Pages

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

First-Ever LNG-Fueled Hydraulic Fracturing Operation in North America: Eagle Ford, Ferus' LNG Division

Updates

January 20, 2013: the first post on this subject

Original Post
Link to Rigzone.com
The liquefied natural gas (LNG) division of Calgary-based Ferus LP successfully completed in October what the company believes to be the first-ever hydraulic fracturing operation utilizing liquefied natural gas (LNG) as engine fuel in North America.
Ferus' LNG Division was engaged by a major oil and gas service company in the United States to conduct the pilot project, which involved six dual-fuel 2,250 horsepower pressure pumper units, powered by LNG, to stimulate well performance in the south Texas Eagle Ford shale.
The dual fuel systems allow for natural gas and diesel to be consumed simultaneously with no decrease in performance, Jed Tallman, manager of market development for Ferus LNG, told Rigzone. Approximately 10,000 gallons of LNG was used in the pilot project, which took place in the southwestern portion of the Eagle Ford play.

Miscellaneous Energy Links -- Chesapeake Selling Its Remaining Midstream Assets to ACMP and WMB; Cryogenic Plant Planned ForThe Eagle Ford

ACMP to acquire a substantial majority of Chesapeake Energy's remaining midstream assets ("CMD") for $2 billion (numbers rounded). Williams Companies (WMB) will partner with ACMP GP, "enhancing sponsorship. The link was sent by a reader, "anon 1." CMD's areas of operation: Marcellus, Haynesville, Eagle Ford. ACMP is, by far, the largest G&P MLP measured by volume and invested capital. See link (another PDF). Also, this press release also sent by "anon 1," another PDF file.

Elsewhere -- 

A natural gas cryogenic plant is planned for the Eagle Ford: 200 million cubic feet per day. Déjà vu all over again.

And "more elsewhere":

United Kingdom setting up "unconventional oil and gas office." Something tells me the London Array, the world's largest off-shore wind farm may not be as robust as promised.

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

 Now, politics
Nothing to do with the Bakken, or energy
For personal archives only

This is incredible 
  • Dems Ask for Delay to Obamacare Med Device Tax They Voted for in the First Place 
  • Medical Device Tax is just one of 20 Obamacare Taxes.  
I can't make this stuff up.
In a letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid, 18 Democrat senators and senators-elect have asked for “a delay in the implementation” of the Obamacare medical device tax. Like most of the significant tax increases in Obamacare, the medical device tax is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2013, conveniently after the 2012 presidential election. Each of the 18 Democrat signatories voted for or supported Obamacare in the first place. And now they want a sweetheart exemption from one of its most onerous provisions. Even in Washington DC, that shows a lot of gall. 
I can't wait to watch this play out.  The medical device tax is minimal. Nothing compared to the 55% tax on farm family estates. A lot of family farms are going to be sold to corporate farmers. Iowa, a farm state voted, in a landslide, for Obama. What were they thinking?

Cue up Connie Francis.
************************

And more: I was taken to task some weeks ago when I posted that French multi-millionaires were fleeing their country due to threats of highest tax rate -- in the world? -- at 75%. Right, wrong, or indifferent,
France's prime minister has slammed wealthy citizens fleeing the country's punitive tax on high incomes as greedy profiteers seeking to "become even richer."
France's Socialist President Francois Hollande, who famously once declared "I don't like the rich," has pledged to tax annual income of more than one million euros per year at 75 percent.
I'm Going Slightly Mad, Queen

So, Now, The Keystone XL 2.0 South Is Temporarily Halted By A Judge

Updates

December 14, 2012: well, that didn't last long. The judge issuing the injunction (see original post below) lifted his own injunction after listening to the two sides. 

Later, 7:31 pm: a spokesman says it is "months away" before there is a decision on Keystone XL 2.0. Faux environmentalists and economic suicide groups want additional studies of the Keystone XL before pressing on. 

It is clear that the Keystone XL 2.0 pipeline is literally and figuratively the "line in the sand hills" for the FAs and ESGs. "Months away" suggests, to me, that the decision will not be made until after the mid-term elections, in 2016.

