Monday, April 23, 2012

Some IPs Have Been Updated At Murphy Creek Field

Some IPs have been updated for the Murphy Creek field; not much new or exciting, but I hate to spend all that time doing something unimportant and not letting folks know.

Simon Butte Oil field

This well is the first well I noted from Simon Butte:
  • 20092, 155 (no typo), OXY USA, Gordon Pavlicek 1-17-20H-141-95, Three Forks, Simon Butte, Dunn County; s7/11; t10/11; F; cum 8K 2/12; 39 stages; 1 million pounds sand;
Simon Butte oil field is a single township, rectangular field: T141N-R95W, in the far southwest corner of Dunn County. It is just east of ND Highway 22 (the most scenic highway in North Dakota) and about six miles northeast of Dickinson. At the present time, it is fairly inactive. It appears to be an OXY USA field (acquired from Anschutz).

Take a look at #13224 and #13276 below. The former had almost one million bbls from the Silurian, and another 85,000 from the Madison. 

There are currently four OXY USA long lateral wells in this field, and about five vertical/short directional wells (some plugged; some active):
  • 6530, WS, Armstrong, Wolberg 1 WSW, Precambrian and Silurian both DRY
  • 12972, PA,
  • 13103, PA,
  • 13224, IA, Armstrong, t10/91 (Red River); t11/91 (Silurian); t1/01 (Madison); 115 (Red River); 840 (Silurian); 128 (Madison); cum 3K (Red River); cum 978K (Silurian); cum 85K (Madison); 2/12
  • 13276, A, Armstrong, t2/92 (Red River); t3/92 (Stonewall); t4/92 (Silurian); 476 (Red River); 55 (Stonewall); 515 (Silurian; cum 359K (Red River); cum 15K (Stonewall); cum 146K (Silurian); 2/12
  • 13560, DRY,
  • 15278, 445, Armstrong, Pavlicek 16-2H, s10/02; t12/02; cum 143K 2/12; 
  • 17961, 339, OXY USA, Kadrmas 11-27H; s11/09/ t2/10; Bakken, cum 66K 2/12;
  • 17984, 308, OXY USA, Sickler State 21-4h, s6/09; t8/09; Bakken; cum 40K 2/12;
  • 18079, PNC,
  • 19088, 629, OXY USA, Wolberg 21-18H, s7/10; t10/10; Bakken; F; cum 73K 2/1;
  • 20092, 155, OXY USA, Gordon Pavlicek 1-17-20H-141-95; see above;
  • 21346, PNC,
  • 21606, conf,
  • 21669, conf,
  • 22443, loc,

Eight (8) New Permits -- Another Nice New Helis Well -- The Williston Basin, North Dakota, USA

Daily activity report, April 23, 2012 --

Operators: CLR (4), BR (2), SM, Zavanna

Fields: Epping (Williams), Springbook (Williams), Corral Creek (Dunn), Ft Buford (Williams), Elm Tree (McKenzie)

Continental Resources has a permit for a wildcat in Billings county.

Of the five wells approved for confidential status, four were Whiting's, and Whiting reports a "plugged or producing" well:
  • 21474, conf, Whiting, Kjelstrup 44-24TFH, Golden Valley
Twelve (12) came off the confidential list; six were completed, including:
  • 19280, 1,454, XTO, Rolfsrud State 14X-36, McKenzie
  • 20092, 155 (no typo), OXY USA, Gordon Pavlicek 1-17-20H-141-95, Dunn
  • 21054, 1,601, Helis, Veeder 1-27/34H, McKenzie
  • 21351, 1,774, MRO, Ostlund 11-14H, Mountrail
Comments:

The European Commission Delays Implementation of Directive That Would Penalize Alberta Oil Sands

Link here.
The Canadian government welcomed a decision by the European Commission to delay for further study an emissions-abatement measure that would penalize transportation fuels originating in the oil sands region of Alberta.
The directive will be delayed until early 2013, pending "further study."

And then note this:
"...studies have shown “life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of oil sands crude are similar to or in some cases lower than several crude oils currently imported an used daily in the EU.”
"Several crude oils" such as Saudi oil, I'm sure. 

More Shovel-Ready Jobs for Williston -- Feds Allocate $12 Million For Levee

Link here to Williston Herald.
Nearly $12 miillon in federal funding has been allocated to repair and upgrade the levee that separates Williston and Missouri River.
The Omaha District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded an $11.7 million contract on Friday for repair of the levee and access roads on the south side of Williston.
" ... took the Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry ...."


American Pie, Don McLean

Folks would probably enjoy the studio recording better, but I prefer a bit more video.

