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Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Whiting -- North Dakota -- Red River Drilling Program

From May 11, 2012, edition of RMOJ.

Data points:
  • Golden Valley County, North Dakota
  • Rieckoff 44-22; 11 miles northeast of Beach, ND
  • vertical Red River well; total depth, almost 12,500 feet
  • about a half-mile southeast of Whiting's Maus 23-22, completed July 2011; IP - 273; cumulative production from the Maus has exceeded 42,000 bbls
  • Maus is now part of the Camel Hump field, previously abandoned Red River oil pool
  • Whiting's Tescher 42-25 was a test well in Camel Hump produced 215,000 bbls before being plugged in 2005
From the RMOJ:
"Whiting has a strong interest in this area for the vertical Red River....3.5 miles southwest of their Maus....finished drilling the Quale 21-30....This tight hole was originally thought to be targeting the horizontal Lodgepole, as it spots within a unit that Whiting spaced on 1,280 acres for the lateral Scallion formation, a subsection of the Lodgepole. Field sources now indicate the Quale 21-30 is a vertical test that will evaluate the Red River. Whiting has released no data regarding the status of this prospect. "

Montana Oil and Gas Production Down in 2011

From May 11, 2012, edition of Rocky Mountain Oil Journal.

Data points:
  • 2011 oil production: 24,089,901 bbls; down 1,234,901 bbls from year before
  • 2010 oil production: 25,323,802 bbls
  • Natural gas production was down substantially, down 15 percent
  • Elm Coulee Field, Richland County: largest producing reservoir in Montana
  • production from the Bakken pool declined about 3 percent
  • Elm Coulee, 2011 production; 11,572,720 bbls
  • Elm Coulee accounted for almost 50% of Montana's total crude output
  • the decline may be reversed in 2012 as Bakken developers in North Dakota move west, including into Montana
  • Heath formation is developing in central Montana

10-Building, 270-Apartment Complex To Be Completed in Days In The Heart of The Bakken

I hope this story is posted on the net soon without requiring a paid subscription to the Williston Herald so others can see it.

Right now, it's in the paid subscription on-line edition.  The story has a great photo.

This is the lede:
Colorado-based company, Eaglesmere Williston, is developing a 10-building, 270-unit apartment complex called the "Confluence at Harvest Hills," on 15 acres in Williston's Harvest Hills subdivision, on the west side of town.

According to a press release: "The first apartment building section is being constructed in a stratgecally planned one-day process that involves stacking 12 factory-built sections together three stories high and connecting them side-by-side. The entire building will be completed over the coming weeks....
It's really quite remarkable.

While the entire Harvest Hills subdivision was being prepared with streets, utilities, etc., the houses, and the apartment complex, were being fabricated off-site, probably in Colorado, and then trucked in as modular units. This was not a trivial endeavor.

Chevron and Peak Oil

Link here to CarpeDiem.com.
"Technology advancements in the energy sector can boost oil and gas production, improve safety and curb fears that fossil fuels are rapidly running out, a Chevron official said today. During the opening session of a Houston energy conference this morning, Jay Pryor, Chevron’s vice president for business development, touted a number of technology advancements that have improved the efficiency and safety of fossil fuel production, including enhanced oil recovery, 3D seismic imaging, horizontal wells, and hydraulic fracturing.

“Because of technology, we are producing in places once just dreamed of,” Pryor said, at the 10th annual KPMG Global Energy Conference. “In lifting those reserves, we’ve raised doubts about the eminence of peak oil.”
Yup. 

Natural gas. Coal. Solar. Wind. Nuclear. Biofuels. Algae.

Pennsylvania Lookin' Good -- Nothing To Do With The Bakken -- At Least Not Directly

Link here
Now this once-sleepy chunk of north-central Pennsylvania is a star on the map of an emerging national energy rush. Six hotels are new or being built, and about 100 companies have moved to town, sometimes so fast that the head of the local Chamber of Commerce has told executives wanting guided tours to wait. [Sounds like Williston, North Dakota except our motel/hotel count is significantly higher.]

