Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Breitbart: Fair and Balanced Report on Electric Vehicles -- Absolutely Nothing To Do With the Bakken

Link here.
The US auto industry remains unsold over the future of "green cars" such as electrics and hybrids, as carmakers struggle with the first steps in a market most agree shows promise over the long term. 
Automakers wheeled out a variety of new hybrids and plug-in electrics at the annual Detroit auto show this week, touting their great energy savings along with new, freshened designs.

But despite that apparent commitment, behind the scenes, the manufacturers remain split between doubts and optimism over their potential.

Ten years after the Toyota Prius hybrid swept into the market, only about three percent of all cars sold in the United States are electric or gas-electric hybrids, said David Cole, director of the Center for Automotive Research.

"Initially there was probably some excessive exuberance about the green auto," he told AFP.

"But the economics are not attractive yet for the average consumer." 

Nissan has sold only 9,700 of its all-electric Leaf in the US market, and General Motors has sold just 8,000 of its rechargeable hybrid the Volt since its launch at the end of 2010, below the targeted 10,000.
[Others] foresee the industry turning instead toward compressed natural gas as an alternative fuel, as gas prices falling due to the huge investments being made in extracting it from shale.  

The Williston Herald -- First Look: Great Improvement; I Love It

It appears the Williston Herald.com/ has a new format.

First impression: I really like it. The format defaults to a very small type/pitch. But you can easily magnify it / enlarge it by clicking on a "+" button.

Huge: Love's Truck Stop Coming To Williston -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Updates

March 4, 2012: Wendy's and Chester's Chicken.


Original Post

In the big scheme of things, this may not be that big a story.

But, in the big scheme of things, Williston is a) a small town; and, b) has no interstate highways.

And yet Love's is coming to Williston.

Data points:
  • To be built this year; to be open later this year (2012)
  • 10,000 square-foot facility with a national fast food restaurant (Subway? McDonald's? Wendy's and Chester's Chicken, announced March 4, 2012)
  • Eight gasoline islands
  • Eight diesel fuel dispensers
  • 100 truck parking spaces; a 400-unit electrified truck parking area
  • A convenience store
  • On US Highway 85 just north of Williams County Road 6 between the Target Logistics man camp and Fox Run RV Park
  • Will be near where the new truck bypass re-enters US-85
  • Adjacent to the new Western Area Water Depot (WAWS)
Little-by-little the Bakken infrastructure is coming together. Chaos is self-organizing.

    The Bakken As A Research Laboratory

    I've said many, many times that although the Bakken is known for its production, just as important (and perhaps more important in some aspects) is the fact that the Bakken has become a research laboratory for drilling into unconventional shale for oil and gas.

    Although this story has a west Texas connection/basis, it certainly will be tested in the Bakken.
    After 15 years of development and with research help from Rice University, a Houston company is ready to offer its produced-water reclamation procedure to the oilfield for treating produced water.

    Molecular Filtration Inc. president Felipe Lembcke said, "Our technology is going to be the first in the world to clean water -- I'm talking about removing all organic presence from the water," without the use of chemicals, ultraviolet light, electro-deposition or other processes that change the constitution of the water itself. Lembcke said they classify organics as crude oil and every "single element of organics including bacteria and viruses."

    "Nobody can do what we can do in one single pass in removing all the organics and leaving brine water," he added. While the process does not remove salt, that is not an issue, Lembcke stated. "In fact, the heavier the water, the better for them because it floats the oil."
    A big thank you to "anon 1" for sending me this story.

    Minot Starting To See Tangible Effects of the Bakken Boom -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

    This is another huge story -- and a big thank you to Kent for alerting me to it.

    The reason this story is important because of where the growth is: just west of Minot.

    "Everyone" has been counting Minot out as a big player in the Bakken because it seems to be a bit too far east. But there have been hints that "everyone" might be wrong.

    The linked story concerns Berthold, a small town 22 miles west of Minot. Everybody in Williston who has driven to Minot knows Berthold; once we got to Berthold, we knew we were almost to our Minot destination.

    Here's the story:
    Berthold is enjoying its last days as a small, sleepy community as city officials wonder how they are going to cope with a population explosion looming in the immediate future.

