The Road To New England -- Not Quite "All Of The Above" When It Comes To Energy

Don noted the percent of a state's total energy needs provided by installed wind energy in that state.

Data comes from AWEA.

How is New England doing?

• Maine: ranks 25th among US states; less than 6% of total energy needs provided by wind
• New Hampshire: 30th among US states; less than 2% of total energy needs provided by wind
• Vermont: ranks 34th among US states; less than 2% of total energy needs provided by wind
• Massachusetts: ranks 35th among US states; less than 1% of total energy needs provided by wind
• Connecticut: no data; goal to reach 23% by 2020
• Rhode Island: ranks 39th among US states; less than 1% of total energy needs provided by wind
• New York: ranks 12th among US states; only 2% of total energy needs provided by wind
• Pennsylvania: ranks 15th among US states; only 1% of total energy needs provided by wind

Okay, so those are the liberals pushing renewables. How are the midwest states doing:

• Iowa: ranks 3rd among US states; almost 25% of total energy needs provided by wind;
• South Dakota: 18th among US states; almost 25% of total energy needs provided by wind;
• North Dakota: 11th among US states; almost 15% of total energy needs provided by wind;
• Minnesota: 7th among US states; about 14% of total energy needs provided by wind;

Knowing that solar and wind power raises the price of electricity, New England could be looking at high utility prices not only because a shortage of low-priced natural gas, but because of new costs incurred building out wind farms which will continue to provide more expensive electricity. 

First Time Visit To Williston Brewing Company -- Awesome

Link here to website.

My sister and her husband treated us to dinner at the Williston Brewing Company today. It is quite incredible, to say the least.

Restroom door handle.

Wow, There's A Lot Of Sh*t Here

For previous posts on Home of Economy in Williston:

• vs Wal-Mart, September 18, 2011
• oh, by the way, October 26, 2011
• Christmas gifts, December 12, 2011

It's funny how things work out. I don't know when the "new" Home of Economy opened in Williston, but based on the "unfinished" bits and pieces, it appears it must have just opened. The expansion began last summer, June/July, 2013. According to The Williston Herald, the store was adding 14,000 square feet.

Wow, what an incredible story. I was overwhelmed with the huge selection of work boots and Carhartt work clothes. It seems the store is about half work boots and half Carhartt work clothes. Obviously there are bigger stores with more Carhartt, but this is the biggest selection I have seen. As I was walking through the store, someone who appeared new to Williston had the same thought, "Wow, there's a lotta sh*t here."

Yeah, there really is. And because of all the extra space one doesn't get claustrophobic among the aisles.

The entire west end is devoted to boots (with some minor exceptions). It paces out 35 by 40 so it must be about 100 feet by 90 feet, or 9,000 square feet. Probably 10,000 square feet.

At the east end, it is all Carhartt, and when I say "all Carhartt," I mean all Carhartt. Huge selection but one can tell a lot of cold weather clothing has been sold.

And that brings us back to the opening line: "... it's funny how things work out." It appears the expansion has pretty much just been completed. The additional weeks of winter, and now the new round of very cold weather coming in, will bring people back in, to see the new store.

It is still my favorite store in Williston for work clothes, hunting clothes, cold weather gear, boots, and just browsing around.

Oh, by the way, nice Wrangler shirts on sale through March 6, 2014. Good buys to begin with (at $22) are now down to $14, I believe. Slightly less expensive Wranglers are a dollar or two less expensive.

NDIC Dockets: March 26 - 27, 2014

The more interesting cases are placed in bold. There were a lot of cases continued from earlier sessions; a long list of pooling cases. All of these will eventually be posted. The source is at this NDIC link. Summaries of archived dockets are linked here.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

