Monday -- April 21, 2014

Active rigs:

	4/21/2014	04/21/2013	04/21/2012	04/21/2011	04/21/2010
Active Rigs	188	185	210	176	109

RBN Energy: how killing the Keystone XL is killing the small Canadian operators; this could work out well for the large operators; railbit vs dilbit.

Two weeks ago we noted that a unit train of railbit moved from Alberta’s oil sands region to an unloading facility at Natchez, MS. We learned subsequently that the unit train concerned carried dilbit crude (bitumen typically blended with 30 percent diluent) not railbit (bitumen blended with 17-20 percent diluent). Turns out we made some assumptions about the capability to load unit trains with railbit that ran counter to existing constraints that appear to make such a shipment impractical at present. In today’s blog we clarify these constraints and in the process shed light on the challenges faced by smaller oil sands producers trying to get their bitumen crude to market.

The Wall Street Journal

The recovery from the US recession has been nasty, brutish, and long. It is shaping up as one of the most enduring. Trillions of dollars of stimulus money should keep moving through the economy.

The Los Angeles Times

Interesting article on water supply for Las Vegas.  Makes the Bakken look like a paradise.

Deep beneath Lake Mead, a 23-foot-tall tunnel-boring machine grinds through stubborn bedrock in a billion-dollar effort to make sure water continues flowing to this thirsty resort city.

For six years, the Southern Nevada Water Authority has been building an intake straw below the reservoir's two existing pipes. Due for completion in fall 2015, critics say it may not provide a long-term solution.

An ongoing drought and the Colorado River's stunted flow have shrunk Lake Mead to its lowest level in generations. The reservoir, which supplies 90% of Las Vegas' water, is ebbing as though a plug had been pulled from a bathtub drain. By mid-April, Lake Mead's water level measured just 48 feet above the system's topmost intake straw.

The Dickinson Press

Bismarck State College providing pipeline of trained workers for the Bakken:

They say anyone can find a job in the Bakken. But there are some jobs only trained workers can do.

Bismarck State College is helping to supply that, with degree programs and industry training to help staff western North Dakota’s booming oil industry.

The National Energy Center of Excellence’s “non-credit” student population grew from 339 people in 2008 to 1,713 in 2013, said Retha Mattern, business and outreach coordinator for the NECE. Those numbers include employees sent by companies for a couple days of training or refresher courses.

One example of that will hit close to home in Dickinson is the eight men who completed their four-month refinery training at BSC earlier this month — they were hired by Dickinson Prairie Refining and then sent to school for training.