Turkish Construction Company: New Entrant Into The Bakken Oil Patch; First US Project Appears to Be In Williston

This is why I love to blog! What a great story!

I was stationed in Turkey for two years with the US Air Force. We (the entire family) loved it. At least two of us would return in a heartbeat if offered another opportunity.

So, when a reader sent me this story, I couldn't wait to get it posted.

A Turkish construction (?) company has leased some mineral rights in North Dakota. Their stateside address is in Virginia, but their first US project appears to be in Williston.

In addition to leasing,

Serka Services has established a subsidiary, SRK Hospitality, LLC, that is in the process of permitting to build both a hotel and a restaurant in Williston -- the first of several commercial projects per Petroluem News Bakken sources.  

With regard to the leasing, some data points:

• this was the August 7, 2012, state lease; and, the federal govt's July oil and gas lease sale for ND/SD
• Serka is the newest player in the Bakken
• Serka Services, LLC, a US subsidiary of Istanbul, Turkey-based Adali Holding
• Adali: long-time construction and services contractor for US military
• Serka offered the highest bid/acre in both the federal and the state sales
• State sale, August 7: highest bid; $10,500/acre for 22.5 acres in McKenzie County -- Serka
• State sale, August 7: second, third, and fourth highest bids: $8,250 (62 acres); $8,100 (100 acres), and $8,100 (100 acres) -- Serka
• State sale, August 7: fifth highest bid: $8,000 for three parcels (98, 28,and 103 acres) -- Liberty Resources
• Federal sale, July 17: $11,000/acre for an 80-acre US Forest Service parcel in Billings County -- Serka

Quotes:

• "...there were no surprises in the lease auction results, no "gotchas," except for the emergence of a major new bidder, everything went "as expected..."
• "...the amount offered for the 22.5 acres in McKenzie County was "not a surprise. You could tell they really did their homework. None of the acreage Serka selected is on the fringe; they knew exactly what they were targeting. They are stand-up guys; really good people to work with...honest, friendly.."

Again, I may have made errors; I do these quickly; go to the link for the full story.

Interestingly, when I first posted the story about the latest ND lease sale, I saw "Adali Holding." I did not recognize that name, but failed to take the time to research them. 

As a side note, from their website:

Adali Group, which acted as a US Army Contractor previously, focused on the Department of State projects in 2011 with Pernix-Serka joint venture. Incirlik Eagle Housing Phase III 05.20.2010.

We lived in Turkish-built housing at the Incirlik Air Base. It was called "Eagle Housing" because the F-15 that the US flew out of Incirlik is known as the F-15 Eagle. (Also Eagle for US mascot; "rank" of senior officer in the USAF and and Army). Incredible story. Thank you to the reader who sent me this story. It brings back fond memories, and adds a new dimension to the Bakken.