Quick: What Generates More Waste Water -- Conventional Natural Gas Wells or Fracked Natural Gas Wells?

PERC.org, via CarpeDiem, is reporting that conventional gas wells produce a whole lot more waste water than fracked wells:

Our research shows that for the Marcellus Shale -- by far the largest shale gas resource in the United States -- significantly less wastewater is generated for every unit of natural gas recovered by hydraulic fracturing than by conventional gas production.

In the peer-reviewed journal Water Resources Research, we compared wastewater volumes generated by more than 2,000 hydraulically fractured shale gas wells to the wastewater generated by conventional wells. We used publicly available data throughout Pennsylvania.

Our results surprised us: On average, shale gas wells generated about 10 times more wastewater but also produced about 30 times more natural gas. This means conventional wells generate about three times more wastewater than hydraulically fractured wells to produce the same amount of natural gas.

Conventional gas resources -- on which we have relied for more than 150 years -- are drawn from highly porous geologic formations. They are like sponges through which gas can flow freely.

These pores also can harbor large volumes of water. In fact, more deep water -- water that usually contains high concentrations of pollutants -- is usually brought to the surface than natural gas.

Something tells me this will be too hard for faux environmentalists to understand. 

Department of Defense Ordering 650,000 Apple Products

Macrumors is reporting:

The United States Department of Defense is reportedly ordering more than 650,000 iOS devices. 

The report says the DoD will purchase 120,000 iPads, 120,000 iPad minis, 200,000 iPod touches and 210,000 iPhones. The devices will be used in a variety of situations, with more than 50% "headed to the battlefield, afloat, and to associated support commands." The rest will be used in office situations like the Pentagon.

Someone commented at the site:

This is just a small drop in the ocean of sales by a company as big as Apple. It is kind of like Boeing bragging that they sold one more island-hopper type airplane to the military. 

This tells me this individual:

• has never been in the military
• doesn't follow military technology
• is an idiot

This announcement is an endorsement by the Pentagon for all airmen, soldiers, marines, and sailors to "go Apple." It was always known that Apple was the better product but for various reasons Apple was not allowed inside the military (except in graphics departments). This changes everything.

For the better.

Catching Up; New Permits in the Williston Basin

No permits were issued Monday, March 18, 2013, because the server was down.

Seven (7) new permits were issued yesterday:

• Operators: Whiting (3), Oasis (2), WPX, Armstrong
• Fields: Sanish (Mountrail), Van Hook (Mountrail), Willow Creek (Williams)
• Comments: Armstrong has a permit for a wildcat in Dunn County.

Sixteen (16) new permits were issued today:

• Operators: BR (5), XTO (3), Emerald Oil (2), Samson Resources (2), Hess (2), Whiting, Oasis
• Fields: Ambrose (Divide), Big Stick (Billings), Cherry Creek (McKenzie), Siverston (McKenzie), Cottonwood (Mountrail), Keene (McKenzie)
• Comments:  Emerald Oil has two wildcats in McKenzie County.

On Monday, four producing wells were reported as completed:

• 21516, 762, CLR, Lawrence 4-13H, North Tioga, t1/13; cum 15K 1/13;
• 23263, 2,978, BR, Mesa Verde 44-22TFH, Clear Creek, t3/13; cum --
• 21994, 658, Abraxas, Ravin 26-35-2H, North Fork, t2/13; 2K 1/13;
• 23346, 359, CLR, Fenster 2-11H, Hamlet, 4-section spacing, t2/13; cum --

On Tuesday, two producing wells were reported as completed:

• 20163, 795, Hess, EN-Johnson A-155-94-2932H-1, Alkali Creek, t2/13; cum --
• 21982, 706,  CLR, Florida 2-11H, Camp, 4-section spacing; t2/13; cum --; 4-well pad; stand-up spacing unit;

On Wednesday (today), two producing wells were also reported as completed:

• 22249, 752, Slawson, Magnum 2-36-25H, Baker,
• 23347, 425, CLR, Fenster 3-11H, Hamlet, 4-section spacing; t2/13; cum --; 2-wells pad; stand-up spacing unit;

Bakken Premium to WTI at Clearbrook, MN, Doubles Overnight

The premium paid for Bakken oil over WTI oil at Clearbrook, Minnesota, doubled overnight.

