Five of Eights On DRL Status; Wells Coming Off The Confidential List Wednesday

22568, drl, Crescent Point Energy, CPEUSC Tripucka 34-27-158N-101W, Little Muddy; looks like a good well, no IP yet; cum 11K 12/12;
22715, drl, BEXP, D D 26-35 2TFH, no production data;
22748, 729, Enerplus, Chokecherry 149-32-21A-22H, Mandaree, t11/12; cum 29K 12/12;
23089, drl, BEXP, Jarold 25-36 1H, Todd, no production data;
23284, 849, Hess, EN-Belik 156-93-0607H-3, Big Butte, see below; t11/12; cum 38K 12/12;
23344, drl, CLR, Milton 2-14H, Hamlet,
23351, 921, CLR, Missoula 2-21H, Camp, t12/12; cum 1,403 bbls 12/12;
23402, drl, XTO, FBIR Smith 11X-10F, Heart Butte,

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

23284, 849, Hess, EN-Belik 156-93-0607H-3, Big Butte; on NG pipeline:

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
12-2012	15764	17774
11-2012	21635	19349

State of the Union vs The Futures

This will be kind of fun:

State of the Union Address scheduled for 9:00 - 10:30 on the network television schedule.

So, let's track the futures:

February 13, 2013, 5:11 am; the Dow, up 14; oil, up 13 cents.

February 12, 2013, during the speech/rebuttal/analysis:

10: 39 pm: the Dow, up 10 points; oil, up 2 cents.

10:08 pm: the Dow, up 9 points; oil, up 9 cents.

9: 42 pm: the Dow, up 12 points; oil, up 10 cents.

9:18 pm: the Dow, up 11 points; oil, up 7 cents.

For Investors Only: EOG Reports Earnings After Wednesday's Market Closes; PSX Increases Dividend 25%

Forbes says EOG reports earnings Wednesday.

Analysts expect higher profit for EOG Resources (EOG) when the company reports its fourth quarter results on Wednesday, February 13, 2013. The consensus estimate is calling for profit of $1.37 a share, reflecting a rise from $1.15 per share a year ago. The consensus estimate is up from three months ago when it was $1.36, but hasn’t changed over the past month. 

For the fiscal year, analysts are projecting earnings of $5.41 per share. Revenue is projected to eclipse the year-earlier total of $2.77 billion by 9.6%, finishing at $3.04 billion for the quarter. For the year, revenue is projected to roll in at $11.62 billion. 

So, we'll see.

Yahoo!Finance says EOG reports earnings Thursday.

So, split the difference: after Wednesday's close. 

I track earnings here.

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

Phillips 66 has announced a raise in its quarterly dividend. The company is to pay $0.3125 per share of its common stock on March 1 to shareholders of record as of the end of Feb. 18. That payout represents an increase of 25% over the previous dividend of $0.25 paid in October.
The company's only previous dividend prior to that was $0.20, disbursed last July following the establishment of the company earlier that year (it was spun off from oil and gas major ConocoPhillips.

Another Great Story Coming Out of the Bakken: Braun Intertec

The Minot Daily News provides an update of Braun Intertec and reporting that the company is opening two more offices in the state, bringing their total to four:

Several years ago when new construction and engineering projects were drying up and the economy spiraled into turbulent times, leaders at Braun Intertec, an engineering, environmental consulting and testing firm, looked to North Dakota to keep employees working. That was in 2008.

The result turned the $3 million market into nearly $20 million for Braun Intertec during the biggest recession since the Great Depression and has brought native North Dakotans back to the state.

In recent months, the company opened two new offices in Minot and Dickinson, to complement its Bismarck and West Fargo locations.

From its website, Braun Intertec:

With more than 500 employees and 15 offices, we’ve become your trusted partner in providing quality geotechnical engineering, environmental consulting, geothermal consulting, building envelope consulting, and materials and analytical testing services.

Huge Story: Target Logistics Selling Bakken Crew Camps to Algeco Scotsman

The Bismarck Tribune is reporting that all those Target Logistics Bakken crew camps we've read so much about over the past three or four years are being sold to Algeco Scotsman for $625 million.

