Feds Slow-Rolling the Domestic Oil and Gas Industry -- Utah's Experience

Link here.

"They can say whatever they want," Bill Ryan, an oil-field services consultant, said of an Interior Department that he believes is blocking what could be a much larger industry. "

(President Barack) Obama's administration can say they're pro-development, but they always add 'as long as it's environmentally sound.' They're using the environmental argument to hamper development."

While state lawmakers threaten a long-shot legal bid to own Utah's federal lands and prime the petroleum pump, the congressional delegation rails against an administration it calls anti-energy.

"We're seeing more exploitation of state and private lands just because companies are seeing that it's getting more difficult on federal lands," said John Baza, director of the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining.

'Nuf said.

Well, This Is Interesting -- Riersgard Well -- Hess -- $100 Million -- 12-Well Pad -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Updates

July 5, 2016: this is now a 15-well pad. In addition to the six wells noted below, here are nine more; the first three on a 3-well pad to the west, and the second six, on a 6-well pad to the east:

• 25574, 333, Hess, EN-Riersgard 156-93-1718H-4, Alger, 4 sections, t12/13; cum 59K 5/16;
• 25575, 493, Hess, EN-Riersgard 156-93-1718H-5, Alger, 4 sections, t11/13; cum 69K 5/16;
• 25576, 447, Hess, EN-Riersgard 156-93-1718H-6, Alger, 4 sections, t12/13; cum 116K 5/16;

• 26718, 648, Hess, EN-State C-156-93-1615H-4, Alger, 4 sections, t5/14; cum 103K 5/16;
• 26719, 777, Hess, EN-State C-156-93-1615H-5, Alger, 4 sections, t6/14; cum 119K 5/16;
• 26720, 660, Hess, EN-State C-156-93-1615H-6, Alger, 4 sections, t6/14; cum 123K 5/16;
• 28065, 597, Hess, EN-State C-156-93-1615H-7, Alger, 4 sections, t10/14; cum 96K 5/16;
• 28066, 850, Hess, EN-State C-156-93-1615H-8, Alger, 4 sections, t11/14; cum 82K 5/16;
• 28067, 669, Hess, EN-State C-156-93-1615H-9, Alger, 4 sections, t11/14; cum 104K 5/16;

Original Post

Well, this is very, very interesting.

Regular readers know that I try to post 5 to 10 new stand-alone posts per day (as well as updating countless number of older posts).

With so much posting, I often forget what I've posted. Only by going back through earlier posts do I sometimes catch things. I just noted this, and no one sent in a comment yet which suggests a) no one else noticed; or, more likely, b) no one cares. Smile.

Anyway, earlier today I posted that mineral owners would not be happy to see a Hess well on a 2,560-acre spacing unit come in with an IP of 777.  (On the other hand, it could have come in at 666, even worse, I suppose.)

Later this evening,  I posted a Filloon story suggesting Hess may have in mind a 12-well pad. Someone noted that the pad currently has six confidential wells on site, with one showing a rig on site, according to the NDIC map. Generally I don't expect to see an IP reported for any well on the pad when the map still shows a ROS at the pad.

So, I wasn't expecting this, but there it is. One of the wells on that pad reported an IP.

• 21129, 777, Hess, EN-Riersgard-156-93-1718H-1 (this link is broken; Teegue could not stand all the nonsense on flaring). Alger, Bakken, s9/11; t2/12; F; cum 65K 8/12; 4 section spacing; a Three Forks well; frack data to be provided later, according to Hess. Trivia: boy, these guys are good: they reached total depth in 20 days. At total depth, the bit was 1.7 feet below the ideal target total vertical depth (TVD) of 10,305.65 feet, according to the file report.

