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Thursday, April 5, 2012

The Bakken, the Shuttered East Coast Refineries, Preferred Sands -- Best Story of the Month?

 Deus ex machina
Preferred Sands, LLC, shows up

Updates

July 12, 2018: highest profit at the "Delta Refinery" since 2015 helps Delta "stem" rising jet fuel costs.

December 6, 2013: Delta Airlines Trainer refinery turns a profit

January 22, 2013: from the Yahoo!Finance Oasis message board:
Just drove past rows of tanker cars lined up in Albany. Hard to believe they ship by rail to Albany, load on barges, and ship down the Hudson and around to refineries in Philadelphia. I wonder what this costs. Hudson River is still open.
December 23, 2012: Update on the Sunoco/Carlyle Philadelphia refinery.

July 2, 2012, Philadelphia's Sunoco refinery: CNBC video update on Sunoco/Carlyle buying east coast refinery and supplying it with Bakken oil.  Here's the Yahoo "print" version of the story. And the Oil and Gas Journal story.

April 11, 2012: on the Kudlow Report, CNBC, this date, there was a report that Delta was coming under fire for its proposal to buy an East Coast refinery. It turns out there may be another option being seriously considered: JP Morgan would buy the refinery, and sell jet fuel to Delta at wholesale cost.  The story, it turns out, was reported earlier on CNBC.

April 10, 2012: in today's edition of the WSJ, p. C10, Liam Denning, makes a case for Delta buying COP's Phillips 66 spin-off rather than an East Coast refinery. Phillips 66:
  • half of its refining capacity in US where Bakken is being sold at discount
  • Gulf Coast refineries can export to Latin America
  • margins on the Gulf Coast 2 - 3 times those of East Coast refineries
  • will benefit from cheap natural gas
  • crude oil bottlenecks require new pipelines; Phillips 66 midstream -- 11% of earnings last year
  • 20% of earnings from chemicals; raw materials (like "wet gases") are being sold at discount; for example 60% of its capacity uses ethane (a natural gas by-product) which has fallen in price by almost half in the last six months
Maybe the best of both worlds: Delta needs to buy a refinery in Louisiana.

April 6, 2012: Suddenly "everyone" is interested in refineries! Now the WSJ reports that Delta Air is seriously considering buying COP's idled Trainer refinery near Philadelphia.
Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL), burdened by the soaring cost of jet fuel, is seriously thinking of making some of its own by buying an idled ConocoPhillips (COP) refinery near Philadelphia, people familiar with the matter said Thursday.

Delta, the world's second-biggest airline by traffic, is in talks with Conoco to acquire its Trainer, Pa., facility at a cost of $100 million to $150 million, one person familiar with the matter said. Delta would hire an outside firm to run the refinery.

The move could help supply Delta's operations at La Guardia airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, and save it most of the so-called crack spread, or the difference charged by a refinery between the cost of a barrel of crude and a barrel of jet fuel. In March, the spread between jet fuel and Brent crude, which is the benchmark that determines the price of most crudes delivered to the East Coast, was $12.85 a barrel, according to energy consultancy IHS Purvin & Gertz. The Trainer refinery, idled since October, has a processing capacity of 185,000 barrels a day, including 23,000 barrels a day of aviation fuel, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Original Post
This is what keeps me going: surprises coming out of the Bakken.

This story is incredible -- maybe the best story of the month. There will be two links.

"Anon 1" sent me the links.

This is a great story on so many levels. I just love free market capitalism, and this is a phenomenal example.

First link: Bakken oil may just "save" the two or three shuttered refineries on the East Coast.
While it appears too late to spare Marcus Hook, which has been shuttered since December, evidence of new buying interest has emerged this week for two other major plants, potentially saving the Northeast region from a summer fuel squeeze that had unnerved politicians all the way to the White House.

One of those bidders is counting on the boom in light, sweet shale oil to help resuscitate the ailing sector, which has been squeezed between costly, imported light crude, falling gasoline demand and new, more sophisticated overseas rivals.

