North Dakota, One of Two States Denied ObamaCare Waivers; 623,000 Union Members Granted Waivers

Link here: North Dakota denied ObamaCare waiver.

Add two states to the Obamacare waiver denial list that already includes Delaware and N. Dakota. Hey, not everybody can with the Lucky Lottery.

Don’t assume too quickly that “GOP guvs = no state waiver,” because Nevada, Wisconsin, Maine and Iowa have gotten waivers, and they have GOP Governors. It’s possible the administration’s goal with these state waivers isn’t to punish or not punish political opponents as much as attempting to avoid making the economy even worse too soon — after all, there’s an election just around the corner. As a result, they’ll approve some waivers and deny just enough to avoid making it a de facto blanket admission that Obamacare is a horrible idea, especially with the Supreme Court readying to hear the case.

The real red flag isn’t who was denied or approved, but that states are clamoring for waivers at all from something that purportedly will improve the quality of everyone’s life. If it’s this painful on the front end, what’s it going to be like at the back end? Probably like most back ends.

Meanwhile, labor unions representing 543,812 members granted waivers.

Labor unions continued to receive the overwhelming majority of waivers from the president’s health care reform law since the Obama administration tightened application rules last summer.

Documents released in a classic Friday afternoon news dump show that labor unions representing 543,812 workers received waivers from President Barack Obama‘s signature legislation since June 17, 2011.

By contrast, private employers with a total of 69,813 employees, many of whom work for small businesses, were granted waivers.

The Department of Health and Human Services revised the rules governing applications for health reform waivers June 17, 2011, amid a steady stream of controversial news reports, including The Daily Caller’s story that nearly 20 percent of last May’s waivers went to businesses in House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s district in California.

Did you expect something different?

Mideast, Iran, the Strait of Hormuz -- This Should Be Interesting

Link here.

Western powers this week readied a contingency plan to tap a record volume from emergency stockpiles to replace nearly all the Gulf oil that would be lost if Iran blocks the Strait of Hormuz, industry sources and diplomats told Reuters.

They said senior executives of the International Energy Agency (IEA), which advises 28 oil consuming countries, discussed on Thursday an existing plan to release up to 14 million barrels per day (bpd) of government-owned oil stored in the United States, Europe, Japan and other importers.

Action on this scale would be more than five times the size of the biggest release in the agency's history -- made in response to Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

NDIC Director, Lynn Helms, says if the strait is closed, he will authorize maximum production from all Bakken fields. Just joking. I have not seen any press report from Mr Helms regarding the situation in the Mideast. 

I assume The Dickinson Press will have a story about the dangers of railroad crossings in western North Dakota if the strait is closed and the US Navy starts firing Tomahawk missiles to provide top cover for Israeli long-range bombers headed for Iran.

EPP, Enbridge Begin Seaway Pipeline Open Season

Link here.

Data points:

• Enterprise Products Partners (EPP) and Enbridge to build new pipeline from EPP's Houston-area ECHO terminal to Port Arthur, TX
• EPP and Enbridge soliciting commitments for an expansion of ENB's Seaway crude oil pipelien
• an initial 150,000 bopd on the reversed Seaway pipeline could be available by 2Q12
• pump station additions, etc., could increase capacity to 400,00 bopd if warranted
• EPP and ENB each own 50% interest in the Seaway pipeline system; EPP is operator
• the new pipeline from EPP's ECHO crude oil terminal SE of Houston to the Port Arthur-Beaumont refining center is 85 miles long; will give shippers access to heavy refining; the line should be up and running in 1Q14

Cool.

Enbridge Gets Canadian Government Approval for Bakken Crude Oil Pipeline

Link here.

Enbridge Bakken Pipeline Co. Inc. was granted approval from Canada’s National Energy Board for its Bakken Pipeline project’s Canada application, which outlines the construction and operation of a 123.4-km pipeline and a new pump station that will transport crude oil from Steelman, Sask., to Enterprise Pipeline Inc.’s Mainline in Cromer, Man. The project will link Bakken and Three Forks crude production to Eastern Canadian and US Midwest markets.

Enbridge Bakken expects the Bakken Pipeline to enter service in early 2013 at a cost of $180.1 million.

Cool.