    Mayor Alan Lee said that Five Stone Development is moving along with plans to place a subdivision just north of the city that in all likelihood will increase Berthold's population by 60 percent immediately.

    The initial phase involves about 200 to 300 homes, [a spokesman] said, but it might not end there.
    "Ultimately, (the company is) talking 2,200 homes," he said. "Wow. If everything goes right, he's hoping to have between 300 and 600 this year (2012)."
    I have hear rumors that the Bakken might extend farther east in two small "streams" east of the generally-accepted Bakken.

    Music To My Ears: US Agency Says Oil Demand to Increase Worldwide -- Not Surprising -- But Nice To Read

    Link here from Oil and Gas Journal.
    Worldwide crude oil consumption will increase by 1.3 million b/d this year and by 1.5 million b/d in 2013, ....

    Absent a significant oil-supply disruption, EIA expects the recent tightening of world oil markets to moderate in 2012 and to resume in 2013.

    US oil consumption is forecast to average 18.96 million b/d this year and 19.01 million b/d in 2013 vs. 18.87 million b/d in 2011.
    Somehow the difference between 18.96 million and 19.01 million seems somewhat inconsequential, not statistically significant, and unlikely to be reproducible. The difference is 0.05 million or 50,000 bbls of oil per day. 

    And that's why I round a lot of numbers on my blog. Both "18.96 million" and "19.01 million" seem to be about 19 million to me.

    HUGE! HUGE! The ONEOK Garden Creek Natural Gas Plant Northeast of Watford City Is Operational - The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

    Update


    January 21, 2012: article in the Williston Herald; some data points
    • should reduce flaring significantly
    • the Garden Creek Facility outside of Watford City (to the northeast) is the second ONEOK facility in the region constructed so far; two more are being constructed
    • the first: the Grasslands natural gas processing facility
    • the four will nearly quadruple ONEOK's processing capacity in the region
    • see data points below regarding capacity and potential; I suggested that additional plants were possible; this article confirms it: ONEOK may continue to build processing plants in the region
    • earlier: these three new plants remove flaring from 750 wells; 2,000 wells/year are being drilled
    • this article: these three new plants -- 300 mmcfpd, but over the next couple of years, in excess of 500 - 750 mmcfpd
    • the governor noted that folks don't ask about the weather any more in North Dakota; they ask about the climate -- the business climate
    Same day: In one of the stories linked below, Lynn Helms is quoted as saying:
    Oil and Gas Division director Lynn Helms said there are roughly 1,000 wells flaring across the oil patch now. "These plants will take 750 off the landscape," he said. New wells and flares, however, are continually coming on at the rate of 2,000 new oil wells or more per year.
    It's a bit unclear, but the quote suggests the three (3) natural gas processing plants can process the natural gas from 750 Bakken wells, or one plant can process natural gas from 250 Bakken wells.

    [Interesting bit of trivia: back in 2010, the Bismarck Tribune noted that of the 5,300 wells producing in North Dakota, only 720 were flaring.]

    If 2,000 wells are being added each year, that works out to another six (6) identical processing plants. And that would go on year after year -- except for the fact that the natural gas, I believe, tapers off fairly quickly over time compared to how long oil production can last. But this is getting beyond what I know. 
    Original Post

    Link here from Oil and Gas Journal. I don't think these links stay up forever.

    Open house, as reported in the Bismark Tribune

    Data points:
    • Garden Creek natural gas processing plant in eastern McKenzie County, northeast of Watford City
    • Is now receiving production  from the Bakken
    • This is part of the initial $1.5 to $1.8 billion --- that's "billion" with a "B" -- for Bakken shale projects, 2012 - 2014 for NGL -- this is a huge story
    • Garden Creek: 100-MMcfd gas processing plant
    • ONEOK building two more such plants: Stateline I and Stateline II west of Williston in Williams County
    • ONEOK will also construct a 500-mile Bakken pipeline -- no State Department approval necessary
    • The pipeline will be completed by 1H13
    • Stateline I and Stateline II to be completed by 3Q12 and 1H13, respectively
    I did not understand any of this when first announced. But then I took a pre-dawn drive out to Garden Creek one Saturday morning and was blown away (figuratively) by what I saw; I stumbled upon Stateline I and II accidentally. Having mis-reported some information early on, readers corrected me and with that information plus seeing all the sites first hand gave me a huge appreciation for what ONEOK is doing in the Bakken.

