Wells Reporting IPs on Monday; Some Great Wells; Peak Oil, What Peak Oil; $30 Billion Unaccounted For -- Global Warmers

Active rigs in the Bakken: 184 (steady, up from the low of 181)

A reader sent the link to this great story; what a great way to start another Bakken week!

RBN Energy: gulf coast demand; updates new developments in the Permian; repercussions for the Bakken, of course

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To the best of my knowledge, the wells that came off the confidential list since last Thursday (Thanksgiving) have not yet been posted. They should be posted Monday.

The Thursday / Friday wells at this post.

The Saturday / Sunday / Monday wells at this post.

Miscellaneous links. Maybe more on these later.

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The Sahara Desert / Algeria: answers to France's energy problems?  My hunch: France loves fracking, as long as it's done in its former colonies. It never ends, does it?

Is this nuts or what? Global warming folks don't even know if the $30 billion, or $40 billion, or $100 billion, or whatever it was, was even delivered. One might want to check one of Al Gore's thirty-seven garages.

Peak oil, what peak oil? Mexicans discover another elephant field. 

Wells Coming Off the Confidential List on Monday

11/24 (Saturday)
21398, drl, Slawson, Wolverine Federal 4-31-30TFH, Elm Tree,
22417, drl, Hess, HA-Swenson Observation -18-3, Hawkeye,
22479, 754, Hess, LK-Hamilton 146-97-3526H-3, Little Knife, t9/12; cum 19K 9/12;
22870, drl, XTO, Flatland 11X-2B, Sand Creek,
11/25 (Sunday)
19381, 319, EOG, Crowfoot 36-3018H, Clear Water, t6/12; cum 15K 9/12; 
20550, 1,478, EOG, Clarks Creek 10-0805H, Antelope, Sanish Pool, t6/12; cum 93K 9/12;
22122, 632, Fidelity, Emil 14-13H-24, Alger, t6/12; cum 37K 9/12;
22326, 1,582, Whiting, Talkington 41-30PH, Bell, t5/12; cum 56K 9/12;
22419, drl, Hess, BW-Sorenson 149-99-1324H-1, Wildcat,
22505, 1,437, EOG, Clarks Creek 100-0805H, Antelope, t6/12; cum 56K 9/12;
22726, 1,151, ERF, Serger 149-93-04B-03H TF, Mandaree, t10/12; cum --
22815, drl, BR, CCU Powell 21-29MBH, Corral Creek,
22891, 947, CLR, Monroe 1-2H, Banks, t8/12; cum 43K 9/12;
11/26 (Monday)
22267, 341, CLR, Helena 2-7H, Brooklyn, t10/12; cum --
22498, 1,267, Oasis, Shepherd 5501 12-5H, Missouri Ridge, t5/12; cum 38K 9/12;
22674, 894, Hess, EN-Rice-155-94-0211H-3, Manitou, t10/12; cum --
22880, 1,834, Helis, Bert 2-2/11H, Grail, should be another huge well; t7/12; cum 60K 9/12;

Random Update of US Oil Imports From Saudi Arabia

Archival purposes only. 

Link here. Data through August, 2012.

This was a follow-up to a story posted a long time ago -- a Reuters story regarding Saudi oil imported into the US.  It is now irrelevant. But it is interesting to review again imported Saudi oil. If you go to the first link, scroll down to the actual monthly data: it is really quite interesting.

United Kingtom: Consumers To See Increased Utility Bills to Pay For Green Energy Investment

Updates

November 25, 2012: the UK and the faux environmentalists may talk a good story, saying they want to shift from natural gas to wind, but reality sucks. In today's WSJ: BP seeks deal to get Russia gas for Britain. My hunch: four, five, ten years from now, the UK will wake up and realize they just spent hundreds of billions on wind (when the math never did work) when they could have been preparing for the future through a) natural gas; and, b) nuclear energy. Just a hunch.

Original Post

This is being posted foror archival purposes only. It sounds like this is "only the beginning" as the UK tries to sort out its long-term energy policy. 

This is an interesting story: scanning through it quickly it appears no one is really happy -- even the faux environmentalists are unhappy that carbon emissions targets were not established.

But the "green" energy investment (including nuclear plants) seems to be as much about as volatility of natural gas prices long term as carbon emissions.

The link takes you to a BBC story:

The government has published details of its long-awaited Energy Bill, designed to keep lights on and emissions down. 

It will allow energy firms to charge households an extra £7.6bn until 2020, which will go towards the development of low-carbon electricity generation. 

