be curtailed next year.

Skip This Post -- Idle Chatter -- It's Just Some Rambling -- Please Skip It

Every so often I tell myself I need to keep a 3 x 5 index card with hash marks on it, denoting each day whether it was a great day or an awful day with regard to weather. We complain a lot about the weather, but it sure seems there are better days than worse days.

Today is one of those great days. I'm in the Bakken. It was 8:05 when I walked into the Cenex to get coffee. I don't know what the temperature was but it felt balmy, probably 50 but with no wind, it felt 60. Short-sleeve weather for some, light jackets for city folks, but heavier coats for those on the way out to the fields, all of which will be removed by mid-morning -- it's gonna be a warm day especially for those doing heavy labor.

Cenex (or is it CENEX?) was a veritable truck stop this morning. It was a hoot to watch F-350's maneuver among huge oil trucks. And then to watch the semis get back on to the city street. The traffic appeared choreographed; of course, it wasn't but everyone did just fine.

About seven years ago, over the course of four years or so, I spent many months at a stretch at a remote air base in northern England. For all practical purposes it was in Scotland. Every Saturday and Sunday I would get up about 7:00 a.m. and start walking towards Scotland, and spend 8 - 12 hours walking the northern Yorkshire. It was incredibly beautiful. It reminded me a lot of North Dakota, and today, the balmy, beautiful weather brought memories of those halcyon days in Yorkshire.

My music during those Yorkshire walks: Hank Williams, SR, from a CD I got in England and played on a portable Sony player. No iPods at the time, at least not that I remember. The Brits loved American rock-a-billy music, and they loved Hank Williams. The Beatles can trace their roots to American rock-a-billy.

Now in front of a computer I'm listening to a YouTube playlist of the greatest truck-driving singer ever, the Aussie Slim Dusty. I don't mean that he was a truck driver -- I don't know if he was -- but he sings great ballads about the Aussie truck drivers. I've embedded several of his videos in the blog over the years.

Hunter S. Thompson said music was his fuel. That's true for me, also. Music is my fuel.

If I would have ever started that 3 x 5 index card for weather, this day would  have gotten a hash mark for beautiful weather.

I honestly can't imagine a better place to be working in the oil fields. Later this afternoon I will be touring the fields. Last night I went out to see the huge new Lucy Hanson well just 3.5 miles east of Williston; it was getting dark so I couldn't see it well, but it appeared there were 18 storage tanks on the south side of the pad, and another 12 storage tanks on the north side of the pad, but don't quote me on that. I really couldn't see, and I could be way off, but it looked huge. I was not aware of this, but there appeared to be two pumpers being put in. I thought there was only one well on this pad, but checking the GIS map server does indeed show another well:

• 20842, Conf, BEXP, Larson 3-10 2H, Catwalk, Bakken

The Bakken never fails to excite.

A Possible Solution to Flaring Gas Issue in the Bakken -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Link here.

A project is under way in North Dakota to test using flare gas instead of diesel fuel to power drilling rigs, said the state's top oil and gas regulator.

"We have been pouring money into every kind of project that we can think of to capture that gas and use it. The newest one is we're going to test this fall, is using it to power drilling rigs instead of using diesel fuel. It looks like there's a lot of potential," said Lynn Helms, Bismarck, director of the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources.

Helms said the new drilling rigs use Caterpillar diesel engines.

"These new computer-controlled Caterpillar diesel engines can feed natural gas directly into the engines. There isn't a whole lot that has to be done to the engine to burn pipeline gas," Helms told members of the Minot Area Chamber of Commerce's Energy Committee recently.

Again, this short article is full of data points:

• The obvious
• The Bakken, again, is the test ground for new technology
• For investors, note the diesel engine that 's being used: American-made
• And finally, another example of all the issues on Lynn Helms' desk -- I continue to feel good about the NDIC