    One company: $1.5 to $1.8 billion over two years -- huge.

    The Bakken is not a natural gas play. It is estimated that the natural gas in the Bakken represents four (4) percent of the economic value of the Bakken; 96% if represented by sweet, light oil. And that's just the Bakken.

    Yes, these are still eye-popping stories for me.

    For more background on the ONEOK projects and comparison with Hess' Tioga natural gas processing plant, click here

    From the Bismarck Tribune story linked above:
    Oil and Gas Division director Lynn Helms said there are roughly 1,000 wells flaring across the oil patch now. "These plants will take 750 off the landscape," he said. New wells and flares, however, are continually coming on at the rate of 2,000 new oil wells or more per year.

    Spencer said Friday's low price of natural gas is offset by a much-better price for natural gas liquids, which are split off at the plant into a separate stream and processed into propane, butane and gasoline in a fractionation facility in Kansas.

    He said natural gas from the Bakken is "very liquids rich," so the split stream is about half and half.
    Spencer said oil producers are invested with his company in a mutual alignment contract, so both the gas producers and Oneok absorb the market shift equally.

    The company's three plants and pipeline facilities will amount to a $1.8 billion investment and 160 employees when it's all one line.

    The Garden Creek Gas Plant is about eight miles northeast of Watford City and its Mayor Brent Sanford said it gets us "a good jump along the road" of using, not wasting natural gas.
    Stateline I and II will be west of Williston; Stateline I is now well on is way to completion.

    Eight (8) New Permits -- Problems For OXY USA? -- Another Huge Whiting Well -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

    Daily activity report, January 11, 2012 --

    Operators: EOG (2), SM Energy (2), Slawson (2), XTO, G3 Operating

    Fields:  Midway, Van Hook, West Ambrose, Squaw Creek

    G3 Operating has a wildcat in Williams County

    Four (4) wells on DRL status reported IPS today; none were remarkable; three were interesting:
    • 19642, 42, OXY USA, Darlene Dvorak 1-27-34H-143-95, Dunn
    • 21423, 166, OXY USA, Eklund 159-90-4P-1H, Burke
    • 21448, 82, OXY USA, Mogren 159-90-5P-1H, Burke
    Eight (8) were released from "tight hole" status; four were not completed (not fracked), but the ones that reported an IP included:
    • 20451, 3,502, Whiting, Nesheim 11-24XH, Mountrail County

    Posting of Comments; Updates Will Be a Bit Delayed Tonight

    Another Refinery In the Bakken? -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

    From Gregg:

    Here's a bit of news that surfaced on KXMC at noon.

    Tex Hall announces that the Thunder Butte refinery will begin construction this spring near Makoti.

    It will be built on about 460 acres (can't remember exact amount). Crude oil will be coming from west of the refinery. They have plans for a pipeline across the lake. There is no link yet for the KXMC story.

    http://www.mhanation.com/main/oil_refine.html -- a broken link

    A new ink for this story:
    The Thunder Butte Petroleum Services Refinery southwest of Minot, ND, might be expanded before ever coming online.
    Production in the region is on pace to surpass many early predictions, so the affiliated tribes are considering and expansion before the refinery is in place.
    Current plans call for capacity of 20,000 b/d, but the company’s CEO expects wells in the region could produce in excess of 300,000 b/d in the next five years.

    Watch for additional updates from Thunder Butte Petroleum Services. An expansion will mean an increase in the $450 million price tag.

    Barrels Half-Full and Barrels Half-Empty -- Optimism vs Pessimism -- Pessimists => Lost Opportunities -- Optimists => Change the World

    As good as the Bakken is, the fact is that North Dakota produced more oil per well per day in 1951 than it produced in 2010.  And that, folks, means there is a lot of room for growth; lots of room for optimism; a target to shoot for -- to set a new record -- produce more oil per well per day than North Dakota produced per well per day in 1951.

