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Vern Whitten Photography -- May/June 2012 -- Oil Patch -- Williston Basin

Link here to some really nice photographs of the oil patch in western North Dakota taken by Vern Whitten Photography.

I enjoy them all.

The photograph of the industrial park on US Highway 2 west of Williston taken in May, 2012, is really quite amazing.  Williston is about three inches off the left side of the photo. One year ago this was all farmland or prairie. There was a small electrical substation and a truck scale but that was about it.

Note the "newness" of the industrial park. A year from now it will be completely filled in. The photograph is looking southeast toward the river. The major "T" intersection is the US Highway 85 (a two-lane road for the most part) intersecting with US Highway 2 at the "4-mile corner" west of Williston. You can just make out a frontage road on the south side of US 2 running from right to left (or left to right). It looks like they may be able to make that "T" intersection into a four-way intersection, the north road currently not completed. The original plans called for the "Truck Reliever Route," or the "truck bypass" to turn north just to the west of the industrial park, just outside the photograph on the right side (at least that's how I interpreted the original plan).

The more established industrial park where the huge BHI complex is located is to the east (off the photo to the left).

US Highway 2 is now a four-lane, divided highway, across the entire state of North Dakota. That was completed shortly before the current boom in North Dakota. The highway is similarly widened for ten to twenty miles west into Montana (I'm sure someone from Montana will give me a better distance). I know it was being upgraded/widened at least to Bainville, MT, before I departed the area last autumn.

Contact information for Vern Whitten Photography:
whittenaerials@aol.com
www.vernwhittenphotography.com
(701) 261-7658

WSJ Wrap-Up -- Monday, June 25, 2012

Not much in the paper of interest today.

Fourth section: all about education.

Third section:
"Where to place your calls for dividends with telecom stocks," -- it comes down to ATT vs VZ, and VZ is the WSJ's choice, by a hair.
Second section:
"Ferry systems look to switch to natural gas," -- in Norway, ferries have been using liquefied natural gas for over a decade. Slowly, every so slowly, the switch to natural gas will eventually reach the US.
First section:
"Gas prices dip, but confidence stalls" -- due to economic stagnation, consumers won't notice price drop

Pretty dull today. It was so bad I almost included an article on recent legal ruling involving Apple, Google, and Motorola, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

Schlumberger, Petrofac, PEMEX: Panuco Contract Area -- Absolutely Nothing To Do With The Bakken

Link to Penn Energy.

This article has nothing to do with the Bakken but it provides some data that helps put the Bakken in perspective.

The data points (some rounding):
  • the Panuco  Contract Area: four mature onshore fields operated by PEMEX
  • discovered in the early 1900's
  • original oil in place: 7 billion bbls
  • 1,600 wells; 200 are currently producing
  • total production: 1,500 bopd
Petrofac and Schlumberger will develop the fields jointly with Petrofac as the lead operator

RBN Energy: The Marcellus Changes Everything -- Part II and III

Link here to RBN Energg, Part II and Part III.

Several data points due to shale gas from the Marcellus within the next couple of years:
  • imports from Canada into the northeastern US will cease
  • imports from the Midwest will gradually back out
  • inflows from the Gulf region could diminish/halt