Chronologically, this is the lowest numbered well of the six wells. Geographically it is the northernmost of the six wells. The six wells:

• 21129, 777, Hess, EN-Riersgard-156-93-1718H-1 (this link is broken; Teegue could not stand all the nonsene on flaring). Alger, Bakken, s9/11; t2/12; F; cum 71K 9/12; 
• 21130, 739, Hess, EN-State C-156-93-1615H-1; t2/12; cum 53K 9/12; 
• 21131, 705, Hess, EN-Riersgard-156-93-1718H-2, t4/12; cum 86K 9/12;
• 21132, 372, Hess, EN-State C-156-93-1615H-2; t4/12; cum 38K 9/12; 
• 21133, 540, Hess, EN-Riersgard-156-93-1718H-3; t4/12; cum 61K 9/12;  
• 21134, 456, EN-State C-156-93-1615H-3; t4/12; cum 40K 9/12; 

Cool. So, are these the first six of a 12-well pad? A $100 million pad? On 2,560-acre spacing one would expect more than six wells. The four sections (15, 17, 17, and 18) run west-east. The wells are typical long laterals. The spacing means that an individual owning mineral rights in section 15 will participate in royalties from the horizontal running through sections 17 and 18 even though he/she will hold no acres in either of those two sections.

Now, go back to the March, 2012, dockets:

• Case 16885, cont'd, Hess, 12 wells on a 2560-acre unit, Banks-Bakken, Williams, McKenzie

Is it possible that in an earlier docket Hess had another 12-well, 2,560-acre spacing case? Or maybe yet to come. Regardless, we now see that Hess does plan 12 well, 2,560-acre spacing pads.

Here we go.

Idle rambling follows; recommendation: ignore it. 

By the way, I was following one of the longest threads ever on another site regarding spacing of Bakken wells (this link is broken; Teegue could not stand all the nonsense on flaring).  I thought one or two of the folks talking about this issue would understand the concept of unconventional/tight shale based on their expertise of the Bakken in general, but the one or two whom I thought understood things, said things about spacing that completely amazed me. I didn't post anything at the time for a number of reasons, but now with this 2,560-acre spacing pad and the first of six wells reporting an IP, it confirms what I thought all along. There are very, very few folks that really understand the concept of unconventional/tight oil and the reasoning for the spacing.

Also, a second note, same subject (2,560-acre spacing) but a different issue. I remember when 2,560-acre spacing was first being considered. Folks said that it would be impossible for rigs to push a horizontal wells across four sections (four miles of horizontal boring), much less keep the rig in the 10-foot seam of the formation (in some places). Now we see how they are going to exploit a 2,560-acre unit: with standard "long" laterals. So a mineral owner with one acre in the far northwest corner of the 2,560-acre unit, will participate in any oil taken from the far southeast corner in an east-west oriented four-section spacing unit, even though the horizontal is two miles away.

For Newbies: Alkali Creek Oil Field Has Been Updated -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Link here.

Rumor: Obama To Fast-Track the Keystone XL 2.0S

Updates

March 26, 2012: Forbes' take on Obama's hypocritical visit to Cushing, OK.

It will be a strange and remarkable visit considering that Obama in January denied a permit for the northern section of the pipeline that would have crossed the Canadian border. The strangeness wasn’t lost of Harold Hamm, the chief executive of Continental Resources, Mitt Romney’s new energy advisor, and a first-rate oil tycoon, worth $11.5 billion by Forbes’ most recent reckoning.

“It’s so hypocritical and so ironic after everything he’s tried to do against the industry,” said Hamm in a phone interview with me today. “He’s trying to take credit for all the gains we’ve made against the backdrop of the biggest oil storage complex in the world.”

Take credit? Naw, the president couldn’t be taking credit for this stretch of the Keystone XL, could he? After all, he must know full well that TransCanada got approvals to build the southern stretch months ago, and that pipelines that stay within U.S. borders don’t need presidential approval anyway. Maybe someone forgot to tell Obama advisor David Axelrod. “This president has approved dozens of pipelines,” said Axelrod on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “So he’s certainly not hostile to transporting oil but we have to do it in an appropriate way.”

Original Post

Link here.

CNN reports, citing "a source familiar with the president's announcement," that Obama will announce in Cushing that his administration will put the southern section of Keystone on the fast-track to approval. "The permit process for a project like this can typically take a year or more. The source familiar with the president's announcement says the administration could shave several months off that timeline," says the network.

Up until now, most of us were unaware that the federal government even got involved in approving in-state pipelines. So much for states' rights. 

But, glad to see that the president supports the Keystone XL, albeit half of it, and the half that is not connected to Canada.

This reminds me of all the federal projects that build bridges to nowhere.

