Random Look At The EN-Freda And EN-Leo Wells In Alkali Creek

Updates

May 15, 2019: production data has been updated.

September 14, 2016: production data has been updated in all entries below. Several EN-Leo wells have been added. In addition, a screenshot of what the area looks like now:

November 30, 2015: add six more EN-Freda wells:

• 32320, 583, EN-Freda-154-94-2635H-8, t9/16; cum 114K 3/19;
• 32321, 1,026, EN-Freda-154-94-2635H-9, t9/16; cum 269K 3/19;
• 32322, 1,638, EN-Freda-154-94-2635H-10, t9/16; cum 219K 3/19;
• 32323, 938, EN-Freda-154-94-2635H-11, Alkali Creek, t9/16; cum 203K 3/19;
• 32324, 1,324, EN-Freda-154-94-2635H-12, t9/16; cum 257K 3/19;
• 32325, AB/67 (no typo), EN-Freda-LW-154-94-2635H-1, t9/16; cum 5K 7/17;

July 26, 2015: in the original post the IPs and the cumulative productions have been update for these two 5-well pads. Notice that one of them was taken off line 5/15 (# 25462); a sundry form about this time suggested that Hess was putting an NGL stripping unit on the pad; whether that has anything to do with taking the well off-line, I don't know)

September 22, 2014: a reader provided this update:

In your comments on Vern Whitten's recent photos, you noted on slide 18 of the "Bakken Sights and Progress" series, "42 tanks; 5 donkeys; one small rig; one large rig -- all on one pad."

This is the 12-well Hess pad in NWNW 26-154-94 from which Hess is drilling the EN-Freda wells and three EN-Leo wells.  On May 22, 2014,  you posted a "Random Look At The Freda Wells in Alkali Creek" piece; this an August 9 photo of the pad and wells you discussed.

Since your posting Hess completed the EN-Leo H-2 and H-3 wells on this pad in May:

• 26841, 1,080, EN-Leo 154-94-2324H-2, 36 stages, 3.5 million lbs, t6/14; cum 292K 3/19;
• 26842, 1,108, EN-Leo 154-94-2324H-3, t5/14; cum 268K 3/19; off-line for much of May - July, 2016;

In the photo, the five donkeys from left to right are the EN-Leo H-1, EN-Freda H-1 and H-2 wells, which all began producing the end of last year; followed by the EN-Leo H-3 and H-2 which were completed this May.  Since your posting Hess has also almost finished drilling the string of EN-Freda H-3 through H-7 wells; these five well are sited north to south.  I would expect this third batch of wells to be completed the next two - three months.

The large rig on the pad is the Nabors B5, which was drilling the EN-Freda H-5 well when the photo was taken August 9.

An update of the area, screenshot taken September 22, 2014:

Original Post

For background, re-visit an earlier post, March 18, 2014. The reader who sent me this note (the full note is at the link) noted the fast pace of drilling in the Bakken, or more correctly, the rapid increase in well density. I think that's one of the hallmarks of the Bakken, perhaps something not seen before in the oil industry, how fast things moved along, especially when one considers how "new" unconventional / tight oil drilling was when this all began. There really is a sense of urgency in the Bakken. The reader's note:

Last April Hess made plans for a 12-well pad in NWNW 26-154-94.  They planned to drill three EN-Leo wells in sections 23-24 and nine EN-Freda wells in sections 26-35 from this pad. (Supporting documentation was provided.)

Hess obtained three permits and completed the 25462, EN-Leo H-1 well November 14, cum 53K 1/14; the 25463, EN-Freda H-1 well November 24, cum 78K 1/14; and the 25464, EN-Freda H-2 well December 6, cum 57K 1/14. The EN-Freda H-1 is a Three Forks well, the other two are Middle Bakken wells.

Since then Hess completed drilling the 26841, EN-Leo H-2 well from this pad, and has almost finished drilling the 26842, EN-Leo H-3.  On February 12 Hess got permits to drill four more EN-Leo wells, 27671-74, from a new pad in NENE 24-154-94. 

So, how are the EN-Freda and EN-Leo wells coming along?