Yesterday, the premium paid for Bakken oil at Clearbrook was 25 cents over WTI oil.

Today, the premium doubled to 50 cents.

Active rigs: 184

Wells Reporting High IPs Over The Past Few Days; Look At Those BR Mesa Verde Wells!

I doubt folks spend much time surfing through the archives at the sidebar at the right, but one may want to take a look at the list of Bakken wells with high IPs. These are the wells with high IPs that have been reported in the past five days:

• 23570, 2,602, Newfield, Sand Creek Federal 153-96-23-14-10H, Keene, "Bakken/ThreeForks," t2/13; cum --
  
• 23374, 8,683, Hess, EN-Ortloff 156-94-2635H-2,  Big Butte, t2/13; cum 17K 1/13; 
• 22740, 3,863, Oasis, Larry 5301 44-12B,  Baker, t9/12; cum 51K 1/13;  
• 22642, 2,271, Oasis, Birdhead 5200 41-22T, Camp, t10/12; cum 74K 1/13;
• 21591, 2,662, Newfield, Sand Creek Federal 153-96-23-14-2H, Keene, t2/13; cum --,
• 21057, 2,982, BR, Hilman 31-29H, Haystack Butte, flaring; t12/12; cum 3K 1/13;
• 23295, 2,592, BR, Mesa Verde 14-22TFH, Clear Creek, flaring, t1/13; cum 3K 1/13;
• 23261, 3,880, BR, Mesa Verde 34-22TFH, Clear Creek, t2/13; cum --
• 23263, 2,978, BR, Mesa Verde 44-22TFH, Clear Creek, t3/13; cum --

Clear Creek is right in the middle of the sweet spot of the Bakken, northeast McKenzie County; about 15 miles northeast of Watford City.

Again, for newbies, I only include wells with IPs above 2,000 or so on the "high IP" list. Before the Bakken boom, "we" were happy with wells that had an IP of 350; and thrilled with anything above 500 or 750 bopd for an IP. Of course, IPs exceeding 1,000 bopd were incredible. And then along came BEXP regularly reporting wells with IPs greater than 2,000 bopd. Now, look at this list: Newfield, Hess, Oasis, BR.

By the way, I have my doubts about the Hess EN-Ortloff well. The well file has not been posted so we can't verify that Hess reported this IP. Once the well file has been posted, we will know more.

EOG's Super-Long Horizontal; Sets A New Bakken Record; 213,000 Bbls In Less Than 5 Months; Is It Being Choked Down?

Updates

Super-Long Laterals

22484, see below, EOG, Hawkeye 102-2501H, Clarks Creek,
22485, see below, EOG, Hawkeye 102-2501H, Clarks Creek,
22486, 2,421, EOG, Hawkeye 102-2501H, Clarks Creek,
22487, drl, EOG, Hawkeye 102-2501H, Clarks Creek,

Original Post

I doubt many folks surf through the archived posts at the sidebar at the right.

Now would be a good time to look at "wells to watch, part II."

When you get to the link, note the EOG wells at the Clarks Creek oil field.

Also, this would be a great time to re-read Mike Filloon's article on EOG's completion techniques, written before Mike would have had data regarding the EOG Hawkeye well noted below.

