Week 7: February 9, 2014 -- February 15, 2014

[Completed a day early due to busy schedule Saturday.]

Operations
Director's Cut, December, 2013 data; no new production record
"Out-of-control" well southwest of Watford City
Number of North Dakota active rigs remains high
Comparing the Bakken with South Red River B in the Williston Basin
Update on the MRO Powell well targeting the Tyler

For investors only
KOG posts 2013 proved reserves, production
Minority shareholders sue Harold Hamm for conflict of interest

Economy
North Dakota budget well ahead of forecasts
Williston apartment rent: highest in the nation 
Target Logistics completes Judson Lodge west of Williston, along highway US Highway 2
NDDOT application for new 4-lane permanent Williston northwest bypass
Maine manufacturer moving to the Dakotas

National
OXY USA moving headquarters from California to Texas

I-98
Second episode: The Inferno

No Comment -- All About The Bakken -- Business Insider Posted This Yesterday

No comment. (Except: a surprise in the list at the bottom of the post.)

In case the link is broken (this is just too good to lose):

Here's a reason to stop complaining about the rent on your New York apartment.

According to apartment-finding website Apartment Guide, Williston, North Dakota, an oil town that's seen explosive growth in the last few years, was the most expensive place in the country to rent an entry-level apartment.

The company looked at the average cheapest rent price for every town in the U.S. on December 31, 2013, meaning it took the price of each apartment community's least expensive floor plan and averaged them for each Core Based Statistical Area (CBSA).

According to Apartment Guide, a 700 square-foot, one bedroom apartment in Williston can cost upwards of $2,000 a month — more than many apartments in New York or San Francisco.

These 10 cities topped the list, with average monthly rents for entry-level apartments:

10. Santa Barbara - Santa Maria - Goleta, CA: $1,346
9. Oxnard - Thousand Oaks - Ventura, CA: $1,387
8. Los Angeles - Long Beach - Santa Ana, CA: $1,411
7. New York - Northern New Jersey - Long Island, NY - NJ - PA: $1,504
6. Boston - Cambridge - Quincy, MA - NH: $1,537
5. Key West, FL: $1,640
4. Dickinson, ND: $1,733
3. San Francisco - Oakland -Fremont, CA: $1,776
2. San Jose - Sunnyvale - Santa Clara, CA: $1,881
1. Williston, ND: $2,394 

I have lived in, visited, have fond memories of, or somehow connected with each city in the list above, except for one, Key West, Florida. 

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

Do You Know The Way to San Jose? Dionne Warwick

Five (5) New Permits -- The Williston Basin, North Dakota, USA; Ten Very Nice Producing Wells Completed; Manufacturer Moving To The Dakotas

Active rigs:

	2/14/2014	02/14/2013	02/14/2012	02/14/2011	02/14/2010
Active Rigs	185	182	205	168	92

Five (5) new permits --

• Operators: Whiting (2), CLR (2), Hess
• Fields: Park (Billings), Patent Gate (McKenzie), Hawkeye (McKenzie)
• Comments:

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

Ten (10) producing wells completed (all 2-section spacing, except the CLR Bice well):

• 25960, 2,312, BR, Archer 44-25TFH, Charlson, t1/14; cum --,
• 25678, 2,976, BR, Washburn 41-36TFH, Charlson, t1/14; cum --
• 26202, 665, True Oil, True Federal 33-35 2-11MB1, Bowline, t1/14; cum --
• 24634, 2,533, Statoil, Blanche 27-22 7H, Painted Woods, t1/14; cum --
• 23746, 2,145, Statoil, Mark 4-9-2TFH, Williston, t1/14; cum --
• 25551, 4,434, XTO, Marlene 42X-20H, Blue Buttes, t2/14; cum --
• 25548, 554, EN-Ruud 154-93-2734H-2, Robinson Lake, t1/14; cum -
• 24835, 1,473, CLR, Bice Federal 3-32H, Chimney Butte, 4 secs; t12/13; cum 11K 12/13;
• 25425, 879, Hess, EN-Nelson 155-94-3328H-2, Alkali creek, t1/14; cum --
• 26215, 1,280, Whiting, Uran 21-24TFH, Sanish, t2/14; cum --

Continental changed the name of four wells, to suggest a different formation being targeted:

• 26392, Limousin 2-3H2, was Limousin 2-3H1
• 26396, Limousin 6-3H2, was Limousin 6-3H1
• 26586, Honolulu 2-22H2, was Honolulu 2-22H
• 26588, Honolulu 3-22H3, was Honolulu 3-22H1 

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

Another Out-of-State Manufacturer To Move to the Dakotas

The Rapid city Journal is reporting that Alcom LLC, a Maine-based manufacturer of aluminum trailers, plans to open a plant in Sioux Falls, SC. It will create 20 jobs initially and up to 180 positions over the next three year.

Alcom hopes to be making trailers in early April in the former 54,000-square-foot Balance Systems Inc. building in the northern part of the city.

Alcom CEO Trapper Clark says the manufacturer has 250 employees in Winslow, Maine, and opened a plant in Missoula, Montana, last year that employs 70 people. He says Alcom is expanding to South Dakota because of building and workforce availability, its central location and its pro-business climate.

The Hess East Nesson Wells

Updates

March 16, 2015: random update of a busy location in the East Nesson, sections 20/21/22-155-94.  

2019

2018 (list is complete)
35815, loc-->conf, Hess, EN-Weyrauch B-154-93-3031H-6, Robinson Lake,

35814,
35813,
35812,
35782, drl-->conf, Hess, EN-Farhart-156-93-0409H-4 Baskin,
35781,
35780,
35779,
35523, SI/NC, Hess, EN-Davenport-156-94-1003H-4,

35522,
35521,
35520,
35519,
35518,
35517,
35337, conf, Hess, EN-Dobrovolny A-LE-155-94-1319H-1,
35336,
35335,
35334,
35185, 3,912, Hess, EN-Sorenson A-154-94-0211H-9, Alkali Creek, t5/19; cum 116K 9/19;
35184,
34977, 1,767, Hess, EN-Dobrovolny A-155-94-3-2413H-8, t10/18; cum 32K after 41 days;
34976,
34975,
34941, 3,333, Hess, EN-Kulczyk-154-94-2029H-2, Alkali Creek,  t8/19; cum 61K in less than 2 months;

34940,
34939,
34938,
34618, 1,370, Hess, EN-Sorenson A-154-94-0211H-7, Alkali Creek, t8/18; cum 101K 11/18;
34617,
34616,
34596, SI/NC, Hess, EN-Weyrauch b-154-93-3031H-4,
34595,
34594,
34593,

2017 (list is complete)
33273, 2,838, Hess, EN-Leo E-14-94-2423H-12, Alkali Creek, t12/17; cum 151K 9/19;

2016 (list is complete)
33018, 4,180, Hess, EN-Thompson Trust-154-94-1930H-11, Alkali Creek, t12/18; cum -- ;
33017, 3,844, Hess, EN-Thompson Trust-154-94-1930H-10, Alkali Creek, t12/18; cum -- ;
33016, 3,031, Hess, EN-Thompson Trust-154-94-1930H-9, Alkali Creek, t12/18; cum -- ;
33015, 3,581, Hess, EN-Thompson Trust-154-94-1930H-8, Alkali Creek, t12/18; cum -- ;
33014, 3,426, Hess, EN-Thompson Trust-154-94-1930H-7, Alkali Creek, t12/18; cum -- ;
32498, 866, Hess, EN-Rehak-LE-155-93-0718H-1, 60 stages; 8.4 million lbs; Alger, t12/17; cum 45K 11/18;

2015 (list is complete)