• 31718, 2,443, EN-Leo E-154-94-2423H-10, Alkali Creek, t12/17; cum 87K 3/19;
• 31717, 1,393, EN-Leo E-154-94-2423H-11, Alkali Creek, t6/15; cum 328K 3/19; a huge well;
  
• 27674, 1,393, EN-Leo E-154-94-2423H-4, 35 stages, 2.4 million lbs; t6/15; cum 230K 3/19;
• 27673, 1,040, EN-Leo E-154-94-2423H-5, t6/15; cum 171K 3/19;
• 27672, 1,176, EN-Leo E-154-94-2423H-6, t6/15; cum 231K 3/19;
• 27671, 1,062, EN-Leo E-154-94-2423H-7, t6/15; cum 197K 3/19;
• 31422, 1,894, EN-Leo E-154-94-2423H-8, t12/17; cum 160K 3/19;
• 31421, 2,153, EN-Leo E-154-94-2423H-9, Alkali Creek, t12/17; cum 246K 3/19;
• 25462, 1,155, EN-Leo 154-94-2324H-1, 34 stages, 2.3 million lbs sand, t11/13; cum 205K 3/19; (sited in same quadrant as the Freda wells); taken off line 5/15;
• 25463, 1,542, EN-Freda 154-94-2635H-1, t12/13; cum 386K 3/19;
• 25464, 1,288, EN-Freda 154-94-2635H-2, 34 stages; 2.4 million lbs, all sand; middle Bakken, background gas averaged 678 units, peaking at 1,498 (relatively low, according to the geologist writing the reort); t12/13; cum 256K 3/19;
• 26842, 1,108, EN-Leo-154-94-2324H-3, t5/14; cum 268K 3/19;
• 26841, 1,080, EN-Leo-154-94-2324H-2, t6/14; cum 292K 3/19;
• 28324, 1,414, EN-Freda 154-94-2635H-3, t2/15; cum 347K 3/19;
• 28325, 1,273, EN-Freda 154-94-2635H-4, t2/15; cum 232K 3/19;
• 28326, 1,587, EN-Freda 154-94-2635H-5, t1/15; cum 301K 3/19;
• 28327, 1,442, EN-Freda 154-94-2635H-6, t1/15; cum 230K 3/19;
• 28328, 1,368, EN-Freda 154-94-2635H-7, t1/15; cum 294K 3/19;

The first EN-Freda well has produced almost 110,000 bbls of oil in less than five months.

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25463:

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	3-2014	26	13592	13543	2764	16515	2555	13960
BAKKEN	2-2014	27	15992	16007	1936	19768	15030	4738
BAKKEN	1-2014	31	21691	21780	4817	26709	22688	4021
BAKKEN	12-2013	31	40612	40417	9521	61299	45893	15406
BAKKEN	11-2013	7	15736	15256	6333	15523	14705	818

Look how incredibly active this little area is. The distance between the two wells farthest apart is 0.22 miles, less than 1,200 feet. Note also the four permitted sites in the far upper left hand corner:

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A Note to the Granddaughters

Sunset Blvd. and Mulholland Drive

I'm in my "Sunset Blvd." phase. I've watched it each night for the past several nights, and with the special edition DVD, all the special features. Tonight, while watching it for the fourth time, it dawned on me -- the "aha" moment. David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive" was the "modern" version or a "remake" of "Sunset Blvd."

Both movies have the same theme.

But the "aha" moment came during one of the special features when the narrator mentioned Nancy Olson playing the part of Betty.

Betty! That was the name of a very important / peculiar character in "Mulholland Drive" And that led to googling: "Is 'Mulholland Dr.' based on 'Sunset Drive'?" The very first hit: Sunset Blvd. Connection -- Lost on Mulholland Drive.

Fantastic!

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

July 19, 2015: I'm watching "Mulholland Drive" again and making some free associations. Then it hit. Remember, David Lynch is known for taking a single idea and running with it. Camilla is an unusual name for a character in any movie (quick: name another movie in which "Camilla" is a lead character).

Now, pair Camilla with Diane.

The movie opens with a horrendous car crash, though of course, Camilla walks away.

"Mulholland Drive was released in 2001. Obviously the idea and writing had to occur some years earlier

Princess Di was killed in a horrendous car crash in 1997. She did not walk away but her legend certainly lives on. [In Mulholland Drive, Diane kills herself at the end of the movie.]

Most reviewers agree that one of the two women (Camilla/Diane) is very afraid of failure and sees herself in the other woman.

The number one celebrity story for the years following Di's death was the Princess Di story, including the issue of whether she was the victim of a "hit man" (who orchestrated the car crash in Paris).

A bit of trivia: quick, who played the character of Princess Di in the movie Diana, released in 2013?

Yup: Naomi Watts.

Naomi Watts played "Betty/Diane" in Mulholland Drive.

Random Update Of Lawlar Wells In Three Different Fields

Updates

July 24, 2019: See staggering updates at this post.

Original Post

Maybe some day I'll separate these into the three separate posts based on oil fields, rather than just a common name.