"I've said, 'Look sir, get in line,'" says Vince Matteo, chief executive of the Williamsport/Lycoming chamber. "Now I know people in their 20s with high school (diplomas) making $120,000 a year." [Sounds like Williston, North Dakota, or did I already say that?]

Much of Wall Street and Washington is seized by the hope that the U.S.'s energy future will be as bright as Williamsport's. As Americans heave a sigh of relief at gasoline prices falling back from near $4 a gallon, big new discoveries of domestic oil and natural gas hold the promise of more substantial benefits for the U.S. economy for decades to come -- even the possibility of energy independence.
Unless I'm missing something it sure sounds like the Pennsylvania folks are happy with how things are developing. Especially in light of the recent Dimock-EPA findings.

I really find it hard to believe that any presidential nominee is going to be able to speak out against developing America's rich resource base. But I suppose if one is audacious enough ...

NGL -- and Natural Gas To Some Extent -- Pipelines -- Frenetic -- And Still A Shortage

This really is quite incredible. I don't think anyone could have predicted this five years ago. And now this: see link.
As new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) show, the race is on to add new domestic natural gas transmission pipeline and storage capacity. Surging production from inland shale gas and tight sand basins is contributing to this demand for new capacity.

"Shale gas is creating a big stress on the U.S. pipeline spider web," said Chris Faulkner, CEO of Breitling Oil and Gas. The Dallas-based exploration and production company operates in the Haynesville, Eagle Ford, Marcellus and Granite Wash shale plays.

"With shale gas impacting supply as a 47-percent component by 2035, I believe the current state of the pipelines coming down to the Gulf Coast is at an extreme crossroads."
I probably wouldn't have paid attention to this development except for all I've learned because of ONEOK's natural gas gathering and processing plants in Williams/McKenzie Counties.

I am still impressed with what ONEOK has done in the Bakken. 

For Those Following Chesapeake in North Dakota, Another Dot To Connect

The link is here.

I'm too tired to re-write the story as a new post. Hopefully you can figure out what I'm saying at the link.

A huge "thank you" to the reader who alerted me to the fact that CHK's Nomac 312 was no longer on the active drilling list.

2,400 Apartment Units To Watford City -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

A reader sent me the following a few minutes ago:

In Watford City alone, 2,400 apartment units by spring, possibly tripling the census population.
http://www.watfordcitynd.com/?id=10&nid=1660

During Monday night’s meeting the council approved zoning changes, annexations and subdivision plats affecting over 725 acres of land that are located within the city’s extraterritorial zoning area (ETA).

One of the first new commercial developments, according to Moen, could be the South Park project, which is located at the junction of Highway 85 and the Highway 23 Bypass.

Nine (9) New Permits -- OXY Has a Nice Well -- Newfield Transfers 24 Wells to CLR -- The Williston Basin, North Dakota, USA

Daily activity report, May 16, 2012 --

Nine new permits --
  • Operators: Whiting (5), Hess (2), CLR, True Oil
  • Fields: Bully (McKenzie), Bell (Stark), St Demetrius (Billings), Dollar Joe (Williams), Gaylord (Stark) Hoot Owl (Golden Valley)
Four producing wells completed, none particularly remarkable.

Six wells were released from "tight hole" status:
  • 19854, 328, EOG, Ross 35-0331H,
  • 19945, 158, EOG, Lostwood 19-1324H,
  • 20278, 936, OXY, David Kovash 1-12-13H-142-96, notice the nice OXY well;
  • 21525, 467, Fidelity, Helen 11-15H-2,
  • 21703, 2,112, Petro-Hunt, Miller 157-101-12C-1-1H, Otter field; t2/12; Otter field is northwest of Williston; in Williams County, immediately north of Tyrone oil field;
  • 21799, 249, CLR, Brundtland 1-15H
It's been a long time since I've seen all wells released from "tight hole" status report anIP and not go to DRL status.


