Fidelity (MDU) Has A Gusher In Heart River; Several Nice Wells Coming Off Confidential List Monday, June 23, 2014; Whiting Will Report A Elkhorn Ranch Well; China Continues To Buy High-Price Oil For Its SPR; North Dakota Unemployment Drops Again

Monday, June 23, 2014:

• 23880, 1,120, Fidelity, Norken 17-20H, Heart River, t12/13; cum 61K 4/14;
• 25539, 330, Whiting, Neru 0904ERH,  Elkhorn Ranch, a Madison well, t1/14; cum 27K 4/14;
• 26270, 1,332, Emerald Oil, Pirate 5-2-11H,  Foreman Butte, t12/13; cum 50K 4/14;
• 26479, conf, CLR, Brogger 4-4H, Crazy Man Creek, no production data,
• 27022, drl, Hess, HA-Nelson A-152-95-3427H-5, Hawkeye, no production data,
• 27072, drl, BR, Norman 11-4MBH, Johnson Corn, no production data,
• 27099, drl, Hess, EN-Johnson-155-94-2017H-4, Manitou, no production data,

Sunday, June 22, 2014:

• 26191, drl, CLR, Montpelier 3-14H1, Indian Hill, no production data,
• 26499, drl, Hess, GN-Avinder-158-98-1423H-1, Rainbow, no production data,
• 26751, A, CLR, Fedeler 1-33H,  Charlie Bob, no IP, cum 5K 4/14;

Saturday, June 21, 2014:

• 26422, drl, KOG, P Manning 154-99-2-2-11-15H, Stockyard Creek, no production data,
• 26545, 1,631, Newfield, Skaar 150-99-15-22-2H, South Tobacco Garden, t3/14; cum 29K 4/14;
• 26562, 310, American Eagle, Uncompahgre State14-36-164-101, Colgan, t4/14; cum 8K 4/14;

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

23880, see above, Fidelity, Norken 17-20H, Heart River:

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
4-2014	13756	0
3-2014	7717	0
2-2014	10893	0
1-2014	18800	0
12-2013	9672	0

 
26545, see above, Newfield, Skaar 150-99-15-22-2H, South Tobacco Garden:

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
4-2014	14960	2660
3-2014	13298	9122

25539, see above, Whiting, Neru 0904ERH,  Elkhorn Ranch, Billings County. The "ERH" refers, obviously, to Elkhorn Ranch, but why? From the file report --

• Total depth: 16,865 feet
• Vertical depth: 9,343 feet
• VS: 7,728 feet
• Target: Mission Canyon (Elkhorn Ranch); target window -- four (4) feet;
• Spud date: November 6, 2013
• Cease drilling: November 19, 2013
• Background gas in the lateral: 107 - 135 units
• Acres in spacing unit: 7,360 
• Production to date:

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
4-2014	5366	10813
3-2014	7264	11260
2-2014	7700	1361
1-2014	6292	4879
12-2013	71	73

Other links for Elkhorn Ranch oil formation in North Dakota:

• Evolution of the Middle Bakken horizontal drilling, August, 2004, a PowerPoint Presentation
• Hydrodynamic trapping in this formation; April 7 - 10, 1991 AAPG annual convention

I don't find many "Mission Canyon" wells at the NDIC web site. Also, it appears that Elkhorn Ranch formation is lumped together with the "Mission Canyon" and not followed separately. [The NDIC is calling this a "Madison" well.]

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

North Dakota Unemployment Rate -- Even Lower

The already lowest unemployment rate in the US dropped even lower this past month. The Dickinson Press is reporting:

The unemployment rate in North Dakota continued its downward trend in May, taking a slight dip from April, according to a monthly jobs report released Friday by Job Service North Dakota.

The non-seasonally adjusted rate saw a 2.4 percent unemployment rate across the state, down from April’s rate of 2.6 percent.

Unemployment has held steady for much of this year after hitting 3.3 percent in January. It has stayed under 4 percent since January 2013.

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

For Investors

A top story over at Yahoo!Finance over the weekend: five oil stocks hit new highs last week (actually it was a whole lot more than five):

Friday was a big day for oil and gas production companies. The country’s three largest and many others hit new 52-week highs, and it is not entirely due to the turmoil and uncertainty in Iraq. U.S. companies produce little oil in Iraq, although some do have stakes in large projects that are currently in the exploration and development phase and could turn out to be major producers in the future.

In addition to the uncertainty about Iraqi supply, there are other pressures on crude prices. China has been purchasing oil for its strategic reserves, even though prices are high. China is squabbling with Japan and Vietnam over territory, and the country wants to build up its reserves to 100 days of net imports by 2020.

The first phase of China's strategic build-up amounted to 103 million barrels and was completed in 2009. The second phase was supposed to add 169 million barrels to the reserve but since has been raised to 245 million barrels. The second phase is expected to be completed by 2015. The country is now building storage tanks for the third phase to hold an additional 152 million barrels.

That is 500 million barrels, of which most could have been left in the ground, just as most of the 750 million barrels in the U.S. strategic reserve could have been. That unnecessary demand plays a significant role in the rising price of crude, regardless of whether a producer sells to China.

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

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

Obfuscation

Senator Charles Schumer concerned about US soccer fans returning with mosquito-borne virus; says nothing about real epidemic diseases being brought in by Central American immigrants invited in en mass by President Obama. But it makes sense when you read the article. Senator Schumer is worried about these well-heeled Americans coming back to his state and wants the CDC to issue a health alert. He will let the Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California authorities worry about their own states. Nice of him.

It will be interesting to see, however, if Senator Schumer requests a similar CDC health alert when the Feds house thousands of these Central American immigrants in New York state. I'm not holding my breath.

The first comment below refers to the 75 scientists at the CDC who were exposed to "live" anthrax. Easily found by googling. Article in the New York Times, two days ago.