32226, 765, Hess, EN-Ruud-LE-154-93-2734H-1, Robinson Lake, 4 sections, t6/16; cum 135K 5/19;
32225, 626, Hess, EN-Uran A-LE-154-93-2214H-2, Robinson Lake, 4 sections t5/16; cum 9K after 24 days;
32224, 1,100, Hess, EN-Ruud-LE-154-93-2735H-2, Robinson Lake, 4 sections, t6/16; cum 51K 7/16;
32325, AB/IA/67, Hess, EN-Freda-LW-154-94-2635H-1, t9/16; cum --
32324, 1,325, Hess, EN-Freda-154-94-2635H-12, t9/16; cum 87K 12/16;
32323, 938, Hess, EN-Freda-154-94-2635H-11, t9/16; cum 69K 12/16;
32322, 1,638, Hess, EN-Freda-154-94-2635H-10, t9/16; cum 101K 12/16;
32321, 1,026, Hess, EN-Freda-154-94-2635H-9, t9/16; cum 96K 12/16;
32320, IA/583, Hess, EN-Freda-154-94-2635H-8, t9/16; cum 16K 10/16;
32223, 905, Hess, EN-Ruud-LE-154-93-2215H-1, Robinson Lake, 4 sections, t5/16; cum 33K 7/16;
32096, 888, Hess, EN-Cvancara-LE-155-93-1523H-2, Alger, 4 sections, t5/16; cum 45K 7/16;
32032, 486, Hess, EN-Pederson-LW-154-94-0408H-8, t11/16; cum 12K 12/16;
32031, 1,275, Hess, EN-Pederson-LW-154-94-0408H-7, Alkali Creek, 4 sections, t2/16; cum 132K 12/16;
32030, 917, Hess, EN-Pederson-LW-154-94-0408H-6, Alkali Creek, 4 sections, t2/16; cum 52K 7/16;
32029, 1,258, Hess, EN-Pederson-LW-154-94-0408H-5, 50 stages; 3.5 million lbs; Alkali Creek, 4 sections, t2/16; cum 246K 9/19;
31957, PNC, Hess, EN-Vachal-
31956, PNC, Hess, EN-Vachal-
31955, PNC, Hess, EN-Vachal-
31954, PNC, Hess, EN-Vachal-
31953, PNC, Hess, EN-Vachal-
31873, PNC, Hess, EN-Hermanson-
31872, PNC, Hess, EN-Hermanson-
31718, conf, Hess, EN-Leo-
31717, conf, Hess, EN-Leo-
31641, conf, Hess, EN-Weyrauch C-
31600, 1,388, Hess, EN-Cvancara-LE-155-93-1522H-1, Alger, t5/16; cum 49K 7/16;
31599, 466, Hess, EN-Cvancara-LE-155-93-1522H-5, Alger, t5/16; cum 18K 7/16;
31598, 336, Hess, EN-Cvancara-155-93-1522H-6, Alger, t5/16; cum 12K 7/16;
31529, conf, Hess, EN-Skabo Trust-
31528, conf, Hess, EN-Skabo Trust-
31527, conf, Hess, EN-Skabo Trust-
31526, conf, Hess, EN-Skabo Trust-
31422, conf, Hess, EN-Leo-
31421, 2,153, Hess, EN-Leo E-154-94-2423H-9, Alkali Creek, t12/17; bcum 285K 9/19;
31417, conf, Hess, EN-Kulczyk-
31416, conf, Hess, EN-Kulczyk-
31415, conf, Hess, EN-Kulczyk-
31414, conf, Hess, EN-Kulczyk-
31413, conf, Hess, EN-Kulczyk-
31412, conf, Hess, EN-Kulczyk-
31408, 1,100, Hess, EN-KMJ Uran-154-93-2734-10, Robinson Lake, t11/15; cum 99K 7/16;
31406, 466, Hess, EN-KMJ Uran-LW-154-93-2733-2, Robinson Lake, t2/16; cum 45K 7/16;
31405, 1,422, Hess, EN-KMJ Uran-LW-154-93-2734-1, Robinson Lake, t11/15; cum 128K 7/16;
31404, 938, Hess, EN-KMJ Uran-154-93-2734-11, Robinson Lake, t11/15; cum 85K 7/16;
31282, 1,346, Hess, EN-VP and R-154-94-2536H-7, t11/16; cum 52K 12/16;
31281, 746, Hess, EN-VP and R-154-94-2536H-6, t11/16; cum 10K 12/16; after 23 days;
31280, 1,612, Hess, EN-VP and R-154-94-2536H-5, t10/16; cum 59K 12/16;
31029, 578, Hess, EN-Frandson-154-93-2116H-9, t10/15; cum 74K 12/16;
31028, 596, Hess, EN-Frandson-154-93-2116H-8, t10/15; cum 85K 12/16;
31027, 796, Hess, EN-Frandson-154-93-2116H-7, t10/15; cum 111K 12/16;
31017, PNC, Hess, EN-Abrahamson-
31016, PNC, Hess, EN-Abrahamson-
31015, PNC, Hess, EN-Abrahamson-
31002, 1,034, Hess, EN-Cvancara A-155-93-3231H-9, Robinson Lake, t8/15; cum 132K 5/19;
31001, 683, Hess, EN-Cvancara A-155-93-3231H-8, 35 stages; 2.4 million lbs; Robinson Lake, t9/15; cum 65K 7/16;
31000, 576, Hess, EN-Cvancara A-155-93-3231H-7, Robinson Lake, t8/15; cum 74K 7/16;
30718, 1,030, Hess, EN-Cvancara S-154-93-0904H-8, Robinson Lake, t9/15; cum 101K 7/16;
30717, 671, Hess, EN-Cvancara S-154-93-0904H-7, Robinson Lake, t9/15; cum 73K 7/16;
30667, 1,162, Hess, EN-L Cvancara 155-93-2627H-11, Robinson Lake, t1/16; cum 71K 7/16; 
30660, PNC, Hess, EN-Eva-
30659, PNC, Hess, EN-Eva-
30658, PNC, Hess, EN-Eva-
30657, PNC, Hess, EN-Eva-
30453, 841, Hess, EN-D Cvancara S-154-93-0904H-9, Robinson Lake, t8/15; cum 79K 7/16;
30452, 871, Hess, EN-D Cvancara S-154-93-0904H-10, Robinson Lake, t8/15; cum 95K 7/16;
30451, 791, Hess, EN-D Cvancara S-154-93-0904H-11, Robinson Lake, t8/15; cum 63K 7/16;
30450, PNC, Hess, EN-D Cvancara S-
30449, PNC, Hess, EN-D Cvancara S-
30439, 802, Hess, EN-Kiesel-LE-155-94-1918H-1, Manitou, t10/15; cum 63K 7/16;
30438, 436, Hess, EN-Kiesel-LE-155-94-1917H-2, Manitou, t9/15; cum 66K 7/16;