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

I will really be disappointed if none of the regional papers pick up on this story. Even for the Bakken, this is a huge story. There are many, many story lines -- most of which I am not even aware. "Anonymous" -- sometime ago -- alerted me to these wells.  The first one came off the confidential list earlier this week:

• 22486, 2,421, EOG, Hawkeye 100-2501H, Clarks Creek (see stand-alone post); 3-section spacing (1,920 acres); will this be a long lateral (9,000 feet) or a much-talked-about-seldom-seen-super-long lateral (14,000 feet)? I'm betting the latter. If accurate, a huge "thank you" to a reader. This well is NORTHEAST of Watford City. Did Lynn Helms misspeak or was he misquoted in The Bismarck Tribune when he said there was a gusher NORTHWEST of Watford City? If there is still another gusher NORTHWEST of Watford City that is better than this well, we are talking some big wells in the Bakken; t9/12; cum 235K 2/13; turned out to a super-long lateral, 15,000 laterally; a Three Forks well.
  

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

Again, if this is not the gusher Mr Helms was talking about a few months ago, this is an even bigger story. Can you imagine another well that will be bigger than this one? This well is northeast of Watford City; The Bismarck Tribune reported that the gusher would be northwest of Watford City.

 

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

It turns out this well was a super-long-lateral (15,000 feet). For newbies, a short lateral is about 4,500 feet. A long lateral is about 9,000 feet. Early in the Bakken boom, most horizontals were short laterals, only 4,500 feet. The norm (now): long laterals, about 9,000 feet. However, there is a discussion among Bakken operators about which is more cost effective: short laterals vs long laterals.

So, now we have a very long lateral, something we haven't seen before in the Bakken. I think this is the first lateral of this length in the Bakken (even longer than those under the river).

Note: a Three Forks well.

Production data:

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	1-2013	30	33396	32927	9032	55877	0	55739
BAKKEN	12-2012	31	55366	55608	14629	92144	0	91989
BAKKEN	11-2012	27	47558	48594	10382	57300	0	57178
BAKKEN	10-2012	31	54884	54013	15946	155	0	0
BAKKEN	9-2012	9	21959	20698	10781	444	0	402

Look at the cumulative production: 213,000 bbls in less than 5 months. For newbies, one expects a Bakken well to produce 100,000 bbls in the first year, though many do not. I am not aware of any Bakken well to hit 200,000 bbls in less than a year (I assume there are some but don't know); this well hit 213,000 bbls in less than 5 months. Note that this well is not hooked up to a gas line (all gas is being flared) which suggests that the well might be choked back.

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

Again, "anonymous" alerted me to these wells some time ago and suggested there is much more to the story than just simply good luck. Neither the geologist's drilling report nor the completion data is yet posted at the NDIC web site. Once that is posted, we will know more.

Another bit of trivia: this spacing unit is still being determined. The operator is asking for a 3-section spacing unit (vertical, sections 25, 36, 1). Due to the way the well is sited, etc., according to the NDIC, the spacing unit will be 1,741 acres, less than 3-section spacing (1,920 acres).  The horizontal runs parallel to the east line of the spacing unit, and is offset from the east line by 900 feet. At some point, one would expect an overlapping spacing unit to be approved to allow a horizontal to run down the length of the section line.

New Poll Concerning The Report that Hess Has Reported A Well With an IP of 8,683 BOPD

After five days of the NDIC website being down, I made the decision to take the blog down. I didn't see a lot of value of a "Bakken blog" if basic data was unavailable. Within hours -- I think maybe it was less than two hours -- of taking the blog off-line, the NDIC site came back up. There are still pieces of the NDIC website not completely back up (see poll below).

I had planned to keep the blog off-line until I got caught up with all the data posted at the NDIC website over the past five days, but I figured that would be irritating and frustrating to a lot of readers. So, the blog is back up, but capability to post comments at the blog will be turned off for an undefined period of time. 

By the way, folks should notice a slight editorial change with regard to the MillionDollarWay. During the five days the NDIC was down and while the blog was off-line, I was able to negotiate a change in the contract regarding the blog.

So, back to blogging, and with that, we start with a new poll. 

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

First, the results of the current poll. Would you prefer to see more videos of scantily clad women surfing off the Big Island, or more videos of trucks hauling Bakken oil?

• more trucks: 50%
• more women: 50%

I can't make that up. It was split exactly 50/50.