21907, Crescent Point Energy, Wheelock-Bakken, proper spacing, Williams
21908, Whiting, Ellsworth-Bakken, proper spacing, McKenzie
21804, cont'd
21909, Hess, Rainbow-Bakken, 6 wells on two 1280-acre units; establish an overlapping 2560-acre unit, 1+ wells; Williams
21910, Hess, Robinson Lake-Bakken, 9 wells on an overlapping 2560-acre unit; establish an overlapping 2560-acre unit, 1+ wells; Mountrail
21911, Hess, Antelope Creek-Bakken, flaring, unrestricted, McKenzie
14935, cont'd
21806, cont'd
21629, cont'd
21912, Whiting, Bell-Bakken, establish two overlapping 2560-acre units; 1well each, Stark
21824, cont'd
21825, cont'd
21826, cont'd
21827, cont'd
21828, cont'd
21829, cont'd
21830, cont'd
21913, HRC, Tyrone-Bakken, proper spacing, Williams
19399, cont'd
21914, Oasis, Black Slough-Bakken, proper spacing, Burke
21915, Oasis, Cottonwood and/or Kittleson Slough-Bakken, establish seven overlapping 2560-acre units; 1+ wells; Mountrail
21916, Oasis, Missouri Ridge-Bakken, establish two overlapping 2560-acre units; 1+ wells; Williams
21917, Oasis, Alkali Creek-Bakken, establish three overlapping 2560-acre units; 1+ wells; Mountrail
21918, Oasis, Sanish-Bakken, establish two overlapping 2560-acre units; 1+ wells; Mountrail
21919, Oasis, Camp-Bakken, establish an overlapping 2560-acre unit, 1+ wells; McKenzie
21920, Sequel Energy, temporary spacing for KIT 11-15H, McKenzie
21921, Luff Exploration, create a drilling unit, 160 acres, 16-129-102, vertical well, State Miller M-16H, and to temporarily produce from the Mission Canyon Zone of the Madison formation, Bowman,
21922, MRO, Reunion Bay-Bakken, 14 wells on a 1600-acre unit; 14 wells on each of two 1280-acre units; two wells on a new 2560-acre overlapping unit; total 44 new locations; McKenzie, Mountrail
21923, MRO, Bailey-Bakken, 12 wells on a 2560-acre unit, Dunn
21924, QEP, Spotted Horn-Bakken, establish a 2560-acre unit; 16 wells, McKenzie
21925, QEP, Bear Den and/or Grail-Bakken, establish three overlapping 2560-acre units, 1+ wells; McKenzie
21926, Petro-Hunt, Tioga-Bakken, establish two 1280-acre units; 7 wells each; Mountrail
21809, cont'd
21810, cont'd
21812, cont'd
21814, cont'd
21816, cont'd
21817, cont'd
21927, disposal plant
21928, waste facility
21929, waste facility
21930, waste facility
21931, Oasis, Banks-Bakken, 18 wells on a 1280-acre unit, McKenzie, Williams
21932, Oasis, Siverston-Bakken, 18 wells on a 1280-acre unit, McKenzie
21933, Sequel, pooling
21934, Sequel, pooling
21935, Sequel, pooling
21936, Sequel, pooling
21937, Sequel, pooling
21938, Sequel, pooling
21939, Sequel, pooling
21940, Sequel, pooling
21941, Sequel, pooling
21942, Hess, pooling
21943, Hess, pooling
21944, Hess, Truax-Bakken, 10 wells on each of 8 1280-acre units, Williams; a total of 80 new locations, Williams
21945, Hess, Alkali Creek-Bakken, 8 wells on an overlapping 2560-acre unit, Mountrail
21946, Hess, Antelope-Sanish, 2 wells on an overlapping 2560-acre unit, McKenzie
21947, Hess, Antelope-Sanish, 3 wells on an overlapping 2560-acre unit, McKenzie
21948, Hess, Westberg-Bakken, 12 wells on each of 2 1280-acre units, McKenzie
21949, Hess, Hawkeye-Bakken, 12 wells on a 1280-acre unit, McKenzie
21950, Hess, Blue Buttes-Bakken, 12 wells on a 1280-acre unit, McKenzie
21951, BR, Sand Creek-Bakken, 14 wells on a 1280-acre unit, McKenzie
21952, BR, Camel Butte-Bakken, 28 wells on a 2560-acre unit, McKenzie
21953, BR, Blue Buttes-Bakken, 2 wells on a 2560-acre unit, McKenzie
21954, BR, pooling
21955, BR, pooling
21956, BR, pooling
21957, BR, pooling,
21958, BR, pooling
21959, BR, pooling
21960, BR, pooling
21961, BR, pooling
21962, BR, pooling
21963, BR, pooling
21964, BR, pooling
21965, BR, pooling
21966, BR, pooling
21967, BR, pooling
21968, BR, pooling
21969, Whiting, Elk-Bakken, 9 wells on a 1280-acre unit, McKenzie
21970, Whiting, Lonesome-Bakken, 9 wells on three 1280-acre units, McKenzie
21971, Whiting, Nameless-Bakken, 9 wells on a 1280-acre unit, McKenzie
21972, Whiting, Sioux-Bakken, 9 wells on a 1280-acre unit, McKenzie
21973, Whiting, Pronghorn-Bakken, 9 wells on a 1280-acre unit, McKenzie
21974, Whiting, Rawson-Bakken, 9 wells on a 1280-acre unit, McKenzie
21975, Whiting, Timber Creek-Bakken, 9 wells on each of three 1280-acre units, McKenzie
21976, Whiting, Arnegard-Bakken, 9 wells on each of two 1280-acre units, McKenzie
21977, Whiting, Ellsworth-Bakken, 9 wells on each of three 1280-acre units, McKenzie
21978, Whiting, Pleasant Hill-Bakken, 9 wells on each of 8 1280-acre spacing units, McKenzie
21979, Whiting, Juniper-Bakken, 9 wells on a 1280-acre unit, McKenzie
21980, Whiting, Bully-Bakken, 9 wells on two 1280-acre units, McKenzie
21981, Whiting, pooling
21982, Whiting, pooling
21983, QEP, pooling
21984, QEP, pooling
21985, MRO, Lost Bridge-Bakken, 14 wells on a 2560-acre unit, Dunn

