Fracking Phobias -- The Motley Fool

A reader sent this link/story -- thank you.

The information in the Motley Fool story has been previously reported at the blog, but this is the first time the two stories appear together, coherently. Very, very nice to see.

As often noted, I generally don't care for superficiality of Motley Fool stories, but this one is a good one. A big "thank you" to the reader for sending it to me. From the linked article:

Yet oil and gas industry services specialist Nuverra Environmental Solutions has been telling anyone who will listen that fracking doesn't cause groundwater pollution. The company, which was previously known as Heckmann and is the leading supplier of water to the oil and gas industry, says fracking occurs 10,000 feet below the surface -- and water seeps down, not up, so the probability that it is responsible for the polluted water supplies is negligible.

The DOE study, which injected tracer chemicals into the fracking fluids so they could follow them, confirmed that. It injected the fluids some 8,000 feet below the surface and then monitored for them at 5,000 feet. None were ever detected, meaning that groundwater -- which is typically situated around 500 feet below the surface -- was about a mile away from any potential contamination. 

No doubt those conclusions are behind the EPA's decision to drop its study of groundwater contamination in Wyoming, instead allowing the state to complete it. Originally, the study was slated to be peer reviewed, but after questions about its methodology arose, it decided to abandon it altogether.

"Water seeps up, not down." Sometimes one wonders if any of the activist environmentalists ever graduated from 8th grade, and/or understand the principle of gravity. Thank goodness hydrocarbons have their unique "fingerprints" which makes it possible to identify source of hydrocarbons. 

A Chance To See If Washington State Is Pro-Jobs

KATU is reporting:

VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) — Port of Vancouver commissioners voted Tuesday to approve a lease for a Columbia River terminal that would take in crude oil by train from North Dakota and ship it to West Coast refineries.

About 60 people were at the port's office for the vote, which followed Monday night's public hearing, The Columbian reported.

The project will be reviewed by the state Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council, which will make a recommendation to Washington Gov. Jay Inslee for a final decision.

Port managers recommended approval of the deal with Tesoro Corp. and Savage Cos. for the economic benefits. Neighborhood and environmental groups oppose it because of safety and ecological risks.

Oil trains from the Bakken shale formation in North Dakota would run through the Columbia River Gorge and Vancouver.

My two cents worth: it was a no-brainer for the Port of Vancouver to approve it. At best, it's probably 50-50 whether the state will go along with it. But not to worry; the oil companies have plenty of alternatives. This is an opportunity for the state of Washington to let folks know whether they want the jobs, revenue, etc., or if they like the state the way it is.

[See first comment below: I mistakenly thought this port was in Oregon for some reason; I've been to Portland many times, and still don't know the geography. Thank you to the reader for catching this.]

Wells Coming Off Confidential List Thursday; KOG, EOG With Nice Wells

• 21065, 539, KOG, Skunk Creek 9-2-3-12HS, South Fork, t3/12; cum 40K 5/13; 
• 22689, 1.910, EOG, Wayzetta 136-2127H, Parshall, t2/13; cum 74K 5/13;
• 23630, DRL, Statoil, Reiten 23-14 2H, Painted Woods, no data,
• 23920, 370, Samson Resources, Border Farms 3130-4TFH, West Ambrose, t5/13; cum 11K 5/13;
• 24034, DRL, CLR, Dover 3-30H, Dollar Joe, no data,
• 24711, 1,322, XTO, Kulczyk 43X-17B, Alkali Creek, t6/13; cum --

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21065, see above, KOG, Skunk Creek 9-2-3-12HS:

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
5-2013	18095	7129
4-2013	9624	984

22689, see above, EOG, Wayzetta 136-2127H, Parshall:

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
5-2013	38992	10651
4-2013	11709	676
3-2013	16451	2944
2-2013	5315	0

23920, see above, Samson Resources, Border Farms 3130-4TFH, West Ambrose:

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
5-2013	9552	0
4-2013	608	0

Seven (7) New Permits -- The Williston Basin, North Dakota, USA

Active rigs: 187 (steady, trending down slightly)

Seven (7) new permits --

• Operators: Newfield (3), Whiting (2), North Plains (2)
• Fields: Bear Den (McKenzie), Pleasant Hill (McKenzie), Smoky Butte (Divide)
• Comments: The Bear Den pipeline received a "gold star" from BLM; posted earlier today

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

Six (6) producing wells were completed:

• 24374, 1,860, KOG, P Wood 154-98-3-27-34-14H3, Truax, t6/13; cum --
• 24376, 915, KOG, P Wood 154-98-3-27-34-15H3M, Truax, t6/13; cum --
• 24375, 2,085, KOG, P Wood 154-98-3-27-34-15H, Truax, t6/13; cum --
• 24649, 1,824, KOG, P Wood 154-98-3-27-34-14H, Truax, t6/13; cum --
• 24173, 2,771, Statoil, Panzer 22-23 4H, Alger, t6/13; cum --
• 24174, 2,004, Statoil, Panzer 22-23 3TFH, Alger, t6/13; cum --

WLL Is UP Almost 2 Percent In After-Hours Trading

WLL's 2Q13 operating and financial results.