A decision about setting carbon emission targets for 2030 has been delayed until 2016, after the election. 

Consumers will pay a bit more in energy costs next year; these costs will increase annually, reaching about $200/year/household in 2020.

Two data points from the article:

• Environmentalists condemned the bill, saying the lack of a 2030 emissions target would make it very hard to meet the UK's law on climate change.
• But business groups said more needed to be done to mitigate the impact on firms of these extra costs, pointing to the loss of 900 jobs at a major energy user such as Tata Steel, as it cut back its operations in the UK. 

Energy costs in the US were well below those of the UK before this new additional cost, and now the delta will widen. It certainly provides a window of opportunity for American industry. 

Not Trivial: Global Liquid Fuel Production Up 15 Million Bbls Per Day In Ten Years

From The Oil Drum:

World total liquid fuel production data published by the International Energy Agency (IEA) suggests that global liquid fuel production has risen steadily (in stages) from 76.3 million barrels per day (mmbpd) in January 2002 to a recent high of 91.3 mmbpd in July 2012. The +15 million bbls per day represents a 20% uplift in liquid fuel supply in little over a decade.

63% of that increase from OPEC; 23% of that increase from non-OPEC countries. That's what was said at the link. I do not know who the 14% who would be both OPEC/"non-OPEC." France, Turkey, probably swing both ways, depending on the day of the week, but neither has much production. 

Some notable data points from the linked article:

• Biofuels production flat for the past three years: Biofuels production has risen from 0.35 mmbpd in January 2002 to 2.15 mmbpd in July 2012. As data recording techniques have improved a clear annual cyclicity is emerging in global biofuels production. Production has been flat for 3 years. Note that biofuels have a significantly different energy balance than fossil based liquid fuels. Substantial quantities of natural gas, diesel and electricity are required to produce ethanol and biodiesel, in many cases with little energy gain.
• Refinery gains but not energy gain: Refinery processing gains have risen from 1.82 mmbpd in January 2002 to 2.17 mmbpd in July 2012. The volume expansion of liquids during refining does not represent energy gain. The chemical alteration due to refinery processes results in lower density products relative to crude oil inputs. The slight rise in processing gains reflects the shift in global oil supply from light sweet crude to heavier grades that provide more volume expansion during processing.

Japan Eager to Import US Natural Gas

Link here to Yahoo news.

Congress could still block efforts to expand exports of America’s newly abundant supplies of natural gas, but there’s no question where Japan stands on the prospect of ships carrying liquefied natural gas from the U.S. arriving at its shores.

“From all the aspects, U.S. LNG is a very, very shining treasure … for us,” said Hirohide Hirai, director of policy evaluation and public relations at Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Hirai, former director of the petroleum and natural-gas division at the ministry, told National Journal this week that he is confident the United States will take advantage of the increased trade opportunity by allowing LNG exports to Japan.

Hirai said that his conversations with U.S. officials, energy lobbyists, and consultants about the growing natural-gas market in Japan have left him confident that LNG exports will get a “green signal” from the U.S.

With Regard To the Cease-Fire in the Mideast

Is it just me or have others noted the same thing: one of Israel's enemies starts firing rockets at Israel; Israel responds. The fighting escalates. And then when the side that started it runs out of rockets, they suggest a cease-fire. And world pressure is such, the Israelis have little choice.

I had planned to post that a few days ago when the current cease-fire was announced, but never got around to it; too busy. But I see that there's a report that Hamas is now re-arming. Sort of figures.

Of course, the source might be biased, the Jerusalem Post. I'm sure the Hamas Daily Herald and the Palestine Picayune would disagree. The latter would probably say the crates coming from Iran via Sudan are filled with dates and sandals.

And so it goes.

My Personal Favorite Post For The Day .... Beef Jerky

.... but the Keystone post office story was a close second. But I digress.

Don found this story in the Prairie Business Magazine: 

Demand for beef jerky is rising, and the Jack Link’s plant in Alpena, South Dakota, is answering the call.

Link Snacks Inc., or LSI, which produces Jack Link’s products, has nearly finished a 26,000-square-foot addition to its plant and has invested in the expansion of the Alpena wastewater treatment plant. The upgrades could bring 75 more jobs to the massive jerky plant within five years.

Alpena is in eastern South Dakota, twenty miles southwest of Huron, and according to Google maps appears to have all of five streets and six avenues. Population: < 300. Many of the workers come from neighboring cities and towns.

Beef jerky is a lot like wine. It's easy to find a good wine. What is difficult is finding a nice wine at a great price. Same with beef jerky. My favorite beef jerky is that which I get as a gift. Wow, beef jerky can be expensive. But it certainly is good. Love it.