More below the photo.


Got oil?

Thursday, March 27, 2014

21986, Hunt, Wolf Bay-Bakken, proper spacing, Dunn
21987, Hunt, Blue Ridge-Bakken, establish two 1280-acre units; 1+ wells; Williams
21988, Hunt, Bear Butte-Bakken, flaring, unrestricted, McKenzie
21989, Hunt, Green Lake-Bakken, flaring, unrestricted, Williams
21990, Hunt, Musta-Bakken, flaring, unrestricted, Divide
21991, Hunt, Red Wing Creek-Bakken, flaring, unrestricted, McKenzie
21992, Hunt, Sioux Trail-Bakken, flaring, unrestricted, Divide
21993, Hunt, Smoky Butte-Bakken, flaring, unrestricted, Divide
21994, Hunt, Zahl-Bakken, flaring, unrestricted, Williams
21995, Hess, East Fork-Bakken, proper spacing, Williams
21996, Statoil, Briar Creek-Bakken, proper spacing, Williams
21997, CLR, Oliver-Bakken, proper spacing, Williams
21998, CLR, Stoneview, North Tioga, Lindahl, Battleview, and/or Tioga-Bakken, establsh five overlapping 2560-acre units; multiple wells on each, Williams, Burke
21999, CLR, Elm Tree and Sanish-Bakken, reducing setback rules, McKenzie, Mountrail
22000, CLR, Charlson and/or Elm Tree-Bakken, establish an overlapping 2560-acre unit, 2 wells, McKenzie
21757, cont'd
21755, cont'd
21756, cont'd
21478, cont'd
21474, cont'd
20926, cont'd
20927, cont'd
20928, cont'd
20929, cont'd
15224, cont'd
22001, Corinthian, Russell-Spearfish/Madison, establish a 320-acre unit, 1 well; Bottineau
22002, Corinthian, Leonard and Roth-Spearfish/Madison and/or Cimbel-Madison, establish three 320-acre units, 1 well each; Bottineau
22003, Corinthian, North Souris-Madison, exception to well location rules, Bottineau
22004, Enduro, Stoneview-Stonewall, set back rules for specific well, Divide
22005, XTO, Heart Butte-Bakken, establish three 1280-acre units; create eleven overlapping 2560-acre units; 1 well each; Dunn
22006, XTO, Lindahl-Bakken, establish an overlapping 2560-acre unit, 1 well, Williams
22007, XTO, Bear Creek-Bakken, establish two 1280-acre units, multiple wells; Dunn
22008, XTO, Blue Buttes-Bakken, flaring, unrestricted, McKenzie
22009, XTO, Bear Den-Bakken, flaring, unrestricted, McKenzie
22010, XTO, Tobacco Garden-Bakken, flaring, unrestricted, McKenzie
22011, HRC, exception to rules on a specific well, Williams
22012, Flatirons, Lake Darling-Madison, establish a 480-acre unit, 1 well, Renville County
22013, WPX, Spotted Horn-Bakken, establish an overlapping 3840-acre spacing unit, 42 wells, McKenzie (equivalent of 7 wells on 640-acre units)
22014, WPX, Mandaree-Bakken, establish an overlapping 2560-acre unit, 28 wells, McKenzie
22015, WPX, Squaw Creek-Bakken, 28 wells on an existing overlapping 2560-acre unit; McKenzie
21682, cont'd
20658, cont'd
21765, cont'd
21625, cont'd
21287, cont'd
22016, treating plant
22017, treating plant
22018, operator transfer, Stark
21797, cont'd
21798, cont'd
21609, cont'd
21799, cont'd
21800, cont'd
22019, Mountain Divide, Fortuna-Bakken, 8 wells on each of 10 1280-acre units; 80 new locations, Divide
22020, Emerald, pooling
22021, Emerald, pooling
22022, Emerald, pooling
22023, Emerald, pooling
22024, CLR, pooling
22025, CLR, pooling
22026, CLR, pooling
22027, CLR, pooling
22028, CLR, pooling
22029, CLR, pooling
22030, CLR, pooling
22031, CLR, pooling
22032, CLR, pooling
22033, CLR, pooling
22034, CLR, pooling
22035, CLR, pooling
22036, CLR, pooling
22037, CLR, pooling
22038, CLR, pooling
22039, CLR, pooling
22040, CLR, pooling
22041, CLR, pooling
22042, CLR, New Home-Bakken, flaring, Williams
20814, cont'd
20815, cont'd
20816, cont'd
21375, cont'd
22043, XTO, pooling
22044, XTO, risk penalty legalese
22045, Hunt, pooling
22046, Hunt, pooling
22047, Hunt, pooling
22048, Hunt, pooling
22049, Thunderbird, Hradec-Bakken, flaring, Stark
22050, Thunderbird, Hradec-Bakken, flaring, Stark
22051, Enduro, SWD
22052, SWD
21300, cont'd
21783, cont'd

