Director's Cut, August, 2012; Less Than 50% of Bakken Oil Production Is Now Moved by Pipeline

Wow, the comments by the Director are some of the most interesting ever. Two things jumped out at me: remember all those slides that said pipeline takeaway capacity was adequate? See the comments below. Huge story. Should be a headline story in the Dickinson Press/InsideClimate News. The second point that jumped out at me: 347 wells waiting to be fracked.

Oh, a third point: the Bakken is an OIL field, not a natural gas field, and yet, the rate of increase in the production of  natural gas is exceeding the rate of increase in oil production in the Bakken. Or something to that effect; see comments.

Director's Cut, PDF here.

Production hits all-time high in North Dakota (again):

• May, 2012, oil: 639,277 bopd
• June, 2012, oil: 660,332 bopd (new all-time high)

• May, 2012, producing wells: 7,205
• June, 2012, producing wells: 7,352 (new all-time high)

Permitting (all time high: 245, 2 Nov 10)

• May, 2012: 180 drilling
• June, 2012: 204 drilling

Pricing

• June, 2012: sweet crude,  $72.58
• May, 2012: sweet crude, $79.44
• April, 2012: sweet crude,  $78.17
• Mar, 2012: sweet crude,  $76.29
• Feb, 2012: sweet crude, $83.26
• Jan, 2012: sweet crude, $88.09
• Dec, 2011: sweet crude, $88.75
• Nov, 2011: sweet crude, $88.54

Director's comments:

The idle well count stayed about the same indicating an estimated 347 wells waiting on fracking services. This is expected to lead to significant production increases throughout the summer as additional fracking crews are added.  

Crude oil takeaway is now less than 50% of daily production, but rail and truck transportation are adequate to keep up with near-term production projections. The number of rigs on federal surface is steady at 3.

Daily natural gas production is increasing at the same rate slightly faster than oil production. this indicates that gas/oil ratios may be increasing and more gathering and processing capacity will be needed. Construction of processing plants and gathering systems is in full swing due to the dry summer weather. 

See the Director's Cut at the link above for EPA issues, comment period on fracking, and mailing addresses to make your voice heard.