Crew camps: good, bad, or indifferent, it has always been my impression that Target Logistics was a good neighbor, a great member of the community. My few dealings with representatives of the company were always good.

On another note, any company willing to spend $625 million in the Bakken suggests to me that "someone" thinks the Bakken is going to be around for awhile. I can't even begin to do the math, but it seems like a big deal.

Algeco Scotsman, from their website:

Algeco Scotsman is the leading global business services provider focused on modular space and secure storage solutions. We have strong capabilities in safety, design, engineering and construction that allow us to provide a comprehensive range of portable temporary and permanent buildings available in a range of layouts and finishes. We can customize buildings to specifically meet our customer’s needs.

The company operates as Williams Scotsman in North America, Algeco in Continental Europe, Elliott in the United Kingdom, Eurobras in Latin America, Ausco Modular in Australia and Portacom Building Solutions in New Zealand. The company and its affiliates manage a fleet of more than 340,000 units, with operations or affiliates in 37 countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and United States. The company has a reputation for exceptional customer service, flexibility in meeting customer needs, innovative products and services, and efficient business operations. Algeco Scotsman's global scale and local market expertise enable us to provide exceptional value to our customers.

The site has some great photos, as would be expected. 

And, so, I guess, another Bakken chapter begins. This is really quite exciting.

US Approves Chinese Buying Nexen

Of course the Chinese buying Nexen has nothing to do with the Keystone XL pipeline, but there is something "disconcerting" for lack of a better word, I guess.

The initial argument "against" the Keystone XL was the routing. Now that the routing has been resolved (?), the faux environmentalists are arguing the "carbon" issue, something along the line that heavy oil will produce more atmospheric CO2, and the US should not be party to any project in which CO2 is being released into the atmosphere. [Including breathing, I assume, but I digress.]

Nexen, from its website:

Nexen: an upstream oil and gas company responsibly developing energy resources in the UK North Sea, offshore West Africa, the Gulf of Mexico and Western Canada. Nexen has three principal businesses: conventional oil and gas, oil sands and shale gas. 

Oil sands and shale gas. Sort of what the faux environmentalists are concerned about, I guess. But the US approves the Chinese buying Nexen, even as the US killed the Keystone XL, a Canadian-US endeavor. The Canadian-US endeavor involving oil sands heavy oil was not approved (and probably never will be), and yet the CNOOC-Nexen deal is approved pretty quickly and without much fanfair.

I don't understand it but apparently the CNOOC-Nexen deal is even more interesting: the Chinese will now be drilling for oil in America's Gulf of Mexico but won't be paying any royalties to the US, if the following is to be believed, as reported in the Oil & Gas Journal:

“Chinese government-owned oil corporations should not be allowed to drill for American oil in the Gulf of Mexico without paying a dime in royalties to US taxpayers,” Markey said. “The Interior Department should have the authority to review all possible transfers of oil and gas leases on public lands so that we can prevent massive wealth transfers from US taxpayers to foreign governments.”  

Anyway, this is idle rambling. Just an observation. If newbies don't understand how this ended up on a blog about the Bakken, read the welcome/disclaimer.

Good, bad, or indifferent, the approval was appropriate. 

[Added later: Maybe this is another way of looking at this. Canadian oil sands oil will be brought to market with or without the Keystone XL. Killing the Keystone XL is simply "harassing" America's closest ally. Whether or not CNOOC was "allowed" to buy Nexen, Nexen operations were going to continue. For whatever reason, the US chose not to "harass" China.]

Eight (8) New Permits -- The Williston Basin, North Dkaota, USA

Bakken Operations

Active rigs: 182 (steady)

Eight (8) new permits -- 

• Operators: Newfield (3), BR (3), Whiting, Oasis
• Fields: Croff (McKenzie), Sanish (Mountrail), Cottonwood (Burke), Siverston (McKenzie),
• Comments:

Wells coming off the confidential list were reported earlier; see sidebar at the right.

One permit cancelled:

• 24538, PNC, Slawson, Slugger 1-16-21H, McKenzie

Winter Photos of the Oil Patch -- Vern Whitten Photography

Link here to Vern Whitten photography. It looks like most of these photos are of the Williston area.

