Absolutely Nothing To Do With The Bakken -- Arctic Snowy Owls Seen Far South -- Global Warming Resulting in Harsh Winters -- Owls Seeking Less Harsh Weather

Link here.

Snowy owls have migrated south into Montana and across the nation's northern tier this winter, showing up in large numbers around the Great Lakes as well as the East and West coasts.

"It seems like it's going to be a big year."

It's not unusual for the big white predators to fly south from the Arctic in search of food, especially yearling males, .... What is different this year is the widespread sightings of the birds.

"What it all means is hard to say."

Holt said it's possibile that the birds disperse south after successful breeding seasons in order to spread out the competition for a finite food source. Or they may be facing a shortage of food or harsh weather.

What a great story. And so coincidental. Today my granddaughter and I "learned' the four families of raptors in the "Falconiformes" order.  These are the diurnal birds of prey. The nocturnal birds of prey, the owls, have their own order.

And Still Another Great Hess Well -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

As mentioned earlier, Hess is really reporting some great wells now that they have increased the number of frac stages.

I would have missed this one, but a reader sent it in:

• 20186, 752,  Hess, Thompson 15-31H, wildcat-->South Meadow, 31-158-96; t10/11; 116K 8/14;

This was originally an American Oil and Gas (AEZ) permit (Hess bought AEZ last year); is a wildcat, and is located close to Tioga, North Dakota (northwest of Tioga).

It will be interesting to see the IP and the first six months of production.

But 15,000 bbls in first 19 days of production. Incredible.

Another Look at Water and Fracking -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Before reading the data points regarding water and fracking, go back to this link first. This was an early link in which the US Army Corps of Engineers agreed to release enough water from the reservoir to frack up to 10,000 wells per year.

A reader sent me a PDF summary regarding water and fracking that was presented at the 2011 North Dakota Water Convention. The PDF came in as an attachment so I don't have the original link, but it is probably located at the NDIC site.

Here are some high points (some numbers rounded):

• There are 35 fracking crews in North Dakota
• A single fracking crew/rig can frack about 20 wells/year
• 35 x 20 --> 700 wells can be fracked/year in North Dakota at the present time
• The current average water used in fracking is about 6 acre-feet per site
• In 2011, a total of about 4,000 acre-feet of water might be used for fracking in North Dakota

Again, if the US Army Corps of Engineers is willing to release enough water to frack 10,000 wells/year, and at most, the number of wells that can be fracked in North Dakota right now is about 700, one can see why I have repeatedly said water is not an issue in North Dakota (except, of course, distribution: trucks, pipeline, private, public, etc).

The "700" figure looks about right; it looks like the state will see about 2,000 wells drilled this year, and to me, it looks like about 1/3 to 1/2 (maybe more) of these wells will not be fracked during the confidential period.

This post was done in haste; there may be errors in the math (or arithmetic).  The data points are correct, to the best of my knowledge.

Carpe Diem With Several Links Updating the "Bakken" Revolution

Link to Carpe Diem here, and then there, the links.

Two or three of those stories have been posted at this site, also, but in case you missed them, another opportunity to read them.

Very, Very Interesting -- EPA Water Results Won't Hold Water

For "idiom-challenged" folks and foreigners, click here before reading further.

To find out why the EPA's water results won't hold water, click here.

To properly test such water wells, they must be first purged three times to make sure fresh water from the surrounding formation flows in for testing, Clarey said.

“We ‘re not sure they produced out all the water that may have seeped out of the formation during the drilling process or well development,” Clarey said. “So we’re not even sure they’re getting an accurate formation sample.”

The EPA data indicates the agency only flushed the wells one-quarter of the amount needed, he said.

If anyone has trouble interpreting this, let me know.

Oil and Gas Journal has the story also. 

*******************

Meanwhile, four senators from oil states have written the EPA regarding broad definition of diesel:

Four US senators expressed concern about the US Environmental Protection Agency’s possible plans to regulate hydraulic fracturing under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SWDA) when diesel fuel is used.

“From a practical standpoint, a key issue is whether EPA’s actions will cause unnecessary confusion and open the door for states to lose their primacy for [underground injection control (UIC)] permitting programs,” the lawmakers said in a Dec. 21 letter to EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson.

James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.), the Environment and Public Works Committee’s ranking minority member; Lisa Murkowski (R-Alas.), the Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s ranking minority member; and E&NR Committee members Mary L. Landrieu (D-La.) and John Hoeven (R-ND) signed the letter.

They said the 2005 Energy Policy Act clarified the SDWA to specifically exclude from the UIC definition’s scope “the underground injection of fluids or propping agents (other than diesel fuels) pursuant to hydraulic fracturing operations related to oil, gas, or geothermal production activities.”