Story: Dimock, Pennsylvania ---- Photo: Belfield, North Dakota

I'm sure this page at the link will be changed by the time some of you get to it. It is so ridiculous that even the host will try to find a relevant picture. Not a "more" relevant picture, but a relevant picture.

The EPA says first tests of the well water coming from Dimock, Pennsylvania, reveal that the water is safe to drink. Dimock is home to a fair amount of fracking natural gas wells.

The accompanying photo is of an oil pipeline in North Dakota where no natural gas wells are fracked (or if they are, a bare minimum). Wells in North Dakota are much, much deeper, and are oil wells, not natural gas wells. (Yes, natural gas accompanies the oil but that's a different story.)

And so it goes.

But in the "what goes around, comes around" category, a recent story about fracking in California in the LA Times was accompanied by a photograph from Dimock, Pennsylvania. Here's that link.

One would think that local newspapers reporting on a local story would have local photographs, but it appears that budget cuts and/or pure laziness makes it imperative/easier to simply cut/paste or otherwise link stock photographs from the internet.

Blogs do that all the time, but mainstream, print media with websites?  Mainstream, print media outlets are turning into blogs.

Nine (9) New Permits-- The Williston Basin, North Dakota, USA

Daily activity report, March 20, 2012 --

Operators: CLR (5), Slawson (3), Newfield

Fields: Mondak, Stoneview, Alkali Creek, and Banks

Five (5) wells released from "tight hole" status, four completed; none particularly remarkable.

A 12-Well Pad in the Alger Oil Field?

Note: This pad is tracked here:  http://themilliondollarway.blogspot.com/2015/11/vern-whitte-fall-portfolio-november-22.html.

Updates

November 27, 2016: production data has been updated. It should be noted there are sixteen (16) wells on this pad: EN-Riersgard wells (6) and EN-State C (10).

May 24, 2014: a 6-well pad immediately east of the six-well pad below (in the original post):

• 26718, 648, Hess, EN-State C-156-93-1615H-4, Alger, 4 sections, t5/14; cum 111K 9/16; cum 170K 11/21;
  
• 26719, 777, Hess, EN-State C-156-93-1615H-5, Alger, 4 sections, t6/14; cum 127K 9/16; cum 188K 11/21;
  
• 26720, 660, Hess, EN-State C-156-93-1615H-6, Alger 4 sections, t6/14; cum 132K 9/16; cum 197K 11/21;
  
• 28065, 597, Hess, EN-State C-156-93-1615H-7, Alger, 4 sections, t10/14; cum 104K 9/16; cum 155K 11/21;
  
• 28066, 850, Hess, EN-State C-156-93-1615H-8, Alger, 4 sections, t11/14; cum 89K 9/16; cum 139K 11/21;
  
• 28067, 669, Hess, EN-State C-156-93-1615H-9, Alger, 4 sections, 35 stages, 2.4 million lbs, t11/14; cum 112K 9/16; cum 181K 11/21;
  

(There's a slight gap between; one could argue these are two 3-well pads. Machts nichts.)

Also, in the very same section, just a few feet to the west, another 3-well pad:

• 25574, 333, Hess, EN-Riersgard 156-93-1718H-4, t12/13; cum 63K 9/16; cum 118K 11/21;
  
• 25575, 493, Hess, EN-Riersgard 156-93-1718H-4, t11/13; cum 73K 9/16; cum 107K 11/21;
  
• 25576, 447, Hess, EN-Riersgard 156-93-1718H-4, t12/13; cum 121K 9/16; cum 175K 11/21;
  

Original Post

Filloon hears a rumor that a Hess six-well pad in the Alger will end up being a $100 million 12-well pad. Currently, permits 21129 through 21134. I placed this note on my wells-to-watch in 2012 list. 2560-acre spacing.