Now, the new poll: did you all see this:

• 23374, 8,683, Hess, EN-Ortloff 156-94-2635H-2,  Big Butte, t2/13; cum 17K 1/13?

The NDIC is reporting a Hess well with an IP of 8,683. If that holds, it will beat the current record of about 5,000 bopd as the initial production. Unfortunately the well file is not linked to the scout ticket at the NDIC site, so at the moment we don't know what Hess reported. So, the question: Do you believe that Hess has reported a Bakken well with an IP of 8,683 bopd?

So Much For All That Talk About Global Warming: Winter Extends Into Spring -- AccuWeather

Updates

Later, 11:19 pm: Yup, there it was. On the late night news, snowfall this month is an all-time record for Worcester, Massachusetts.  It also is a record for any month in Worcester.

Original Post

AccuWeather is reporting:

The latest indications are that the weather pattern will continue to favor colder storms that bring snow, in part, from the Central states to the East into early April.

The pattern may translate to a longer heating season, higher heating bills and more time, money and effort into snow removal later into the season than usual in some communities. The pattern can also negatively influence some spring weather-related activities.

The long-range weather patterns from the Central states to the Appalachians and even the East Coast point toward additional storms and just enough cold air when they come calling to bring more snow and a wintry mix, despite the official arrival of spring on Wednesday, March 20.

"Children aren't going to know what snow is?" -- flashback

"Snowfalls are now just a thing of the past." -- flashback

"Even the children won't know what snow is." -- flashback

That's the problem I had with the whole "global warming" thing: outright lies. One degree increase in global temperature over a century is not the end of the world. In fact, for some species it will be good. For all we know, it might be good for human beings. Had the global warming activists talked about CO2 increases in the ocean causing a more acidic ocean they might have had more credibility. But with claims that children would no longer know what snow is and implications that the Earth was going to turn into another Venus made be a denier. And, of course now, it looks like the earth quit warming sixteen years ago. And the amount of CO2 the US is emitting continues to decrease, but there are no such claims being made by China, India, Brazil, or Cyprus. And, with Germany returning to coal, that country, a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, will start spewing more CO2.

I didn't catch it on the local television station but they said this was going to be the snowiest winter (ever) or (in a long time). Doesn't matter. The point is that at least kids in this neighborhood still know what snow is. And their children, their grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren a century from now will also know what snow is.

Scout Tickets at NDIC Website Are Now Up: 12:30 pm, Today

It looks like the NDIC website is starting to come up.

I still have mixed feelings about bringing the blog back up. Five days of data to update. Will take awhile.

Tea Leaves: Did The Obama Administration Go Too Far?

At the link (click here), note at least two stories about Washington regulators thinking about stepping back from regulations that would severely hurt power plants and the nuclear industry.

Then look at the story with regard to the story about decreased oil coming out of the Bakken due to weather and takeaway constraints.

And, of course, the Keystone XL was killed by Mr Obama. Personally. The buck clearly stopped in his office on that one. He can cancel White House tours. He can cancel pipelines. But he won't cancel presidential golf outings, even as far away as Ireland (in June).

And the price of oil shows no sign of coming down. Its average in 2012, if I recall correctly, was said to be the highest ever in the history of the US (average for the entire year). And all that talk about the price of oil coming down this year? It's possible, but so far no sign. And tensions are heating up in the Mideast. And now we learn that even as the US is cutting back on Mideast oil imports, China will easily exceed that delta.

So, regulators are looking at stepping back. It's finally catching up to those in the Obama administration who care about the US. Obviously Barry and Michelle do not (care about what happens to the US), but others in the administration still have to worry about where they will be working three years from now.

Hess Activists Unhappy With Eagle Ford Asset Sale

Regardless of the price Hess got for their sale, I was surprised they sold anything in the Eagle Ford. And I guess their activist shareholders are not happy with the sale either. The Street (at the link) is reporting:

Hess may become further stuck between shale rock and a very hard place as activist investors exclaim their displeasure following a most underwhelming sale of the energy company's Eagle Ford Shale assets. 

