Random Look At The Producing Wells In Williston Field

There are just a handful of producing wells in the Williston oil field; several other wells are on confidential status or "DRL" status (see link).

A reader noted in the December, 2013, NDIC hearing dockets, case 21493:

Application for an order amending the field rules for the Williston-Bakken
Pool, Williams County, ND, to allow the flaring of gas and unrestricted
production of oil from wells not connected to a gas gathering facility until
the same can be connected and such other relief as is appropriate. Statoil
Oil and Gas LP and Triangle USA Petroleum Corp.

I assume the nearest natural gas processing plants are the two ONEOK plants west of Williston, the Stateline I and II.

With all the wells on "DRL" status and confidential status, and the wells below (already producing), it provides some explanation for the request for flaring. The data below is only for the past year; the wells, in several cases, have been producing for several years.

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

25459, 784, Triangle, Little Muddy 13H, Williston, t10/13; cum 9K 9/13:

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	9-2013	14	9119	8428	33378	7363	0	7363

25458, 631, Triangle, Little Muddy 11H, Williston, t10/13; cum 9K 9/13:

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	9-2013	14	8722	8057	22824	4634	0	4634

24543, 1,533, Zavanna, Bear Cat 33-28 1H, Williston, t4/13; cum 131K 9/13:

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	10-2013	31	13862	13816	8952	0	0	0
BAKKEN	9-2013	30	14501	14682	9600	14904	14218	686
BAKKEN	8-2013	31	14540	13946	9734	14422	14136	286
BAKKEN	7-2013	31	18467	18154	12550	19596	19061	535
BAKKEN	6-2013	30	23100	23273	15605	24646	19310	5336
BAKKEN	5-2013	31	24564	23699	17734	24414	10649	13765
BAKKEN	4-2013	16	21564	20864	33965	19823	0	19823

22384, 2,910, Statoil/BEXP, Mark 4-9 1H, t5/12; cum 155K 9/13:

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	9-2013	30	6059	6293	4384	6553	6294	259
BAKKEN	8-2013	31	4418	5715	3989	4279	3869	410
BAKKEN	7-2013	31	5711	5516	4461	5708	5676	32
BAKKEN	6-2013	30	5041	4310	4631	4495	3526	969
BAKKEN	5-2013	18	3314	3085	3300	2725	2100	625
BAKKEN	4-2013	29	5680	5898	3018	4191	19	4172
BAKKEN	3-2013	31	6106	5921	2996	4226	24	4202
BAKKEN	2-2013	28	7446	7304	3517	8793	7205	1588
BAKKEN	1-2013	31	11116	11647	4818	11839	10297	1542

21146, 3,109, Statoil/BEXP, Sjol 5-8 1H, t6/12; cum 153K 9/13:

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	9-2013	30	4153	4018	3596	0	0	0
BAKKEN	8-2013	31	4382	5249	3908	3628	0	3628
BAKKEN	7-2013	31	7032	6339	4839	5533	0	5533
BAKKEN	6-2013	30	5587	5961	4164	4563	0	4563
BAKKEN	5-2013	30	5541	5828	4366	19331	0	19331
BAKKEN	4-2013	22	4050	3748	2328	3627	0	3627
BAKKEN	3-2013	30	6247	5620	3221	4730	0	4730
BAKKEN	2-2013	28	7571	7763	4001	6224	0	6224
BAKKEN	1-2013	31	9902	10849	4844	10017	0	10017

20842, 2,743, Statoil/BEXP, Larsen 3-10 2H, t7/11; cum 169K 9/13:

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	9-2013	30	4123	4289	3407	2762	2586	176
BAKKEN	8-2013	31	4294	4252	3785	2917	1453	1464
BAKKEN	7-2013	31	4791	6164	4369	4181	2477	1704
BAKKEN	6-2013	30	3839	2598	3837	3306	2356	950
BAKKEN	5-2013	23	2238	2173	2540	1592	1272	320
BAKKEN	4-2013	30	2538	2404	1234	1119	781	338
BAKKEN	3-2013	30	3517	3402	1957	2295	1605	690
BAKKEN	2-2013	28	3336	3404	1767	2050	1233	817
BAKKEN	1-2013	30	5073	5076	2774	4804	1713	3091