2014 (list complete) -- needs to be updated -- most of these wells are now completed
27494, 702, Hess, EN-L Cvancara-155-93-2627H-2, Robinson Lake,
27495, 716, Hess, EN-L Cvancara-155-93-2627H-3, Robinson Lake,
27496, 689, Hess, EN-L Cvancara-155-93-2627H-4, Robinson Lake,
27497, 525, Hess, EN-L Cvancara-155-93-2627H-5, Robinson Lake,
27498, 604, Hess, EN-L Cvancara-155-93-2627H-6, Robinson Lake,
27571, 944, Hess, EN-Jeffrey A-155-94-2734H-6, Alkali Creek,
27572, 1,265, Hess, EN-Jeffrey A-155-94-2734H-7, Alkali Creek,
27573, 837, Hess, EN-Jeffrey A-155-94-2734H-8, Alkali Creek,
27574, 1,154, Hess, EN-Jeffrey A-155-94-2734H-9, Alkali Creek,
27609, 544, Hess, EN-Abrahamson-155-93-3019H-5, Alger,
27610, 800, Hess, EN-Abrahamson-155-93-3019H-6, Alger,
27611, 530, Hess, EN-Abrahamson-155-93-3019H-7, Alger,
27612, 603, Hess, EN-Abrahamson-155-93-3019H-8, Alger,
27626, 811, Hess, EN-Farhart-156-93-0409H-3, Baskin,
27627, 599, Hess, EN-Farhart-156-93-0409H-2, Baskin,
27628, 701, Hess, EN-Farhart-156-93-0409H-1, Baskin,
27671, 1,062, Hess, EN-Leo E-154-94-2423H-7, Alkali Creek,
27672, 1,176, Hess, EN-Leo E-154-94-2423H-6, Alkali Creek,
27673, 1,040, Hess, EN-Leo E-154-94-2423H-5, Alkali Creek,
27674, 1,393, Hess, EN-Leo E-154-94-2423H-4, Alkali Creek,
27680, 1,110, Hess, EN-Pederson-LW-154-94-0408H-1, Alkali Creek, t12/14; cum 211K 5/19;
27681, 892, Hess, EN-Pederson-LW-154-94-0408H-2, Alkali Creek,
27682, 1,183, Hess, EN-Pederson-LW-154-94-0408H-3, Alkali Creek, t1/15; cum 198K 9/19;
27683, 762, Hess, EN-Pederson-LW-154-94-0408H-4, Alkali Creek,
27972, 374, Hess, EN-Trinity-154-93-2833H-7, Robinson Lake,
27973, 633, Hess, EN-Trinity-154-93-2833H-8, Robinson Lake,
27974, 900, Hess, EN-Trinity-154-93-2833H-9, Robinson Lake,
28065, 597, Hess, EN-State C-156-93-1615H-7, Alger
28066, 850, Hess, EN-State C-156-93-1615H-8, Alger
28067, 669, Hess, EN-State C-156-93-1615H-9, Alger
28096, 524, Hess, EN-Dobrovolny A-155-94-2413H-4, Manitou,
28097, 596, Hess, EN-Dobrovolny A-155-94-2413H-5, Manitou,
28098, 726, Hess, EN-Dobrovolny A-155-94-2413H-6, Manitou,
28099, 174, Hess, EN-Dobrovolny A-155-94-2413H-7, Manitou,
28244, 823, Madisyn,
28245, 792, Madisyn,
28250, TATD, Johnson,
28251, 683, Johnson,
28324, 1,414, Freda,
28325, 1,273, Freda,
28326, 1,587, Freda,
28327, 1,442, Freda,
28328, 1,368, Freda,
28446, 297, Rehak,
28467, 217, Rehak,
28468, 660, Rehak,
28469, 458, Rehak,
28574, 583, Fretheim A,
28575, 805, Fretheim A,
28576, 518, Fretheim A,
28595, 357, Vachal,
28596, 258, Vachal,
28597, 514, Vachal,
28598, 298, Vachal,
28719, 553, Neset,
28720, 617, Neset,
28721, 432, Neset,
28722, 493, Neset,
28860, 405, Hermanson,
28861, 568, Hermanson,
28862, 625, Hermanson,
28863, 579, Hermanson,
28913, 1,711, VP And R,
28914, 1,647, VP And R,
28915, 1,194, VP And R,
28916, 1,230, VP And R,
28951, conf, EN-Jeffrey,
28952, conf, EN-Jeffrey,
28953, conf, EN-Jeffrey,
28954, conf, EN-Jeffrey,
28955, conf, EN-Jeffrey,
28956, 3,577, Hess, EN-Jeffrey-155-94-2215H-9, Alkali Creek, t5/19; cum 120K 9/19;
29107, 695, EN-Uran A,
29108, 978, EN-Uran A,
29109, 364, EN-Uran A,
29110, 973, EN-Uran A,
29111, 486, EN-Uran A,
29112, 805, EN-Uran A,
29185, 650, EN-Nelson,
29186, 817, EN-Nelson,
29187, 746, EN-Nelson,
29188, 1,199, EN-Nelson,
29270, 948, EN-Cvancara,
29271, 690, EN-Cvancara,
29272, 733, EN-Cvancara,
29376, EN-Chamley,  
29377, EN-Chamley, 
29378, EN-Chamley, 
29379, EN-Chamley, 
29534, Sorenson B,
29535, Sorenson B,
29536, Sorenson B,
29537, Sorenson B,
29544, Madisyn,
29585, Kiesel,
29586, Kiesel,
29728, Weyrauch B,
29729, Weyrauch B,
29730, Weyrauch B,
29731, Weyrauch B,
29765, L Cvancara,
29766, L Cvancara,
29767, 729, EN-L Cvancara-155-93-2627H-8, Robinson Lake, t1/16; cum 119K 9/19;
29768, L Cvancara,
29886, Cvancara,
30152, Weyrauch-LW,
30259, Madisyn-LE,
30260, Madisyn-LE,
30261, conf, Madisyn-LE,
30262, Madisyn-LE,
30297, 1,385, Hess, EN-Weyrauch C-154-93-2932H-5, t10/16; cum 15K over 10 days;
30298, 794, Hess, EN-Weyrauch C-154-93-2932H-6, t10/16; cum 11K over 14 days;
30299, 1,076, Hess, EN-Weyrauch C-154-93-2932H-7, t10/16; cum 20K over 18 days;
30300, 961, Hess, EN-Weyrauch C-154-93-2932H-8, t10/16; cum 21K over 22 days;
30301, 810, Hess, EN-Weyrauch C-154-93-2932H-9, t11/16; cum 18K over 26 days;
30315, 791, Hess, EN-Weyrauch C-154-93-2932H-10, t10/16; cum 22K over 32 days;
30316, 2,159, Hess, EN-Weyrauch C-154-93-2932H-11, Robinson Lake, t12/18; cum 161K 9/19;
30317, 1,685, Hess, EN-Weyrauch C-154-93-2932H-12, Robinson Lake, t12/18: cum 125K 9/19;
30318, PNC, Hess, EN-Weyrauch C-154-93-2932H-13,

2013 (list complete)
26112, 800, Hess, EN-Chamley 156-93-0508H-2, Baskin, t4/14; cum 172K 9/19;
26113, conf, Hess, EN-Chamley 156-93-0508H-3, Baskin,
26114, conf, Hess, EN-Chamley 156-93-0508H-4, Baskin,
26115, conf, Hess, EN-Chamley 156-93-0508H-5, Baskin, 
25786, conf, Hess, EN-Cvancara A-155-93-3231H-4, Robinson Lake,
25787, conf, Hess, EN-Cvancara A-155-93-3231H-5, Robinson Lake,
25788, conf, Hess, EN-Cvancara A-155-93-3231H-6, Robinson Lake,
26984, conf, Hess, EN-Dobrovolny-155-93-2128H-4, Alger,
26985, conf, Hess, EN-Dobrovolny-155-93-2128H-5, Alger,
26986, conf, Hess, EN-Dobrovolny-155-93-2128H-6, Alger,
26987, conf, Hess, EN-Dobrovolny-155-93-2128H-7, Alger,
27313, conf, Hess, EN-Eva-156-94-1621H-1, Manitou,
25985, conf, Hess, EN-Frandson-154-93-2116H-4, Robinson Lake,
25986, conf, Hess, EN-Frandson-154-93-2116H-5, Robinson Lake,
25987, conf, Hess, EN-Frandson-154-93-2116H-6, Robinson Lake,
25463, conf, Hess, EN-Freda 154-94-2635H-1, Alkali Creek,
25464, conf, Hess, EN-Freda 154-94-2635H-2, Alkali Creek,
24870, conf, Hess, EN-Fretheim A 155-93-3334H-7, Robinson Lake,
24869, conf, Hess, EN-Fretheim A 155-93-3334H-8, Robinson Lake,  
24868, conf, Hess, EN-Fretheim A 155-93-3334H-9, Robinson Lake, 
27255, conf, Hess, EN-Hanson A-155-94-1201H-2, Manitou,
27254, conf, Hess, EN-Hanson A-155-94-1201H-3, Manitou,
27253, conf, Hess, EN-Hanson A-155-94-1201H-4, Manitou,
24715, conf, Hess, EN-Hein-S 156-94-1201H-3, Big Butte,
24714, conf, Hess, EN-Hein-S 156-94-1201H-4, Big Butte,
24713, conf, Hess, EN-Hein-S 156-94-1201H-5, Big Butte,
25068, conf, Hess, EN-Hermanson A 154-93-3601H-2, Robinson Lake,
25069, 467, Hess, EN-Hermanson A 154-93-3601H-3, Robinson Lake, t1/14; cum --
25070, 1,023, Hess, EN-Hermanson A 154-93-3601H-4, Robinson Lake, t1/14; cum 16K 12/13;
25071, 480, Hess, EN-Hermanson A 154-93-3601H-5, Robinson Lake, t1/14; cum 133K 5/19;
27273, conf, Hess, EN-Hermanson-2560-155-93-3502-3601H-1, Robinson Lake,
26813, conf, Hess, EN-Hermanson-2560-155-93-3502-3601H-2, Robinson Lake,
26812, conf, Hess, EN-Hermanson-2560-155-93-3502-3601H-3, Robinson Lake,
26819, conf, Hess, EN-Hermanson-2560-155-93-3502-3601H-4, Robinson Lake,
25923, conf, Hess, EN-Jeffrey A -155-94-2734H-4, Alkali Creek,
25924, conf, Hess, EN-Jeffrey A -155-94-2734H-5, Alkali Creek,
27099, conf, Hess, EN-Johsnon-155-94-2017H-4, Manitou,
27098, conf, Hess, EN-Johsnon-155-94-2017H-5, Manitou,
27097, conf, Hess, EN-Johsnon-155-94-2017H-6, Manitou, 
27314, conf, Hess, En-Joyce-2560-156-94-1720-1621H-1, Manitou, 
27315, conf, Hess, En-Joyce-2560-156-94-1720-1621H-2, Manitou, 
27316, conf, Hess, En-Joyce-2560-156-94-1720-1621H-3, Manitou,
27067, conf, Hess, EN-KMJ Uran-154-93-2734H-5, Robinson Lake, 
27066, 511, Hess, EN-KMJ Uran-154-93-2734H-6, Robinson Lake, t9/14; cum 76K 9/19;
27065, 972, Hess, EN-KMJ Uran-154-93-2734H-7, Robinson Lake, t9/14; cum 202K 9/19;
27064, 760, Hess, EN-KMJ Uran-154-93-2734H-8, Robinson Lake, t10/14; cum 168K 9/19;
27063, 784, Hess, EN-KMJ Uran-154-93-2734H-9, Robinson Lake, t10/14; cum 199K 9/19;
25462, 1,155, Hess, EN-Leo 154-94-2324H-1, Alkali Creek, t11/13; cum 213K 9/19;
26841, 1,080, Hess, EN-Leo 154-94-2324H-2, Alkali Creek, t6/14; cum 304K 9/19;
26842, 1,108, Hess, EN-Leo 154-94-2324H-3, Alkali Creek, t5/14; cum 274K 9/19;
25425, 879, Hess, EN-Nelson 155-94-3328H-2, Alkali Creek, t1/14; cum 194K 9/19;
25426, 996, Hess, EN-Nelson 155-94-3328H-3, Alkali Creek, t1/14; cum 159K 9/19;
25427, 822, Hess, EN-Nelson 155-94-3328H-4, Alkali Creek, t2/14; cum 168K 9/19;
25428, 733, Hess, EN-Nelson 155-94-3328H-5, Alkali Creek, t2/14; cum 177K 9/19;
27297, 589, Hess, EN-Ortloff-156-94-2635H-4, Big Butte, t9/14; cum 105K 9/19;
27296, 863, Hess, EN-Ortloff-156-94-2635H-5, Big Butte, t10/14; cum 189K 9/19;
27295, 1,014, Hess, EN-Ortloff-156-94-2635H-6, Big Butte, t9/14; cum 124K 9/19;
27294, 990, Hess, EN-Ortloff-156-94-2635H-7, Big Butte, t10/14; cum 183K 9/19;
27293, 695, Hess, EN-Ortloff-156-94-2635H-8, Big Butte, t10/14; cum 164K 9/19;
25574, 333, Hess, EN-Riersgard 156-93-1718H-4, Alger, t12/13;cum 93K 9/19;
25575, 493, Hess, EN-Riersgard 156-93-1718H-5, Alger, t11/13; cum 98K 9/19;
25576, 447, Hess, EN-Riersgard 156-93-1718H-6, Alger,
25548, 554, Hess, EN-Ruud 154-93-2734H-2, Robinson Lake,
26696, 1,061, Hess, EN-Schroeder-157-94-1102H-1, White Earth, t5/14; cum 97K 9/19;
25030, 1,048, Hess, EN-Sorenson A 154-94-0211H-4, Alkali Creek, t10/13; cum 259K 9/19;
25031, 901, Hess, EN-Sorenson A 154-94-0211H-3, Alkali Creek, t10/13; cum 228K 9/19;
25029, 974, Hess, EN-Sorenson A 154-94-0211H-5, Alkali Creek, t11/13; cum 270K 9/19;
25028, 1,061, Hess, EN-Sorenson A 154-94-0211H-6, Alkali Creek,
26720, 660, Hess, EN-State 156-93-1615H-6, Alger,
26718, 648, Hess, EN-State C 156-93-1615H-4, Alger, t5/14; cum 127K 7/17;
26719, 777, Hess, EN-State C 156-93-1615H-5, Alger, t6/14; bcum 145K 7/17;
26860, 770, Hess, EN-State D-154-93-2635H-10, Robinson Lake, t9/14; cum 134K 7/17;
26856, 701, Hess, EN-State D-154-93-2635H-6, Robinson Lake, t7/14; cum 119K 7/17;
26857, 1.059, Hess, EN-State D-154-93-2635H-7, Robinson Lake, t8/14; cum 149K 7/17;
26858, 561, Hess, EN-State D-154-93-2635H-8, Robinson Lake, t9/14; cum 104K 7/17;
26859, 1,207, Hess, EN-State D-154-93-2635H-9, Robinson Lake, t8/14; cum 148K 7/17;
25203, 1,033, Hess, EN-Trinity-154-93-2833H-4, Robinson Lake,
25204, 722, Hess, EN-Trinity-154-93-2833H-5, Robinson Lake, 
25205, dry, Hess, EN-Trinity-154-93-2833H-6, Robinson Lake, never cased; no lateral drilled;
25298, 1,012, Hess, EN-Weyrauch A 154-93-1918H-4, Robinson Lake, lower TF D and upper TF C facies, 34 stages; 2.1 million lbs sand; t9/13; cum 160K 10/16;
25297, 566, Hess, EN-Weyrauch A 154-93-1918H-5, Robinson Lake, middle Bakken, 34 stages, 2.1 million lbs sand; t10/13; cum 91K 10/16;
25296, 522, Hess, EN-Weyrauch A 154-93-1918H-6, Robinson Lake, middle Bakken, 35 stages; 1.7 million lbs sand; t10/13; cum 112K 10/16;
25295, 729, Hess, EN-Weyrauch A 154-93-1918H-7, Robinson Lake, TF NOS, geology report not seen yet; 34 stages; 2.5 million lbs sand; t6/14; cum 98K 10/16;
25294, 953, Hess, EN-Weyrauch A 154-93-1918H-8, Robinson Lake, TF NOS (according to geology report, though sundry form originally said "Bakken"); no frack data as of 8/14; t7/14; cum 140K 10/16;
25313, 998, Hess, EN-Weyrauch A 154-93-1720H-7, Robinson Lake, TF NOS, 35 stages, 2.2 million lbs sand; runs S 17 - 20; t1/14; cum 184K 10/16;
25312, 939, Hess, EN-Weyrauch A 154-93-1720H-8, Robinson Lake, middle Bakken, 36 stages, 2.3 million lbs sand; runs S 17 - 20; t1/14; cum 180K 10/16;
25311, 970, Hess, EN-Weyrauch A 154-93-1720H-9, Robinson Lake, TF NOS, 35 stages; 1.8 million lbs sand; runs S 17 - 20 ; t1/14; cum 180K 10/16;
26846, 753, Hess, EN-Weyrauch 154-93-1918H-9, Robinson Lake, TF B1 (sundry form: original target TF1, but requested change to target TF2; t7/14; cum 167K 10/16;