Transfer of operator from Newfield to CLR, 24 wells, all in Williams County: East Fork, Last Chance, and Epping oil fields; I noted this is an earlier blog: Press release, Oct, 2011: acquired 22,600 net acres from NFX for $275 million (small production; 8 drilled/unfracked wells):
  • 09718, 123, Bratlien 5 14-27, Last Chance; t9/83; cum 174K; 3/12; a Madison well;
  • 09864, 216, Burdick 3 24-20, Catwalk, t6/83; cum 159K; 3/12; a Madison well;
  • 09855, 237, Burdick 1 1-28, Last Chance, t3/83; cum 171K; 3/12; a Madison well;
  • 09693, 110, Bratlien 2 22-33, Last Chance; t1/83; cum 173K; 3/12;  a Madison well;
  • 09417, 81, Bratlien 1 41-33, Last Chance; t6/11; cum 87K; 3/12; a Madison well;
  • 12144, Holdredge 43-33 SWD
  • 12108, Backen 42-33 SWD
  • 14514, 14, Jackson 1-35H, Last Chance, t1/97; cum 27K 3/12;
  • 19428, DRL, Lila  8-5 1H, Epping;
  • 19202, 1,010, Manolo 21-16 1H, East Fork, t3/11; cum 50K 3/12;
  • 19090, DRL, Osmond 3-10 1H, East Fork,
  • 19087, 1,395, Sandhill 25-36 1H, Wildcat, t1/11; cum 69K 3/12;
  • 18581, 755, Caliente 1-9H, East Fork, t4/11; cum 40K 3/12;
  • 18413, 1,071, Heidi 1-4H, East Fork, t4/10; cum 56K 3/12;
  • 19429, DRL, Hunter 1H, Epping,
  • 14638, 141, Bratlien 13-24, Last Chance, t8/97; cum 42K 3/12;
  • 10194, 66, Bratlien 4 24-33, Last Chance; t8/83; cum 118K 3/12; Madison well;
  • 18226, 549, Chanel 1-33H, Last Chance, t4/09; cum 36K 3/12;
  • 20944, PNC, Vandeberg 156-99-26-35-3H, East Fork,
  • 20993, DRL, Chrome 155-99-18-19-1H, Epping,
  • 21047, DRL, Sodbuster 155-99-18-19-1H, Epping,
  • 21295, DRL, Peterson 156-99-29-32-1H, East Fork,
  • 21845, conf, Bratlien 154-100-33-28-1H, Last Chance,
  • 19931, 1,257, Breitling 23 14 1H, East Fork, t9/11; cum 56K 3/12;

Maybe Things Aren't So Bad -- Not About The Bakken Directly

Updates

Later, 7:45 p.m.: Wow, wow, wow! Look at the map that goes with the story below. And look at that North Dakota to Texas Renaissance Corridor. 

Original Post
Link here.
U.S. households' financial health moved up to 69.9 last quarter from 67.6 in the final quarter of 2011, as measured on the 100-point scale of the Consumer Distress Index from nonprofit credit counseling agency CredAbility. While 69.9 may be the largest improvement in the last seven years, it is still well below the mid-80s readings that the nation saw through the mid- and late-1990s. The index takes into account a wide variety of data in the areas of employment, housing, credit, household budget, and net worth.

That economic well-being varies widely by geography. Only the Dakotas landed in the "Good/Stable" category (80-89.9 index points), with scores of 80.2 for South Dakota and 84 for North Dakota. Nevada and Georgia landed at the bottom of the ranking, with scores of 61.7 and 64, respectively. That puts them in the group of "Distressed/Unstable" states--that is, states with scores between 60 and 69.9, a category that includes 23 states. The remaining 25 states and the District of Columbia are classified as "Weakening/At-Risk' with scores between 70 and 79.9.
I'm not sure why they listed North Dakota first but that's just my sensitivity.

So, if during the campaign season, the incumbent asks if we are better off than we were four years ago, I guess it's a resounding "yes."

