Eleven (11) New Permits -- The Williston Basin, Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Daily activity report, April 19, 2012 --

Operators: Burlington Resources (4), Marathon (3), Crescent Point Energy (2), SM Energy, KOG

Fields: East Fork (Williams), Wildrose (Divide), Deep Water Creek Bay (McLean), Murphy Creek (Dunn), Pershing (McKenzie), Colgan (Divide)

Crescent Point has a permit for a wildcat in Williams County.

Five wells were released from "tight hole" status; four were completed/fracked, including:

• 21597, 43 (no typo), CLR, Chretien 1-31H, Billings

Filloon On The Eagle Ford

Link here.

213: New Record -- Active Drilling Rigs in North Dakota

A reader just alerted me to a new record for active drilling rigs in North Dakota: 213.

Dynamic link here.

Huge: Williston's New Recreation Center -- Has Just Gotten Bigger

Link to Williston Herald. Please go to the link to see the artist's drawing. Absolutely spectacular.

Data points:

• now up to 241,000 square feet (originally, 204,000 square feet)
• $67 million
• to be located on the campus of Williston State College
• water center (see more below)
• indoor playground
• racquetball courts
• golf simulator
• an indoor track
• tennis courts
• turf field
• basketball courts
• meeting rooms
• "and more"

There is disagreement over the quality of the water park complex. Williston Park Board President says the water center will "top-flight." The developer says it will be "spectacular":

• a 50-meter competition pool; half million gallons of water
• an instruction pool nearly the same size as Williston's current indoor pool in the Hagan Aquatic Center
• a lazy river with two water slides overhead
• a walk-in leisure pool with overhead fountains
• a whirlpool
• and, a surf simulator (like those commonly seen at water-theme parks)

I think "a spectacular, top-flight, water park" sounds about right.

Actually, this is really, really incredible.

Gasoline Demand

If you haven't checked in on "gasoline demand" in awhile, today might be a good day.

Here is the link. (Always linked at the sidebar at the right.)

When you get to the link, scroll to the very bottom. It is very interesting. Remember, gasoline is flirting with $4.00/gallon nationwide and there is much talk about demand destruction.

CLR Has Another Permit in Brooklyn Field -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Link here to Brooklyn Field northeast of Williston.

• 22741, conf, CLR, Bismarck 3-9H,

So, three Bismarck wells; three Helena wells in this small field. A pattern is developing: a single well in the section to hold the lease by production; second time in the section: two wells on one pad. 

Jobless Claims

Magic number: 400,000

Bloomberg link.

• Weekly jobless claims: down 2,000 to 386,000  -- highest number since January, 2012
• (wow, consensus: 370,000; CNBC said 367,000) -- incredible!)
• Continuing claims: 3.3 million; increased by 26,000
• Four-week moving average which they say is better gauge: increase of 5,000 to 374,750
• Last week revised to 388,000 (last week the number reported was 380,000)

Another "not good" report. Had last week's number not been revised upward, today's number would have been an increase of 6,000 when analysts forecast a drop of 13,000.

No Easter excuse; no "bad weather" excuse; no "extenuating factors" excuse in early reports but by the end of the day talking heads will have something. Maybe.

And to think, "they" killed Keystone XL. Slow-rolling domestic oil and gas industry; killing the coal industry; EPA asking US Army Corps of Engineers to thoroughly study job-creating programs before approving. Wind industry lost 10,000 jobs. Solar companies declaring bankruptcy; First Solar cuts 30 percent of work force; Europe not economically viable for solar.

I can't wait to see the AP spin on this data. CNBC minced no words on this report. Here is Yahoo/Reuters comment:

"The number suggests that improvement is slowing down," said Subodh Kumar, chief investment strategist at Subodh Kumar & Associates in Toronto.

Improvement is slowing down? Okay.

Seeking Alpha: Five Companies With Most to Gain/Lose in the Bakken

veLink here. Companies listed in order presented:

• Oasis: 100% in the Bakken; pure Bakken play
• Whiting
• Continental Resources
• Triangle Petroleum: 2 rigs; in-house fracking services
• Kodiak Oil

Nothing new for long-time followers of the Bakken.

Mild Weather in North Dakota: Construction Cycle Starts Early

Williston Building Permits $33 Million 1st Quarter vs $7 Million 1Q11

From the Minot Daily News, to date (some numbers rounded):

Minot:

• 81 single-family homes, 10 townhouses, 208 apartment units permitted
• two new motels permitted: Nobel Inn (66 rms); My Place Hotel (64 rms)
• building permit revenue $55 million (vs $35 million, same time last year)
• may need 4,000 to 5,000 more housing units just to catch up
• last year: Hampton Inn, Staybridge, Souris Valley Suites addition, LaQuinta, Country Inn & Suites, Astoria

Bismarck:

• 76 single-family homes (compared to eight the same period last year)

Grand Forks

• "number of permits issued so far this year, unheard of"
• 10 apartment buildings will be started this year
• 3 new hotels this year

Fargo:

• 966 single-family homes (steady but small decline since 2008)
• overall construction up 10 percent last year

Williston:

• growing faster than Fargo
• 1,340 single-family homes in 2011 (up from 610 in 2010) 
• first quarter this year: $33 million vs $7 million last year
• commercial permits have almost tripled
• single-family home permits same as last year
• apartment unit permits are up

RBN Energy: More Than Just The Bakken in the Bakken

What a treat!

Today's essay from RBN Energy is devoted entirely to the Williston Basin:

At the Platts Oil and Gas Conference in Denver last week, one of the best presentations was from David Stone, Director Portfolio and Business Strategy with Marathon’s Onshore Exploration group.   His presentation was titled The Bakken System and the Vision For growth, and covered the resource potential, projections, and Marathon’s position in the play.  I’ll hit the high points from my notes taken during the presentation.  I’ll also reference a few of the slides included as an attachment at the bottom of this blog posting.

As you probably figured from the title of this piece, the overarching message was one of abundance. There is a lot more to the Bakken than just the Bakken.  Next door there is the Lodgpole above and the Middle/Lower Three Forks below.  But higher above there is also the Tyler system and the Madison group. And further below the Duperow, Winnepegosis, Red River and Deadwood.  This thing could go on forever.

Really, really fun to read.