For Investors Only: Motley Fool's Take on Abraxas, KOG, NOG

Again, a superficial Motley Fool.com article posted to drive subscribers.

But I like anything that has to do with the Bakken (particularly if it's good news).

Motley Fool has been "down" on Abraxas but says it's Bakken play may be it's "savior."

Along the way, Motley Fool writes about KOG and NOG:

... the once struggling Kodiak Oil & Gas. Till about 15 months ago, the Denver-based independent exploration and production company was consistently posting operating losses, until it boosted production from its Williston Basin reserves. As a result, revenues shot up. There's a chance that Kodiak could still be undervalued, given that it can further ramp up production in the Bakken.

Another Bakken player, Northern Oil & Gas, has looked promising as well. This company has an unconventional business model, that of holding non-operating interests, but it has met with relative success. Last year, total production more than doubled over 2010 levels.

Motley Fool on Abraxas:

The company has decided to allot 75% of its 2012 capital budget to develop its Bakken/Three Forks and the Niobrara holdings.

Out of a total $70 million, the Bakken/Three Forks holdings have been allotted a lion's share. The company plans to develop 20 gross wells (six net wells) in 2012, which should have a major impact on production volumes. Currently, Abraxas operates eight wells here.

I still find it amazing what is going on in the Bakken, and apparently a lot of investors on Wall Street are still in the dark. I received a note from a reader yesterday saying that a recent Bakken conference it was evident that Wall Street investors had not heard of the Bakken, or if they did, they did not understand it.

I used to say that $1.5 to $2 billion was pouring into the Bakken on a monthly basis but have since been corrected. The $2 billion might account for 200 rigs at $10 million a piece/well, but then there are infrastructure projects on top of that. The figure being bandied about now is as much as $4 billion/month being poured into the Bakken. For all practical purposes, the bulk of the Bakken is five or six counties i western North Dakota.