Crew Camp Approved by Dickinson Planning and Zoning Commission

Link here
The company needs to get final approval from the Dickinson City Commission before it breaks ground by the end of summer. Accommodate plans to have the man camp fully operational by the end of next year.

Wow! Talk About Distancing Oneself From the President -- Absolutely Nothing To Do With The Bakken

Wow.

99-0 in the Senate to reject the President's proposed budget.

414-0 in the House to reject the President's proposed budget.

One would think that some of the Senators could have at least voted "present" but apparently, according to the linked article, it was 99 - 0 in the Senate to reject. Senator Reid even voted "no."  I guess.

Even labor unions opposed. I guess some folks actually read these documents.

Talk about distancing oneself from the President.

Ground Breaking Sand Creek Town Center AND Chandler Field Housing Development -- Williston, North Dakota, The Bakken, USA

Link here to the Williston Herald. The story includes a graphic, but remember: regional links break often and break early.
The construction project will house a 14-screen theater along with major retail chains on the west side of of the city is under way. However, Menards, once thought to be a major player in the project has yet to commit to Williston for a future home. City officials announced last year that Menards would be the first of the big box stores to be located in the shopping center — a claim Menards has never verified.

A Menards spokesperson emailed the Williston Herald this morning that the store has “nothing to report at this time.”

With or without Menards, the project promises to bring in a more retail options to people of not only Williston, but the region. The nearest shopping center of similar size is in Minot, about 120 miles away.
Granite Peak Development, the Wyoming-based developer of Sand Creek, said talks are still ongoing with Menards.
I've opined on the Menards story months ago. It's been so long ago that I've long forgotten where it's posted.

Meanwhile, another link and story (this is a video link and the link will likely break sooner than later) sent by the same reader who sent the link above:
Homes for thousands of people and retail and commercial space for many companies took a step toward becoming reality west of Williston today.

Ground was broken for the new Northwest development, that promises more than 1,300 multi-family units and more than 200-thousand square feet of retail space as well as a 157-room hotel.

Governor Jack Dalrymple said state oil funds granted to Williston played a key role in making the development possible.

Mayor Ward Koeser said the project involves a lot of risk.

(Ward Koeser - Mayor of Williston) "The investment is huge.  There is a huge risk that is taken betting and investing in the community but we are going to move forward and we are so thankful for that.  We need help...we need people who are willing to come here from other areas, buy land, build on it, develop it, and help us become a better community."

Land for the project was sold by 20-year owners Jenelle and Orville Loomer who have now moved to Wyoming.

They operated an RV park on the land, and lived in a building located on the property.

They say they're glad the land is being used for a new community.
I do remember the name, the Loomers. Good for them. Especially the part about moving to Wyoming. Smile.

Wednesday Morning Ramblings -- Not Much To Do With the Bakken


Updates

May 16, 2012: John Deere/CEO visits Bismarck (regional links break early and break often); huge distributor is in Bismarck, ND. 
A booming economy is attracting a lot of attention to North Dakota and a lot of officials.

A busy oil patch and a nation leading Ag industry brings the CEO of John Deere to western North Dakota.

Ag Reporter Sarah Gustin visits with this top official about John Deere's presence in North Dakota's 2 largest industries.

(Ron Offutt / RDO Founder) "It doesn't get any higher in Moline, Illinois than who's here today. So Sam, chairman of John Deere, would you come say a few words to this great team, because we are proud of it.

The CEO of John Deere, Sam Allen is stepping out of the office and into the shop to get a 1st hand look at the equipment he oversees.

RDO Ag and Construction is the largest independent dealer for John Deere.

RDO has 60 locations in 9 states.

Bismarck is the largest store.
Original Post

1. The Feds won a huge battle with the banks over the housing debacle. The Feds earmarked that money to be returned to homeowners to help them with their mortgages. Unfortunately, the Feds sent the money to the states to distribute. In many cases, the money never left the states' coffers. Instead of being used as intended, to help homeowners, states are using the huge windfall to plug state deficits. Link here.