18891, 2,631, Statoil/BEXP, Larsen 3-10 1H, t9/10; cum 197K 9/13:

ool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	9-2013	30	2496	2396	1912	2748	2675	73
BAKKEN	8-2013	31	2726	3552	2252	2867	2857	10
BAKKEN	7-2013	31	2557	2314	2612	2565	1855	710
BAKKEN	6-2013	30	2477	2071	2287	2651	2060	591
BAKKEN	5-2013	30	2833	2786	2676	3444	1784	1660
BAKKEN	4-2013	29	3103	3068	1638	3166	149	3017
BAKKEN	3-2013	28	2613	2590	1167	3362	1094	2268
BAKKEN	2-2013	28	2703	2690	1285	4001	3090	911
BAKKEN	1-2013	30	3194	3196	673	4128	3702	426

Minnesotans Are Anticipating Increased Property Tax Bills; Comes As A Surprise To Some

The Duluth News Tribune is reporting:

A state Revenue Department report earlier this month indicated that property tax levies statewide could rise nearly 2 percent statewide. Cities expect to raise tax levies by 2.1 percent; counties, 1.5 percent; townships, 2.1 percent; schools, 2.6 percent and other taxing districts, 2.3 percent.

Gov. Mark Dayton and others are concerned that the preliminary numbers show 63 percent of cities and 77 percent of counties plan higher property-tax levies.

Democrats did not think that would happen.

They thought that millions of dollars in additional state aid they sent to local governments would result in property tax cuts.

“There will be a number of legislators who seize on any increase as evidence that local governments are (big) spenders and they will take every dollar and spend it and get more and more and they will take every dollar they can get,” Dayton said. “So they are going to undermine the case we have been making.”

With Dayton, a Democrat, saying that increases will “seriously undermine our case,” Revenue Commissioner Myron Frans plans to talk to local government leaders who propose raising tax levies in the hope that they will trim their tax levies.

The latest Revenue Department numbers come from preliminary property-tax levy decisions local officials have made. Each governing body needs to make a levy final decision by mid-December. State law does not permit preliminary levies to go up, only stay the same or shrink.

Statewide, preliminary levies always are higher than the final ones. They usually fall a percentage point or less, which if it happens this year means tax levies would rise.

Earlier it was reported that Fargo and Grand Forks join Midland and Odessa among the five fastest growing metro areas in the United States. Midland and Odessa are in the middle of the resurgent Permian oil basin. Fargo and Grand Fargo are about 300 miles from the Bakken, nowhere near the oil patch compared to Midland and Odessa. Grand Forks and Fargo may be participating in the Bakken but only indirectly. Both Grand Forks and Fargo are located on the other side of the Red River from Minnesota. 

Weren't They Granted Blanket Immunity To Slice And Dice? Wind Farm Found Guilty Of Killing 14 Eagles, More

Updates

December 5, 2013: Wind farms to apply for permits to kill eagles.  It will be interesting to see if the Sierra Club weighs in; if not, it speaks volumes about the Sierra Club's real agenda.
 
Original Post
Yahoo!News is reporting:

A major U.S. power company has pleaded guilty to killing eagles and other birds at two Wyoming wind farms and agreed to pay $1 million as part of the first enforcement of environmental laws protecting birds against wind energy facilities.

Until the settlement announced Friday with Duke Energy Corp. and its renewable energy arm, not a single wind energy company had been prosecuted for a death of an eagle or other protected bird — even though each death is a violation of federal law, unless a company has a federal permit. Not a single wind energy facility has obtained a permit.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based company pleaded guilty to killing 14 eagles and 149 other birds at its Top of the World and Campbell Hill wind farms outside Casper, Wyo. All the deaths, which included golden eagles, hawks, blackbirds, wrens and sparrows, occurred from 2009 to 2013.

"Wind energy is not green if it is killing hundreds of thousands of birds," said George Fenwick, president of the American Bird Conservancy, which supports properly sited wind farms.

"The unfortunate reality is that the flagrant violations of the law seen in this case are widespread."

Finally. 

Wait until the slicers and dicers bring whooping cranes to extinction. Sad.

Trends Noted In The NDIC Hearing Dockets, December 2013

Updates

December 14, 2013: Petroleum News has an update on this issue.
 

Original Post

I've been posting an abbreviated summary of the dockets since 2009 and I don't think I've ever seen so many cases requesting permission/waivers for unlimited flaring as in the December, 2013, hearings.