Preferred Sands LLC, which has grown in five years to become the third-largest supplier of sand and proppants to the hydraulic fracturing industry, touts its deep connections in the shale patches of Bakken, North Dakota, and Eagle Ford, Texas, plus more than 1,500 rail cars with connections to major railroads.
Now, go to the web page of a company providing sand for fracking

Once you get a feeling for that company, return to the first link.
As production in landlocked North Dakota and Canada surged, crude prices plunged in the Midwest, giving refiners there a profit advantage that allowed them to chip away at the East Coast market. Some of that oil made it as far south as Louisiana and Texas by rail, but little of it moved east.

But late last year, Sunoco and Conoco tested light, sweet Bakken crude from North Dakota at their plants, with an estimated 10,000 and 20,000 bpd of Bakken oil railed to Albany, New York and then barged down to Philadelphia, traders said.

However, Lynn Elsenhans, then Sunoco's chief executive, said in November that Sunoco Logistics lacked the assets to bring enough crude east to make it economical.

Enter Preferred, which says its train connections give it a leg up over other bidders. It already hauls tons of sand or silica from plants in Nebraska and Arizona to the shale patches in other states, where the "proppant" is injected into wells to allow oil and gas to flow out.
Something tells me we will be seeing a two-page story in the Wall Street Journal some day tying this all together.

Wow, there are so many things I could say about this story, but I think I will let others think about it for awhile, let it simmer, but this is a huge story.

Interesting isn't it? Cushing is overflowing and now, like deus ex machina, Preferred Sands, LLC, shows up with an answer. And a means. Incredible.

Some Incredible Bakken Wells -- The Williston Basin, North Dakota, USA

Another dozen or so wells have come off "tight hole" status, including these:
The above wells have a test date of just a couple months ago, and they are already showing more than 45,000 bbls of oil production; one already has 66,000 bbls; another almost 80,000 bbls and only a few months on-line.

In this particular group of wells, Oasis had quite a few.

As The World Turns: Episode 44, "The $2 Million Heist"

Tonight's episode of the new cable television adult soap, Keystone XL: "The $2 Million Heist."
A bill that would allow Nebraska to restart a review of the Keystone XL pipeline project's route inched closer to final passage Thursday, with a requirement that the state's environmental agency hold at least one public hearing before releasing its recommendation.

The bill that advanced through a second-round legislative vote would also force pipeline developer TransCanada to reimburse the state for the cost of the study, which could reach $2 million.
In tonight's episode the Nebraska governor will be played by Mike Myers.

Why stop there? Why not "one hundred billion dollars"?




Spoiler alert!
Gov. Dave Heineman would have final say on the route, and his approval would give TransCanada eminent domain power before they receive a federal permit. If he doesn't certify the route, the proposal would go to an independent state commission that regulates utilities.
Episode 43: "We've Got A Secret"

Random Look at Confidential Wells in the Williston Basin By Operator

1,700 wells on the confidential list -- Williston Basin

Provided by Rory (thank you). Rory tells me there are 1,700 wells on the "confidential list." This list only goes down to operators with at least ten (10) wells on the list:

Continental Resources 189
Hess 137
BEXP 130
Petro-Hunt 120
Whiting 80
MRO 76
Enerplus 75
KOG 74
Burlington Resources 60
XTO  59
Denbury Resources 49
EOG 49
WPX Energy Williston 49
Oasis 46
Slawson 45
Samson Resources 44
OXY USA 39
Zenergy 39
Newfield 36
Hunt Oil 27
QEP Energy 27
SM Energy 25
G3 Operating 20
Zavanna 19
Crescent Point Energy 16
Helis 14
Legacy Oil & Gas 14
Baytex Energy 10
Fidelity (MDU) 10

Five (5) New Permits -- The Williston Basin, North Dakota, USA

Daily activity report, April 5, 2012 --

Operators: QEP (3), Petro-Hunt, Continental Resources

Fields: Deep Water Creek Bay (McLean), East Fork (Williams), Corinth (Williams), Squires (Williams)