Original Post

It never quits. Now a section of the Keystone XL 2.0 South is halted temporarily over a lawsuit arguing over the definition of "crude oil" vs "heavy sands oil."
TransCanada Corp. must temporarily stop work on part of its Keystone XL pipeline while a Texas judge evaluates a landowner’s challenge that the line was permitted to carry only crude oil, not bitumen obtained from Canadian tar sands.
Michael Bishop, who granted TransCanada an easement across his property in Nacogdoches County, obtained a temporary restraining order from Texas County Court at Law Judge Jack Sinz on Dec. 7. The order blocks the company from working on Bishop’s property for two weeks while allowing work on other sections of the pipeline to proceed.
“He’s saying we can’t transport anything but crude oil, which is what we’re primarily going to carry,” Tom Zabel, TransCanada’s lawyer, said in a telephone interview today. “We’re trying to get a hearing on Thursday to dissolve the order.”
The definition of is, is...

By the way, this is relevant to the issue of fracking and the EPA: in this case, the definition of "diesel."
Not surprisingly, EPA’s SDWA guidance development process has involved plenty of lobbying from industry and environmental interest groups. Probably the most contentious issue is how EPA would define “diesel.”
Why is EPA’s definition of “diesel” so critical? In the fracking process, fluids are injected at high pressure to fracture underground rock and shale formations and help extract gas or oil that would otherwise be unobtainable. In 2005, Congress amended the SWDA to provide that EPA could not regulate fracking under the SDWA UIC program except for projects where “diesel” is the fluid used in the injection process. Thus fracking with “diesel” can be regulated under the SDWA; fracking without “diesel” cannot.
It is my understanding that the new definition of "diesel," as a hydrocarbon would include Newman's Own Salad Dressing, another hydrocarbon.

Five (5) New Permits; BEXP and QEP With Some Huge 4-Section Wells; Wells Coming Off Confidential List Wednesday -- Mostly DRL Status

Bakken Operations

Active rigs: 183 (steady, but actually up)

Five (5) new permits --
  • Operators: EOG (2), Petro-Hunt (2), Whiting
  • Fields: Kittleson Slough (Mountrail), Sanish (Mountrail), Parshall (Mountrail), Otter (Williams)
  • Comments: None
Wells coming off confidential list were reported earlier; see sidebar at the right.

Producing wells completed:
  • 20159, 2,752, BEXP, Field 18-19 2H, Todd (Williston), t8/12; cum 43K 10/12;
  • 21552, 2,351, QEP, MHA 2-31-25H-150-92, Heart Butte, t10/12; cum 8K 10/12; 4 sections;
  • 21554, 2,430, QEP, MHA 1-31-30H-150-91, Heart Butte, t10/12; cum 19K 10/12; 4 sections;
  • 21556, 2,376, QEP, MHA 3-31-30H-150-91, Heart Butte, t10/12; cum 8K 10/12; 4 sections;
  • 22649, 709, WPX, Charles Blackhawk 31-30HA, Heart Butte, t11/12; cum --
These four-section wells will make the folks over at the discussion group thrilled. Smile.The spacing units are 2560 acres, but the horizontals are still only "long" laterals (stretching two sections); and, look at those IPs. It is incredible how good the Todd field wells are; completely unexpected.

Wells coming off the confidential list on Wednesday:
  • 21170, 1,041, Whiting, Talkington Federal 21-26TFH, Park, t6/12; cum 52K 10/12;
  • 21332, 1,189, EOG, Mandaree 101-20H, Squaw Creek, t9/12; cum 19K 10/12;
  • 21390, drl, KOG, Smokeky 15-7-6-2H3, Pembroke,
  • 21419, drl, CLR, Lovdahl 3-16H, Sauk,
  • 22281, drl, Crescent Point Energy, Walters 35-26-158N-101W, Little Muddy,
  • 22466, 1,370, KOG, Skunk Creek 12-7-8-9H3, Heart Butte, t11/12; cum 4K 11/12;
  • 22718, 963, QEP, MHA 5-29-30H-150-90, Deep Water Creek Bay, t8/12; cum 14K 10/12;

Cramer Interview With The "Bakken Governor"

The video...

Unfortunately, the interview was a bust. Political platitudes and NOTHING about the Bakken. 

