Billions of barrels of oil that could increase domestic supply, help reduce imports, and improve US energy security may be potentially recoverable from residual oil zones, according to initial findings from a study supported by the US Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy.It is interesting to note that ROZs are something different than "reservoirs in the mature stage of 'waterflooding.'" Wow, it never ends -- moving the peak oil curve to the right.
The recently completed study, conducted by researchers at the University of Texas-Permian Basin, is one of several DOE-supported research projects providing insight that will help tap this valuable but overlooked resource.
Residual oil zones, called ROZs, are areas of immobile oil found below the oil-water contact of a reservoir. ROZs are similar to reservoirs in the mature stage of “waterflooding,” in which water has been injected into a formation to sweep oil toward a production well.
Pages
▼
Monday, July 23, 2012
Residual Oil Zones -- ROZ
I sometimes call them "legacy" formations; the DOE calls them residual oil zones (link at Oil and Gas Journal). Regardless, it is estimated these old fields still have a lot of recoverable oil using enhanced oil recovery techniques.
Monday Evening Links: Ceramic Manufacturing Plant in ND?
Updates
July 24, 2012: see comments below; a reader sent a link to this story about CarboCeramics plant in Georgia, covering 800 acres. The reader may be correct, suggesting the site near Gladstone may not be big enough if it gets into production, rather than just distribution. A May3, 2012, update at MarketWatch, click here.
Original Post
A Houston-based company that plans to produce tiny ceramic beads from North Dakota clay now has zoning approval for a site near Gladstone.The mayor wants to see the site plan.
Carbo Ceramics received approval at the city's meeting July 9 for an 85-acre site just north of Gladstone on the east side of the Enchanted Highway.
Ceramic beads are used during hydraulic fracturing in oil production to prop open the fracture fissures so oil can flow from the dense Bakken formations. Sand is also used for the same purpose.
************
A reader said he called NIDC. Their website could be down until tomorrow. Bummer. Something about a summer intern pushing a "red" button just before asking why that button had tape across it and the word "uff-da" taped on it.
Probably the same intern that typed in the 4,991-bbl IP for a CLR well a few days ago. Smile.
************
For investors only: KOG is a buy. Interestingly enough, the writer has no position in KOG himself and does not plan to buy any. At SeekingAlpha.com.
************
For investors only: Apple is building up a huge overseas cash horde -- currently its overseas cash stash -- currently $74 billion -- exceeds the market value of Citigroup Inc -- which I believe has something to do with banking. Wisconsin Jobs, Economy -- Fracking Sand Operations Doubled in Wisconsin -- Bakken, Eagle Ford Connection
Link to LaCrosseTribune.com:
Preferred Sands turns Wisconsin’s sandy soil into a hot commodity. A wall of green trees opens to a vast expanse of sand buzzing with activity. Excavators mine and conveyors carry the sand from towering stockpiles up into the processing plant. Every week, this facility ships 7,500 tons of sand by rail to oil and gas fields in Texas, North Dakota and Pennsylvania.Great article at the link; link sent to me be a reader. I would have missed it. Great photo at the link.
This 400-acre mine and processing facility is one of 20 such operations that have sprung up in the past two years in Trempealeau County. The mines and processing plants produce strong, fine-grained sand in high demand for a type of oil and natural gas drilling known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
NDIC Site Back Up -- Monday Evening -- 7:30 PDT
Unable to access NDIC site on two different systems. I can access all other web sites. Unable to update wells that came off confidential list today for time being.
For Investors Only: WMB; Unrelated: RailAmerica To Be Acquired by Genesee & Wyoming
This is very, very interesting.
WMB reiterates downside 2Q12 guidance; guidance sharply lower.
Reiterates dividend increases.
Market sharply lower today.
Oil starts day, down $3.00; rebounds a bit.
WMB? Share price up. Speaks volumes.
WMB reiterates downside 2Q12 guidance; guidance sharply lower.