Fourteen (14) wells released from "tight hole" status; 7 completed, including:
  • 19705, 42, Fidelity, Wanner 44-23H, Bakken, Stark County; ; s10/11; t1/12; pump; cum 1,274 bbls (not a typo) 2/12; hmmmm
  • 20049, 54, Oasis, Charlie 5603 43-19H, Bakken, Williams, hmmmm
  • 20387, 1,445, Oasis, Hanover Federal 5300 13-14H, Bakken, Williams
  • 20399, 2,081, Oasis, Stewart 5200 12-29H, Bakken, McKenzie
  • 21023, 119, Oasis, Cooper 5603 43-8H, Bakken, Williams
  • 21349, 1,259, MRO, Bears Ghost USA 31-4TFH, Bakken, Dunn
In addition, seventeen (17) wells reported as plugged or producing (on confidential list)

Four (4) producing wells reported an IP, none particularly remarkable

Three wells were transferred from Newfield to Continental Resources:
  • 20885, conf, CLR, Christopherson 156-99-2-11-1H, Williams
  • 21294, conf, CLR, Rader 154-100-24-25-1H, Williams
  • 21056, conf, CLR, Wilson 154-100-29-32-1H, Williams

For Investors Only: Nothing To Do With The Bakken -- AAPL Blowing Through Old Highs

Locator: 10010AAPLCX.

See disclaimer: this is not an investment site
I invest in AAPL; I do not trade AAPL
Apple, Inc, is my favorite company, not necessarily my favorite investment

Updates


January 14, 2024: Apple's Siri evaluation team will move to Austin, TX

January 14, 2023: Microsoft surpasses Apple as largest company in the world on market cap. Apple was first company to hit $3 trillion market cap but with four successive quarters of declining revenues, Apple's market cap has dropped back to $2.9 trillion (in round numbers). Meanwhile, Microsoft has turned things around; its stock price has been surging and Microsoft's market cap is just slightly above that of Apple's. 

April 10, 2012, 10:01 a.m.: CNBC announces that AAPL has broken through the $600 billion market cap milestone, only the 2nd company to have ever done that (the other: Microsoft; current market cap, $260 billion). 

April 10, 2012:  Apple about to blow through another milestone, $600 billion market cap. Up almost $7.00 in early trading today to set new high.

April 9, 2012: Even on "big" down days for the market, AAPL is up, blowing through to new highs.  Up another $2.55 to $636.23.

Original Post

See disclaimer: this is not an investment site
I have never invested in AAPL and have no plans to. 
Apple, Inc, is just my favorite company 

Apple surges $9, blowing through $633.

Again, I don't own any shares of AAPL, never have, and probably never will.  This is not investment site; simply idle chatter about my favorite company.

Takeaway Capacity Still A Challenge for the Bakken

Looking back on all the talk during the past two years about adequate takeaway capacity in the Bakken appears, in hindsight, to have been a huge misreading by everyone, not least of which was NDIC. I blogged often that NDIC said there would be adequate takeaway capacity. That is clearly not the case and is costing mineral owners (and operators) a huge amount of money.

Outside interests are concerned about profits going up in flames (flaring) when, in fact, that's the least of the mineral owners' issues. If there is one factor  that is costing mineral owners monthly income, it would be related to the lack of takeaway capacity. Flaring is a non-issue.

And now there is yet another story reminding us that takeaway capacity will continue to be a problem in the Bakken. Link here to Rigzone.com.
US tight oil producers already face challenges in economically getting their high-quality crude to refineries, and transportation logistics will need to be addressed more fully as production grows, experts at an Apr. 3 Washington conference agreed.

Some Bakken shale producers already ship their crude by rail to Louisiana to get a price closer to North Sea Brent than to West Texas Intermediate, Hill Vaden, a senior US upstream research analyst at Wood Mackenzie Ltd., told the conference cosponsored by the US Association for Energy Economics National Capital Area Chapter and the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
I suggested a way to address the problem but ....