Coal-To-Liquid Fuel Plant Backers Asking For Fifth Extension

Updates

December 14, 2012: the Industrial Commission grants a fifth extension

Original Post

Link here to The Bismarck Tribune.
Backers of a proposed coal-to-liquid fuel plant in western North Dakota will ask for a fifth extension of state aid to study the project, .....
Dallas-based North American Coal Corp. spokesman David Straley told The Associated Press that developers will ask for another extension before year's end. Developers still need favorable coal legislation and a clear U.S. energy policy for the $4 billion project to move forward, he said. [Like that's going to happen.]
North American Coal and Headwaters Inc. of South Jordan, Utah, formed American Lignite Energy LLC in 2007 to oversee construction and operation of the plant. A site for the factory has not been announced.
The state Industrial Commission in 2007 committed up to $10 million in state aid from coal tax collections to determine the project's potential.
Though no site has been announced, the individual who sent me the link said the plant would be west of South Heart, North Dakota. 

Southern Californians Leaving For Texas -- Not A Bakken Story -- Last Post For Awhile

[For some reason the results were delayed this morning, but the IPs for wells coming off the confidential list have been posted. See sidebar at the right.]

The link via the Drudge Report.

It's more fun to see the graphic: when you get to this link compare Los Angeles County with Bexar County (San Antonio, Texas).

San Antonio is on the northern rim of the Eagle Ford.

So Much For All That Union Talk That The Kids Come First -- Not About the Bakken

Link here: Michigan schools closed because overwhelming number of teachers called in sick or took vacation days. It will be a "snow day" for the students. It's a "snow day" alright.
Warren Consolidated Schools is the second school district to announce closing in anticipation of a large protest in Lansing against proposed right-to-work legislation. Taylor School District Superintendent Diane Allen told WDIV that the district would be closed because so many teachers were taking sick or vacation days to attend rallies in Lansing.
Detroit Federation of Teachers president Keith Johnson anticipates "a huge crowd" in Lansing for the protest. When asked by the Free Press if any Detroit Public Schools would be closed, he said, "Hopefully."
Wow.  The ends justify the means, I guess. I assume the ends will be the same regardless of the means.

At least one dissenter:
"I do understand that they have a political position," Lazarus added. "[But] the first priority of a teacher should be student learning and I don't think this adds to that."
Amen.

On the other hand, missing a day of school probably won't make much of a difference to outcomes on standardized testing: only seven (7) percent of Detroit's eighth-grade students are able to read. "Proficient" is the politically correct word that is used. And folks wonder why the gap between the "haves" and the "have-nots" continues to widen.

The Daily Beast Features a Story on North Dakota -- One Ranch Overlooks Thousands of Wells

Updates

December 15, 2012: I assume this document would have been too much for the writer of the article linked below to understand. If you have the time, look at the graphs on page 16 and 17 of this document which shows the spring temperature change in the ND-SD-MT-WY / West North Central Region of the United States. The first graph, from 1895 to 2007, shows the average spring temperature to be 42 degrees. In 1895, it was about 41 degrees; in 2007, it was about 43 degrees.  The second graph is even more interesting. It is from 1991 - 2005. This graph shows the average spring temperatures in the same region (ND-SD-MT-WY): the temperature trend is actually ... drum roll ... DOWN. 

By the way, the best line in the document, and I paraphrase: "without greenhouse gases, the average temperature in the West North Central Region would be 60 degrees colder."  Again, "60 degrees colder." The temperature would not be 60 degrees without greenhouse gases; the temperature would average about 60 degrees COLDER without greenhouse gases.

Again, the global warmers have never been able to tell me the "correct" temperature for the earth, and who set the global thermostat in the first place. And, of course, manmade CO2 accounts for three (3) percent of all greenhouse gases. Water vapor is the number one greenhouse gas, and water vapor is the by-product of fuel cells. I can't make this stuff up.

Original Post

Link here. A huge thanks to a reader for sending me this article.

A lot of anxiety by the writer of the article at the link, but somewhat interesting to scan through.