The Proof Will Be In The Pudding: Feds Increase Efforts To Expedite Permit Approval Process

The Dickinson Press is reporting.

The story is about the federal efforts to improve/expedite permit approval process on BLM land. We'll see a year from now now it's going. I'm not holding my breath.

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Building a pad northwest of Williston, February 28, 2014. The temperature was about 3 degrees below zero.

This was probably in the Hebron oil field area.

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A Note To The Granddaughters

I've probably read half a dozen books on the General Custer and the battle at the Little Big Horn. Until I happened to stop by the Pioneer Trails Regional Museum in Bowman, North Dakota, on the way to the Bakken, I had not seen the native American side of the story: Lakota Noon: The Indian Narrative of Custer's Defeat.

I've only begun to read the book, but my initial impression is that this is a really, really good book. In a long preface, the author sets the stage and the book's format. Through an oral history he will tell the story of the battle from the vantage point of the Indians involved.

It is quite remarkable, but the battle is told in 10-minute intervals, beginning at 3:00 p.m. and ending at 6:20 p.m. Although the battle probably started closer to 1:00 p.m. the author explains why he started at 3:00 p.m.

There are six chapters, and each chapter ends with a lengthy discussion by the author. These discussions are a commentary on the oral history that has just been presented. The author was concerned that the end-of-chapter discussions would interrupt the flow of the story, but in fact, they are very, very good, and very enjoyable. Without these discussions, I think the book would be much less rewarding.

My hunch is that it is available through Books on Broadway for those living and working in/near Williston.

EPA Head Says Obama Not Out To Destroy Coal Industry; That War Is Over

EPA head says Obama not out to destroy coal industry.

One really has to parse these statements. The EPA head may be speaking the truth. The administration has already destroyed the domestic coal industry. Time to move on.

This graph is worth a thousand words. On the road to New England.

I am getting so tired of this "you can keep your physician" administration. "We are not out to destroy the coal industry."

New Belle Fourche (South Dakota) Industrial Park Ramping Up to Serve Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming

The Rapid City Journal is reporting:

A Rapid City man has been hired to manage the Permian Tank manufacturing plant in Belle Fourche, the anchor and first company to build in the city's new Industrial park.

Permian makes steel tanks and other steel equipment for the oil industry.

The new Belle Fourche facility will serve growing petroleum exploration markets in Wyoming, North Dakota and Montana.

Permian is headquartered in Odessa, Texas, and has been fabricating steel equipment for the petroleum industry since 1976. It has steel and fiberglass tank operations in Texas and Oklahoma and has its own fleet of trucks.

The company is the first to commit to the new Industrial Rail Park, which is the result of a $4.5 million city investment.

See linked article for more details, including number of employees.

Week 9: February 23, 2014 -- March 1, 2014

Operations
Another staggering EOG well -- 54 stages; 17 million pounds; 216,000 bbls in less than 5 months
How cold was the Bakken this winter? The diesel fuel froze
One humdinger of a winter
Sporadic production by a Bakken well
Random update of the Parshall
Random look at the Pyramid pad northwest of Williston

The Heath
A Tyler well is reported  

CBR
Volatility of Bakken crude oil
New railport being considered at Beach, North Dakota
Bakken CBR terminals closing? Just a rumor
Bakken oil rolling through New York state
Increasing amounts of Bakken crude reaching California

Economy
$16 million downtown Williston project given go-ahead

Miscelleneous
Ukraine is good for North Dakota wheat, corn farmers
The interesting Bakken road between Watford City and Alexander
Random data points regarding the Bakken -- NDIC's Lynn Helms

I-98
The series is on hiatus due to investigation

Warren Buffett Posts Record Profit In 2013

Yahoo!Finance is reporting:

Warren Buffett's conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway posted a record profit in 2013, jumping 31 percent over the previous year, the company said in its annual report, released on Saturday.