Reiterates dividend increases.
Market sharply lower today.
Oil starts day, down $3.00; rebounds a bit.
WMB? Share price up. Speaks volumes.
Early Monday Morning Links -- Timing Is Everything -- What's the Profit Margin on $3 Natural Gas? -- CNOOC To Buy Nexen
The talk about recession gets louder.
Timing is everything: yesterday someone sent me a comment asking whether natural gas was profitable at $3.00? Here's your answer -- from today's RBN Energy link. However, remember that it is the LIQUID natural gas products/by-products that are much more profitable in the Bakken than dry natural gas.
China's CNOOC to buy Canada's Nexen for huge premium. This is a huge story on so many levels. The data points are very interesting. How tight is long-view picture of oil? China's national oil company has only nine years of proved reserves. Nine years. "They" say its gets more and more difficult each year for the large multi-nationals to replace their previous year's production; nine years just doesn't seem all that long. A link to the NY Times regarding same story.
Another installment of Bismarck Tribune reporter's tour of the Bakken. This is a must for newbies, and a must for faux environmentalists to read (though it won't change anyone's mind -- the JRR Tolkien phenomeon). Even for long-term observers, there is a lot in this story: This is just one small part of a very, very good report.
Our granddaughters flew in yesterday to Los Angeles from Boston -- by themselves! They had their own snacks (fortunately) but also cash to purchase a snack/meal on American Airlines. But as has been American Airlines' custom for quite some time (as well as that of most other airlines, I assume), "they" no longer take cash, "only credit or debit" according to the five-year-old just turned six. They were most surprised that, although they were offered unlimited soft drinks and water, no peanuts, pretzels, or any type of light snack came with the drinks for that five-hour flight. "We" generally have no choice which airline "we" fly these days but I am still amazed how little customer service the airlines offer. I agree 100% with the credit card policy. From now on, I will give each of my granddaughters their own debit card with firm instructions NOT to buy drinks for the entire planeload of passengers. Smile. But I was quite amazed the flight attendants had instructions from the parent company not to offer any goodies to children flying alone.
They got off the plane in great spirits, and will be with us in southern California for a month. Then, I return with them to Boston.
So, expect a lot of notes "to" and "for" my granddaughters over the next few weeks about their "Club Med" experience. For those coming here just for the Bakken, the Bakken stories will always take precedent; the notes will be clearly marked.
Timing is everything: yesterday someone sent me a comment asking whether natural gas was profitable at $3.00? Here's your answer -- from today's RBN Energy link. However, remember that it is the LIQUID natural gas products/by-products that are much more profitable in the Bakken than dry natural gas.
China's CNOOC to buy Canada's Nexen for huge premium. This is a huge story on so many levels. The data points are very interesting. How tight is long-view picture of oil? China's national oil company has only nine years of proved reserves. Nine years. "They" say its gets more and more difficult each year for the large multi-nationals to replace their previous year's production; nine years just doesn't seem all that long. A link to the NY Times regarding same story.
Another installment of Bismarck Tribune reporter's tour of the Bakken. This is a must for newbies, and a must for faux environmentalists to read (though it won't change anyone's mind -- the JRR Tolkien phenomeon). Even for long-term observers, there is a lot in this story: This is just one small part of a very, very good report.
Dramatic improvements in the oil industry promise a light environmental footprint at each well site. The pads are much smaller now. Reserve pits—hazardous to birds, harder to reclaim—will soon be a thing of the past.Blog: Watford City will never be the same.
Multiple wells can be drilled on a single site, and then maneuvered far underground to reach out laterally in every direction to the productive Bakken shale formations. According to Ness and Hoffman, as many as 20 wells could be drilled on a single pad, and already it is routine for several to be drilled at one site. This will greatly reduce the number of access roads required to develop Bakken oil. It will “space” the wells far enough apart to reduce or eliminate the visual blight, what we think of as the “classical Texas oil field” phenomenon.