New Feature

At the sidebar at the right, I have a short widget, "By the Numbers."

Someone suggested I put the price paid for Bakken oil.

This was my reply:
I don't want to put a "Bakken" price in like I do for a WTI price because the Bakken price varies across multiple brokers.

Of course, that's true for WTI, also, but most folks quote the WTI price that's quoted on television crawlers.

When you get to the link, you can see North Dakota sweet (Bakken) as well as sour (Spearfish).

Having said all this, be advised that the prices at the link have little correlation with what you actually get paid. Most oil is sold on contracts with hedges and collars.

But with your suggestion I have a quick way to get to other prices of crude oil.
We'll see how it works out.

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

A Note To the Grandaughters

These two clips have quite a story. Someday we will talk about them. Tonight, after driving home from swimming, you (Arianna) mentioned that you enjoyed listening to Roy Orbison.

Runaway, The Traveling Wilburys


Runaway, Del Shannon


Walk Away, Del Shannon

Enquiring Minds Are Asking: IPs for 21006 and 21007

Elsewhere "the Texan" is asking about a couple of wells:

Both wells are on DRL status; both run to the south.
  • 21006, DRL, BEXP, Orville 4-9 2H, Todd, s9/11; well file suggests they were initially unhappy with a sudden drop in gamma. A middle Bakken well. Awaiting to be fracked, date of the report.
  • 21007, DRL, BEXP, Orville 4-9 1H, Todd, s7/11; 2' to 4' flare present throughout while drilling the horizontal. A middle Bakken well. Awaiting to be fracked, date of the report.
These two wells are part of a 4-well Eco-Pad. These two will run to the north:
  • 21005, DRL, BEXP, Borsheim Trust 33-28 1H, Todd, s8/11; a middle Bakken
  • 21562, conf,  BEXP, Borsheim Trust 33-28 2H, Todd;
I doubt IPs will be provided until all four wells reach total depth, and then they will be fracked/completed one after the other.

    Boone Pickens, CNBC -- $148 Brent

    From message board:
    Boone was just on CNBC, sees $148 Brent. Evidence of supply crunch is fact that Saudis are working on a small 1930s field, low gravity, high sulfur oil, evidence that their surplus may be smaller than thought.
    Shocking! Who wudda thought? Saudi out of spare capacity?


    I'm Shocked! Shocked!


    CNBC video here: Becky Quick seems a bit out of her depth in this interview. Confuses WTI and Brent. Boone just explained that Brent is "global" and WTI is "local" and Becky Quick completely missed that. Then she asks a very confusing, rambling question connecting Ben Bernanke's Operation Twist, improving economy, and price of oil. Again, Boone tries to sort that out for her. Then she skips to natural gas-to-diesel, the Shell plan to build a $10 billion plant in Louisiana. This was a story in today's WSJ and I blogged about it earlier. Natural gas in US: $2.16. Overseas: $12 to $16. Then the liberal CNBC talking head really asks a crazy question: add higher federal tax at the pump to keep price of gasoline high to push Obama's agenda to "go green"? A non sequitur. Nothing like a non sequitur to stop the interview in its tracks. An Iran premium in the price of oil? Boone doesn't buy that.

    SM Energy -- Heart of the Bakken -- Poe Oil Field -- North Dakota, USA

    It looks like it is time for a stand-alone post, an update, on SM Energy and its activity in the heart of the Bakken.

    First, look at this link.