2012 (list complete)
22682, 912, Hess, EN-Jeffrey A-155-94-2734H-3, Alkali Creek,
23283, 942, Hess, EN-Belik 156-93-0607H-2, Big Butte, t11/12; cum 127K 12/13;
23284, 849, Hess, EN-Belik 156-93-0607H-3, Big Butte, t11/12; cum 102K 12/13; 
24004, 715, Hess, EN-Cvancara 155-93-1522H-2, Alger, t4/13; cum 69K 12/13;
24003, 757, Hess, EN-Cvancara 155-93-1522H-3, Alger, t4/13; cum 72K 12/13;
23954, 501, Hess, EN-D Cvancara S-154-93-0904H-2, Robinson Lake, t5/13; cum 47K 12/13;
23955, 560, Hess, EN-D Cvancara S-154-93-0904H-3, Robinson Lake, t5/13; cum 54K 12/13;
23956, 566, Hess, EN-D Cvancara S-154-93-0904H-4, Robinson Lake, t6/13; cum 45K 12/13;
23957, 707, Hess, EN-D Cvancara S-154-93-0904H-5, Robinson Lake, t5/13; cum 58K 12/13;
22395, 660, Hess, EN-Dakota N-155-94-211609H-1, Manitou, t8/12; cum 81K 12/13;
22394, 705, Hess, EN-Dakota N-155-94-211609H-2, Manitou, t8/12; cum 100K 12/13;
22393, 753, Hess, EN-Dakota N-155-94-211609H-3, Manitou, t8/12; cum 82K 12/13;
22398, 379, Hess, EN-Dakota S-155-94-211609H-6, Manitou, t10/12; cum 44K 12/13;
22396, 479, Hess, EN-Dakota S-155-94-211609H-4, Manitou, t10/12; cum 47K 12/13;
22397, 149, Hess, EN-Dakota S-155-94-211609H-5, Manitou, t10/12; cum 18K 12/13;
22769, 917, Hess, En-Dobrovolny-155-93-2128H-2, Alger, t11/12; cum 198K 7/17;
22770, 701, Hess, En-Dobrovolny-155-93-2128H-3, Alger, t12/12; cum 159K 7/17;
22357, 320, Hess, EN-Engebretson 157-94-1003H-1, White Earth, t11/13; cum 79K 7/17;
23514, 620, Hess, EN-Fretheim S-154-93-0805H-4, t10/13; cum 136K 10/16;
23513, 620, Hess, EN-Fretheim S-154-93-0805H-5, t10/13; cum 119K 10/16;
23512, 676, Hess, EN-Fretheim S-154-93-0805H-6, t9/13; cum 126K 7/17;
23551, 402, Hess, EN-Hanson S-156-94-3130H-4, Manitou, t3/13; cum 70K 7/17;
23552, 428, Hess, EN-Hanson S-156-94-3130H-5, Manitou, t2/13; cum 82K 7/17;
23553, 500, Hess, EN-Hanson S-156-94-3130H-6, Manitou, t3/13; cum 82K 7/17;
22509, 468, Hess, EN-Hanson-156-94-3130H-2, Manitou, t8/12; cum 91K 7/17;
22510, 264, Hess, EN-Hanson-156-94-3031H-3, Manitou, t8/12; cum 61K 7/17;
23417, 447, Hess, EN-Hegland 155-94-0508H-2, Manitou, t2/13; cum 133K 7/17;
23418, 625, Hess, EN-Hanson-155-94-0508H-3, Manitou, t2/13; cum 133K 7/17;
22603, 728, Hess, EN-Hein-156-94-0112H-2, Big Butte, t6/12; cum 235K 7/17;
24356, 816, Hess, EN-Hermanson 154-93-0235H-2, Robinson Lake, t7/13 cum 121K 7/17;
24357, 724, Hess, EN-Hermanson 154-93-0235H-3, Robinson Lake, t7/13; cum 121K 7/17;
24561, 533, Hess, EN-Hermanson 154-93-0235H-4, Robinson Lake, t8/13; cum 111K 7/17;
24562, 748, Hess, EN-Hermanson 154-93-0235H-5, Robinson Lake, t8/13; cum 141K 7/17;
22185, 651, Hess, EN-Horst 154-93-0310H-2, Robinson Lake, t8/12; cum 165K 7/17;
22186, 400, Hess, EN-Horst 154-93-0310H-3, Robinson Lake,  t8/12; cum 127K 7/17;
23038, 515, Hess, EN-Horst 154-93-1003H-4, Robinson Lake, t12/12; cum 114K 7/17;
23039, 450 , Hess, EN-Horst 154-93-1003H-5, Robinson Lake, t12/12; cum 115K 7/17;
23040, 521, Hess, EN-Horst 154-93-1003H-6, Robinson Lake, t1/13; cum 113K 7/17;
22686, 771, Hess, EN-Jeffrey A-155-94-2734H-1, Alkali Creek, t1/13; cum 152K 7/17;
22684, 689, Hess, EN-Jeffrey A-155-94-2734H-2, Alkali Creek, t2/13; cum 175K 7/17;
22687, 1,107, Hess, EN-Jeffrey A-155-94-2215H-1, Alkali Creek, t4/14; cum 207K 7/17;
22685, 598, Hess, EN-Jeffrey A-155-94-2215H-2, Alkali Creek, t2/13; cum 124K 7/17;
22683, 615, Hess, EN-Jeffrey A-155-94-2215H-3, Alkali Creek, t2/13; cum 149K 7/17;
22550, 1,053, Hess, EN-Labar 154-94-03019H-1, Alkali Creek, t8/12; cum 245K 7/17;
22551, 1,041, Hess, EN-Labar 154-94-03019H-3, Alkali Creek, t9/12; bcum 254K 7/17;
22693, 344, Hess, EN-Meiers-154-93-24H-2, Robinson Lake, t10/12; cum 105K 7/17;
22692, 560, Hess, EN-Meiers-154-93-24H-3, Robinson Lake, t10/12; cum 133K 7/17;
23374, 863, Hess, EN-Ortloff 156-94-2635H-2, Big Butte, t2/13; cum 176K 7/17;
23375, 669, Hess, EN-Ortloff 156-94-2635H-3, Big Butte, t2/13; cum 152K 7/17;
22264, 276, Hess, EN-Patrick Joseph 157-94-2341H-1, Big Butte, t6/12; cum 79K 7/17;
23448, 792, Hess, EN-Pederson 154-94-0409H-2, Alkali Creek, t1/13; cum 174K 7/17;
23447, 829, Hess, EN-Pederson 154-94-0409H-3, Alkali Creek, t12/12; cum 187K 7/17;
23446, 1,164, Hess, EN-Pederson 154-94-0409H-4, Alkali Creek, t7/13; cum 206K 7/17;
23445, 1,127, Hess, EN-Pederson 154-94-0409H-5, Alkali Creek, t8/13; cum 199K 7/17;
23444, PNC, Hess, EN-Pederson 154-94-0409H-6, Alkali Creek,
22795, 1,016, Hess, EN-Rehak 155-93-0718H-2, Alger, t9/12; cum 249K 7/17;
22796, 972, Hess, EN-Rehak 155-93-0718H-3, Alger,  t9/12; cum 211K 7/17;
22673, 1,048, Hess, EN-Rice-155-94-0211H-2, Manitou, t10/12; cum 190K 7/17;
22674, 890, Hess, EN-Rice-155-94-0211H-3, Manitou, t10/12; cum 180K 7/17;
22771, 1,372, Hess, EN-Skabo Trust 155-93-0631H-2, Alger, t12/12; cum 270K 7/17;
22772, 968, Hess, EN-Skabo Trust 155-93-0631H-3, Alger, t12/12; cum 208K 7/17;
24445, 515, Hess, EN-State B 155-93-1609H-2, Alger, t8/13; cum 132K 9/19;
24444, 1,050, Hess, EN-State B 155-93-1609H-3, Alger, t8/13; cum 180K 9/19;
24443, 831, Hess, EN-State B 155-93-1609H-4, Alger,  t9/13; cum 168K 9/19;
24442, 537, Hess, EN-State B 155-93-1609H-5, Alger, t9/13; cum 145K 9/19;
23823, 920, Hess, EN-State D 154-93-2635H-2, Robinson Lake, t5/13; cum 207K 9/19;
23824, 581, Hess, EN-State D 154-93-2635H-3, Robinson Lake, t5/13; cum 172K 9/19;
23825, 1,008, Hess, EN-State D 154-93-2635H-4, Robinson Lake, t5/13; cum 181K 9/19; off line as of 6/19;