Again, some incredible photographs. A great, great series of photos to let folks know what the Bakken looks like --

I would assume some of these photos will show up in annual reports: there are a lot of companies doing business in the oil patch.

Vern Whitten Photography
Whittenaerials@aol.com

"Manufacturers Can't Get Enough Trucks to ND / PA" -- ATA

The Oil & Gas Journal is reporting:

Unconventional oil and gas exploration and development has become a bright spot in US trucking demand, Costello said.

“Manufacturers can’t get enough tank trucks to North Dakota and Pennsylvania to haul away produced water and flowback,” he said.

American Petroleum Institute Chief Economist John C. Felmy confirmed that North Dakota’s economy is very strong because of the Bakken formation development. But the growth also has created some unexpected problems, he added.

“Some mortgage applications require having worked at a job for a certain period, which isn’t always possible for workers arriving in North Dakota to satisfy,” Felmy said. “One banker there told me it’s a significant problem.”

North Dakota nevertheless stands in stark contrast to many other states that face continued economic challenges, he said.

Demand For OPEC Oil To Increase This Year -- OPEC

Updates

February 13, 2013: one has to chuckle. Less than 24 hours after posting this original post, a reader coincidentally sends me another post talking about cold weather, this time in Japan: cold water probably pulled Japan out of a recession.

Domestic same-store sales at Uniqlo, Japan’s largest clothing retailer, rose 13.7 percent in November and 4.5 percent in December as lower temperatures boosted demand. Tokyo temperatures averaged below the 30-year median on 26 of 30 days in November and 24 of 31 days in December, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Original Post

Bloomberg is reporting:

OPEC raised forecasts for the amount of crude it will need to supply this year because of stronger fuel demand in emerging economies.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will have to provide an average of 29.8 million barrels a day in 2013, or 100,000 a day more than it estimated a month ago. The producer group’s output in January was 500,000 barrels a day larger than this, at 30.3 million, according to OPEC’s monthly market report published today. 

How come? What changed:

• signs of global recovery
• colder weather at the beginning of this year

At the linked article:

“Given some signs of recovery in the global economy and colder weather at the start of this year, the forecast for world oil demand growth in 2013 has also been revised up,” OPEC’s Vienna-based secretariat said. “The bulk of the growth is seen coming from China.” 

OPEC must be using different thermometers than the University of Alabama. The latter says January was the warmest month in 35 years. Maybe in Mobile.

Reminder: Virus Alert

A reader let me know of this problem:

When I have tried to access milliondollarwayblog the past several days, the page loads but then quickly tries to divert to another page causing my virus protection to kick in and block any further activity. 

I posted this back on February 3, 2013:

Some months ago (a year or so ago?) I had a problem with spurious notices popping up suggesting this site was "not secure" and warned folks to access the site at their own risk. I took the site down, opening it only by invitation. Doing that became problematic and unwieldy; I brought the site back up over a very long weekend. The problem went away. 

Some days later, there was a short article in The Bismarck Tribune about a problem they had had which sounded very similar. I link a lot of posts to The Bismarck Tribune and other sites and I thought that might have explained the problem. The Bismarck Tribune reported they had resolved the issue; since then no problems. Until today. A few minutes ago I received a note from a reader saying that he gets a notice of some type making it difficult to log onto this blog. That was the first (and only) note so far. 

I am not changing the site or taking it down or requiring passwords or anything (yet). We'll just see how it plays out. If it gets to be a real problem, I will quit linking articles directly and simply highlight the key words and folks can google the articles for themselves.

For Investors Only: EOG Hits Another 52-Week High

WTI / Bakken Remain Near Parity

At Clearbrook, no change since yesterday: $1.00/bbl separates WTI and Bakken. There was a big move yesterday, narrowing the spread by $2.00 at Clearbrook.

Brent and WTI are both up today; the spread remains high, at $21/bbl. Follow the spread here.

It Took A Medal Of Honor Recipient to Get the President to Acknowledge "the oil fields of North Dakota"

The Minot Daily News is reporting:

"These days Clint works in the oil fields in North Dakota," Obama said. Romesha works for KS Industries, an oil-field construction company based in Tioga.

A former U.S. Army staff sergeant now living in Minot was presented the nation's highest military honor by President Obama Monday in a White House ceremony.