This only means one thing to me.

Other things noted:

• Emerald is getting very, very active
• CLR has a huge number of requests for 14 wells on 1280-acre units, as does XTO
• WPX and XTO have a lot of risk penalty cases (locations are interesting)
• KOG's pilot project 2.0 must be successful; KOG has requests for two more such projects
• a lot more salt-water disposal wells

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

NDIC Hearing Dockets, December, 2013

Trends noted. 

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

21390, True Oil, Bowline field, appropriate spacing for a single well, McKenzie
21391, CLR, et al, Bell-Bakken, appropriate spacing for development of this field, Stark
21392, Whiting, Chateau-Three Forks, proper spacing for this field, Billings
21393, Whiting, Gaylord-Bakken, proper spacing for this field, Billings, Stark
21394, Whiting, Green river -Bakken, proper spacing for this field, Stark
21395, Whiting, et al, Zenith-Bakken, proper spacing for this field, Stark
21396, Whiting, North Creek-Bakken, proper spacing for this field, Stark
21397, Whiting, Park-Bakken, proper spacing for this field, Billings
21220, cont'd
21221, cont'd
21215, cont'd
21398, Petro Harvester, Renville-Madison, exception for a single well, Bottineau
21399, SM Energy, Ambrose, West Ambrose, and Colgan-Bakken; an additional well in five 2560-acre spacing units, Divide
21400, SM Energy, Ambrose-Bakken, establish an overlapping 2560-acre unit; Divide
21401, SM Energy, Bear Den-Bakken, establish an overlapping 2560-acre unit, McKenzie
21402, QEP, Deep Water Creek Bay-Bakken, exception for a single well, McLean
21403, OXY USA, Cabernet-Madison, establish a 160-acre unit; re-accomplish the STroh 11-1H well to be recompleted in the Cabernet-Madison pool, Dunn
21404, OXY USA, Cabernet-Bakken, establish two 640-acre units, 3 add'l wells on each; Dunn
21405, OXY USA, Murphy Creek-Bakken, establish two 640-acre units; 2 add'l wells on each, Dunn
21406, OXY USA,  Willmen-Bakken, establish two 640-acre units; 2 add'l wells on each, Dunn
21407, OXY USA, Crooked Creek-Bakken, flaring, Dunn
21408, Oasis, Deep Water Creek Bay-Bakken; open a portion of an existing well to the Bakken, Mountrail
21409, Oasis, Gros Ventre-Bakken, establish two overlapping 2560-acre units; 1 well each, Burke
21410, Oasis, Baker-Bakken, establish two overlapping 2560-acre units; 1 well each, McKenzie, Williams
21411, Oasis, Cottonwood-Bakken, flaring, Burke, Mountrail
21412, Hess, Tioga-Bakken, establish a 1280-acre unit, 3 wells, Williams
21413, Hess, Cherry Creek-Bakken, establish two overlapping 2560-acre units; 1+ well on each, McKenzie
21414, Hess, Little Knife and Big Gulch-Bakken, establish an overlapping 2560-acre unit; 1+ well, Dunn
21415, Hess, Little Knife-Bakken, establish an overlapping 2560-acre unit; 1+ well, Dunn
21416, Hess, Bear Creek and Cedar Coulee-Bakken, establish an overlapping 2560-acre unit, 1+ well, Dunn
21417, Hess, Cedar Coulee-Bakken, flaring, Dunn
21418, Hess, Cherry Creek-Bakken, flaring, McKenzie
21419, Hess, Wheelock-Bakken, flaring, Williams
21420, Hess, White Earth-Bakken, flaring, Mountrail
21421, BR, Charlson-Bakken, for a well to produce from above the top of the Charlson-Bakken for a portion of the well bore not isolated by cement, McKenzie
21275, cont'd
21422, Sojourn Energy, South Horse Creek-Red River, vacate existing spacing units; establish a 320-acre unit; Bowman
21423, Sakakawea Ventures, waste treatment plant, Divide
21424, Buffalo Hills, waste treatment plant, Dunn
21425, SM Energy, pooling
21426, SM Energy, pooling
21427, SM Energy, pooling
21428, SM Energy, pooling
21429, EM Energy, Bear Den-Bakken, 6 wells in a 640-acre unit, McKenzie
21430, Petro-Hunt, pooling
21431, Hess, pooling
21432, Hess, pooling
21433, Hess, pooling
21434, Hess, pooling
21435, Hess, pooling
21436, Hess, pooling
21437, Hess, pooling
21438, Hess, pooling
21439, Hess, pooling
21440, Hess, pooling
21441, Hess, pooling
21442, Hess, pooling
21443, Hess, pooling
21444, Hess, South Meadow-Bakken, 6 wells on a 1280-acre unit; Williams
21445, Hess, Little Knife-Bakken, i) 6 wells on a 1280-acre unit; ii) 8 wells on a 1280-acre unit; iii) 9 wells on a 1280-acre unit; Dunn
21446, MRO, pooling
21447, KOG, Truax-Bakken, 16 wells on each of 2 1280-acre units; Williams
21448, BR, pooing
21449, Whiting, pooling
21450, Whiting, pooling
21451, Whiting, pooling
21452, Whiting, Pleasant Hills-Bakken, 7 wells on a 1280-acre unit, McKenzie
21453, OXY USA, pooling
21454, Oasis, Willow Creek-Bakken, 15 wells on a 1280-acre unit, McKenzie, Williams
21455, Oasis, Tyrone-Bakken, 12 wells on a 1280-acre unit, Williams
21456, White Owl Energy, SWD, Johnsons Corner, Blue Buttes field, McKenzie
21457, Buckhorn Energy, SWD, New Home field, Williams
21458, WPX, risk penalty legalese, Heart Butte-Bakken, Dunn
21459, WPX, risk penalty legalese, Heart Butte-Bakken, Dunn
21460, WPX, risk penalty legalese, Spotted Horn-Bakken, McKenzie
21461, WPX, risk penalty legalese, Van Hook-Bakken, Mountrail
21462, WPX, risk penalty legalese, Van Hook-Bakken, Mountrail
21463, WPX, risk penalty legalese, Van Hook-Bakken, Mountrail
21464, Bakken Hunter, risk penalty legalese, Bounty School-Bakken, Divide
21053, cont'd
21465, North Plains, pooling
 