23826, 540, Hess, EN-State D 154-93-2635H-5, Robinson Lake, t5/13; cum 169K 9/19;
24388, 944, Hess, EN-Uran A 154-93-1522H-2, Robinson Lake, t7/13; cum 223K 9/19;
24389, 534, Hess, EN-Uran A 154-93-1522H-3, Robinson Lake, t7/13; cum 148K 9/19;
24390, 819, Hess, EN-Uran A 154-93-1522H-4, Robinson Lake, t6/13; cum 175K 9/19;
22858, 823, Hess, EN-Uran S 154-93-1522H-2, Robinson Lake, t11/12; cum 235K 9/19;
22859, 638, Hess, EN-Uran S 154-93-1522H-3, Robinson Lake, t11/12; cum 221K 9/19;
23773, 424, Hess, EN-Wander 156-94-0904H-2, Big Butte, t2/13; cum 129K 9/19;
24371, 842, Hess, EN-Weyrauch A 154-93-1720H-6, Robinson Lake, TF NOS, 30 stages; 2 million lbs sand; t8/13, runs S-17-20; cum 249K 9/19;
24368, 1,259, Hess, EN-Weyrauch A 154-93-1720H-3, Robinson Lake, middle Bakken, 30 stages; 2 million lbs sand, runs S-17-20;  t7/13; cum 260K 9/19;
24369, 1,240, Hess, EN-Weyrauch A 154-93-1720H-4, Robinson Lake, TF NOS, 30 stages; 1.9 million lbs sand, runs S-17-20;  t7/13; cum 216K 9/19;
24370, 770, Hess, EN-Weyrauch A 154-93-1720H-5, Robinson Lake, middle Bakken, 30 stages; 1.6 million lbs sand, runs S-17-20; t8/13; cum 196K 9/19; off line as of 6/19;


Older wells:
20902, 970, Hess, EN-Weyrauch B-154-93-3031H-2, Robinson Lake, middle Bakken; 38 stages; 4 million lbs sand/ceramic; t12/11; cum 342K 9/19;
20901, 1,232, Hess, EN-Weyrauch B-154-93-3031H-1, Robinson Lake, middle Bakken, 38 stages; 1.7 million lbs sand/ceramic; F, t12/11; cum 387K 9/19; off line 8/19; remains off line 9/19;

19570, 612, Hess, EN-Weyrauch-154-93-1918H-3, Robinson Lake, F, t10/11; cum 110K 9/19;
19569, 600, Hess, EN-Weyrauch-154-93-1918H-2, Robinson Lake, t6/11; cum 234K 9/19;
19568, 602, Hess, EN-Weyrauch-154-93-1918H-1, Robinson Lake, pump; t4/11; cum 234K 9/19;
20651, 934, Hess, EN-Weyrauch C-154-93-2932H-2, Robinson Lake, middle Bakken, pump; 38 stages; 2 million lbs sand/ceramic, t3/12; cum 376K 9/19;
20649, 878, Hess, EN-Weyrauch C-154-93-2932H-1, Robinson Lake, middle Bakken, no frack data; pump, t12/11; cum 416K 9/19;
19622, PNC, Hess, EN-Weyrauch A-154-93-2017H-3PNC, Robinson Lake, (almost identical location as #20649); the pad was originally going to be a 3-well pad, but at time of PNC, the pad was reconfigured for a 4-well pad; very interesting: proposed was a stacked lateral: lateral 1 to be a Three Forks horizontal; lateral 2 to be a middle Bakken; TVD of #1 at 10,810 feet; TVD of #2 at 10,685 feet;
19621, 949, Hess, EN-Weyrauch A-154-93-2017H-2, Robinson Lake, middle Bakken, runs N 20 - 17; toe ends up 200 feet from head of #25311; no frack data but everything suggests this was a middle Bakken; very interesting: proposed was a stacked lateral: lateral 1 to be a Three Forks horizontal; lateral 2 to be a middle Bakken; TVD of #1 at 10,770 feet; TVD of #2 at 10,645 feet; it looks like only the middle Bakken horizontal was drilled/fracked; t11/11; cum 136K 6/14;t1/12; cum 258K 9/19;
19620, 878, Hess, EN-Weyrauch A-154-93-2017H-1, Robinson Lake, middle Bakken; 38 stages; 4 million lbs sand/ceramic; runs N 20-17 opposite/along #24371 TF NOS, very interesting: proposed was a stacked lateral: lateral 1 to be a Three Forks horizontal; lateral 2 to be a middle Bakken; TVD of #1 at 10,740 feet; TVD of #2 at 10,615 feet; it looks like only the middle Bakken horizontal was drilled/fracked; t11/11; cum 193K 9/19;

A Random Data Point Or Two Regarding Today's Director's Cut

There will be some hand-wringing over the fact that "we" did not close out calendar year having hit the million-bopd milestone. See today's Director's Cut.