Late on Monday, Hess said it sold a 4,300-acre Eagle Ford Shale oilfield to Sanchez Energy for $265 million, in a deal that fetched about a third of the value that more optimistic analyst had forecast when the New York-based driller put the assets up for sale in 2012. 

The deal comes at a crucial time for Hess which is embarking on an ambitious strategy to spin off its refining and marketing businesses and become a pure-play oil and gas driller with a leading position in promising shales like the Bakken. 

But the Eagle Ford was a promising shale, also. 

Five Days and Counting: NDIC Website Still Compromised; No Word From NDIC; More and More Looks Like a Chinese DOS

Note: On this date, I took the blog off-line. The NDIC website has been down for five days now. Without NDIC data, the website is hardly worth it. By the time the NDIC website is back up, I would have so much data to catch up on, it just might not be worth it. I'm sure I will bring the blog back up, but right now I'm so irritated and frustrated, there's every possibility I won't. The granddaughters will benefit. Smile.

If I do bring the blog back up, I will be much more "direct" with regard to my feelings about the Obama administration.

The Sequester

One nice thing about the sequester: one quickly learns what is important to the administration. 

• White House tours canceled. Presidential golf tours continue, even a golfing trip in Ireland.
  
• Nuclear waste cleanup at Hanford, Washington: 200 laid off; 2,500 furloughed, leaving less than 8,000 full-time government workers/contractors to do something a lot of folks would think is important.
• Congress won't allow USPS to stop Saturday mail delivery.
  

Updates

Later, 8:48 am: no one will see this unless I bring the blog back up. But after five days of the NDIC site being down, it's too much aggravation to try to provide data regarding the Bakken. The blog served its original purpose. It was left up because a lot of folks enjoyed it, but based on their e-mail they were becoming as frustrated as I was. Time to move on. 

Original Post

Oh, well.

It will be a great weekend to get caught up. However, I will be traveling and if the NDIC website is down much longer, I'm going to close down the site. While traveling I won't have time to catch up. Not worth the aggravation. So, we'll see.

But, for now, the links.

First, part II of the Canadian rail terminals for dilbit, coming from RBN Energy.
The additional cost of shipping raw bitumen by rail is hard to pin down accurately but the infrastructure needed to handle heavy crude requires investment. PBF Energy who currently ship 40 Mb/d of raw Canadian bitumen to their Delaware City, DE refinery estimated that crude costs them $5/Bbl more to ship than light crude sent by rail from North Dakota. Canadian producer Southern Pacific’s plans to ship railbit with 20 percent diluent from Fort McMurray in Alberta to the Gulf Coast include returning the rail tank cars to Canada full of diluent that can be sold to reduce the roundtrip rail cost.

The WSJ Links

Section D (Personal Journal):

• Walter Mossberg: how much of a tablet can you get for under $300? Not much, I guess. You get what you pay for. 
• A PC and tablet 'brick' for the price of one. What everyone forgets when talking about non-Apple tablets is the Apple eco-system: iTunes, iMovie, iPhoto, iWhatever all working seamlessly together. Also, the gucci factor. Also, long battery life; no one else comes close.

Section C (Money & Investing):

• Wow, this is interesting. Venezuela is in trouble -- more than most folks know. Venezuela is short US dollars. Big deal? Well, yes, Venezuela importers (like those who import food) must pay for their imports with US dollars.  And Venezuela is running out of US dollars.

• Big story on page 5, taking up most of the page: shrinking supply buoys oil:

A glut of crude in the U.S. Midwest caused by a boom in output is starting to drain, keeping U.S. oil prices aloft even as global prices decline.

Pipeline and railway operators in past months have worked to expand the amount of crude oil that could be shipped from states like North Dakota and Texas to refineries on the Gulf Coast, one of the biggest oil-consuming hubs in the world.

"They are getting oil out of there, by hook or by crook," said John Kilduff, founding partner of New York energy hedge fund Again Capital LLC.