A Note to the Granddaughters

"American Pie" was released in November, 1971. I remember listening to it over and over on a road trip from South Dakota, where I was going to college, to San Francisco, California, where I  would study for one month with a chemistry professor on sabbatical. My colleague was Warren T---, of Chinese background, who taught me to use chopsticks. It's possible I knew how to use chopsticks before then, but I don't recall. The professor and his family, Warren, and I shared many wonderful dinners in Chinatown.

The trip to San Francisco that year was one of the many coming-of-age stories I experienced over a ten-year period. I don't recall the car in which I drove out to California, but I vividly remember the time I walked out to a eucalyptus-lined parking lot, got in, turned on the radio and "American Pie" was playing. I do not remember any other songs from this trip. Obviously "American Pie" pushed out all the neurons/molecules that had any connection of other songs from that period.

It was my second trip to California; this trip to University of California-Santa Cruz. The campus was/is one of the most beautiful campuses in the world, and the university, one of the most unique in the world.  This was also the trip I remember picking up a most memorable girlfriend/boyfriend hitchhiker duo, to drop him off where he could catch a better ride in a different direction, and then drop her off at another location. I remember her "name": "California Blue"; I don't remember his. I hitchhiked on a regular basis -- including three cross-country hitchhiking trips -- during my college years, so I had a soft spot in my heart for hitchhikers. What a great period in life, when hitchhiking was still safe, and considered a reasonable way to travel, though "it" was on its last legs (no pun intended).


California Blue, Roy Orbison

My first trip to California was a couple years earlier, during my freshman year at college. Six of us in a large sedan drove out to San Diego. I saw my first stage play during that trip: "Hair," playing in Los Angeles. Of course, I did not "know" her at the time but Jennifer Warnes had a leading role in the Los Angeles "Hair" cast. Wow, this brings back some great memories. Jennifer Warnes has crossed my radar scope numerous times over the past forty years. [On another blog, I had a very, very long post on Jennifer Warnes, connecting a lot of dots, some of which not previously connected, but I think I deleted that post when I deleted the blog.]

From wiki:
Between 1979 and 1987, Warnes surpassed Frank Sinatra as the vocalist performing the most songs to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song (four times) and to win an Academy Award for Best Original Song (three times). Her biggest hits include "Up Where We Belong" (a duet with Joe Cocker from the 1982 film, An Officer and a Gentleman) and "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" (a duet with Bill Medley from the 1987 film, Dirty Dancing).

Random "Wow" -- Absolutely Nothing To Do With the Bakken -- At Least Directly

Just yesterday or the day before I posted a list of stories on automobile companies that were moving into China.

Now, 1:23 p.m., Monday, April 23, 2012, CNBC says after the break they will have a short segment on exactly that story: the "bet" automobile companies are placing on China.

The Beijing Auto Show.

Phil:
  • 8 - 10% growth this year.
  • China still the largest auto market in 2012.
  • But sales are slowing down
  • Ford: down 13% in first quarter.
  • But overall, automakers should do well.
  • Compacts and sub-compacts: 50%.
  • Prefer foreign brands, particularly European. 

IOR: A New "Term" Explained

Yesterday I linked a great story from Minyanville, and got a great lead from "Anon 1" which eventually led me to a series of articles which might help explain some of the buzz behind Saudi Arabia's investment in what will be America's largest refinery. 

This is the link to the PDF.

At the link there is a nice diagram defining some new terms:

Primary recovery: natural flow and artificial lift --- oil recovery: generally less than 30%.

Second recovery: waterflooding and pressure maintenance -- oil recovery: 30 - 50%.

Tertiary recovery: thermal, gas injection, chemical, other -- oil recovery: >50% and up to 80+%
  • Thermal: steam, hot water, combustion
  • Gas injection: CO2, hydrocarbon (propane), nitrogen/flue
  • Chemical: alkali, surfactant, polymer
  • Other: microbial, acoustic, electromagnetic
  • IOR: improved oil recovery includes both secondary and tertiary recovery methods
  • EOR: enhanced oil recovery pertains to "tertiary recovery" only
An abstract statement: "The option of advanced-secondary-recovery, or improved-oil-recovery (IOR), technologies before full-field deployment of EOR can be a better first option before deployment of capital-intensive EOR projects. The Middle East's general drive toward ultimate oil recovery instead of immediate oil recovery is highlighted in the context of EOR."

Sources of CO2 production:
  • Cement: largest industrial source -- 1,000 metric tons of CO2 (MtCO2)/year
  • Oil and gas processing: 850 MtCO2/year
  • Iron and steel production: 650 MtCO2/year
So, there you have it.

Even if "they" don't ship the CO2 back to Saudi for EOR, there are a lot of EOR opportunities in the US. When I see "EOR" under discussion, I think Denbury (DNR).

Pigs to Figs?

Right now it's all about the PIIGS, with a hard "P": Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain.