    (I think we broke the record in 2011 -- )

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

    After more than three years of blogging (maybe more, if one counts my original blog), and countless stories of the Bakken in the mainstream media over the past year or so, it still boggles my mind that some folks who can surf the internet (apparently able to read) are still unable to do simple arithmetic (addition, multiplication) or read simple graphs.

    Elsewhere, not on this site -- because I won't post such inane comments -- a naysayer doubted the Bakken -- saying that the numbers did not add up. She noted that the average well in North Dakota was producing less than 100 bbls/ day; that it took 1,600 wells to get to the 500,000 bopd milestone; that at $10 million the wells can't be economical. Wow.

    First, of all, not all wells cost $10 million. But even if they did, the oil companies wouldn't be pouring $2 billion/month into the Bakken to lose money. The expectation of the Bakken for the oil companies is that they will get their investment back in 3 years. Many wells are doing much, much better than that. But if folks can get their $10 million investment back in three years and the wells keep producing for 35 years, .....

    Second, 1,600 wells to get to 500,000 -- so what? They will drill 2,000 wells/year if there is no government interference, and every well pours $10 million into the economy (all of it staying in the US except maybe a few bucks for some Chinese proppant) and most of that into the local economy; and, think of all the jobs. Yeah, from an investor's point of view and from an environmental point of view, it would be great to sink one well and get 500,000 bopd but ... one can look at the glass half full or the glass half empty ...

    But the best criticism, and one that I have talked about in the past, the average production per well. It is not 100 bbls of oil/North Dakota well; it is much "worse" than that: 58 bbls of oil per well per day in 2010, on average. When I first noted that -- a couple of years ago -- and blogged about it, I think (can't remember) I talked about the implications of this number. For me, I see it as an awesome statistic for investors to think about. This has to do with legacy wells that had much lower production to begin with; this has to do with "depletion," a concept that some apparently don't get; this has to do with wells producing for 50+ years in North Dakota; this has to do with wells taken off-line for periods of time for re-working; this has to do with wells taken off-line when the price of oil plummets. Again, the optimist loves to see this number historically below 100, because we all know this number will only increase over time. Here are the data points for amount of oil, on average, produced by wells in North Dakota on a daily basis (total bbls for all of North Dakota in parentheses); some numbers rounded:
    • 2010: 58 (113 million) -- 5,300 wells
    • 2009: 48 (80 million) -- 4,600 wells
    • 2008: 41 (63 million) -- 4,200 wells
    • 2007: 33 (45 million) -- 3,800 wells
    • 2006: 31 (40 million) -- 3,500 wells
    • 2005: 29 (36 million) -- 3,400 wells
    • 2004: 26 (31 million) -- 3,400 wells
    • 2003: 24 (29 million) -- 3,400 wells
    •  
    • 2000: 27 (33 million) -- 3,300 wells
    • 1990: 28 (37million) -- 3,600 wells
    • 1980: 46 (40 million) -- 2,400 wells
    • 1970: 37 (22 million) -- 1,600 wells

    • 1969: 37 (23 million) -- 1,700 wells

    • 1960: 39 (22 million) -- 1,500 wells

    • 1951: 72 (26,196 bbls) -- one (1) well, by the way
    I think it's pretty incredible. In a positive sort of way. 

    The NDIC site puts these figures into graphic form and they are even more dramatic.

    Oh, one last thing. I would dare say, the "average" well has paid for itself; and at 58 bbls of oil per day, at $85/bbl, that amounts to about $5,000/day with almost no expenses. Yeah, I'll take it.

    So, every time you see an old pumper alongside some road in North Dakota, tell your kids that about $5,000/day is coming out of that well.

    Unless I did the math wrong.

