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New poll: will we go below 179 active rigs next week?
Results of the current poll in which we asked whether you would support North Dakota bailing out Detroit by buying US-backed bonds with 5% (or greater) interest?
- Yes: 9%
- No: 91%
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Only three (3) new permits today --
- Operators: Oasis (2), Whiting
- Fields: Alger (Mountrail), Cottonwood (Burke), Pleasant Hill (McKenzie)
- Comments:
Looks like it was a quiet day in Bismarck today.
Bruce, I believe it is inevitable the number of rigs will eventually drop due to the near universal shift to pad drilling. A single rig sliding from one well to the next effectively replaces what required three or four rigs a few years ago.
ReplyDeleteYou may be correct. It's been very interesting to watch this. Knowledgeable folks on both sides (more rigs; less rigs) have debated the issue for quite some time.
DeleteI'm still in the camp that we will see the number of rigs at the higher end (nearer 200 than 180, meaning at least 191 before the end of 2014).
I don't have any emotional energy in this, one way or the other. I just find it incredibly interesting. If "they" can maintain production and cut rigs, it is truly incredible how far "they've" come. I am quite impressed.
For the ranchers and farmers, one less rig means a lot less truck traffic.