Thursday, December 19, 2013 

21466, Whiting, New Hradec-Bakken, proper spacing, Stark
21467, Fidelity, Dickinson-Bakken, flaring, Stark
21468, Fidelity, Sanish-Bakken, flaring, McKenzie, Mountrail
21469, EOG, et al, Stanley-Bakken, flaring, Mountrail
21470, EOG, Round Prairie-Bakken, redefine field limits; Williams
21300, con'td
21471, CLR, et al, Epping-Bakken, proper spacing, Williams
21472, CLR, et al, Mary-Bakken, proper spacing, Dunn, McKenzie
21473, Sinclair, Parshall-Bakken, establish a 1280-acre unit, 1 well, Mountrail
21474, CLR, revoke a Samson Oil & Gas permit, Williams
21475, CLR, Last Chance and/or Crazy Man Creek-Bakken, establish a 1280-acre unit; 14 wells, Williams
21476, CLR, Alkali Creek-Bakken, flaring, McKenzie, Mountrail, Williams
21477, CLR, New Home-Bakken, flaring, Williams
21478, CLR, Todd-Bakken, flaring, Williams, McKenzie
21302, cont'd
21303, cont'd
21304, cont'd
21305, cont'd
21306, cont'd
21152, cont'd
21479, Newfield, et al, Tobacco Garden-Bakken, redefine field limits, McKenzie
21480, Newfield, Westberg-Bakken, flaring, McKenzie
21481, XTO, Tobacco Garden-Bakken, establish an overlapping 1920-acre unit, 14 wells, McKenzie
21482, XTO, Morgan Draw-Bakken, establish a 640-acre unit, 1 well, Golden Valley
21483, XTO, Grinnell-Bakken, flaring, McKenzie, Williams
21484, XTO, North Tobacco-Bakken, flaring, McKenzie
21485, Samson Resources, Ambrose-Bakken, establish two overlapping 2560-acre units; one well each; Divide
21486, Corinthian, Souris-Spearfish/Madison, establish an overlapping 160-acre unit; 5 wells; Bottineau
21487, Corinthian, North Souris-Madison, establish a 120-acre unit, 2 wells, Bottineau
21488, Armstrong, create a 160-acre unit; 1 well, Dunn
21489, Baytex, Blooming Prairie-Bakken, flaring, Divide
21490, HRC, Spotted Horn-Bakken, flaring, McKenzie, Mountrail
21491, Statoil, Alger-Bakken, flaring, Mountrail
21492, Statoil, Briar Creek-Bakken, flaring, McKenzie, Williams
21493, Statoil, Williston-Bakken, flaring, Williams
21494, Triangle, Ragged Butte-Bakken, flaring, McKenzie
21495, Triangle, Timber Creek-Bakken, flaring, McKenzie
21496, ERF, et al, Heart Butte-Bakken, flring, Dunn, McLean, Mountrail
21497, WPX, Reunion Bay-Bakken, flaring, Reunion Bay-Bakken
21498, WPX, Reunion Bay-Bakken, establish an overlapping 2560-acre unit, 5 wells; Dunn
21499, WPX, Mandaree-Bakken, estalbish two overlapping 2560-acre units; 5 wells on each, Dunn
21500, WPX, Squaw Creek-Bakken, establish an overlapping 2560-acre unit; 5 wells, McKenzie
21501, WPX, Spotted Horn-Bakken, establish an overlapping 2560-acre unit, 5 wells, McKenzie
21502, WPX, Wolf Bay-Bakken, define stratigraphic limits, Dunn
21503, Hunt, Alexandria-Bakken, flaring, Divide
21504, Crescent Point, Blue Ridge-Bakken, flaring, Williams
