Five (5) New Permits -- The Williston Basin, North Dakota; BR, Halcon Each With One "High IP" Well; 3/3 Bakken Wells Go To "DRL" Status -- July 8, 2014

Wells coming off the confidential list Tuesday:

• 26063, drl, MRO, Swift Eagle USA 31-15TFH, Moccasin Creek, no production data,
• 26856, drl, Hess, EN-State D-154-93-2635H-6, Robinson Lake, no production data,
• 27064, drl, Hess, EN-KMJ Uran-154-93-2734H-8, Robinson Lake, no production data,
• 27211, 51, Legacy Oil, Legacy Et Al Berge 8-11 2H, Red Rock, a Spearfish well, t2/14; cum 4K 5/14

Active rigs:

	7/7/2014	07/07/2013	07/07/2012	07/07/2011	07/07/2010
Active Rigs	189	188	213	166	132

Five (5) new permits --

• Operators: Newfield (3), Whiting, Enduro
  Fields: Sand Creek (McKenzie), Stoneview (Divide), Green River (Stark)
• Comments:

Wells coming off the confidential list over the long weekend were posted earlier; see sidebar at the right.

Six (6) producing wells completed:

• 24372, 2,995, Statoil, Broderson 30-31 2H, Banks, t6/14; cum --
• 25090, 1,352, Statoil, Edna 11-2 5TFH, Camp, t5/14; cum 2K 5/14;
• 25898, 1,846, MRO, Azure USA 31-15H, Moccasin Creek, t5/14; cum 7K 5/14;
• 26118, 2,023, HRC, Grev 157-100-30B-31-2H, Marmon, t5/14; cum 6K 5/14;
• 26961, 1,204, KOG, P Moen 155-99-14-11-2-3H3, East Fork, t5/14; cum 7K 5/14;
• 27017, 993, Whiting, Bartleson 44-1TFH, Sanish, t5/14; cum 4K 5/14;

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Stabilizers To Remove Volatile Gases Before Shipping CBR

From SeekingAlpha

Bakken oil isn't stabilized to make it less volatile, raising risks

• Energy companies invested hundreds of millions of dollars when they started extracting oil from shale formations in south Texas a few years ago to make the volatile crude was safer to handle, but the failure to do so at the Bakken shale is coming back to haunt the oil industry as the U.S. government seeks to prevent fiery accidents of trains containing North Dakota oil.
• Only one stabilizer, which can remove the most volatile gases before transport, has been built in North Dakota and it hasn't begun operation, according to a WSJ review; if the government mandates the use of stabilizers, companies would have to make big investments in equipment which could slow Bakken's development.
• Oil producers are fighting the perception that the biggest risks come from Bakken crude, almost all of which is moved by rail, but safety officials and lawmakers say the dangers extend far beyond North Dakota.

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Improving The Odds: Why Shale Oil Really Is Different

From Rigzone

John Kemp, at Reuters, London, writes:

Critically, the source rock, migration pathway, reservoir rock, and trap, must be found together and in the correct geological sequence. This combination of circumstances is extremely rare. 

But shale is both the source of the petroleum and the trap (because it is so impermeable). Rather than hunting for small pools of oil and gas trapped by faults or rock seals, shale producers can go straight to the source.