Week 28: July 6, 2014 -- July 12, 2014

The most interesting development, not unexpected, is the increasing delay in wells being completed due to pad drilling. I only linked one such posting, but almost every day now, more than half the wells coming off the confidential list are waiting to be fracked. There are few weather delays in the summer and reports suggest more-than-adequate fracking spreads which means that operational reasons (pad drilling) account for all the wells on DRL status.

Another major trend noted this week had to do with all the national and international stories about "Bakken" revolution: a) prices at the pump would be unaffordable without the shale revolution; b) US set to surpass both Russia and Saudi Arabia in oil production; and, c) the shale revolution is fueling a US jobs boom and the "Bakken" prevented further collapse of the US economy. One needs to go no farther (further?) than looking at the railroad statistics for the past five years to see that.

The US economy collapsed (their word, not mine) in 1Q14. However, the Bismarck Tribune is reporting:

North Dakota's taxable sales and purchases increased 4.4 percent during January, February and March when compared to the same three months a year ago.

North Dakota's Tax Department says the state recorded $5.6 billion in taxable sales and purchases during the first quarter.

Commissioner Ryan Rauschenberger says taxable sales and purchases increased $239 million from the first quarter in 2013.

Rauschenberger says eight of the North Dakota's 15 economic sectors grew during the first quarter.

The wholesale trade sector showed the most growth in taxable sales and purchases, with the total rising $176 million compared to the first quarter 2013.

Top Stories For The Past Week

Top story: perhaps the top story of for this week will be the one reported immediately above; while the GDP for the US as a whole contracted ("collapsed" was what others called it) while the ND economy actually grew, using the quarterly taxable sales and purchases as a proxy.

Operations
Pad drilling leading to huge delay in completing wells; as many as 6 of 7 wells come off CONF status to go to DRL status
Top 20 middle Bakken wells
Random look at Oasis wells under the river; lease sale at $14,000/acre
Random look at Petro-Hunt 5-well pad recently leased in Little Knife oil field

CBR
Random update from three sources
 
Bakken economy
Foreign investors have eyes on the Bakken; other Williston Wire stories  

For investors only
Baytex to sell some North Dakota Bakken mineral acres -- report

Miscellaneous
Bakken revolution is fueling US jobs boom; preventing national economic collapse
Shale boom confounds forecasts as US is set to surpass Russia, Saudi Arabia
Not quite "all of the above"; federal lands contributing less to US energy security -- President Obama
Without the Bakken, prices at the pump would be completely unaffordable - IEA

Humor
Bakken well efficiency has topped out; rebuttal