    The Skunk Creek Wells -- Mandaree, South Fork, Heart Butte -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

    Locator: 10001SKUNK.
    Updates

    May 20, 2023: more Skunk wells:

    • 36401, conf-->PNC/DRL-->PNC/A, WPX, Skunk Creek 4-24-26-16HU, a very, very nice well; has started reporting production;
    • 36404, conf-->PNC/DRL-->PNC/A, WPX, Skunk Creek 4-244-25-13H3, a very, very nice well; has started reporting production;
    • 36480, conf-->PNC/DRL-->PNC/A, WPX, Skunk Creek 12-7-8-8H3A, Heart Butte, was PNC, apparently "A" now; great initial production;
    • 36479, conf-->PNC/DRL-->PNC/A, WPX, Skunk Creek 12-7-8-9HA, Heart Butte, was PNC, apparently "A" now; nice but not great initial production;
    • 36481, conf-->PNC/DRL-->PNC/A, WPX, Skunk Creek 12-7-8-16H, Heart Butte, was PNC, apparently "A" now; nice but not great initial production;
    • 36483, conf-->PNC/DRL-->PNC/A, WPX, Skunk Creek 12-7-8-16HA, Heart Butte, was PNC, apparently "A" now; nice but not great initial production;
    • 36482, conf-->PNC/DRL-->PNC/A, WPX, Skunk Creek 12-7-8-16H3, Heart Butte, was PNC, apparently "A" now; nice but not great initial production;
    • 36484, conf-->PNC/DRL-->PNC/A, WPX, Skunk Creek 12-7-8-9H3A, Heart Butte, was PNC, apparently "A" now; nice but not great initial production;

    August 16, 2019: production data updated and additional graphics posted at this post.

    February 25, 2017: add -- see Map A at bottom of post.

    • 32091, PNC, Whiting, Skunk Creek 4-10-11-8HA, South Fork,  -- MAP A
    • 32090, 1,179, Rimrock/Whiting/WPX, Skunk Creek 4-10-11-8H, South Fork, t6/17; cum 208K 9/21; cumm 241KK 9/23; -- MAP A
    • 32089, 1,395, Rimrock/Whiting/WPX, Skunk Creek 4-10-11-1H3, South Fork, t7/17; cum 275K 9/21; cum 304K 9/23; -- MAP A
    • 31170, 2,208, Rimrock/Whiting/WPX, Skunk Creek 4-18-17-8H3, Heart Butte, t11/15; cum 318K 9/21; cum 352K 9/23; off line 4/20; returns to full production 7/20;
    • 30932, 1,077, Rimrock/Whiting/WPX, Skunk Creek 1-24-25-16H3, Mandaree, t1/17; cum 444K 9/21; cum 494K 9/23;
    • 30931, PNC, Whiting, Skunk Creek 1-24-25-16HA, Mandaree,
    • 27327, 2,357, Rimrock/Whiting/WPX, Skunk Creek 4-8-17-14H3, South Fork, t7/14; cum 251K 9/21; cum 267K 3/23;; -- MAP A
    • 27326, 2,430, Rimrock/Whiting/WPX, Skunk Creek 4-8-17-13H, South Fork, t7/14; cum 274K 9/21; cum 290K 9/23; -- MAP A
    • 27325, 1,986, Rimrock/Whiting/WPX, Skunk Creek 4-8-17-13H3, South Fork, t7/14; cum 324K 9/21; -- MAP A
    • 26122, 3,793, Rimrock/Whiting/WPX, Skunk Creek 1-8-17-16H, South Fork, t8/15; cum 289K 9/21; -- MAP A
    • 26121, 2,959, Rimrock/Whiting/WPX, Skunk Creek 1-8-17-16H3, South Fork, t8/15; cum 380K 9/21; -- MAP A
    • 24117, 2,078,, Rimrock/Whiting/WPX, Skunk Creek 4-18-17-8H, Heart Butte, t11/15; cum 255K 9/21;
    • 24116, 3,746, Rimrock/Whiting/WPX, Skunk Creek 4-18-17-1H3, Heart Butte, t11/15; cum 273K 9/21; off line 4/20;
    • 24115, 2,277, Rimrock/Whiting/WPX, Skunk Creek 4-18-17-1H, Heart Butte, t11/15; cum 276K 9/21; off line 4/20;
    • 24110, 2,087, Rimrock/Whiting/WPX, Skunk Creek 4-10-11-1H, South Fork, t7/17; cum 236K 9/21; off line 4/20; -- MAP A
    • 22468, 1,448, Rimrock/Whiting/WPX, Skunk Creek 12-7-8-8H Heart Butte, t10/12; cum 191K 4/20; off line 4/20;
    • 22467, 1,975, Rimrock/Whiting/WPX, Skunk Creek 12-7-8-9H, Heart Butte, t10/12; cum 276K 4/20; off line 4/20;
    • 22466,1,370, Rimrock/Whiting/WPX, Skunk Creek 12-7-8-9H3, Heart Butte, t11/12; cum 179K 4/20; off line 4/20;
     