Okay, now I'm outta here.

King George It Will Be; Also -- Story And Photo Of French Hollande/US Obama With Joint Venture To Drill The Paris Shale

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have named their new son George Alexander Louis.

And with that, I'm back on the road. Good luck to all. 

Okay -- one more: a photograph of a joint venture between President O'Bama and French President Hollander -- once this rig is completed, the French will start drilling Paris Shale (rumored to be better than the Bakken).  The Calgary Herald is reporting.

Permitorium: Administration Opposes Bill That Would Encourage Off-Shore Drilling

The Oil & Gas Journal is reporting:

Tighter federal budgets and more pressure to reduce the budget deficit make sharing US Outer Continental Shelf energy revenue with coastal states and communities unaffordable and impractical, an Obama administration official told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on July 23. Two cosponsors of an OCS revenue-sharing bill countered that it’s essential and long overdue.

“The revenue-sharing provisions of S. 1273 would ultimately reduce the net return to taxpayers in every state from the development of offshore energy resources owned by all Americans, have significant and long-term costs to the federal treasury, and increase the federal deficit,” said Pamela K. Haze, deputy US Interior secretary for budget, finance, performance, and acquisition.

“In addition, the bill does not appear to be targeted to achieve clear conservation or energy policy outcomes,” Haze said, adding, “For these reasons, the administration cannot support the bill.

Several story lines in that article, least of which the one about "achieving clear conservation or energy policy outcomes."  In other words: the permitorium continues.

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

Note to the Granddaughters

Leisurely drive down I-40, just south of the Grand Canyon -- Williams, AZ, west of and just outside of Flagstaff. I am driving back from Los Angeles to Dallas.

I'm driving about 55 - 60 mph on the interstate -- wishing the trip would not end. It is impossible to exaggerate how beautiful the scenery is. Elk warnings along the road but have not seen any elk yet. I just missed hitting a road runner (the little bird). Unfortunately, Wiley Coyote did not see me ... just joking.

I'm driving so slowly, I have to move out of the way to let the big rigs pass me -- going uphill!

I took this same trip in the reverse direction a few weeks ago, but drove some of it during the night, so it's nice to see what I missed. Traffic fairly heavy -- gateway to the Grand Canyon, but McDonald's parking lot is not as busy as one would expect during the tourist season. But then, I've not been here before so I don't know how it compares with past years.

In the more remote areas, the least expensive gasoline costs about $3.58/gallon while generally it is running about $4.19 to $4.29/gallon. But the range is quite remarkable. Despite the price, Platts is reporting increased gasoline demand (posted elsewhere a few minutes ago). One can see graphic of gasoline demand here.

I see the price of oil dropped quite a bit today: so much for that Mideast tension. Whatever happened to Syria? The latest news: the ebb and flow has now brought Assad back with the upper hand. President O'Bama given at least five (5) options by his cabinet (DOD and State), which will give him plenty of time to dither. Which, in this case, is very good news. Might as well wait to see which side is winning before committing. Also, we need to see what the Israelis plant to do. That was pretty neat to hear that Israel can take out Iran with submarine-launched missiles. So much for lack of fighter range for Israeli jets to get to Iran and back. Call is the "Keystone phenomenon." If one tactic won't work, try something else (such as CBR now that the Keystone is dead).

US Crude Stocks Fell For 4th Consecutive Week; Gasoline Supplies Also Fall -- Despite $4.50 Gasoline In Parts Of The US

Platts is tweeting:

US crude stocks fell for 4th consecutive week, dropping 2.8 million bbl to 364.2 million bbl. 

Story:

US commercial crude stocks fell for the fourth consecutive week, dropping 2.8 million barrels to 364.2 million barrels last week, marking a tally of a nearly 30 million-barrel draw in inventories in a month, US Energy Information Administration showed Wednesday.

Still, crude stocks were about 5% above the five-year average for the reporting week ended July 19. The draw in stocks was in line with a Platts analysis and survey of analysts who expected a 2.6 million-barrel decline.

Stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma -- delivery point for the NYMEX crude futures contract -- fell 2.06 million barrels to 44.02 million barrels. This is the second straight week of draws at Cushing, totaling nearly 3 million barrels. Despite the draws, Cushing stocks were 29% greater-than the five year average.