In same story, it was noted:

Enbridge Energy Partners LP in December announced plans to expand its Berthold rail terminal capacity in the North Dakota portion of the Bakken formation by 80,000 b/d, including a rail car loading facility to accommodate the additional volume.

Six (6) New Permits -- Is Northeast of Minot Going to Start Getting Active? -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Updates

February 15, 2012: Ballard has a rig on site:

• 22051, ROS, Ballard Petroleum Backes 23-4, wildcat, just west of the Glenburn oil field, north of Minot, North Dakota;

Original Post

Daily activity report, January 6, 2012:

Operators: Zenergy, CLR, BR, Ballard Petroleum Holdings, Denbury Onshore, and GMX Resources

Fields: Siverston, Rattlesnake Point, Little Knife

Ballard Petroleum Holdings has a wildcat near the Glenburn oil field north east of Minot; probably targeting the Madison formation

GMX Resources has a wildcat in Billings County.

There are two interesting operator transfers reported today:

• one involving some Madison wells being transferred from Citation to Oxy Little Knife LLC
• and second, two North Plains Energy wells being transferred to Newfield (as you may remember, KOG bought most of North Plains Energy assets)

Two wells were released from "tight hole" status; both were completed, including this one:

• 19967, 809, Whiting, Talkington 21-30TFH, Stark County

Under the "very strange" category, six producing wells were completed (three EOG wells; three WLL wells) and not one of them reported an IP. Very strange.

The Dickinson Press Turns Out To Be A Minnesota Newspaper -- It All Makes Sense

On so many levels, this all makes sense:

Interestingly, if you go to this link you will find why The Dickinson Press reads like a Minnesota liberal newspaper:
http://www.thedickinsonpress.com/event/article/id/54313/publisher_ID/6/

When you get there, "blow up" the image:
http://www.thedickinsonpress.com/event/image/id/15004/headline/coverage/publisher_ID/6/

It turns out The Dickinson Press is essentially a Minnesota newspaper -- at least its editorial slant.

It's Not Just The Bakken in the Williston Basin -- Operator Transfer: From Citation O&G to Oxy Little Knife LLC -- The Madison, North Dakota, USA

A few months ago I started blogging about the Madison, and actually listed the Madison as the most exciting story for 2011. 

I have specifically noted that the Little Knife oil field has some very interesting Madison wells.

It looks like my timing could not have been better:

In today's (January 6, 2012) daily activity report, the following operator transfer from Citation Oil & Gas to Oxy Little Knife, LLC, was reported (original operator for all these wells, Amoco Production):

• 9000, 135, Kudrna B 1, Little Knife, Dunn, Madison; s9/181; t10/81; cum 360K, 11/11
• 9195, 235, Kukla A 1, Little Knife, Dunn, Madison; s1/82; t4/82; cum 490K, 11/11
• 9748, 1,300, F. Skachenko A 1,  Little Knife, Dunn, Madison; s9/81; t11/82; cum 867K, 11/11
• 9749, 437, LOH "A" 1, Little Knife, Dunn, Madison; s9/82; t11/82; cum 250K, 11/11
• 10450, DRY, Velenchenko 29-6 SWD, Dunn; s3/84; Madison, Dry

From an August 12, 2011, entry on a Citation well near the Little Knife:

It was also noted that some years ago a vertical well drilled in the Meadowlark/Skachenko Eco-Pad area was quite remarkable:

• 8499, 1,652, Citation Oil and Gas, Skachenko A 1, Jim Creek, Bakken, tested, 1981; 1.5 million barrels as of June, 2011, and still producing from the Duperow, the original target; the Red River was dry; this well sits between the two horizontals running north from the Meadlowlark/Skachenko Eco-Pad.

As exciting as this is now, can you imagine reporting the Citation Skachenko well back in 1981 with an IP of 1,652? I can't even imagine what the local folks must have thought when that well was reported. Even today, 1,652 catches your attention, but back in 1981, it would have been awe-inspiring. 

To the best of my knowledge, Oxy Little Knife LLC is a new company and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to "guess" whether this is a wholly owned subsidiary by another oil and gas E&P company; but I could be wrong; just a hunch.

There is a relationship between Amoco and OXY USA, of course.