But taking the dollar figures provided at the "Cut" here's something to soothe your troubled souls:
$6 to $7 million per day more in sales despite a 5.45% decline in production. Sweet.

[Take the most recent figures available (bopd from December, 2013; and the price of oil in December, and the price of oil today).]

• Today, February 14, 2014: 923,227 bopd x 81.35 = $75.105 million/day
• December, 2013: 923,227 x 73.47 = $67.830 million/day
• November, 2013: 976,453 x 71.42 = $69.738 million/day

Worst Factory Production Number Since 2009; Blaming The Weather; Wrapping Up Friday; Deadbeat ObamaCare Enrollees; Apple Sole More Macs/iDevices Than All PCs Combined In 4Q14

Apple sold more Macs and iDevices that all PCs combined in 4Q14:

Apple sold more iPhones, Macs, iPads and iPod Touch devices than the total number of computers sold by the entire Windows PC industry in the holiday quarter, according to research done by analyst Benedict Evans. According to the data, it's the first time that Apple has surpassed the PC market in hardware sales.

The company has long said that it believes the tablet market will eventually be larger than the PC market. If iPhones are considered, Apple's iOS ecosystem alone -- never mind its Mac sales -- is already very close to surpassing the PC market in unit sales, and perhaps even in dollar sales as well.

The article also says that the average Apple device sells for $584 "across the board," vs $544.30 for the average Windows PC. 

Can't wait to read the comments at the link.

 

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

Bloomberg is reporting:

Factory production in the U.S. unexpectedly declined in January by the most since May 2009, adding to evidence severe winter weather weighed on the economy.

The 0.8 percent decrease at manufacturers followed a revised 0.3 percent gain the prior month that was weaker than initially reported, figures from the Federal Reserve showed today in Washington. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 0.1 percent advance.

Total industrial production dropped 0.3 percent even as utility output climbed the most in almost a year.

Assembly lines slowed last month as colder weather tempered production, the Fed said, showing a pause in the momentum of an industry that’s helped bolster the economy. A pickup in capital spending and faster hiring that drives consumer purchases will be needed to spur production gains.

The weather may have been a factor, but December, 2013, I thought was much worse than January, and yet December showed a 0.3 percent gain, while January, 2014, again, a better month, weather-wise, showed a 0.8% decline -- the worst since 2009.

Folks can blame the weather -- why not? It's easy to blame the weather. But I wonder. I would put ObamaCare and the uncertainty surrounding ObamaCare near the top as one of the explanations. 

The stock market showed a slight drop when the numbers were released but the DOW is up almost 100 points and oil is holding its own.

I would consider this very, very bullish. Imagine if US manufacturing had surged.

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

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

Wrapping Up Friday

Oil: Mar crude oil rose $0.01 to $100.29/barrel

Crude oil spent most of today's floor trade in negative territory. It brushed a session low of $99.43 shortly after equity markets opened but buyers stepped in and pushed prices higher for the remainder of the session. The energy component touched a session high of $100.41 moments before settling one penny above the unchanged line, booking a 0.4% gain for the week.

Perhaps it is just semantics, but weren't JOBS the top priority just a month ago? Now, the president's top priorities: immigration (this year, tilting at another windmill); and, the minimum wage (why not?)

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

It's been my experience that businessmen and women are optimists. When they discuss the future they try to be as optimistic as possible. So this article on ObamaCare is a bit interesting. From this article, this paragraph: 

The New York Times has discovered that only about 80% of people purchasing health insurance through the federal online marketplace or a similar state-run exchange paid their first month’s premium. There’s no single source of such data, but the Times canvassed insurers participating in the program, such as Aetna, Wellpoint, Humana, and Blue Shield of California. All said that the first-month payment rate ranged from 75% to 80% or so, far lower than for typical plans. If enrollees don't pay the first month's premium, their insurance never goes into effect.

My hunch is that it is worse than 70%. The New York Times would exaggerate the number, and the "or so" suggests that the insurers don't want to say how bad it really is. They also know that just because someone pays the first month's premium, it doesn't mean that person will continue to pay.  

Also, note: if enrollees don't pay the first month's premium, their insurance never goes into effect. Look at the range in premiums, but take a hard look at the deductibles: $12,000/year/couple.

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

Breitbart is reporting: Americans are enthusiastic about the promise of science but lack basic knowledge of it, with one in four unaware that the Earth revolves around the Sun, said a poll out Friday. The one in four that were unaware that the Earth revolved around the Sun were concerned about global warming, no doubt. It would have been interesting to see the demographics of the twenty-five percent that did know the earth revolved around the Sun. Some likely data points:

• drink US lite beer on the weekends
• eat Campbell's soup out of the can 
• do not live in my neighborhood (or yours)
• wonder about the source of moonlight
• won't take a Carnival Cruise at risk of going over the edge

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

If the market holds, "we" are going to go into a 3-day weekend with traders willing to bid the market up 150 points. Bullish. Note the disclaimer above.

Director's Cut For December 2013 Data Is Posted: No New Record; New Fracking Rule On Use Of Diesel Is Moot -- No One Uses Diesel For Fracking In North Dakota Any More

Disclaimer: this update is always done in haste; typographical errors are likely. This is for my use only. Others should go to the source. 

Oil:
December, 2013: 923,227 bopd (misses a new record)
November, 20l3: 976,453 bopd (up 3% from previous month; remains the all-time high)

Producing wells:
December, 2013: 10,015
November, 2013: 10,042 (all-time high)

Permitting:
December, 2013: 227
November, 2013: 232
October, 2013: 267
All time high was 370 in 10/2012

Pricing:
Today, 2014: $81.35  (923,227 x 81.35 = $75.105 million/day)
January, 2014: $74.20
December, 2013: $73.47 (976453 x 73.47 = $71.740 million/day)
November, 2013: $71.42
October, 2013: $85.16

Rig count:
Today: 185
January, 2013: 188
December, 2013: 190
November, 2013: 184
October, 2013: 183

Director's comments:
The drilling rig count was up from Nov to Dec, but the number of well completions dropped from 138 to 119. Days from spud to initial production increased 18 days to 132....the big story is the December weather. Low temperatures of 21 to 31 degrees below zero, 4 major snow events, and 5 major wind events. Dickinson had the 4th coldest December on record and from Williston to Bismarck it was the 9th snowiest December since 1890.

I haven't tracked this in a long time, but this seems to be rather high: utilization for shallow wells rigs (drill to 7,000 feet or less) was about 60% in December. The utilization rate for rigs capable of +20,000 feet remains above 90%.

The number of rigs actively drilling on federal surface in the Dakota Prairie Grasslands is 3, up 1 from 2 in January.

wow, grist for the mill: the percentage of gas flared is up a whopping 6% to 36% largely due to the temporary shut-down of the Tioga gas plant on November 25th for expansion. [I though the plant was back on line now.]

This was interesting:

Final EPA Guidance for permitting hydraulic fracturing using diesel fuel was published 2/13/14. [Some days later, The Bismarck Tribune wrote an article on this.]

The nearly 2 years of comment and analysis resulted in some very real improvements, but more significantly allowed industry time to develop new recipes that do not use diesel fuel.

We are disappointed that EPA did not provide for the ability to use a de minimis amount of diesel such as less than 1%. However they reduced the impact a great deal by removing petroleum distillate, synonyms, and “substantially similar compounds."

The revised guidance should not result in any type of moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in North Dakota.

We have reviewed the FracFocus data for all North Dakota wells since 4/1/12 and found 15 instances of kerosene, one of the five chemicals defined as diesel fuel, being used at concentrations of less than 4 ten-thousands of one percent. The operator has been contacted, the reason identified, and the operator has already eliminated that product from its treatments.

We were given less than 24 hours advanced notice of publication in the Federal Register and are working really hard to let everyone know what chemicals will result in a underground injection control permit being required and what the permitting requirements are.

I am truly impressed how quickly the NDIC can seemingly turn on a dime. It took the Feds two years to publish the rules; NDIC, 48 hours to read, translate, re-read, publish, contact, and whatever else had to be done.

I track projected estimates of future oil production at this site. 