21505, SHD, Van Hook and/or Heart Butte-Bakken, establish a 3840-acre unit, 14 wells, Dunn, McLean
21506, SHD, Heart Butte and/or Deep Water Creek Bay-Bakken, establihs a 1280-acre unit; 8 wells; establish two 2080-acre units, 8 wells on each; establish an overlapping 2080-acre unit, 9 wells on that unit; Dunn, McLean
21155, cont'd
21507, Enduro, Lone Tree-Sherwood Unit, terminate, Ward County
21508, Glass Bluff-Madison, review activities, McKenzie, Williams
21285, cont'd
21287, cont'd
20938, cont'd
20658, cont'd
21509, GADECO, flaring, Williams
21510, Slawson, Big Bend-Bakken, 15 wells on an existing 1280-acre unit, Mountrail
21358, cont'd
21359, cont'd
21511, Emerald, pooling, Williams
21512, Emerald, pooling, Williams
21513, Emerald, pooling, McKenzie
21514, Emerald, pooling, McKenzie
21515, Emerald, pooling, McKenzie
21516, Emerald, pooling, McKenzie
21517, Emerald, pooling, McKenzie
21518, Emerald, pooling, McKenzie
21519, Emerald, pooling, McKenzie
21520, Emerald, pooling, McKenzie
21521, Emerald, pooling, McKenzie
21522, Emerald, pooling, Billings
21523, Emerald, pooling, Stark
21524, Emerald, pooling, Stark
21525, Emerald, Big Meadow-Bakken, 7 wells on an existing 1280-acre unit, Williams
21526, Emerald, Little Tank-Bakken, 7 wells on an existing 1280-acre unit, McKenzie
21527, Emerald, Boxcar Butte-Bakken, 7 wells on an existing 1280-acre unit, McKenzie
21528, Emerald, MonDak-Bakken, 7 wells on each of two existing 1280-acre units, McKenzie
21529, Emerald, Pierre Creek-Bakken, 7 wells on each of two existing 1280-acre units; McKenzie
21530, Emerald, Poke Jim-Bakken 7 wells on an existing 1280-acre unit, McKenzie
21531, Emerald, Flat Top Butte-Bakken, 7 wells on an existing 1280-acre unit, McKenzie
21532, Emerald, St Demetrius-Bakken, 6 wells on an existing 1280-acre unit, Billings
21533, Emerald, Green River-Bakken, 6 wells on an existing 1280-acre unit, Stark
21534, Emerald, Heart River-Bakken, 6 wells on an existing 1280-acre unit, Stark
21535, Corinthian, pooling, Souris-Spearfish/Madison, Bottineau
21536, Corinthian, pooling, North Souris-Spearfish/Madison, Bottineau
21537, Corinthian, pooling, Northeast Landa-Spearfish/Madison, Bottineau
21538, Corinthian, pooling, Northeast Landa-Spearfish/Madison, Bottineau
21539, Corinthian, pooling, Red Rock-Spearfish, Bottineau
21540, WPX, pooling, Mandaree-Bakken, Dunn
21541, WPX, pooling, Mandaree-Bakken, Dunn
21542, WPX, pooling, Mandaree-Bakken, Dunn
21543, WPX, Mandaree-Bakken,  14 wells on an existing 1280-acre unit; Dunn, McKenzie
21544, WPX, Squaw Creek-Bakken, 14 wells on each existing 1280-acre unit, McKenzie
21545, WPX, Spotted Horn-Bakken, 14 wells each existing 1280-acre unit, McKenzie, Mountrail
21546, WPX, Reunion Bay-Bakken, 14 wells on each existing 1280-acre unit, McKenzie, Mountrail