Again, as I've said before, to the EPA, if it has C and H in it and it is used in fracking, it will be considered "diesel." This includes salad oil.

Nine (9) New Permits -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Daily activity report, December 27, 2011 --

Operators: CLR (3), Whiting (2), BEXP,  XTO, Samson Resources, Hunt

Fields: Stony Creek, Sanish, West Capa, Stoneview, Brooklyn, Parshall

Samson Resources has a wildcat in Divide; CLR has a wildcat in Billings County.

Of course, the Sanish permits are Whiting's. 

Ten (10) wells released from confidential list; two not completed; a nice list, including:

• 20518, 1,067, North Plains, Reiger 9-11H, Williams -- will be a KOG well
• 20605, 1,270, MRO, Anderson 44-23H, Dunn
• 20822, 1,061, Fidelity, TTT Ranch 23-27XH, Mountrail
• 20862, 1,609, Denbury Onshore, McCoy 44-23NWH, McKenzie

USGS: natural resources in the Arctic -- HUGE

This is the headline:

US Geological Survey assessment finds Artic (sic) oil, natural gas resource potential is immense.

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who makes typographical errors.

From the story:

According to an assessment conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Arctic holds an estimated 13 percent (90 billion barrels) of the world's undiscovered conventional oil resources and 30 percent of its undiscovered conventional natural gas resources. While risks associated with economics, the region's harsh environment, and ongoing territorial disputes are considerable, potential rewards are immense. 

For Investors Only -- SeekingAlpha on COP -- As Good An Article As Any -- And An Easter Egg

Link here.

A real-fun read especially if COP is a core holding in your portfolio.

Related stories:

Bet on big oil

“It is possible that this energy component is acting as a leading indicator within the commodity complex (bullish for a recovery effort); it is also possible that fundamental / geopolitical factors are triggering the strength, or an overall ‘stickiness’ in prices throughout the year. Whatever the underlying cause, from a technical standpoint this continues to be one of the stronger areas of the market on a relative basis, and we would continue to overweight this area as we enter the New Year.”

XOM: breaking out in 2012?

Now let's look at Georesources and see how it compares with Exxon Mobil, as it relates to performance, valuation and safety.

Georesources is a $745 million market cap company (small-cap), headquartered in Houston, Texas. It is engaged in oil and natural gas exploration and production in the Southwest, Gulf Coast and the all-important Williston Basin areas of the United States.

Yup. There it is. You saw it first here (unless you saw it first at the link): a direct comparison of GeoResources with XOM. 

Seven Energy Stocks to Buy on Dips for 2012 (have I posted this before?), in no particular order

• MRO
• BP
• WLL
• CHK
• BP
• Total SA (TOT)
• RIG

On-Line Gambling; Native American Pay Day Loans, Connecting the Dots -- Nothing To Do With The Bakken

When the news broke that the Obama administration was giving the green light to on-line gambling, I was trying to sort out "why" and "why now"? Wouldn't this be a threat to Senator Henry Reid's home state. In fact, it may be (a threat), and in fact, perhaps the president is throwing the senator under the bus.  On the other hand, maybe this is a good thing for Las Vegas. I honestly don't know. We may have to wait to see how this plays out. It's hard for me to believe that the folks in Las Vegas and those congressmen representing Nevada didn't discuss this with the administration first.

While trying to sort this out, this item was sent to me:

An Indian reservation in the heart of Montana's farm country may seem an unlikely place to borrow a quick $600, but the Chippewa Cree tribe says it has already given out more than 121,000 loans this year at interest rates that can reach a whopping 360 percent.

As more states pass laws to rein in lenders who deal in high-interest, short-term loans, Indian tribes like the Chippewa Cree and their new online lending venture, Plain Green Loans, are stepping in to fill the void. The Internet lets them reach beyond the isolated Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation to borrowers across the nation, while tribal immunity has allowed them to avoid bans and interest-rate caps several states have set.

To Neal Rosette, Plain Green Loans CEO and the Chippewa Cree's former executive administrative officer, it's a win-win. The online lending venture is a resource for people who can't or won't borrow from banks, while it gives the tribe a steady revenue stream and jobs with unemployment on the reservation at nearly 40 percent.

The dots are starting to connect. 

Somewhat related to the above: if I remember correctly, there have been stories recently of tighter control of the internet, but now this: federal judicial support for on-line gambling and legally-sanctioned on-line pay-day loans. Very interesting.

Humor For the Day

This comment was posted over at Carpe Diem's story pointing out that many New Yorkers are switching from heating oil or propane to natural gas to heat their homes.

I don't really like natural gas heat. Why not have natural gas power plants use electricity instead? Natural gas is dangerous.

Now there's an idea. Why don't utilities use electricity to power their utility plants? I cannot make this stuff up.