• 21129, 777, Hess, EN-Riersgard-156-93-1718H-1, Alger, t2/12; cum 174K 9/16; cum 217K 11/21;
  
• 21130, 739, Hess, EN-State C-156-93-1615H-1, Alger,  t2/12; cum 156K 9/16; cum 225K 11/21;
  
• 21131, 705, Hess, EN-Riersgard-156-93-1718H-2, t4/12; cum 237K 9/16; cum 301K 11/21;
  
• 21132, 372, Hess, EN-State C-156-93-1615-2, t4/12; cum 198K 9/16; cum 263K 11/21;
  
• 21133, 540, Hess, EN-Riersgard-156-93-1718H-3, t4/12; cum 174K 9/16; cum 228K 11/21;
  
• 21134, 456, Hess, EN-State C-156-93-1615H-3, t4/12; cum 145K 9/16; cum 199K 11/21;
  

Fracking in Acapulco? Large Trembler Hits 115 Miles Away

The White House asked that I not suggest any relationship between fracking and earthquakes. Never mind. I misread the tweet. I was asked to honor a pledge not to talk about the First Family's whereabouts.

So all I can say is that the earthquake in Mexico today was 115 miles away from a ritzy resort where the rich and famous come to play despite SecState travel warnings.

You know, if the gag order is removed, one could see a new parlour game: "Where's Malia?"

Filloon's: Spacing, EURs, the Bakken, and the Eagle Ford

SeekingAlpha link here.

Stories Taken From Williston's Wire Line -- Western Stagecoach -- March 20, 2012

Finally, Sand Creek retail center to break ground in Williston.

It’s been almost a year since a Williston Menards was announced. Now new details are out on the Sand Creek Town Centre which will feature that Menards, a movie theatre and other retail, restaurant and motel ventures.

A March press release names Duemelands Commercial Real Estate of Bismarck as the exclusive sales and leasing agent for Sand Creek Town Centre.

“The first phase of the development will break ground in April and will be fully operational in early fall 2012. Additional phases are to be complete in 2013,” according to a press release.

New dollar store opens in Williston.

Basin Dollar and More opened on Feb. 15 and held a grand opening and ribbon-cutting Monday.
The store is at 203 Main, across from U.S. Bank.

Store-owner Carol Finkbeiner said she opened the store with her inheritance which she received last year.

Previously, she owned C and T Cleaning for more than 20 years, and she wanted to pursue a less physically demanding venture. She said when the True Value dollar store closed, the time was right. Her manager Amy Mattingly used to work at the True Value dollar store.

New Greek restaurant opens in Williston. 

Pita Palace, a new restaurant in Williston, is scheduled to open today. At 819 11th St. West, where J Dub’s Pizza was briefly located, the independent pita restaurant is bringing a Greek flare to Williston.

“It’s something different. I think we’ll have the best gyros you can get. We’re putting more meat on them than you’ll ever get anywhere else,” said Kyle Burkle, co-owner with Caleb Hinrickson.
Best gyros you can get? Probably the only gyros you can get in Williston.

The Elks: 'The Williston' -- steak and seafood.

The building at 408 1st Ave. East, across from the Old Armory, is receiving renovation inside, which will include a classy steak and seafood restaurant with “a Cajun flare,” though the building’s exterior will remain the same, said owner Joel Lundeen. “The Williston - boutique hotel, restaurant and bar” is slated to open in early June.

“It’s a great building and we’re going to try and preserve the outside of the way the building looks currently because it’s important to a lot of people we’ve talked to in the city,” Lundeen said. “Everybody has a story about this building, so we want to keep that feel of the lodge.”

Huge: Stevensville Stagecoach to Montana

Clocking out of a long 12-hour shift at the end of a two-week schedule in the heart of the Bakken, driving straight home to western Montana isn’t exactly the safest thing to do. So business partners and Stevensville residents Bill Lawrence and Dudley Chilcott came up with an idea. How about an express charter service to and from the Bakken for western Montana residents?

“We’re sitting here thinking, ‘How can we help, what can we do?’ And this popped into our heads,” Lawrence said. “It’s a safety issue.”

Within the last couple of months, the men formed R ‘n’ R Stagelines based out of Stevensville. It’s an express bus that stops in Williston, N.D., and Sidney but is a straight shot along I-94 and I-90 to Bozeman, Butte, Anaconda and Missoula, the primary destinations – at least at the beginning of the charter service. It’s a rest and relaxation form of transportation so travelers can enjoy watching movies or doing other quiet activities on the long ride home.