Some of the writing is beyond the pale, to say the least:
Already, a mere 1 degree Fahrenheit of global temperature rise over the past 50 years has caused a 5.5 percent decline in wheat production, according to David Lobell, a professor at Stanford University’s Center on Food Security and the Environment. 
A mere one (1) degree Fahrenheit of global temperature rise over the past 50 years has resulted in a 5.5 percent decline ... oh, really? ... 5.5 percent? Is one not sure that it's more like 5.4% or 5.6%? A degree Fahrenheit::a degree Celsius, by the way is about 9:5. A degree Fahrenheit is about half-a-degree Celsius, the usual way scientists measure temperature. A half-degree over 50 years. Okay.

And if you read a bit farther down, one finds that a slightly warmer temperature will actually increase wheat production. I can't make this stuff up.

Then this:
“We stressed our farm crops this year pretty strongly, and many of them almost folded,” says Jay Fuhrer, a U.S. Department of Agriculture extension agent in North Dakota. “Does that concern you as a consumer? It should.”
  • Sugar beets: "The crop appears to be fairly strong right now," Schweitzer said. "It's why we were able to start so early."
  • Corn: there's so much of it, the US government mandates more corn by turned into ethanol to be burned in SUVs.
  • Durum wheat: hit badly this year by the drought ... but blaming it on man-made global warming seems to be a bit of a stretch. Let's see what next year brings.
But it's not all bad:
In the short term, hotter temperatures might actually boost wheat yields, at least in some places. [Again, we are talking half-a-degree Celsius over 50 years.] A study of western Australia, a key wheat exporter, found that, up to a 3.6˚F rise in temperature, yields increased. But a coauthor of the study, Prof. Senthold Asseng of the University of Florida, cautioned that this result might not hold true in locations closer to the equator, such as India, the world’s second-largest producer and consumer of non-durum wheat after China.
One rancher in North Dakota can see "thousands of wells outside his backyard":
Teddy Roosevelt, the godfather of American conservationism, used to hunt big-horned elk on these prairies. Now his former ranch overlooks land that is dotted with thousands of oil wells and enough pipes flaring natural gas that, like giant torches, the flares are visible from outer space.
His ranch must have quite an "overlook." The most dense (densest) area in North Dakota for oil wells is probably the Beaver Lodge field. I count 15 wells in one section (640 acres). It would take a lot of sections for a ranch to "overlook" to see thousands of wells. See Vern Whitten photography to see how "crowded" the Bakken is with wells.

But perhaps the best:
For North Dakota, the Bakken boom has been both blessing and curse. It has helped lower unemployment to 2 percent and generated enough tax revenue to give the state a $1.6 billion budget surplus. However, it has also upended the state’s traditional lifestyle and transformed a remote, ruggedly beautiful place into a sprawling, get-rich-quick industrial zone.
Check out Vern Whitten photography and see if you see the same thing. 

Williston is an industrial zone. Williams County can brag about being an industrial zone. But North Dakota is hardly an industrial zone. The oil patch in North Dakota, for all practical purposes, touches about six western counties. The oil patch barely extends to the center (if one wants to call Minot the center), and doesn't even come close to the capital (Bismark) or Devils Lake or Grand Forks or the big industrial city in North Dakota: Fargo.

Ah, yes, blogging. It doesn't get any better than The Daily Beast

Another Great Data Resource For The Bakken

Link here.

This is an incredibly good tool. 

[As a sidenote, I am impressed that the resource uses "Firefox." A great browser. MDW is optimized for "Firefox."]

Tuesday Morning Links -- Part II

From a reader, minor editing, regarding the Red River:
I was reading about your comments on Red River formation on the blog and was surprised how well you guys are tracking activity of main operators and sleeper formation such as Red River.

It's indeed the sleeping giant .... it's not only Red River B that was original producer for many operators including Continental (and yes, that zone can be now targeted in surrounded areas using modern multi-stage frac techniques ) ... but now its also Red River C and D zones are targeted as well as a RESOURCE play.

Only a few have figured this out yet ..., including WLL; and, one private company who drilled two horizontal RR C wells/those 2 wells produced over 300k bbls in one year,  and our company ....  So Red River is in deed next BIG RESOURCE play of the Williston Basin .... especially when price of oil will drop making Bakken less economical. RR play outbids both, Bakken and Eagle Ford!!  We have [x] acres and the target is Red River C, D and B as a complement ...   If you have some other info on Red River activities that we are not aware of and that you can share --- please do ... 
There appears to be at least one person as exuberant as I am about the Red River. In bits and pieces, there is more and more talk about the Red River.  The reader mentioned a third company but I was not sure if I could mention it, so for now, I have removed that part of the note.