Profit for the full year rose to $19.5 billion from $14.8 billion in 2012.

Net income rose to $4.99 billion in the fourth quarter, or $3,035 per Class A share, from $4.55 billion, or $2,757 per share, a year earlier.

Quarterly operating profit advanced to $3.78 billion, or $2,297 per share, from $2.81 billion, or $1,704 per share in the year-earlier quarter.

Analysts on average expected Berkshire to report operating earnings per share of $2,203.91, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Saturday Morning: Warren Buffett's Annual Letter Released

How the Ukraine affects North Dakota farmers: wheat and corn prices surge. Also, a bit more here, but the same link.

Active rigs:

	3/1/2014	03/01/2013	03/01/2012	03/01/2011	03/01/2010
Active Rigs	192	183	204	168	96

The Wall Street Journal

Almost a half-billion dollars worth of bitcoins disappear.

That 2014 growth breakout? Not looking likely. Revised 4Q13 GDP shockingly low: was 3.2%; revised, 2.4%. Weather? ObamaCare uncertainty? Global economy slowdown?

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

Approach of a mosquito-borne virus has the US on alert.

Public-health officials in the U.S. are girding for the arrival of a debilitating mosquito-borne virus that is sweeping the Caribbean and could soon break out across large parts of the Americas.

There is only one virus I can think of that they might be talking about. Dengue. Nope, I was wrong: chikungunya.

The virus is transmitted rapidly by mosquitoes to humans and vice versa. There is currently no vaccine or cure. Besides fever and joint aches, it also causes headaches, nausea and rashes. It is rarely fatal but "people that get chikungunya probably wish they would die" because it is so painful, said Robert Novak, global-health professor at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

Experts are concerned because the chikungunya strain in the Caribbean is being spread by a type of mosquito, Aedes aegypti, that is common from the southern U.S. to northern South America, they said. Someone infected in the Caribbean who returns could transmit the disease to local mosquitoes and humans, Dr. Staples said.

Because of widespread use of air conditioning and mosquito-control practices in the U.S., the disease may be limited to local outbreaks, "but it's pretty damn certain what's going to happen in the rest of the Western Hemisphere," said Durland Fish, professor of epidemiology at Yale University's School of Public Health.

Mr. Fish predicted widespread epidemics that will overwhelm medical services, as people seek treatment for acute symptoms.

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

Blockbuster year expected for Buffett's Berkshire. There weren't a lot of disasters that would affect his re-insurance portfolio, and energy was huge. Let's see what The WSJ says:

Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s earnings should reflect an improving economy, a soaring stock market and the lack of a major catastrophe that could have put a dent in the conglomerate's insurance profits.

The report is due out this morning.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect Berkshire to post, on average, annual revenue of about $180 billion, up roughly 11% from 2012. The Omaha, NE-based company is projected to report net profit of about $18.5 billion [actual = $19.5], up from $14.8 billion in 2012.

[Later: the report has been posted.]

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

US pilot shortage caused severe. 

Deal reached on Panama Canal widening project.

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

The Los Angeles Times

Going around Congress: Obama's escape hatch. Great news. Nice to know. Huge implications. The framers of the US Constitution were brilliant.

Ukraine Vs North Dakota

The Wall Street Journal is reporting:

Wheat prices rose 2.9%, the biggest gain in three weeks, amid concerns that unrest in Ukraine will slow grain exports from the country and that cold weather will hurt U.S. output.

Corn prices also climbed Friday, reaching a fresh five-month high.

Grain traders speculated that Ukraine's shipments of wheat and corn could decline amid mounting tensions between the country and Russia, which could boost overseas demand for U.S. crops.

So far, the unrest has yet to directly affect exports from Ukraine, which is expected by the U.S. Agriculture Department to be the fifth-biggest exporter of wheat and the third-largest shipper of corn in the current marketing year.

"This unrest could disrupt the ports and shipments, and if that would be the case, the U.S. could see a substantial amount of demand," said Ted Seifried, chief market strategist at brokerage Zaner Group in Chicago.

"At this point, the U.S. and [Ukraine] are the two most competitive countries as far as wheat and corn are concerned. It would be a really big deal" if Ukraine's exports fell.

Several story lines there: the biggest -- I did not realize the Ukraine was fifth in wheat, and third in corn. Second story line: when I think wheat, I think North Dakota. When I think corn, I think Iowa but North Dakota, also, has huge corn industry.