Because the oil shale is everywhere (not concentrated in randomly scattered deep pools as in traditional oil development) the fracking wells can be lined up, one every 640 or 1,280 feet for long distances along a single section line access road. This eliminates the need for a winding scoria access road to just one well (as in the past), and enables oil pipelines, service vehicles, power lines, water supplies, flaring collection pipelines, and other extraction logistics to be channeled along a single production corridor. Thus industry efficiency and a much lighter industrial footprint go hand in hand.
*****************
Note for the Granddaughters
Our granddaughters flew in yesterday to Los Angeles from Boston -- by themselves! They had their own snacks (fortunately) but also cash to purchase a snack/meal on American Airlines. But as has been American Airlines' custom for quite some time (as well as that of most other airlines, I assume), "they" no longer take cash, "only credit or debit" according to the five-year-old just turned six. They were most surprised that, although they were offered unlimited soft drinks and water, no peanuts, pretzels, or any type of light snack came with the drinks for that five-hour flight. "We" generally have no choice which airline "we" fly these days but I am still amazed how little customer service the airlines offer. I agree 100% with the credit card policy. From now on, I will give each of my granddaughters their own debit card with firm instructions NOT to buy drinks for the entire planeload of passengers. Smile. But I was quite amazed the flight attendants had instructions from the parent company not to offer any goodies to children flying alone.
They got off the plane in great spirits, and will be with us in southern California for a month. Then, I return with them to Boston.
So, expect a lot of notes "to" and "for" my granddaughters over the next few weeks about their "Club Med" experience. For those coming here just for the Bakken, the Bakken stories will always take precedent; the notes will be clearly marked.
Daily Activity Report -- Williston Basin, North Dakota, USA
Daily activity report, July 23, 2012 --
New permits: none issued today due to server maintenance
The following wells come off the confidential list today (and over the weekend) but no IPs were provided today:
New permits: none issued today due to server maintenance
The following wells come off the confidential list today (and over the weekend) but no IPs were provided today:
- 21743, DRY, CLR, Colfax 1-19H, Oliver,
- 21945, 697, Hess, EN-McKenna 157-93-3328H-2, Big Butte, t6/12; cum 8K 5/12;
- 22034, drl, BEXP, Strobeck 27-34H, Alger,
- 19417, 777,Whiting, Teddy State 21-36TFH, Big Stick, t1/12; cum 21K 5/12; producing about 5k bbls/month
- 21310, 120, MRO, Merlyn Olson 34-8H, Wilcat, t4/12; cum 597 bbls (no typo) 5/121;
- 21413, 771, Whiting, Lindley 41-7H, Sanish, t3/12; cum 32K 5/12; producing about 10K bbls/month,
- 22007, drl, BEXP, Panzer 22-23 1H, Alger,
- 20035, 339, WPX, Maggie Old Dog 19-18HW, Reunion Bay, 20K,
- 21484, drl, BR, Bartlett 31-16TFH, Murphy Creek,
- 21551, drl, QEP, MHA 3-31-25H-150-92, Heart Butte,
- 21599, 545, CLR, Stuss 1-26H, St Demetrius, t4/12; cum 23K 5/12;
- 21636, 581, OXY USA, State Tuhy 1-25-36H-143-95, Murphy Creek, t5/12; cum 8K 5/12;
- 21661, 222, Oasis, Shaw 6091 24-22H, Cottonwood; t2/12; cum 10K 5/12;
- 21767, 1,246, Oasis, Helix 5393 43-4H, Sanish, t2/12; cum 48K 5/12; 1K in March, 2012; 10K in May, 2012;
- 21946, 484, Hess, EN-McKenna 157-93-3328H-1, Big Butte, t6/12; cum --
- 22128, 626, G3 Operating, A & B 1-30-31H, Strandahl, t4/12; cum 12K 5/12;