21547, XTO, risk penalty legalese, Beaver Lodge-Bakken, Williams
21548, XTO, risk penalty legalese, Beaver Lodge-Bakken, Williams
21549, XTO, Heart Butte-Bakken, 7 wells on an existing 640-acre unit, Dunn
21550, XTO, Squaw Creek-Bakken, 4 wells on each of 2 existing 320-acre units, McKenzie
21551, XTO, flaring, McKenzie
21552, Newfield, risk penalty legalese, McKenzie
21553, Arsenal, pooling, Burke
21554, Baytex, pooling, Divide
21555, Baytex, pooling, Divide
21556, Baytex, pooling, Divide
21557, Baytex, pooling, Divide
21558, Baytex, pooling, Divide
21559, Baytex, pooling, Divide
20975, cont'd
21560, Fidelity, flaring, Stark
21561, Fidelity, flaring, Stark
21562, Triangle, Spring Creek-Bakken, 8 wells on an existing 1280-acre unit, McKenzie
21351, cont'd
21563, Sinclair, Sanish-Bakken, 8 wells on an existing 1280-acre unit, Mountrail
21564, Zavanna, SWD, Foreman Butte field, McKenzie
21565, FIBR Water Systems, SWD, McGregory Buttes, Dunn
21566, Hanna SWD, SWD, Grail field, McKenzie
21567, Uran SWD, SWD, Sanish, Mountrail
21568, Enduro, commingling, Hay Draw-Red River, McKenzie
21569, Enduro, conversion to SWD, Divide
21570, Enduro, conversion to SWD, Divide
21331, cont'd
21332, cont'd
21333, cont'd
21334, cont'd
21335, cont'd
21336, cont'd
21337, cont'd
21571, CLR, pooling, Indian Hill-Bakken, McKenzie
21572, CLR, pooling, Squaw Gap-Bakken, McKenzie
21573, CLR, pooling, Blacktail-Bakken, Billings
21574, CLR, pooling, Barta-Bakken, Billings
21575, CLR, pooling, Ukraina-Bakken, Billings
21576, CLR, pooling, Dutch Henry Butte-Bakken, Stark
21194, cont'd
21195, cont'd
 21196, cont'd
20814, cont'd
20815, cont'd
20816, cont'd
21370, cont'd
21375, cont'd
21577, CLR, Snow-Bakken, 14 wells on each existing 1280-acre unit within Zone I and II, Billings
21578, CLR, Robinson Lake-Bakken, 14 wells on each existing 1280-acre unit within Zones II, III, IV, V, VI, and VII; 28 wells on each existing 2560-acre unit within zones VIII and IX; Mountrail
21377, cont'd
21579, CLR, Customs and Viking-Bakken, 14 wells on each existing 1280-acre unit within Zone II in the Customs-Bakken; and Zones I and II in the Viking-Bakken; Burke
21580, CLR, Dolphin and Upland-Bakken; 14 wells on each existing 1280-acre unit withinZone II of the Dolphin-Bakken; and Zones I, II, and III in the Upland-Bakken, Divide
21581, CLR, Ellisville, Painted Woods, Winner-Bakken, 14 wells in each existing 1280-acre unit within Zones I, II, and III of the Ellisville-Bakken; Zones III, IV, V, and VI in the Painted Woods; and Zones I and II in the Winner-Bakken; Williams
21582, CLR, Bear Creek, Cabernet, Corral Creek, Crooked Creek, Jim Creek, Oakdale, and Rattlesnake Point-Bakken pools; 14 wells on each existing 1280-acre units in various zones of each of these fields, counties not specified.