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

Spectra Energyto acquire Express-Platte Pipeline for $1.49 bln; immediately accretive to earnings: Co announces it has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase 100% of the ownership interests in the Express-Platte Pipeline System from Borealis Infrastructure, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (KMP) for $1.49 bln, consisting of $1.25 bln cash and $240 mln of acquired debt. The pipeline's capacity is 280,000 barrels a day. The Platte pipeline, which interconnects with Express pipeline in Casper, Wyoming, transports crude oil predominantly from the Bakken and Western Canada to refiners in the Midwest. Platte's capacity ranges from 164,000 barrels a day in Wyoming to 145,000 barrels a day to Wood River, Illinois. Co expects the acquisition will be immediately accretive to earnings, with expected full-year 2013 EBITDA of ~$130 mln and full-year annual EPS accretion in the $0.03-0.05 per share range

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

From Yahoo! In-Play: Energy provides operational update and confirms it remains on track to close on the sale of its French assets by year-end
ZaZa owns and operates approximately 88,000 net acres in the Eaglebine, one of the fastest growing and most prolific oil and gas plays in the U.S. ZaZa's acreage block is located in the highly organic and thickest area of the basin. The company has begun development in the Lower Eaglebine and is exploring development scenarios associated with its Upper Eaglebine resource potential. Additionally, the Lower Cretaceous section sits below the Upper and Lower Eaglebine targets and has a gross thickness of approximately 1,300' on the ZaZa acreage block. The company will spud its first Lower Cretaceous vertical test this month as it evaluates the potential for producing multiple Lower Cretaceous targets in a vertical, comingled development strategy.

ZaZa initially owned ~12,300 net acres in the Eagle Ford and increased its net acreage position to ~72,000 with 100% working interest as a result of the Hess division of assets. The company intends to divest, in the first quarter of 2013, two of the prospects it considers non-core (Dilley Prospect ~2,000 net acres and Hackberry/Oakland Prospect ~23,000 net acres), which collectively represent ~25,000 net acres. The company expects to have ~47,000 net acres post-divestiture.
*****************
Now some WSJ links

Section D: lots of medically-related articles. Maybe I will get back to them later.

Section C: nothing of note.

Section B: oh, yeah! Exxon find: America as net energy exporter
North America will become a net energy exporter by 2025, thanks to a surge in oil and gas production and rapid improvements in energy efficiency, Exxon Mobil Corp predicts in its latest long-term energy outlook.
Exxon predicts that an anticipated decline in coal usage by power plants will accelerate as more efficient natural-gas-fired plants are built. The company forecasts coal use will drop 33% from 2010 to 2025, more than its previous 23% estimate.
The Bakken is not mentioned; Exxon operates in the Bakken through its subsidiary, XTO.

A lot of other nice articles in Section B, but just not enough time. Have to keep moving.

Section A:
The vote in Michigan takes place today:
You can tell this is a big deal based on the fury of Big Labor's reaction. Union activists plan to descend on Lansing Tuesday to protest, including many from out of state. State police will have to be on duty to ensure that legislators can get through what is likely to be a loud and abusive cordon of activists who want to block the vote.
This thuggishness is a deliberate and familiar union political strategy: Cause as big a ruckus as possible in hopes of making right to work seem radical when it's already the law in nearly half the country.
We hope Republicans and Governor Rick Snyder aren't intimidated, because they have the moral and policy high ground. Union activists want voters to believe that right-to-work laws deny union organizing rights, or ban collective bargaining. President Obama peddled this distortion on Monday in Redford, Michigan, claiming that "what we shouldn't be doing is trying to take away your rights to bargain for better wages and working conditions."
Right to work does no such thing. It empowers individual workers. As allowed under the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act, right to work merely lets individual workers choose for themselves if they want to join a union. The laws prevent closed union shops, which coerce individual workers to join unions and to pay union dues. A teacher who opts out under right to work, for example, could save several hundred dollars in annual union dues that go to political causes he may not even believe in.