    August 24, 2015: two new Skunk Creek wells reported:
    • 30598, 3,076, Rimrock/Whiting/KOG/WPX, Skunk Creek 1-8-17-15H3, South Fork, Three Forks; background gas averaged 1,645 units; TD called early at 19,562' MD after a suspected mud motor failure; spud April 6; cease drilling April 17, 2015; 11.5 days drilling; t8/15; cum 277K 4/20; cum 313K 9/23;; -- MAP A
    • 30599, 3,785, Rimrock/Whiting/KOG/WPX, Skunk Creek 1-8-17-15H, South Fork, middle Bakken, gas averaged 1,105 along the lateral; 14.3 days drilling;  t7/15; cum 446K 9/21; cum 482K 9/23;; -- MAP A
    Original Post
    • 18922, 472, WPX/Dakota-3/Zenergy,  Dakota-3 Skunk Creek 1-12H, South  Fork; s9/10; t 206/11; cum 632K 9/21;   -- MAP A
    • 19587, 2,665, KOG, Skunk Creek 12-10-11-9H, South Fork;  s6/11; t10/11; cum 368K 6/19; -- MAP A
    • 19780, 2,252, Rimrock/KOG, Skunk Creek 4-10-11-8H, South Fork; t7/17; cum 208K 6/19;
    • 19817, 212, Rimrock/KOG, Skunk Creek 2-8-18-7-15H, South Fork; t1/12; cum 205K 9/21; choked back a bit; very unusual production profile -- MAP A
    • 19818, 2,051, Rimrock/KOG, Skunk Creek 4-8-17-14H, South Fork; t7/14; cum 299K 6/19;  -- MAP A
    • 19825, 2,698, Rimrock/KOG, Skunk Creek 2-24-24-15H, Mandaree s12/10; t9/11; cum 528K 6/19; back on line 2/17; jump in production;
    • 19827, 515, Rimrock/KOG, Skunk Creek 2-24-25-16H, Mandaree; s4/11; t10/11; cum 319K 6/19;
    • 20258, 2,399, Rimrock/KOG, Skunk Creek 3-24-25-13H, Mandaree, t4/14; cum 377K 9/21; went off-line 11/16;
    • 20259, 1,579, Rimrock/KOG, Skunk Creek 3-24-25-14H, Mandaree, t4/14; cum 199K 6/19; went off-line 11/16; back on line 1/17;
    • 20926, 2,686, Rimrock/KOG, Skunk Creek 12-10-11-9H3, South Fork; s7/11; t10/11; cum 350K 9/21; -- MAP A
    • 21064, 1,939, Rimrock/KOG, Skunk Creek 9-2-3-5H, South Fork; t3/12; cum 258K 6/19;   -- MAP A
    • 21065, 539, Rimrock/KOG, Skunk Creek 9-2-3-12H3, South Fork, t3/12; cum 275K 6/19; -- MAP A
    • 21224, 2,303, Rimrock/KOG, Skunk Creek 2-8-17-14H3, South Fork, t1/12; cum 485K 9/21; -- MAP A
    • 21269, 372, WPX, Skunk Creek 23-14 HC, Mandaree, t3/12; cum 487K 9/21;
    • 21699, PNC, Whiting/KOG, Skunk Creek 13-18-17-16H3, Heart Butte
    • 21700, 1,719, Rimrock/KOG, Skunk Creek 13-18-17-9H, Heart Butte, t6/12; cum 269K 6/19;
    • 21701, 2,057, Rimrock/KOG, Skunk Creek 13-18-17-9H, Heart Butte, t6/12; cum 298K 6/19;
    • 22162, 1,749, Rimrock/KOG/WPX, Skunk Creek 16-2-3-13H, South Fork, t12/12; cum 246K 6/19, cum 293K 9/23; ; -- MAP A; off line as of 6/19; back on line;
    • 22163, 1,516, Rimrock/KOG, Skunk Creek 16-2-3-13H3, South Fork, t11/12; cum 258K 6/19; cum 297K 9/23; -- MAP A
    KOG's outlier:
    • 19827, 515, Rimrock/KOG/WPX, Skunk Creek 2-24-25-16H, Mandaree; s4/11; t10/11; cum 319K 6/19; cum 374K 9/23;
    Anyone want to guess why?  Drum roll: two (2) stimulation stages; "skip 1, 3, and 4" -- only frack stages 2 and 5 using 20/40 Teng/Fel; 350K lbs proppant (for newbies: the "norm" -- 24+ stages; 2 million + pounds of proppant)