2. Remember an earlier post about oil-farmer-millionaires who can now afford to farm? A reader noted that North Dakota farmers are buying farm machinery to offset their royalty income for tax purposes. So, any evidence that story is more than anecdotal? Deere reports this morning that earnings exceeded expectations by almost 20 percent; raises profit forecast; share price jump. More evidence that North Dakota farmers doing well? Willie Nelson has no "Farm Aid" concerts scheduled for the state (at least as far as I am aware).

3. It looks like the iPad is going to morph into the iPhone. The iPhone is getting bigger and the iPad is getting smaller according to rumors.

4. A viewer of CNBC asks Jim Cramer on Continental Resources; mentions that North Dakota is now #2; mentions that Bakken (could be?) bigger than Prudhoe. Not sure if he said "could be" or "is." Cramer not investing in oil companies right now due to price of oil. Hmmmm.  Buy high, sell low?

5. On Monday, May 14, 2012, I posted this: On CNBC today they are talking about a run on the banks in Greece. This is hugely old news. Googld "Greece run on banks" and you will see that there has been a "silent" run on banks since last autumn, with the first peak perhaps in December. The next rumor / bit of news to watch for: printing presses in Greece (or wherever they might be) printing "new" drachmas. Well, today, Don sent me this link:
Investors searching for clues in this crucial debate should consider closely watching shares of British printing company De La Rue. That’s because the London-listed company is the world’s largest commercial currency printer and could be tapped to help bring back the drachma if Greece finally throws in the towel on the eurozone.
So, there you have it. Shares in this company have risen 13% in the past few days.

6. Speaking of Greece, the folks there withdrew almost a billion dollars in one day, and then MSNBC asks the question, is this a beginning of a run on banks in Greece. As I posted earlier, if one googles "Greece run on banks" one will find that the run on banks in Greece began silently starting last August. Most of the big money has been taken out. This is a train wreck. The only question is the size of the oncoming train and the speed of the Greek train. Wow, talk about Greek tragedies.

7. My hunch: a community organizer only a few years ago, now worth in excess of $10 million and hobnobbing with George Clooney and the rest of Hollywood will have trouble convincing voters that his opponent cannot identify with America's middle class.

8. Energy supplies expected to increase. Up by 2.1 million barrels; less than what API reported last evening (6 million barrels) but almost double what analysts expected. I do not know the explanation for the difference between government figures and the API figures, but 2 million vs 6 million bbls seems like a significant difference. The build will decrease as a) Americans start driving this summer; and, b) Canada slows down production due to drop in price of oil.

9. Illinois: twice the number of homes in foreclosure than California. So, the good news? California is digging itself out of the hole. The bad news: California is not a swing state; Illinois is. (With regard to the election.)

Seaway Reversal Scheduled for Tomorrow

For folks looking for a site that tracks historical data comparing "ND Sweet" and WTI:  My "Data Links" site has that information. It should be noted that the best site (SemCrude) does not include a better comparison, light Louisiana sweet (LLS), unless I missed it.

Another Human Interest Story Coming Out of the Bakken

Link to the Williston Herald (regional links break early, break often).
There really is no place like Williston and the Bakken region. Men are flocking here from all over the country, hungry for work and a better life. Many leave families behind, hoping to visit when they can, but others bring their families in tow.

When the economy went south, Isaac found his business slowing, and it grew harder to support his new wife and their young son, Caleb. Then they heard about Williston.

In February 2011, the young family packed into a minivan and made their way from Idaho to Williston. When they first got here, they struggled to find their feet.
The madness of the boomtown proved to be too much for Toni. She made plans to move back to Idaho with Caleb, leaving Isaac to be just another man apart from his family. But then, a miracle happened.

“We found this great old farmhouse outside of town,” Toni says. “We had been praying for something to happen for weeks. We give the credit to God.”
The photo at the linked article is worth a 1,000 words. 

Filloon's Update on Newfield, 1Q12 -- SeekingAlpha.com

Link here.