Tuesday Morning Links -- Part I -- $4 Trillion Fed Additive -- CLR 3TF A Game Changer -- Wells Coming Off Confidential List Tuesday

Don't miss the discussion today. Lots of fun. Unfortunately some of the messages were deleted, so not exactly sure what it was all about.

CLR TF3 could be another game changer -- SeekingAlpha.com. (Or is it '3TF'?) Wow, I'm losing track of the number of "game changers" in the Williston Basin: a) the Bakken; b) the Tyler; c) the Three Forks; d) the benches; e) crude-by-rail; f) ONEOK gas gathering and processing; g) Hiway; h) Eco-Pads; i) two wells on a section; j) 14 wells on a spacing unit; k) .....

RBN Energy has a great item on "new" refineries and the impact of the Bakken.

Nothing to do with the Bakken: the list of companies accelerating their 2013 dividends in 2012 accelerates. It's almost a parody. Unfortunately this is trivial.
MDW: The tax debate on the 2% is also trivial; that isn't to say it's not important; the estate tax is a bigger concern, especially for North Dakotans. But the huge story no one talks about: DOD sequestration. Reduced Medicare payments. I guess talking heads don't talk about DOD sequestration because it's too hard to explain in a soundbite. If they mention Medicare, their phones will ring off the hook. So the discussion is limited to trivia. Cue up Connie Stevens. By the way, did I hear in passing, that the Fed is going to put another trillion dollars into the system to stimulate the economy. I thought I heard that comment on CNBC just before my granddaughter switched to SpongeBob SquarePants. And thank goodness she did. [Update: it's worse than I thought. I see the Fed will pump $4 trillion into ....] But..... DOD sequestration will a) throw a lot of folks out of work; and, b) throw the US into a full-fledged recession, perhaps one of the worst ever seen.
Coming off the confidential list today (at least that's what my database shows, but they aren't posted yet, so I could be wrong; I'll check back later):
  • 21439, 2,134, KOG, Smokey Cupcake 14-21-16-3H3, Pembroke, t11/12; cum --
  • 21515, 853, Petro-Hunt, Good Shepherd Home 150-101-15B-22-1H, Rawson, t10/12; cum 11K 10/12;
  • 21900, 708, Petro-Hunt, Fort Berthold 147-94-2A-11-2H, McGregory Buttes, t10/12; cum 16K 10/12;
  • 22095, 351, Murex, Michael Wade 1-12H, Sanish, t9/12; cum 18K 10/12;
  • 22636, 540, Murex, Candi Lynn 36-25H, Stanley, t10/12; cum 13K 10/12;
  • 22796, 972, Hess, EN-Rehak 155-93-0718H-3, Alger, t9/12; cum 38K 10/12;
  • 22807, drl, BEXP, Richard 8-5 2H, Banks,
  • 22977, drl, SM Energy, Holm 14-12HA, Siverston,
  • 23000, 557, MRO, Peggy Schettler 14-33H, Werner, t8/12; cum 10K 10/12;
Minimizing pollution associated with the oil and gas industry, from The Bismarck Tribune
In the Bakken Shale oil fields of North Dakota, for example, about 30 percent of the natural gas is flared off because there aren't enough pipelines yet to carry it away. The amount of gas wasted in the state is estimated at up to $100 million a year. And officials in North Dakota said last month that the situation there might not be completely solved until the end of the decade.
Five years into the boom and still "... about 30 percent of natural gas is flared off because there aren't enough pipelines..." Somewhat inaccurate, but I will let that pass for the moment. Maybe more later. But I doubt it. Flaring of natural gas in the Bakken is a McGuffin, or a red herring, or ... whatever.

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

A Note For the Granddaughters

Wow, for the nature lovers out there, I highly recommend Sue Hubbell's A Book of Bees, c. 1988. Written by a woman who began bee-keeping "from scratch" and at the time of her book was a commercial honey producer with 300 hives. It's an incredibly "fun" book to read and chock full of information. Bee-keeping and honey production have always fascinated me. North Dakota is #1, among US states, in honey production. #2 in oil production. Smile. But I digress: besides being a great book in itself, Sue mentions several other great books on honey bees. [By the way: all that hysteria about the "bee-apocalypse." Not. Quartz.com is reporting. -- July 10, 2013.]