    This supports a "private theory" of mine that I have not posted. Maybe time to post that "theory."

    [Update: don't ask; I've long forgotten what that "private theory" was. No one asked at the time, so I must have lost interest. -- February 25, 2017.]

    Now, for comparison, let's look at:
    • 19587, 2,665, Rimrock/KOG, Skunk Creek 12-10-11-9H, South Fork;  t10/11; cum 367K 3/19; off line as of3/19;
    Yup, there it is: 30 stages; 4.3 million pounds of proppant (20/40 ISP)

    ***********************************
    Graphics




        This Is Not Rocket Science -- America Has Wealth Beyond Dreams -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

        A big "thank you"to Greg for sending me this link overnight. Greg appears to be "occupying" the night news desk.  I think back to Hunter S. Thompson when he referred to himself as Rolling Stone's Foreign Correspondent. But I digress.

        From the American Thinker, which I sometimes think is an oxymoron akin to military intelligence, but I digress, again:
        The good news is that America has wealth beyond dreams that can be realized in the next decade, producing a million new jobs.  According to a recent Congressional report, the United States' combined recoverable natural gas, oil and coal endowment is the largest on Earth
        Our resources are larger than Saudi Arabia, China and Canada, combined. Our known resources can meet the country's need for oil and gas for the rest of the century.  That's not including shale oil, the true energy future.  If we used our own oil, we could replace imported oil from the Persian Gulf for the next fifty years. By then cars will probably be running on something else.

        Now turn your eyes to where real jobs are being created.

        States that have grown jobs in the last decade are states using their energy resources, such as North Dakota, Wyoming, Utah, Texas, and Alaska. Texas has created 40% of the jobs in America since 2009, with half a million jobs directly in the energy sector.  These are good jobs.  A roughneck with a high school diploma can earn $100,000 a year in Wyoming's Jonah Fields.  An entry level job on an oil rig pays $70K.
        The average pay in the oil patch in North Dakota is $106,000, I am told. New hires at McDonald's in Williston can earn upwards of $50,000 if they so choose (others have done the math; not me; but I accept it).

        Flaring At Wanner - The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

        Updates

        October 30, 2014: a Three Forks well. PA; last produced July 2014; t1/12; cum 10K 7/14;

        July 14, 2013: enquiring minds are following this well. Note: this well is being taken off-line for some unexplained reason: it is on-line only a few days each month for the past several months.

        August 17, 2012: soon to be a SWD well? 6K as of 6/12;  I'm not sure what this well was all about. Here's a piece of the geologist's summary: "...Wanner 44-23H...spudded on October 5, 2011. This was to be an Upper Devonian Three Forks horizontal well. The vertical section of the well was a pilot hole drilled down to the Devonian Nisku formation and then logged. This was to enable the directional drillers to calculate the necessary parameters for building the curve and landing depth. The logs would also provide a gamma ray profile of the intended target and provide a visual display of the formation for horizontal drilling." Okay.  16 stages and 1.4 million lbs of proppant.
        April 5, 2012: The Wanner is off the confidential list:
        • 19705, 42, Fidelity, Wanner 44-23H, Bakken, Stark County; s10/11; t1/12; pump; cum 8,394 bbls (not a typo) 5/13; still listed as a wildcat;
        Original Post

        Since some folks may not read the comments, this was sent to me (as a comment overnight):
        • Wanner 44-23H has tanks being put on site and flaring started 1/8/12. 
        See comment below: could this be targeting the Tyler formation?