    Then the first comment to that post:
    SM Energy will be moving forward on an aggressive drilling plan in the area around this well. Look for two or three 3-well pads per 1280-acre spacing unit with common tank batteries with pipelines for oil, gas, salt, and freshwater. If you look at the numbers for the Jaynes (blowout), Leiseth, Leiseth, and Stenberg wells you can see why they want to get moving on these.
    • 20022, 1,067, SM Energy, Jaynes 16-12H, Poe, s12/10; t6/11; pump; cum 67K 2/12;
    • 20318, 727, SM Energy, Leiseth 16-13H, Poe, s6/11; t9/11; pump; cum 83K 2/12 -- 83K in less than 5 months since test;
    • 20497, 1,164, SM Energy, Leiseth 1-24H, Poe, s10/11; t1/12; F; cum 49K 2/12 -- almost 50K in less than 2 months since test;
    • 20733, 877, SM Energy, Stenberg16-8H, Poe, pump, s7/11; t9/11; cum 60K 2/12; 20 stages; 2.9 million lbs sand; the file report shows only one lateral; the NDIC summary shows two production lines (do not know why)


    Status of permits, 2012:
    • SM Energy -- 13 permits so far in 2012 (according to my database; could be off by one or two, but unlikely)
    • So far, no 2012 permits in Poe oil field
    Status of permits, 2011:
    • SM Energy -- 29 permits in 2011 (according to my database; could be off by one or two, but unlikely)
    • One 2011 permit was in Poe oil field:
    • 21258, DRL, SM Energy, Nora 13-9H,  Poe, s8/11; cum 62K 2/12 -- note -- has produced 62,000 bbls and not yet reported an IP; still on DRL status; probably fracked 11/11

    Jobless Claims Fall 6,000 -- March Non-Farm Payrolls -- Huge Disappointment -- Unemployment Rate Drops to 8.2%

    First time unemployment claims -- magic number: 400,000 (goal < 400,000)
    New jobs -- magic number: 200,000 (goal > 200,000)
    Record number of folks not in labor pool: 88 million
    Increasing number of folks dropping out of labor pool or not getting in to begin with
    Stock market not likely what it is seeing

    Updates

    April 9, 2012: My instincts were correct -- Friday's jobs number was pathetic; stock market continuing to react today; down another 130 points; not a good report, and some folks think the nice weather in March artificially boosted the earlier report; long hot summer. 

    April 6, 2012, later: Bloomberg says the same thing -- jobs report not good.
    Ben Bernanke warned last month that payroll gains might slow as companies adjust their labor needs for a period of moderate growth. Today’s Labor Department report may have proved the Federal Reserve chairman right.

    Employers in the U.S. added 120,000 jobs in March, the fewest in five months. The unemployment rate fell to 8.2 percent from 8.3 percent the month before as people stopped looking for work. The March report followed the best six-month streak of job growth since 2006.
    April 6, 2012, later: wow, wow, wow -- the LA Times headline is even more definitive -- "Job Growth Slows Sharply in March"
    Employers added a modest 120,000 new jobs in March, ending a streak of solid job gains in the prior three months and raising fresh questions about the strength of the economy and hiring momentum in coming months.

    The nation's jobless rate inched down to 8.2% from 8.3% in February, the Labor Department said Friday, but that came amid a shrinking labor force in which more people dropped out of the job market and thus weren't counted as unemployed.
     
    Analysts were expecting growth of about 210,000 jobs in March, after gains of more than 220,000 in each of the prior three months. Some of those earlier gains may have been influenced by the unseasonably warm weather, so the latest slowdown could have been in part due to a kind of payback for the inflated payrolls in the winter.
    April 6, 2012, later: wow, wow, wow -- I guess I wasn't the only one who spotted this yesterday! Here's what zerohedge had to say:
    The unemployment rate drops to 8.2% for one simple reason: the number of people not in the labor force is back to all time highs: 87,897,000.

    March NFP big miss at just 120K.  Joe LaVorgna's +250,000 forecast was just 100% off... as usual.
    Joe LaVorgna?
    Anyway, people are looking at the early predictions and one name stands out: Deutsche Bank uber-bull Joe LaVorgna is at the top of the heap, calling for 300K new payrolls.
    By the way, speaking of CNBC (were we?), I think the dumbest move in business television was Erin Burnett leaving CBNC. Maybe she is getting higher ratings over at CNN where she hosts her own show, or maybe her new show is simply a stepping stone to something bigger, but one wonders if CNBC blew it by not giving her own show at the business channel. She seems to be the most knowledgeable of CNBC's talking heads, most articulate, and perhaps the most photogenic. Is Dylan Ratigan faring any better?

