There is some good news. From the North Dakota Petroleum Council, here are the top 10 producers in North Dakota for 2012:
1. Continental Resources, Inc.Compared to 2011, #1 CLR has remained at the top. Whiting and Hess both moved above EOG. XTO moved into the top ten (was #11); Denbury, of course, dropped off the list, having pretty much left the state.
2. Whiting Oil and Gas Corporation
3. Hess Corporation
4. EOG Resources, Inc.
5. Brigham Oil & Gas, L.P.
6. XTO Energy Inc.
7. Marathon Oil Company
8. Burlington Resources Oil & Gas Company
9. Petro-Hunt, L.L.C.
10. Slawson Exploration Company, Inc.
Looking at these production numbers two things strike me;
ReplyDeleteOne of the great mysteries is how Montana- Dakota Utilities (Fidelity Resources) let this entire play virtually slip through their fingers.
Secondly, how several of the big dogs (Chevron, BP, and Shell) apparently underestimated the play too. Which leads me to wonder if (or when) one of them will buy out a smaller player to get into the game.
You are absolutely correct.
Delete1. I have commented on Fidelity/MDU many, many times. The Bakken was literally in their back yard. And then on top of that, they discovered the Cottonwood field and then sold it to Oasis. I could be wrong, but that's where it seems Oasis got its start. The Cottonwood turned out to be a mediocre field, at best it seems, but still it was a jumping off point. And it must be a pretty good field; they keep drilling it.
2. At investment sites, that's talked about all the time: a major buying a smaller player, but in the big scheme of things, it appears that smaller players (even if wholly-owned subsidiaries like BR and XTO) are better at "smaller" ventures than the majors. Statoil certainly saw value. The problem now is that the smaller players will demand a pretty hefty premium to be bought out. If Statoil were to buy another Bakken-centric operator that would nail it once and for all, I suppose, that the Bakken is not a flash in the pan.