In recent weeks, the efforts have begun to yield results in the form of a decline in supplies in Cushing, Okla., which are a key factor in the price of oil traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

• Heard on the street: Chevron just moved into 2nd place, no mean feat:

Chevron just took silver. That offers gold for investors.

A decade ago, Chevron's market capitalization of $70 billion was half the size of Royal Dutch Shell's. This year, though, Chevron has opened up a lead: Worth $232 billion, it is now the second largest of the Western oil majors, trumping Shell's $215 billion.

It isn't first time Chevron has overtaken Shell; it nudged ahead briefly in the depths of the financial crisis and last October. But this lead looks more sustainable—and points to important differences in the two oil majors' strategies and performance.

In broad terms, Chevron has managed to grow without sacrificing returns. This is no mean achievement when you produce more than 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent a day, output from existing fields declines at 4% a year and much of the world's oil and gas is walled off.

Section C (Marketplace):

• Chesapeake gets reversal of state staggered-terms laws.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. won't be reincorporating in Delaware after all.
The Oklahoma-based company disclosed Tuesday that the state legislature had reversed a law that was meant to shield boards from activist shareholders.

That law required big, publicly traded companies incorporated in Oklahoma to put up just a third of their directors for election each year, making it harder for dissidents to overhaul boards. Chesapeake had helped draft that legislation in 2010, contending that such staggered terms were an essential defense against hostile takeovers.

But despite the law, activist shareholders managed to replace most of the company's board last year, with Chesapeake's consent. With the new board in place, Chesapeake reversed its stance on the staggered-terms law. The company said this January that if it the law wasn't overturned, the company would seek to reincorporate in Delaware, which doesn't require staggered terms for directors.

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin signed legislation March 5 amending state law to drop the staggered-terms requirement.

• Skepticism reigns over Mexico's waters. Government considers how to attract investment in oil fields, 75 years after expropriation. "Don't stick your neck out."When you read the story, it makes me think of the Obama debacle in our own off-shore oil industry. See yesterday's graph to see what I'm talking about. There are multiple ways to destroy an industry: Mexico does it one way; Obama does it another.

Section A:

• Cyprus stories throughout the paper; no links; easy to find. But three thoughts come to mind:

1) Cyprus called EU's bluff. Now the EU is scrambling we learn that
2) the Cyprus banking industry is used to launder Russian money

Today, on the networks and the internet, not yet reported in the print media, Russia is considering offering its own bailout. The obvious question: 3) how much is it worth to Russia to keep the laundry open in Cyprus? This is not rocket science.

• Jobless aid shrinks unevenly; as much as 86 weeks in California, North Carolina, and Nevada; only 40 weeks in the Midwest (ND, SD, NE, KS, OK, WY, UT, MN, IA)

• FDA scraps graphic labels on cigarettes; cigarettes will kill and severely injure more people than fracking ever will; one must remember, the president is a smoker;
• Philadelphians are going to see huge increase on their personal property; and so it goes. Another blue state. Cue up Connie Francis.
• EPA emissions plan faces possible revamp, administration considers rewriting rules as trade groups say many plants would have hard time meeting limits; wanna see more unemployment? Let the EPA loose.
• Sequester layoffs hit Hanford cleanup: Remember that story about all the radioactive waste leaking in Washington State? I guess it's not that big a deal. The 2% sequester in spending canceled White House tours, and not it's cutting back on clean-up efforts at Hanford: 200 folks will be laid off, and another 2,500 will be furloughed.
• Regulator delays nuclear-plant rule: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Tuesday delayed action on a proposed regulation that might have imposed hundreds of millions of dollars of costs on some of the country's older nuclear power plants.
• Senate gun bill won't include assault weapons ban; no link; story everywhere
• SARS outbreak in Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia not forthcoming about outbreak; male physicians cannot treat women; recipe for disaster; no link; hardly interested
• Op-ed: the government now relies far more on fewer and wealthier taxpayers. No wonder revenues are lower; no link; won't change anything.