OXY Spin-Off; Headquarters Moving To Texas; Leaving California; OXY To Shed Assets "From North Dakota To The Persian Gulf"

Updates

February 15, 2014: OXY USA trying to put a positive spin on the new company they will spin off to develop the Monterey shale in California. Bloomberg is reporting: 

Occidental Petroleum Corp., the largest oil producer in the continental U.S., will split its operations in California into a separate publicly traded company in one of the final steps of a breakup plan. The new California company will be the biggest oil and natural gas acreage holder in the state with about 2.3 million net acres, Los Angeles-based Occidental said today in a statement.

[The new company] will have 8,000 employees and contractors and will establish its headquarters in the state.

“Creating two separate energy companies will result in more focused businesses that will be competitive industry leaders,” Chief Executive Officer Stephen Chazen said in the statement.

Chazen is targeting asset sales from North Dakota to the Persian Gulf to focus on Occidental’s most profitable operations after lackluster returns in 2011 and 2012. The California company could be worth as much as $19 billion and carry as much as $5 billion of debt, Tudor Pickering Holt & Co. analysts wrote today in a note to clients. The assets being spun off represent about 20 percent of total production.  

The new company will be more aggressive:

The company produces the equivalent of 154,000 barrels of oil and natural gas a day in the state and its operations there generated revenue of $4.3 billion last year with $1.7 billion of capital expenditure. Occidental plans to boost spending and debt at the California company, operating more as a traditional high-growth explorer, Leo Mariani, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets in Austin, Texas, wrote today in a note to clients. 

But, it is not going to be easy, from a companion article at Bloomberg:

“No one has found the secret sauce yet to the Monterey,” said David Hackett, president of Stillwater Associates, an energy consulting firm in the state. ’’Occidental is working hard at it, but they don’t understand it well enough to make it perform like everybody hopes it will.’’ 

“Historically, California has been a ‘hard to grow’ asset and suffers from severe regulatory constraints,” a factor that could weigh on how investors value the new company, Mariani said. The potential of the Monterey has been questioned by executives including Chevron Corp.’s John Watson and Continental Resources Inc.’s Harold Hamm. 

Also the environmental backlash, from the second Bloomberg article link:

Environmental groups concerned about the possibility of an oil renaissance are lobbying legislators and organizing protests against development. A federal judge in April ruled that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management violated the law by failing to sufficiently study the impact of fracking on the environment.

“If we go in the direction of North Dakota, the consequences for California would be devastating,” said Patrick Sullivan, a spokesman for the Center for Biological Diversity, which sued to invalidate government lease sales for drilling. ’’We’re determined to protect water, wildlife and public health.’’

Despite the obstacles, state oil production surged in February to the highest seasonal level in three years, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data through November. Output climbed 13,000 barrels a day in the first 11 months of 2013 and rose 4,000 in 2012, marking the first annual rise since 1998.

Occidental plans to drill more than 1,000 wells in 2014, a 36 percent increase from 2013 that will help increase oil production by 11 percent, a growth rate that rivals some of the best onshore drillers. More than 10 percent of those wells will be in layers of shale rock, according to a Jan. 30 company presentation.

Original Post

 

This is a huge, huge story - I can't remember if I mentioned whether it was OXY or CVX or COP that the tea leaves suggested to me one of the three would be leaving California. I think I was thinking Chevron, but .... I digress. [Yes, based on this posting, I always thought Chevron would be the first of the three to leave California.]

The bigger story is just that: Rick Perry has done a great job enticing California companies to move (in some cases, back) to Texas.

Don sent me the link. I would not have seen it until later. This was worth waiting for. I was just getting to wrap it up for the day.

Reuters is reporting:

Occidental Petroleum Corp said it would spin off its oil and gas assets in California into a separately traded company and move its headquarters from Los Angeles to Houston, where it will be closer to its largest U.S. operations.

Occidental did not provide a valuation for the California business, but analysts at investment bank Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co said it could be worth up to $19 billion. Analysts at Credit Suisse valued the unit at about $22 billion in October.

"Creating two separate energy companies will result in more focused businesses that will be competitive industry leaders," Chief Executive Stephen Chazen said on Friday.

Occidental, whose shares were up 3 percent at midday, said the California unit generated a pre-tax profit of about $1.5 billion in 2013.

The fruits and nuts hate Big Oil.

The California geology for fracking is very, very problematic.

The water for fracking is even more problematic.

OXY's Bakken wells, by the way, have been getting better and better. With all this restructuring, it seems this would have been a great time for OXY to sell off its Bakken assets if it were planning to do so. The tea leaves suggest to me that OXY is staying in the Bakken, but tea leaves have been known to be misinterpreted, even by the best readers.

I believe OXY has a huge play in the Eagle Ford. Have to look up some of this stuff later.

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

Video: the one who got away. 

The One That Got Away, Devil Doll

A man's gotta do, what a man's gotta do. It doesn't matter what you say.

Most Important Article For Friday Morning: The Dutch Decision On Natural Gas

Updates

June 25, 2017: an update, going from bad to worse? 

Original Post 

I first posted this story back on January 18, 2014.

Today, Rigzone has a five-page internet story on the fallout from this decision. It is a must-read; there are several story lines in an article this long and at least one was not mentioned: I think the Dutch may be heading toward their own energy crisis of their own making.  From Rigzone:

A recent article discussing production-related challenges for the giant Groningen natural gas field located in the northern region of the Netherlands referred to the field as a “bubble” holding an estimated 2,800 billion cubic meters (Bcm) of gas.

The field’s initial discovery well was drilled in 1952 and the field was defined by 1959. It is the largest gas field in Europe and the tenth largest in the world. The significance of Groningen was not merely its size but that its development provided knowledge to oil and gas companies about how to develop such large fields.

Additionally, the geologic knowledge from developing the field enabled the industry to open up the entire Northwest region of Europe to the hydrocarbon industry that eventually led to the development of the North Sea.

Despite its age, still today, more than 50% of all the natural gas reserves produced in Europe come from Dutch territory. Groningen has been a major source of income for the government while supplying the Netherlands and other European countries with clean energy. Estimates suggest the field has about 720 Bcm of natural gas remaining after producing roughly 2,000 Bcm over its 50-year life.

Think about that: more than 50% of all the natural gas reserves produced in Europe come from Dutch territory. Imagine if the US shut down the Bakken, Permian, and Eagle Ford.

The article goes on:

Just over a week ago, the Dutch government announced it would reduce output from the field by about 25% in order to appease local residents concerned about the impact of earthquakes associated with the field’s production. Beginning in 1986 near the town of Assen, tremors were felt. Since then, there have been about 1,000 earthquakes recorded in the area according to the Dutch Meteorological Institute, with the largest reaching 3.6 on the Richter scale in August 2012 near the village of Huizinge. The oil and gas industry has warned of the possibility of earthquakes, ranging upwards of 4.5 to 6.0 on the Richter scale, associated with production from the Groningen field. Essentially, the earthquakes result from shifts in the subsurface of the field as gas volumes are extracted. In essence, this is a case of localized subsidence, which when it occurs can create underground tremors as the subsurface compresses.

The difference between 2013’s gas output from Groningen and the technically-feasible level needed to satisfy domestic supply is only one highlight of potential shifts that may occur within the European natural gas market with knock-on effects throughout Europe, Russia and the United States. The operator of the field, Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij BV, otherwise known as NAM, a 50/50 joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A-NYSE) and Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM-NYSE), produces 75% of all the gas extracted on Dutch territory and about 50% of all the crude oil produced. The gas from Groningen goes to GasTerra, a Groningen-based international company that trades in natural gas, with most of the output being sold to utilities and large industries in the Netherlands, although some gas is shipped to Germany, Italy, France and the UK.

But it gets worse: the Dutch have also thrown in the towel on off-shore wind energy.

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

The best song ever in the Dutch history of music. 

And I always thought I misheard the lyrics. LOL

Venus, Shocking Blue

Huge Natural Gas Discovery In the Chinese Sichuan Basin -- Could Meet Chinese Demand For Two Years; California Drought, Meanwhile, Might Stymie Fracking -- CNBC

PennEnergy is reporting:

Chinese oil and gas company PetroChina recently uncovered one of the biggest gas discoveries in more than a decade in the Sichuan basin, which is significant for a nation trying to wean off natural gas imports, Reuters reported. Parent company China National Petroleum Corporation said the latest find, which includes 308.2 billion cubic meters of recoverable gas, is "set to provide abundant gas resources to the national gas grids," according to CNPC in a report.

Meanwhile, the California drought might stymie fracking:

California fracking opponents aiming to stop development of massive state oil reserves are focusing their drive this year around the state's record-breaking drought, arguing oil production would suck sorely needed water from farms and homes.

California Rep. Marc Levine told Reuters last week that he will co-author an upcoming bill that would place a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in the state, and said he will use the drought, which could be the state's worst ever, to bolster his position.

"The drought is a game changer on fracking," Levine said. "We have to decide what our most precious commodity is—water or oil? This is the year to make the case that it's water."

I've talked about this on more than one occasion. I think California is going to be a very tough state to frack.