Bigger story (same link):

US gasoline stocks fell 1.4 million barrels to 222.7 million barrels for the reporting week ended July 19, counter to analysts' expectations, EIA data showed.

A Platts analysis and survey of analysts showed US gasoline stocks had been expected to rise 800,000 barrels.

The drawdown in gasoline stocks was likely a product of a strong increase in US implied demand, and a sharp drop in imports.

Implied demand for gasoline rose 253,000 b/d to 8.98 million b/d. On a four-week moving average, demand for gasoline last week rose slightly to 9.08 million b/d, nearly 275,000 b/d greater than over a similar period a year ago.

Gasoline imports, meanwhile, fell 395,000 b/d to 322,000 b/d.

This is all very, very interesting, to say the least. 

Burying One's Head In The Sand, I Guess

Chicago's bond rating is lowered.

But that doesn't stop Chicago aldermen from doing what they do best: spending taxpayers' money. The Dickinson Press (for some reason) is reporting:

Chicago's City Council has approved a $500 million renovation of historic Wrigley Field, including a Jumbotron above the ivy-covered left-field wall.

Aldermen voted Wednesday to support the work for the home of the Cubs, one day after it got crucial approval from a City Council zoning committee and the alderman whose ward includes the ballpark.

The Jumbotron will be a first for the 99-year-old ballpark on the city's north side.

The Cubs could display the city debt on the Jumbotron during home games. 

The article doesn't explicitly say the city will help fund this half-billion-dollar project but it is implied, and I kind of doubt the Cubs would do it all by themselves.  But I could be wrong.

Wednesday Morning Links, News, And Views

Active rigs: 187

Wells coming off confidential list have been posted. 

RBN Energy: summer electricity spikes in NYC. I wonder how that wind/solar generated electricity is working out.

I am traveling today, so blogging infrequent. 

BLM says "ok" to new Bear Den Pipeline. The Dickinson Press is reporting:

The Bureau of Land Management has released a finding that there would be no significant environmental impact from the proposed Bear Den Pipeline project in western North Dakota.

The agency conducted an environmental assessment of the project, which would gather crude oil from wells in McKenzie and Dunn counties south of Lake Sakakawea and deposit the oil at a central storage and transfer facility south of Watford City near Highway 85.

The pipeline will have a capacity of up to 14,000 barrels of oil per day.

The pipeline also will transport up to 3,500 barrels per day of water produced from numerous wells to a disposal well regulated by the state.

A talking head notes that the president pivots for the 19th time on jobs. I don't know. I've lost count. I assume "19" will be the lucky number and this week's numbers -- out tomorrow -- will blow folks away.  Apparently, according to the president, no administration in the history of the United States has created as many jobs as his has. I don't have the link for that -- I'm traveling, and no time to search -- and he probably didn't really say that, but it wouldn't surprise me if he did. [Later: his first speech bragging on all the jobs he created. LOL.]

But there is a link for this factoid: Two Americans Added to Food Stamp Rolls for Every Job Administration Says It Created.

I see Yahoo!Finance still doesn't have the "oil price thingy" fixed at their site; it went down sometime yesterday and is still uncorrected; shows oil up 9 cents at $107. Bloomberg currently has WTI oil at $106.09, down about a dollar. 

But here is the spin for the day:

People in Spain, Greece, Russia and China are down on America. That’s not surprising. But Americans are down on America too, and the trend, paradoxically, seems to be getting stronger as working and economic conditions improve.

President Clinton always said the American people can sort out the truth, and it appears, regardless of the mainstream media spin, the majority of Americans haven't seen much (any?) improvement in the past four or five years. Wall Street has done quite well; Main Street has not done well at all, and with O'BamaScare, the EPA, and the president's new emphasis on jobs (think crony capitalism, and renewable energy), they might be right. Again.

This may be one reason Americans are "down and out":  health care accounted for almost 20% of US GDP in 2011, it will be much worse when O'BamaScare kicks in. That's a fack, Jack.  The graph at the link is downright scary. The rest of the OECD: about 10% of their GDP was related to health care.

Doomsday: US Cities

Chicago: bond rating downgraded. I think Chicago may be in deeper trouble than Wall Street recognizes.

Detroit:  for the moment, the bankruptcy case proceeds. Shenanigans halted by US federal court.

Meanwhile, now that the budget is out of their hands, the Detroit City Council can spend more time on other pressing issues. In this case: calling for a federal investigation of George Zimmerman/civil rights.  Why, you ask?

It takes their mind (and the minds of their constituents) off more serious matters. It keeps them in the limelight -- helps them garner support of the Black Caucus which they will sorely need to save their pensions. It is my understanding that not one member of the Congressional Black Caucus has introduced a bill to bailout Detroit. Not good news.