Connecting Some Dots On A Slow Saturday Morning; A123 Becomes B456 -- Owned By The Chinese

Back on November 17, 2013, I wrote a long "whining" post on the most recent edition of Bloomberg Businessweek.

The opportunity "forced" me to actually look at the "special issue" much more closely than I otherwise might have looked. The blog has served me very, very well .... 

Here are some dots to connect, to think about.

From the Bloomberg Businessweek special edition, the lead-off story, with what to watch for in 2014. The two-page "headline" spread, which I complained about, may have been more helpful than I realized. It included five head shots of the movers and shakers for 2014. I recognized all but one. The one I did not recognize was of Chinese Premier Li. The caption was simply "LI." I thought it was the page number in Roman numbers, page 51.

Then this article linked over at Drudge: taxpayers lose $139 million on Fisker.  

Happy Thanksgiving from the Obama administration. The Energy Department has sold off its $192 million loan guarantee to Fisker Automotive to Chinese billionaire Richard Li for $25 million — the biggest taxpayer loss on a green loan since the failure of Solyndra.

The Energy Department will announce the "selling of the promissory note” to Hybrid Tech, which is owned by Chinese billionaire Richard Li, according to sources familiar with the sale. The DOE sold the loan to Li for $25 million after lending the financially troubled green automaker a total of $192 million since 2009.

But in this case, the dots probably don't connect. I am not aware that Chinese Premier Li and Mr Richard are related.

Except for the fact that they are Chinese. 

So, although the dots don't connect as well as I would like, the exercise revealed there are some new movers and shakers to watch going into 2014.

According to an undated post: 

Hybrid Tech Holdings is new investor group that was formed on October 29 in Delaware. There's no available info on the company at the time of writing and it is unknown whether or not Hybrid Tech plans to restart Fisker Karma production.

The Chinese are getting deep into American battery technology. From the Daily Caller article linked above:

It was reported last month that Li and the Obama administration were ironing out the details of the Fisker loan sale after the Energy Department had completed its auction. Li’s purchase of the government’s loan represents the second acquisition of an Obama-backed green energy company by Chinese investors. Earlier this year, the Chinese auto parts conglomerate Wanxiang Group bought the electric car battery maker A123 Systems, renaming the company B456.

Crude Spread (Brent/WTI) Volatility Could Mean US Refineries Reaching Capacity -- Citi at Platts

Crude spread volatility could mean refineries are reaching capacity limits -- Platts.

The current volatility of crude oil spreads like Brent/WTI and Brent/LLS are a sign that, when it comes to light, sweet crude in the US, refining capacity limits are being reached, Ed Morse, head of commodities research at Citigroup, said Friday.

At a press event for the release of Citi's annual market review, Morse was asked whether the US will soon run out of refining capacity as US production of crude oil continues at a high pace.

"Broadly, we think there is growing investment in capacity to move beyond what we currently identify," he said.

Morse said his research group had identified 700,000 b/d of clear capacity to refine more light crude than is currently being done.

"The 700,000 b/d is less than the 1.1 million b/d of growth in the system as a whole," he said. "But there is about 300,000 b/d of new investment to increase capacity to run light crude."

Morse noted that Citi does not have a full view of the 8 million b/d US Gulf Coast refining system "because we don't know about two very large refiners [there] and their capacity. We assumed it's about the same as comparable facilities."

By 2015, Morse said, the volatility in crude spreads currently seen as refiners go in and come out of maintenance periods will reach a limit.

RBN Energy has been talking about this for quite some time, and RBN Energy has a whole lot more data it shares. Using the blog's search engine makes it easy to find great, great posts by RBN Energy.

I hate to sound like a broken record but when I read these stories I keep coming back to the Delta Airlines story.

Wall Street Journal: Individual Mandate Delayed; Time Warner Cable In Play; American Strategy For The Arctic

The Wall Street Journal

Front page, top story: President Obama delays individual mandate -- one week.

The Obama administration reached agreement with insurers to give people an extra week to sign up for coverage in time for Jan. 1 amid problems with the federal health site.