It would be fun to see if the company has any statistics on how much beef jerky is being sold in western North Dakota.

North Dakota With Bragging Rights for Regional Economic Expansion

October survey at Prairie Business Magazine.

The overall index ranges between 0 and 100. Growth neutral is 50, and a figure greater than 50 indicates an expanding economy over the next three to six months.

For the Mid-America Region (numbers rounded).

North Dakota: hit a regional high of 64 in October, compared to 62 in September. Continues to grow. Bragging rights, but barely above Oklahoma, the other oil state in this region.

Oklahoma: soared to 63 from 57 in September. The new oil plays in Oklahoma.

Iowa: dropped slightly from 57 to 54. Claim to fame: lots of wind energy.

Missouri: slipped to 50 from 51.

Kansas: rose to a still weak 48 from 47.

Minnesota: for the fourth straight month, below 50; at 47 last two months. Stagnant.

South Dakota: for the fourth straight month, growth below 50; slipped to 45 in October from 47 in September. Getting worse.

Nebraska: for the third time in four months, below 50; plummeted from 50 in September to 45 in October. Going the wrong direction. Wow, Warren's state almost in as bad a shape as Arkansas.

Arkansas: plummeted from 50 to 42.

Simply foreshadowing the Great Recession of 2013.

Update On The 90-Day Hotel Going Up In Alexander; Updates Nightly Rate

Link here to the Williston Herald.

A new fast-built hotel concept is debuting in the Bakken region and is set to open by the end of the year.

The Shut Eye Hotel, a project developed jointly by the Banyan Investment Group and Proteus On-Demand, will be the first of the units to be built and features a 90-day construction cycle and a final product that can also be moved without leaving any trace behind, Chris Cooper, Banyan vice president of special projects, said.

The 70-unit hotel in Alexander will accommodate long-term guests with some space also remaining for short-term stays, depending on demand, he said. If requests are high, more units could be added quickly and room rates will be in the $100-130 per night range. The rate includes breakfast in the morning.

Wow! Could This Be? The US Postal Service Looking At ObamaCare's 29-Hour Work Week?

It could be. The article doesn't come right out and say it, and my hunch is that the cut in hours would have come anyway, but with the push by industry to cut employees to 29 hours/week wherever possible to save on health insurance costs, one has to bet that this issue came up in discussions about hourly cuts.

The link is at the Rapid City Journal.

The latest U.S. Postal Service plan to save money will hit hard in rural America, including in South Dakota, where more than 200 post offices in mostly small towns are likely to see a reduction in counter service.

Residents of Keystone will find out firsthand about the postal cuts on Tuesday evening, when residents can come to the town's small post office, at 111 Winter St., to give input on the proposal to reduce service hours.

Cue up Connie Francis.

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Back to the linked article, another story line. Cut and paste from the article:

In Keystone, residents will have a choice to close their local office or accept service reductions. The office could be closed if more than 60 percent of Keystone residents opt to close it; otherwise the Keystone post office would be open six hours each weekday, a 30-minute daily reduction, he said.

Maybe I'm misreading this but that paragraph suggests that the folks have a tough decision to make: a) close the post office entirely; or, b) a 30-minute daily reduction in counter service.

Is it just me, or am I missing something. Chester, that's rhetorical. Please don't comment.

Go back and read that article to the end; it borders on inanity. Or insanity. Memo to self: file under "Nuts."

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Actually, the more one thinks about it, it has to be health care costs.  Except for counter hours, all other post office hours / services remain intact. Certainly 30 minutes / day / wages / counter service is not the difference whether a post office stays open or not. Half an hour's pay each day? No, but cutting to 29 hours will eliminate the huge health care expense.

Three Bakken Stories From the Dickinson Press

Links sent to me by Don; nice stories.

The first has been talked about before: banks in the oil patch have a problem -- too much money. The banks are "scrambling" to find ways to invest that money. I scanned through the article. I may have missed it. It's my understanding the problem is that banks are required to pay insurance on their deposits. As their deposits increase, their insurance costs go up.

The second story: has the Bakken had a spillover effect on the rest of the state? The story at the link will answer that question. In fact, as blogged numerous times, the Bakken has had a spillover effect on the rest of the nation.  The writer discovered that the state has experienced a spillover effect. Okay.

And then the third story: a profile of a young artist working as a truck driver in the oil patch, paying off debts, and saving money for his own art studio. Wow, I hope it works out for him. There's a nice twist to the story. Go to the link.