This is not an investment site. If one goes back to the earliest postings, the welcome, and the disclaimer, one finds the real reason(s) for this site. One of those reasons was to "figure" out the Bakken. I have a lot of fun looking at the locations of the great wells (and, of course, on the flip side, the locations of the wells that are not so good).

Mike Filloon provides another opportunity to look at the NDIC GIS map server. Filloon highlights four very nice Newfield wells:
Of Newfield's wells completed in 2012, there are excellent results:
  1. WEHRUNG 150-99-11-2-1H: IP rate of 2065 Bo/d
  2. BERNICE 150-99-20-17-1H: IP rate of 2148 Bo/d
  3. OBENOUR 150-99-21-16-1H: IP rate of 2327 Bo/d
  4. SAND CREEK STATE 1-16H: IP rate of 2500 Bo/d
Of the wells listed, Wehrung only had a 6670 foot lateral with 23 stages on a 24/64 choke. Bernice and Obenour are approximately 9000 to 9500 foot laterals with 32 frac stages. Sand Creek State was also a short lateral with 4502 feet of length and 24 frac stages. These wells had either a 18/64 or 24/64 choke.
Where are these wells?

The first three wells mentioned are just a few miles west of Watford City, McKenzie County, near the bull's eye of the Bakken, and where the Bakken activity is headed this year.
  • 21394, 2,065, Newfield, Wehrung 150-99-11-2-1H, Tobacco Garden, t2/12; cum 32K 3/12;
  • 21192, 2,148, Newfield, Bernice 150-99-20-17-1H, South Tobacco Garden, t1/12; cum 38K 3/12;
  • 20347, 2,327, Newfield, Obenour 150-99-21-16-1H, South Tobacco Garden, t3/12; cum 15K 3/12;
  • 19089, 2,500, Newfield, Sand Creek State 1-16H, Sand Creek, t1/12; cum 47K 3/12;
Newfield has two more wells in the very same section: 
  • 22493, conf, Newfield, Bernice 150-99-20-17-2H, South Tobacco Garden,
  • 22494, conf, Newfield, Bernice 150-99-20-17-3H, South Tobacco Garden,
South Tobacco Garden is south of the highway, midway between Arnegard and Watford City. Tobacco Garden, of course, is north of the highway.

Sand Creek is just south of the river, and at the western edge of the bull's eye of the Bakken. 

Using results like this, there are three things folks can follow going forward:
  • the location of good wells to get a feeling of the sweet spots in the Bakken
  • whether multiple wells in the same spacing unit affect production of neighboring wells
  • payzones: middle Bakken, Three Forks, Pronghorn, deeper benches of the Three Forks
Observant readers of Mike's column probably noticed something else: how far back these wells were choked. It's my impression that most wells are choked about 32/64 and 48/64. These wells had either a 18/64 or 24/64 choke. Also, note that the Sand Creek well was a short lateral.



America's Clipboard Mentality When It Comes To Energy -- May 16, 2012

Wyoming is looking at a pipeline corridor to expedite the process of pipeline permitting; link here.
While data collection has begun, Jeffries said the Pipeline Authority will be filing a National Environmental Protection Act application. The process could take between three and five years to complete, but it would save companies years in their future permitting processes, he said. NEPA dictates the federal environmental review process for this project, just like other energy projects on federal lands.
Holy time machine, Batman! Five years to complete a study and an application! Kapow! Who knows how many years it will take for the Feds to act on the application! Wham! Three to five years now to save time in the future! Bam!

That one sentence in bold encapsulates America's clipboard mentality.

This is what the pipeline companies have to contend with according to the linked story: sage grouse, raptor nests, soil and topography erosion, historic trails, agriculture, mining, motor travel restrictions, wilderness study areas, backcountry byways and  "more."

The "more" includes objections from surface owners,  tribal burial grounds, paleontology studies, 100-year risk flood plains, bicycle paths, federal prison sites, potential Trump Tower sites, UFO landing locations, and departure pads for the rapture.