I'm sure the president asked for a lot more time; arms twisted to get just six more days. This is still going to be a fascinating story to watch play out. My question: will six days really mean all that much in the big scheme of things. If the president is personally negotiating six-day extensions and Sebelius is happy with news of two Floridians enrolling while she was visiting the state, things are not going well. John McAfee says the site is a "hacker's dream" and Consumer Reports says to avoid it. I just don't see a 6-day extension making any difference, but the headline remains: President Obama delays the individual mandate.

Disclaimer: remember, this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment decisions based on anything you read here or anything you think you may have read here.

At least two companies are in the hunt to take over Time Warner Cable. 

Chuck Hagel unveiled the administration's new Arctic strategy.

Interesting: "Men's Backpacks Are Back.' This is a long, long article on backpacks for men. I "wear" one almost continuously -- biking, and it always goes with me if I'm driving somewhere. My "life" is in that bag: books, computer, correspondence. I bought my British-made "Karrimor" back in 2002, or thereabouts, and it looks like it will last a few more years (one strap is starting to separate from the pack, but I suppose a shoe tailor could fix that).  Unfortunately, it doesn't look like my particular backpack is available any more.

Week 47: November 17, 2013 -- November 23, 2013

Operations
Increased drilling in the Parshall
Random example of increased EOG activity in the Bakken
Update on KOG's 16-well Pilot Project 2.0 -- Richard Zeits
KOG's Polar Pilot 2.0 project, optimizing ultimate development

Work over rigs
Petro Tech and Rolling Hills in joint venture for two new work over rigs

Natural gas
ONEOK to invest almost $1 billion in new natural gas gathering, processing, and transporting natural gas

Pipelines
Update on Enbridge's Sandpiper

Record
North Dakota oil production hits new record: 945,000 bopd in October
The number of North Dakotans reporting annual income greater than $1 million jumps 22 percent

Economy
New nitrogen-based fertilizer plant to be built near Grand Forks, ND

Miscellaneous
North Dakota: best-run state, 24/7 Wall Street 
Some Bakken operators having trouble with financing
Results of the November, 2013, North Dakota lease sales
CarpeDiem provides update on North Dakota crude oil production
Update on Bakken crude oil pricing: not a pretty picture

Arctic Sea Lanes, The US Navy, And California Wind Turbines

The AP via Rigzone is reporting:

The U.S. military is looking for ways to expand operations in the vast waters of the Arctic as melting ice caps open sea lanes and other nations such as Russia compete for the lucrative oil and gas deposits. But the effort will take money and resources to fill the broad gaps in satellite and communications coverage, add deep-water ports and buy more ships that can withstand the frigid waters or break through the ice.

President Barack Obama in May unveiled a 13-page U.S. strategy for the Arctic, asserting that nations must protect the region's fragile environment and keep it free from conflict. At the same time, however, the U.S. wants to make sure it is not left behind as countries like Russia, China, Canada and Norway map out plans ranging from gas and oil exploration to research and military exercises.

U.S. officials estimate the Arctic holds 13 percent of the world's undiscovered oil reserves and 30 percent of undiscovered gas deposits. Until recently, however, areas that could reap hundreds of billions of dollars in revenues were frozen over and unreachable.

There are certainly mixed messages on the Arctic. Up until "recently," yes, the Arctic ice cap was shrinking, opening sea lanes, but reports this year suggest the trend is changing.

Regardless, the US is poised to cede 13 percent of the world's undiscovered oil reserves  and 30 percent of undiscovered gas deposits to the Russians, the Norwegians  the Canadians, the Brits, and the Danes. Does it matter? By the time these reserves and deposits are commercially available, the US will be covered with solar panels and wind turbines.

Speaking of which, a reader sent me this story, originating in Altamont, California. It appears that at least one "locality" has come to its senses and is angry over the slicers and dicers. A developer plans to retire "old" slicers and dicers with taller ones that will kill less birds. The company appears it won't be able to meet the September, 2014, deadline.

The company is asking to eliminate the September deadline for this year's scheduled phase-out by postponing it until 2015, which is the deadline for the next step of wind turbine phase-out.

Opponents say that the postponement would result in additional bird deaths.
AWI has not put up any new turbines, because it does not have a new contract with a power company to purchase power in the future. However, the company is working on a contract, said AWI president Rick Koebbe.

If things go about the way one expects it to go, the company will end up declaring bankruptcy, and the old turbines will be there "forever."