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

Last night, in bed, while reviewing the blog, I was quite disappointed. I hadn't posted a video in quite some time. Since the iPad won't multi-task -- at least not my version -- I need to have at least one video on each page. So, I have to catch up.

I recently posted another video of this song, but never too often:

It Never Rains In California, Albert Hammond

Whiting "Out-Of-Control Well -- Southwest Of Watford City -- No Explosion, No Injuries, Minimal Spill

Updates

February 15, 2014: pretty much a non-story. Equipment failure resulted in "out-of-control" return of fracking fluid upon completion of fracking. It appears most, if not all, fracking fluid was contained within the berm. Whiting says operations should be back to normal by this weekend. 
 

Original Post

The Bismarck Tribune is reporting:

About 15 workers were evacuated from the location of an out-of-control Whiting Petroleum oil well five miles southwest of Watford City late Thursday afternoon.

McKenzie County Emergency Manager Jerry Samuelson said no fire or explosion occurred, but oil and water blew a plume from the well until the company was able to divert the flow into its nearby storage tanks.

He said  the 15 workers were temporarily removed from the site by school bus to ensure their safety.

Dangerous, dangerous occupation. 

Headlines I Can't Make Up: Historic Winter Due To Global Warming -- CBS News; Price Of Oil Slips 16 Cents, Due To Demand Destruction --

I can't make this stuff up.

Breitbart is reporting.

During the February 13 broadcast of CBS This Morning, host Charlie Rose and his guest turned to the topic of this year's harsh winter, calling the extreme cold an example of global warming. 

Guest Michio Kaku, a physics professor from New York City College--not a climatologist, but a physicist--claimed that the "wacky weather" could get "even wackier" and its all because of global warming. 

"What we're seeing is that the jet stream and the polar vortex are becoming unstable. Instability of historic proportions. We think it's because of the gradual heating up of the North Pole. The North Pole is melting," professor Kaku said. 

 "That excess heat generated by all this warm water is destabilizing this gigantic bucket of cold air... So that's the irony, that heating could cause gigantic storms of historic proportions," the goof explained. 

This was all because of global warming, Rose insisted.

The Los Angeles Times also had a story / op-ed piece on the same subject. The accompanying cartoon was very insulting to Christians and Jews (the cartoonist would not have had the courage to mention the Koran in the same context).

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

Meanwhile Pablo Gorondi over at the AP writes that oil slips 16 cents due to demand destruction.

Oil prices slipped closer to $100 a barrel Friday as fresh U.S. economic data and higher-than-expected crude supplies pointed to weaker demand.

By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark U.S. crude for March delivery was down 16 cents to $100.19 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Thursday, the Nymex contract eased 2 cents to close at $100.35.

I guess the price of oil has recovered; it is only down 15 cents now, up a penny. For the math wizards, 15 cents / 100 dollars = 0.0015, which if I move the decimal the correct direction translates to 0.15%.

For Investors Only -- February 14, 2014

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

Seven companies announced increased dividends or distributions.

Oil slips 16 cents, just above $100.

Magnum Hunter Announces Gas Discovery in First Utica Shale Well on Stalder Pad: Co announces that its first dry gas Utica Shale well, the Stalder #3UH located on the Stalder Pad (18 potential wells) in Monroe County, Ohio, was placed on production earlier this week and has recently tested at a peak rate of 32.5 MMCF of natural gas per day on an adjustable rate choke with 4,300 psi FCP.

In early trading: KOG, SRE, EPD, WMB all flat, but the majors are green, which is somewhat surprising, considering that oil slipped 16 cents in early trading.

In early trading: MDU trades at a new high, up about a dime.

Midday, stocks trading at new highs: MDU, ARII, UNP.

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

I think I posted this story earlier, with a couple of additioanl links, but in case this is a different source, I've posted it:

NIPTON, Calif. — The Ivanpah solar power plant stretches over more than five square miles of the Mojave Desert. Almost 350,000 mirrors the size of garage doors tilt toward the sun with an ability to energize 140,000 homes. The plant, which took almost four years and thousands of workers assembling millions of parts to complete, officially opened on Thursday, the first electric generator of its kind.

It could also be the last.

Since the project began, the price of rival technologies has plummeted, incentives have begun to disappear and the appetite among investors for mammoth solar farms has waned. Although several large, new projects have been coming online in recent months — many in the last quarter of 2013 — experts say fewer are beginning construction and not all of those under development will be completed.

“I don’t think that we’re going to see large-scale solar thermal plants popping up, five at a time, every year in the U.S. in the long-term — it’s just not the way it’s going to work,” said Matthew Feinstein, a senior analyst at Lux Research.

Actually, the real reason for posting this link: next to the story is a great photo ad for women's lingerie. It may be a dynamic ad, in more ways than one.

Happy Valentine's Day, February 14, 2014

Active rigs:

	2/14/2014	02/14/2013	02/14/2012	02/14/2011	02/14/2010
Active Rigs	186	182	205	168	92

RBN Energy: understanding energy market mega-numbers. A must-read for newbies, and almost everyone else.

One goal of the RBN blogosphere is to provide clarity to a highly intricate, interwoven energy complex.  Today we are going to tackle an aspect of energy markets that has vexed us for some time.  We’re going to explore some of the big numbers that are used to measure energy markets, what they mean to the oil patch (Cowtown, a.k.a., Fort Worth here in Texas is a good example of that) and to each of us as energy users.  So put on your thinking cap and tell your colleagues to leave you alone for five minutes.  We’re going to expand our minds.

The Wall Street Journal

Storm pummels winter-weary northeast.

ObamaCare enthusiasts back skimpier policies: some backers of the 2010 health-care law -- which is essentially on hold/delayed for two years -- are already pushing to create a new kind of insurance policy that Obama/Pelosi/Reid/Hillary/Dean/Schumer ruled out: policies that offered lower premiums but significantly higher out-of-pocket costs. Considering that deductibles for the "copper" plans can be as much as $12,000/year/couple, I'm wondering exactly how high the OPRHDS (OpraHeads) want to take it. With the program on hold for two years, we are going to see a lot of ink spilled on ObamaCare.

I'm not making the $12,000/year/couple up. The WSJ screenshot; the deductible is in very, very fine, light print. What surprised me: regardless of the premium, the deductibles were almost identical:

It looks like Venezuela is about to implode.

Cabela reports a sharp drop-off in sales of guns and ammunition; reports a 10% decline in foruth-quarter sales. I assume they had a huge quarter earlier.

The price of natural gas soared; up over $5, due to global warming. By the way, this summer, global warming will keep the price of natural gas up as folks use more air conditioning. For fossil fuel investors, this global warming stuff is working out quite well: very, very hot summers, and very, very cold winters -- air conditioners and heaters all use natural gas or coal-generated electricity. Nuclear is out of favor; and the economics don't make sense. The math doesn't add up for wind or solar. A couple of Pacific Islands might go under, and the coast along the eastern US seaboard might recede by 0.1 inch over a century, but all-in-all, this global warming seems to be helping fossil fuel investors. The presidential initiatives will simply pour more money into the economy, sort of like the farm bill. Nimble investors will do well. JFK had it right.

Disclaimer: 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.

The Los Angeles Times

Google is working on 10-gigabit Internet connections.

California drafting bill requiring warning on sugary soft drinks. New York City needs to draft a bill requiring warning on glassine bags containing heroin.

The Boston Globe

"Has the threshold for snow days fallen? Some argue that when it comes to snow, the regionns' residents have melted into wimps. I agree. LOL.

Merger talks collapse between (sic) Beth Israel, Lahey Health, and Atrius Health. Maybe they've changed the grammar rules on "between."

Great Lakes Update

February 21, 2014: update on the frozen Great Lakes. 

Posted on date of original post: CHEBOYGAN, Mich. (AP) -- From the bridge of the Coast Guard cutter Mackinaw, northern Lake Huron looks like a vast, snow-covered field dotted with ice slabs as big as boulders - a battleground for the icebreaker's 58-member crew during one of the roughest winters in memory.
 

It's been so bitterly cold for so long in the Upper Midwest that the Great Lakes are almost completely covered with ice. The last time they came this close was in 1994, when 94 percent of the lakes' surface was frozen. -- This was the headline news on NPR this morning.

Global Warming Storm Update

This is now being recorded as the mid-Atlantic region's 9th "biggest."

Blizzard to lash New England Saturday, as in tomorrow.
Record number of flights cancelled:

• highest in 25 years
• 75,000 cancelled flights since December, 2013
• 14,000 cancelled flights this week
• new government regulations  
• cost-cutting measures
• ObamaCare
• American Airline - US Airway merger
• chaos

The sky is falling, the sky is falling. Which leads us, of course, to The Dickinson Press.

The Dickinson Press

Remember how fast Congress acted to provide aid for residents along the gulf and along the New Jersey coast have huge storms? Not quite the same for ranchers in fly-over country.

Ranchers could have checks as soon as April from farm bill disaster programs that will pay them for livestock losses from the October blizzard and the 2012 drought, Sen. John Thune said Wednesday.