The two themes that I will be highlighting in 2012:

• the Madison
• the bull's eye in the Bakken where the action is headed

A third theme, but I think we won't see it until 2014: the Tyler; the ND DMR foreshadowed the Tyler in its November 1, 2011 presentation on the same

Week 1: January 1, 2012 -- January 7, 2012

Whiting's Kannianen Wells: 1.5 million bbls, < 3 years; five wells; four more soon

Shell building $2 billion ethane pipeline, Texas to Ohio/Pennsylvania

Update on OXY USA: is the Dimond oil field a dud?

Bakken boom fueling real estate boom in Arizona

Vehicular traffic in the Bakken

Price breakout for a Bakken well 

Whiting's multi-well pads in the Sanish

10+ wells on one 1280-acre spacing unit

Did North Dakota hit the 600,000 bopd milestone?

Biggest story of the month? A top 10 story for the year? China completes acquisition of a Canadian heavy oil prospect; makes Keystone XL less likely; certainly less needed 

Enbridge, CBR, president signs more pipeline regulation

Top oil producers in North Dakota (2007 - 2010)

Op-ed on flaring in the Bakken

Williams (WMB) completes its split (pipeline - WMB; E&P -- WPX)

GE SWD technology coming to a theater near you

Developer: 500 new homes in Watford City

GM Moving Its Electric Vehicle Development to China -- Incredible Story -- But Nothing To Do With The Bakken

From USA Today via JunkScience.com: (and sent to me by Greg at FourFiftyGas.com -- )

General Motors agreed in Shanghai today to develop an electric vehicle platform with longtime Chinese partner SAIC. It effectively moves GM’s future electric vehicle development to China. Unclear is whether this would also lead to assembly of future EVs for the U.S. market in China.

I guess GM has learned from GE -- move new technology to China. GE moved its medical appliance headquarters to China, reported sometime last year (2011).

The deal came as the Chinese government is pushing foreign automakers to give Chinese companies EV technology they lack, according to an Associated Press report. U.S. lawmakers have complained that China is “shaking down” GM to get Volt secrets. Electric vehicle development in the U.S. has been developed with extensive U.S. taxpayer funding.

Details of the plan were not provided, and GM has denied it will involve handing over intellectual property underlying the Volt.

Sure.

Canada's CP Rail Is Busy, Busy, Busy -- Due to the Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Link here.

Lines of black-colored tank cars wait in a rail-loading facility in New Town (North Dakota).

There, semis loaded with Bakken crude from the oil patch in western North Dakota arrive, where the oil goes into shipper-owned tank cars and Canadian Pacific Railway transports them.

"They come out of the rail-loading facility in 80-car chunks," explained Will Wangerin, superintendent of CP's Harvey Division. "But we run 104-car trains. Usually we'll pull them out and we'll stage them," he said.

He said the trucks loaded with crude oil pull up alongside the rail cars on the tracks. "They load them right from the truck and pump them into the tank cars," he explained.

CP now has up to 40 rail-loading facilities across its network in the U.S. and Canada. That number includes a recently opened rail-loading facility in Estevan, Sask. Bakken oil from Saskatchewan is moved through the U.S. Midwest, including North Dakota, U.S. West Coast and eastern Canada to reach refineries in Canada and the United States.

Very, very interesting. 

Compare this story with a typical hand-wringing story in The Dickinson Press -- now the editor is worried about fracking sand in Wisconsin. In fact the story is so depressing, I won't even link it here. If interested, I've linked it at Frack Sand Central for those who are truly interested. But again, a typical Dickinson Press story.

Record Highs Across the High Plains

New record high in Williston, North Dakota, yesterday: 58  degrees; previous record -- 50, set in 1914. "Normal" is 20 degrees.

Ten (10) Wells In One 1280-Acre Spacing Unit -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Slide 11 of CLR's most recent corporate presentation shows rationale for ten (10) wells in each 1280-acre spacing unit in core Bakken. Actually, one can make a case for twelve (12) or more wells in the best such spacing units.

Slide 21 suggests a cost of about $30/bbl, excluding the production tax.

Great Summary of 2011 in the McKenzie County Farmer -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

The McKenzie County Farmer has a great summary of the oil activity in 2011.

I don't know how long the link will remain.

There is simply too much there to summarize; I'll leave it up to the reader to check it out.