    April 6, 2012: Employment numbers rose far less than expected
    Payrolls rose far less than expected in March, keeping the door open for further monetary policy support from the Federal Reserve, even as the unemployment rate fell to a three-year low of 8.2 percent.
    Employers added 120,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said on Friday, the smallest increase since October. Economists polled by Reuters had expected nonfarm employment to increase 203,000 and the jobless rate to hold at 8.3 percent.

    The weak employment growth last month likely reflected the fading boost from unseasonably warm winter weather. The payrolls count for January and February was revised to show just 4,000 more jobs created than previously reported.
    When the original report came out yesterday (see original post below) a reader suggested that I was being "too negative" in the way I reported the story (see below). I did not post the comment based on my criteria for posting comments.

    I thought my note below was fairly balanced, though I could see how it might be construed as "too negative." So, now, a day later, I find it interesting that even Reuters, after they've had a chance to review the data, suggest that the "good news" yesterday is actually... well, not so good. 

    Another interesting point (suggested by another reader): this "more negative" analysis by Reuters was released on a day when the market is closed, going into a three-day weekend for many. Again, as usual, the reader suggests we will see "bad news" released after the weekly news cycle, usually after 5:00 p.m. EST Fridays. Today, of course, was an exception.

    Original Post
    Link here.

    Today's number: 357,000. Okay.

    Lowest level in nearly four years. I can just hear the talking heads now.

    And, of course, the usual revision, buried near the end of the story:
    The prior week's figure was revised up to 363,000 from the previously reported 359,000. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a claims reading of 355,000 for last week.

    Carbon Prices Sinking in Europe: Viability of 'Cap and Trade' in Doubt -- Nothing To Do With The Bakken -- Hopefully Ever

    Cap and trade: dead? Unlikely
    European Commission looking at ways to prop prices; save program

    Link to WSJ article.

    Data points and quotes:
    • EU has a program rewarding companies the right to release CO2 for a price
    • that price is tumbling
    • with less deand for these allowances, a glut is developing; prices are tumbling
    •  
    The latest blow came Monday, when the EU released preliminary data showing its carbon emissions fell bya larger-than-expected amount last year. While decreasing amounts of pollution out of Europe are a boon for the environment, it raises questions about the viability of a market that was hailed as a forerunner for the rest of the world.

    Hopes that other nations, such as the US, would adopt the EU model have been dashed, and international  climate talks have made slow progress on a global consensus.

    The Corner Service Station -- Nearing Extinction?

    Link to WSJ article.

    Data points:
    • majority of "gas" / service stations in US independently owned
    • increasingly difficult to make a profit
    • since 2008, XOM has sold more than 95% of ~ 2,000 stations it owned; will sell rest by year-end (I blogged about this some years ago)
    • Chevron had 491 company-owned stations at end of 201, down from 1,348 in 2001
    • credit card transaction fees cut into margins (currently 15 to 16 cents/gallon)
    • 90% of sales now paid with credit cards (something I have opined on in the past)
    • five years ago, 75% of sales paid with credit cards
    • people don't carry the amount of cash required to fill their tanks
    • 30% increase in gas-station defaults over the past two years seen in California, Arizona, and Nevada
    • Getty Petroleum Marking filed for bankruptcy in December, 2011
    • 80% of service stations have convenience stores; declining in number; margins are 2%
    • increased competition from supermarkets and warehous clubs
    • in Boston, recent story that it was difficult to find any gas/service station inside the city
    The local service station down the street from where I am staying: regular jumped from $3.83 to $3.95 over the past ten days. The largest jump was this week. Two, maybe, three refineries in the Northeast are slated for closure; winter blend to summer blend switch over; and so it goes.