If France goes the way it appears to be going, the new "word" will be "figs" as in "PFIIGS."

François Hollande:
On 26 January, 2012, he outlined a full list of policies in a manifesto containing 60 propositions, including the separation of retail activities from riskier investment-banking businesses, raising taxes for big corporations, banks and the wealthy, creating 60,000 teaching jobs, bringing the official retirement age back down to 60 from 62, creating subsidised jobs in areas of high unemployment for the young, promoting more industry in France by creating a public investment bank, granting marriage and adoption rights to same-sex couples, and pulling French troops out of Afghanistan in 2012. -- from wiki.
The social issues and military issues concern me not.

After-thought: "free" public school education is generally provided from ages 4 to 18. That's about 14 years. Let's say average age expectancy in France is 81. Retire at at 60 --> 21 years of retirement. Throw in 14 years of public school years --> 35 years of "living well."

For Investors Only: Oasis Is "Substantially" Undervalued -- SeekingAlpha

See disclaimer; this is not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold. I am simply looking for articles on Bakken companies to post. This is one of them. Having said that, Oasis has always intrigued me.
  • Earnings are set to explode. The company made 64 cents in FY2011, and analysts project $1.64 a share in earnings for FY2012 and $2.69 in FY2013.
  • The reversal of the Seaway pipeline at Cushing will have positive impacts for Bakken producers when it takes effect in May. Bakken producers have generally been getting $10 a barrel less than the Cushing price because of the current glut of oil in the middle of the country.
It's hard to believe that at one time WTI and Brent oil were very close in price, but for the longest time have had a double-digit delta.

[Thank you to all who wrote in to alert me to an error in the subject line. Thank you. I only posted one of several comments that pointed this out.]

Global Warming Storm Forces Cancellation of Earth Day in Virginia Beach, Virginia

Link here.
The Earth Day Celebration scheduled for Sunday at Mount Trashmore Park has been canceled due to weather forecasts of inclement weather.
A late winter storm hit the northeast: "unusual, but not unheard of."
Up to 12 inches of snow was expected in the higher elevations of central and western Pennsylvania, as well as New York state, south of Buffalo. A winter storm warning was issued for parts of northeastern Ohio, where 3 to 7 inches of snow was forecast.
Ohio? We're not talking about the Rocky Mountains.

Update On The Three New Baker Hughes Mega-Complexes in North Dakota

Updates

Later: 1:30 pm: From another reader: "Dickinson is open for about 2 weeks now, must be 150 cars or more in the parking lot. impressive looking building with all blue glass front." We'll probably see "grand opening" story soon.

Later, 1:10 pm: A reader sent this in as a comment: "Williston complex is close but it is not open. Workers everywhere on the grounds today. I don't believe that Dicksinson or Minot super centers are officially open either. Baker has had a huge presence in the area long before they were building super centers."

Yes, you are correct. I grew up with Baker Hughes outside my window. [Wow, I never worked for an oil company growing up, but the industry has certainly been part of my life, one way or the other. I did have one college summer job with MDU. It was an outstanding experience.]

And, I would expect we will see huge "Grand Opening" stories in the Dickinson Press, Williston Herald, and Minot Daily News when they do open. 

Original Post
Elsewhere it is being reported that the Dickinson Baker Hughes mega-complex is open. If so, I assume the one in Williston is also open, and there are suggestions that the one in Minot is open.

It is also being reported that Halliburton is building a new complex north of the new BHI mega-complex in Dickinson.

COP: Earns $2.02; Misses Forecast of $2.08

Link here.

Sales at the company topped expectations. The company reported top line results of $56.1 billion, ahead of consensus for $53.6 billion. This is not trivial.

If I remember correctly, some years ago COP spent a bundle buying natural gas assets in the Far East at $6.00 when it is now selling for less than $2.00.

XOM, of course, continues to push forward on natural gas production. A story in the WSJ (no link) suggests that XOM will announce a dividend increase higher than their usual annual announcement.

RBN Energy: Data Points on Natural Gas Usage This Past Year

Link here to RBN Energy.

The numbers are staggering: the degree to which power companies are turning to natural gas, leaving coal "in the dust." Pun intended.
As of the end of last week, the capacity factor at Central Appalachian coal fired plants monitored by Gensape was down to 51% versus 73% at this time last year.  The same factor for Illinois Basin coal went from 67% last year to 47% today.  Powder River Basin coal shows the same trend, down to 62% from 71%.  Genscape reports that there is not that much unit cycling going on as it is just complete shutdown of coal plants.  Each week in 2012 the number of units off line has exceeded the count from 2011 by a wide margin. 
There are a number of interesting data points at the link.

What is unsaid is deafening: no mention of solar or wind power.