The president placed the Medal of Honor attached to a blue ribbon around Clint Romesha's neck. Romesha's wife, Tammy, and their children, Dessi, Gwen and Colin, watched nearby.

Dickinson Press article here:

When James Anderson began a new post as a safety manager for KS Industries in Tioga about six months ago, he had no idea that one of the employees working under him was a war hero.

Anderson — like many other employees with KSI — didn’t know of former Army Staff Sgt. Clint Romesha’s death-defying actions while serving in Afghanistan.

“It’s just an honor for me to be associated with him,” Anderson said. “I came here six months ago and I had no idea of Clint’s background. He’s a very humble guy. I didn’t know anything until after he was contacted by the government and he asked for time off.”

Romesha was certainly going to need some time off. On Feb. 11, Romesha — a Minot resident and KSI employee — received the prestigious Medal of Honor from President Obama during a ceremony at the White House. Referring to his actions after a siege on U.S. troops during the fall of 2009 at Combat Outpost Keating near the Pakistan border, Obama said last week that Romesha acted with “conspicuous gallantry” during the attack.

Tuesday Links; Farm Income -- Highest in 40 Years; Thanks For The Free ObamaPhone (Projected)

Active rigs in North Dakota: 182 (continuing to fall slowly, heading back to intra-boom low of 179)

Wells coming off confidential list have been posted; scroll down.

WSJ Links

Section D (Personal Journal): babies and pets.

Section C (Money & Investing):

Section B (Marketplace): 

New word for the day: DENDRITES -- tiny deposits of lithium resembling microscopic whiskers -- suspects in the 787 Dreamliner fires. Opportunity for five-blade Gillette

Fewer airlines, more profits; four airlines will dominate US

• American Airlines (TWA, AA, US Airways, America West)
• United Airlines (UA, Continental)
• Delta Air Lines (Delta, Northwest Airlines, Western Airlines)
• Southwest Airlines (Valujet, Airtran)

Why did oil service companies fall on market yesterday? Maybe -- companies take hit as Venezuela devalues currency (I couldn't find link that didnt' require log-in, sorry)

Section A:

Pope resigns (no links; story everywhere)

ObamaPhone scams on front page; I'm shocked, shocked! [Added: for the occasional reader that does not "get" the reference: the original ObamaPhone woman.]

Page 3 and we've talked about page 3 before -- two stories of note --

• Ski resorts expanding -- global warming? What global warming?
• Farm income is projected to be highest in 40 years: after last year's drought -- more corn, more soybeans; rising global demand for grains; increased mandates for ethanol; drought still an issue

Businesses weigh response if new climate rules come: China won't be affected by new rules

Pentagon readies budget ax: maybe the first to go -- $16/gallon of algae fuel vs $4 diesel; $600 toilets;

Op-ed: in Venezuela, plenty of oil, not enough food -- government interferes with the marketplace, and the result is scarcity

Op-ed: when you pay more for tomatoes later this year, think.... well, you can almost guess....

Op-ed: few states outside the South and Mountain West have recovered faster from the financial crisis than Ohio, and now ... moving into overdrive -- slashing state income taxes...

Free Map From RBN Energy: The Bakken CBR Terminals

RBN Energy --- wow, what a great way to way up to a new week!  (I had yesterday off, so today seems like the first day of the week).

A free map of the Bakken crude-by-rail terminals in the Bakken.

In the space of just over one year North Dakota crude rail takeaway capacity has reached close to 1 MMBb/d.  According to the North Dakota Pipeline Authority 58 percent of October 2012 Williston Basin production of over 800 Mb/d was transported out of North Dakota by rail. There are now 18 crude loading terminals operating in North Dakota on the BNSF and Canadian Pacific (CP) railroads. Today we continue our series on crude by rail with a North Dakota terminal inventory.

The first episode in this series provided an introduction and overview of the “Year of the Tank Car” (see Crude Loves Rocking Rail). We described the rapid growth in US crude oil production that pressured pipeline logistics and made rail a viable alternative for taking crude to market. We also described the growth of crude by rail traffic in 2012 and the impact on railroads and tank car manufacturers. This second installment in our series begins a detailed survey of rail loading terminals with a look at North Dakota.