    Why The Citi Paper Is So Important -- Natural Gas to Diesel -- Nothing To Do With The Bakken In The Short Term

    Four natural gas-to-diesel stories (three of the four stories at the link):
    • Shell already has its Pearl gas-to-liquids facility in Qatar; went on-line last June (2011); enough diesel from natural gas to fill more than 160,000 cars/day
    • Shell considering a $10 billion plant, a "giant plant," similar to Pearl, for Louisiana; wil take up to 2 years to develop plans; make decision
    • Sasol, South Africa, is undertaking an 18-month feasibility study for a $10 billion gas-to-liquids facility adjacent to its existing chemical plant in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana
    • Sasol, South Africa, owns stake in gas-to-liquids plant in Qatar, commissioned in 2007 (see comment below; this data point not in original post
    Building these plants is prohibitively expensive; the Qatar plant cost escalated to $18 billion. Officials now say lessons learned will keep costs in check. The diesel produced in the US would be sold to Latin America and Europe. Prominent Democratic senators want the US to process natural gas in the US and not export natural gas to be refined elsewhere. But something tells me these same Democratic senators would never consider Solyndra-like loans/subsidies/guarantees to oil companies to help move these projects along. Of course, the biggest risk: the EPA stomps on gas-to-liquids technology as just another carbon foot print.

    For Investors Only: SeekingAlpha Article on KOG

    Link here to SeekingAlpha.com.
    When building a successful portfolio, it is not always the big dogs that end up winners. In the world of oil and gas stocks, the little pups, comparatively, may be the ones to buy and hold for the long haul. Kodiak Oil & Gas is one of those puppies. This Denver, CO-based company is making itself attractive by taking smart advantage of the oil boom and implementing a hard-charging expansion strategy. With control of a 24-hour dedicated completion crew, land lease expansions, new wells, and an ambitious plan, Kodiak is beginning to bark like a big dog.
    With 7 rigs and one 24-dedicated frack team: that's about the right ratio. One to four would be optimum. But KOG is probably big enough in the Bakken to be able to schedule additional fracking through SLB, HAL, Sanjel as needed.

    Some Nice Wells Being Reported -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

    Results of new wells for 2Q12 are now being posted.

    The first group of 15 wells reveals the fracking backlog continues. Only six (6) wells of the 15 were completed. And it was a mild winter, though some companies (at least in the past) had a policy of no fracking during the winter. The ones that caught my eye:
    • 20497, 1,164, SM Energy, Leiseth 1-24H, Poe, Bakken, s10/11;  t1/12; F; cum 49K 1/12;
    • 20668, 680, SM Energy, Hauge 13-21H, Ambrose, Bakken, s10/11, t12/11, F; cum 35K 2/12, 
    • 20730, DRL, KOG, 20711 Long 112 1H, Stockyard, Bakken, s10/11; cum 31K 2/12, 
    • 20850, 710, ERF, Jalapeno 148-94-02C-3H, McGregory Buttes, Bakken, s10/11; t1/12; F; cum 29K 2/12
    • 21084, 1,497, Denbury, Satter 24-35SEH, Siverston, Bakken, s10/11, t1/12; F; cum 27K 2/12,
    KOG has another nice well; still on DRL status, the Long well has already produced 31,000 bbls of oil; the Stockyard oil field east of Williston has turned out to be quite a nice field.

    And, well north of Williston, in Divide County, the wells are coming in very nicely. Look at the SM Energy Hauge well, 35,000 bbls in first two months.

    And SM Energy has another great well in Poe field, almost 50K -- and look at this -- it was tested in 1/12 and production is current as of 2/12.
    The Poe oil field is an irregularly shaped field, relatively small, only 30 sections or so, right in the middle (or slightly to the west) of the bull's eye of the Bakken. The field is about 7 miles northeast of Alexander, North Dakota. It sits immediately southeast of the Camp oil field and immediately southwest of Banks oil field, two fields that have produced some huge wells.