Watford City approves new housing development, apartment complexes, and a new truck stop (this link won't last long)

The council approved the annexation and subdivision plat of land northwest of the city for residential development by the Elemental Development Group of Henderson, Nev. and another annexation and subdivision plat by Greg and Monica Simonson of Watford City.

The two new housing projects, which will provide for a combined 400 units of multiple family and single family homes, is expected to provide housing for 1,000 people.

The city council also approved the annexation of 12.9 acres of land on the south side of the Highway 23 Bypass for the development of a new truck stop by Farmers Union Oil Company of Watford City.

The topic of a proposed U.S. Highway 85 Bypass south of Watford City also drew considerable public comment during Monday night’s meeting with the city council ultimately agreeing to send a letter to the North Dakota Dept. of Transportation stating that the city no longer wanted the substation road (25th Street NW and 128th Ave. NW) to be considered as a preferred bypass route.

90 Environmental Groups Are Fed Up With The Madness

Before the wind energy boom, 440,000 birds estimated to be killed annually by wind turbines

It's now three years later 

Link to Energy Tribune here.

In 2009, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated that domestic wind turbines are killing about 440,000 birds per year. Since then, the wind industry has been riding a rapid growth spurt.

But that growth has slowed dramatically due to a tsunami of cheap natural gas and hefty taxpayer subsidies. Even worse: that cheap gas looks like it will last for many years and Congress has been unwilling to extend the 2.2 cents per kilowatt-hour subsidy for wind operators that expires at the end of this year.

And now, the wind industry is facing yet another massive headache: increasing resistance from environmental groups who are concerned about the effect that unrestrained construction of wind turbines is having on birds and bats. Ninety environmental groups, led by the American Bird Conservancy, have signed onto the "bird-smart wind petition" which has been submitted to the Fish and Wildlife Service.

It's about time.

Over the past two decades, the federal government has prosecuted hundreds of cases against oil and gas producers and electricity producers for violating some of America's oldest wildlife-protection laws: the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Eagle Protection Act. But the Obama administration -- like the Bush administration before it -- has never prosecuted the wind industry despite myriad examples of widespread, unpermitted bird kills by turbines. A violation of either law can result in a fine of $250,000 and/or imprisonment for two years.

But amidst all the hoopla about "clean energy" the wind industry is being allowed to continue its illegal slaughter of some of America's most precious wildlife. Even more perverse: taxpayers -- thanks to billions of dollars given to the wind industry through the production tax credit and federal stimulus package -- are subsidizing that slaughter.

Things To Watch For This Summer With Regard to Fracking

My hunch is there is going to be a lot more truck traffic in the Bakken this summer: to the best of my knowledge, no one consolidates data regarding frack fleets (frack spreads) in the Bakken. We all know how many active drilling rigs there are at any one time in North Dakota (currently about 205), but no one, again, to the best of my knowledge, knows how many frack spreads there are at any one time in North Dakota.

But the tea leaves are telling us that the number of frack spreads will increase this summer. See a recent posting regarding this subject.

With the increased number of fracking spreads, look for the following:

• price pressure on fracking companies; more competition should lower cost of fracking
• more trucks on the road
• shortages of sand and proppants

One of the things to watch for: if there is a shortage of sand and proppants, will operators decrease the number of stages, or will they simply delay fracking until they get adequate supply? I don't think they will wait; that's not in the nature of oilmen; fracking will go on as scheduled, and the frack teams will do with what they get.

The larger operators have their own dedicated spreads, and are first in line for scheduling with the major fracking companies. The smaller operators are at a disadvantage with regard to scheduling fracking.

There is not a shortage of water in the Bakken for fracking. In addition, with WAWS, access to fracking water continues to improve daily.

For newbies: remember that some operators have their own dedicated frack spreads; I try to note that when I remember at this post. In addition, the bigger frack companies have gone to 24-hour operations.

This Will Make Mineral Owners Happy --NOT! -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

An IP of 777  and spacing of four (4) sections.

• 21129, 777, Hess, EN-Riersgard-156-93-1718H-1, Alger, Bakken, s9/11; t2/12; F; cum 4K 1/12; 4 section spacing; 

Four sections -- 2,560 acres now held by production. The good news: the 4,000 bbls cumulative was over four days in January, 2012, apparently before the test date.