Any chance this initiative will succeed? Note:
No BLM representatives apparently attended the Pipeline Authority’s meeting at the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. 
If I understand the story correctly, this is all about the BLM. I'm not following the story closely at all, so I'm probably misreading the entire thing. Silly me.

Massachusetts To Silence Wind Turbines

Updates

May 25, 2013: the citizens voted. The wind turbines in Falmouth will continue to turn for now.
 
Original Post

Music to my ears.
For the first time since the state began promoting wind power, environmental officials have recommended shutting down a wind turbine because of elevated noise levels that they described as unacceptable to local residents.

The state Department of Environmental Protection, in a long-awaited response to Falmouth residents’ complaints about noise from two turbines, released a report Tuesday finding that one turbine less than 1,500 feet from the nearest home repeatedly exceeded allowable noise levels.

The findings give ammunition to increasingly vocal opponents of wind power, who have sought to slow the Patrick administration’s efforts to produce 2,000 megawatts of wind power - three-quarters of it from offshore sources - by 2020, up from about 45 megawatts available today. The Falmouth turbines produce a total of 3 megawatts of power.
Not one redeeming feature for these slice-and-dicers.

WSJ on North Dakota Jumping to #2 in Oil Production

Link here.

This is a huge story, taking up a prominent location on page 3 of today's print edition of the WSJ, more about that later.
The leap past Alaska came "substantially earlier than we thought. We had graphed this out [to happen] early next year," said Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, which represents more than 350 companies in the state's oil fields.

In four years, oil output has quadrupled in North Dakota. In March 2008, the state was the No. 8 oil-producing state at 144,000 barrels a day.

But since then, new technology called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has allowed companies to access the roughly 4.3 billion barrels of crude believed to lie in the Bakken shale beneath parts of North Dakota, Montana and Canada. 
Yes, anyone who expected North Dakota to jump to #2, expected it to happen not earlier than later this year at the earliest. This story is as much about North Dakota's view of energy development as it is about the federal government's view

To some degree, I was a doubter; I honestly thought Alaska/federal government would get its house in order and beef up production.  But that was in my emotional arena: I never thought I would live to see the day North Dakota would become #2 in oil production. But in my reality arena, it was obvious it was going to happen.

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

Hey, on a completely different note.

As some of you may or may not know, Google and Microsoft "search" are in a heated battle for eyeballs. Google, of course, is the 800-pound gorilla and I doubt Bing will make much of a dent, but its viewership has increased significantly over the past year or so.

This a.m. I tested both.

I read the print edition of the WSJ whenever I can.  When traveling, I can read it on-line but I have never activated my on-line edition even though I get that feature free with my paid subscription to the WSJ.

If one goes to the on-line WSJ to read an article, without a paid subscription, one can read a few paragraphs of the story, but that's it. It turns out that if you google the exact headline of the WSJ story, it will take you to the full story, courtesy of something called "Google reader," a relationship that Google has with WSJ.

I knew that, but was curious if Microsoft's Bing would/could do the same thing. It can't. You get the first three paragraphs of the WSJ story and then it requires a paid subscription (or more correctly, a password) to get to the full story).

******************* 

And, then, on a completely different note. Speaking of that relationship between Google and the WSJ.

I'm not a big fan of Facebook, but it is the 800-pound gorilla among the social networking sites. (Google and Facebook are in different cages.)  If Google search, Microsoft Bing's Snapshot, YouTube, and Facebook, all merged into a more professional-looking (business-oriented Facebook), it would be my go-to page.

I love keeping up with family and friends, but I would also like to view other sites within the same, seamless, environment. I think Apple's IOS/iTunes model would be perfect for such an all-encompassing site.

That Was a Head Fake, Folks

I know a lot of folks must have been surprised at my post yesterday titled: The President Supports Fossil Fuels.

That was what "we" call a "head fake." We'll see a lot of them this election year.

If you want a better understanding of the $10-million-man's view on making the US energy independent and his support for the fossil fuel industry, take a look at this map at CarpeDiem.