• 25041, 3,128, Oasis/QEP, Lawlar 4-5-8BH, Grail, t4/14; cum 520K 10/19; a 10-fold jump in production, 11/18;  off line 2/22; back on line, 10/22; cum 638K 10/22;
  
• 25040, 2,981, Oasis/QEP, Lawlar 3-5-8TH, Grail, t4/14; cum 283K 10/19; cum 345K 10/22;
  
• 25039, 2,778, Oasis/QEP, Lawlar 3-5-8BH, Grail, t4/14; cum 468K 10/19; cum 520K 10/22;
• 25038, 2,401, Oasis/QEP, Lawlar 2-5-8TH, Grail, t/13; cum 201K 10/19; cum 267K 10/22;
  
• 24998, 1,565, Ovintiv/Newfield, Lawlar 150-98-1-19-3H, Siverston, t7/13; cum 235K 10/19; cum 274K 10/22;
  
• 24997, 1,820, Ovintiv/Newfield, Lawlar 150-98-18-19-4H, Siverston, t/13; cum 238K 10/19; cum 304K 10/22;
  
• 24996, 1,541, Ovintiv/Newfield, Lawlar 150-98-18-19-2H, Siverston, t7/13; cum 2250K 10/19; cum 290K 10/22;
  
• 24947, 2,586, Oasis/QEP, Lawlar 2-5-8BH, Grail, t9/13; cum 617K 10/19; off line 10/21; cum 710K 10/20;
  
• 24946, 1,823, Oasis/QEP, Lawlar 1-5-8BH, Grail, t9/13; cum 623K 10/19; off line, 2/22; back on line 10/22; 
• 23470, 1,551, XTO, Lawlar 41-15SH, North Tobacco Garden, t4/13; cum 142K 10/19; cum 161K 10/22;
  
• 23469, 3,146, XTO, Lawlar 41-15SEH, North Tobacco Garden, t4/13; cum 339K 10/19; cum 396K 10/22;
  
• 21437, 2,256, QEP, Lawlar 16-8/5H, Grail, t4/12; cum 424K 10/19;
• 20460, 1,195, Oasis, Lawlar 26-35H, North Tobacco Garden, t9/11; cum 390K 10/19;
• 20459, 1,443, Oasis, Lawlar 23-14H, North Tobacco Garden, t9/11; cum 216K 2/18; off line as of 2/18; remains off line 10/19;
• 20108, 2,789, Newfield, Lawlar 151--98-31-30-1H, Siverston, t7/11; cum 327K 10/19; off line as of 8/18; back on line 8/19;
• 19892, 922, XTO, Lawlar 34-10NWH, North Tobacco Garden, t6/11; cum 354K 10/19;
• 8106, dry, Pogo Producing, Lawlar Federal 1-20, a Pierre Shale, wildcat, 20-152-99; west of Banks/north of North Tobacco Garden

Although Siverston and North Tobacco Garden oil fields are relatively close to each other, the Grail oil field is a bit east of those two fields.

The Oasis Lawlar wells in section 23-151-99, North Tobacco Garden, are posted here. 

Random Note: A Whiting Well Testing CO2 Injection

Random update on this well:

NDIC File No: 24779     API No: 33-061-02383-00-00
Well Type: ST     Well Status: A     Status Date: 8/16/2013     Wellbore type: Directional
Location: NWNE 12-153-92    
Current Operator: WHITING OIL AND GAS CORPORATION
Current Well Name: SIRP 31-12
Elevation(s): 2355 KB   2329 GR   2329 GL     Total Depth: 10709     Field: SANISH
Spud Date(s):  4/13/2013
Casing String(s): 9.625" 2326'   7" 10709'  
Completion Data
   Pool: BAKKEN     Status: PCI     Date: 1/13/2014
   Pool: THREE FORKS     Perfs: 10231-10340     Comp: 8/16/2013     Status: SI     Date: 4/13/2013

From the well file report, attachment 7:

The purpose of the injection project is to determine whether a gas can be injected into the matrix portion of the Bakken formation. It is not to determine production responses (positive or negative) but rather to determine whether the matrix of the formation will allow gas to be injected. A total of 10 mmcf of CO2 will be injected down the tubing. The CO2 will change phase from a liquid at the surface to a gas phase downhole. We anticipate an injection rate of approximately 500 mcfd, which will require injection for approximately 20 days.

The injection packer will be set above the "B" zone at approximately 10,180 feet..... and a RBP will be set below the Bakken perforations (at approximately 10,300 feet) to isolate the injection interval from Three Forks perforations.

Since this is just a temporary injection test, no permanent equipment will be installed on location. A service company will provide the pumping equipment to inject the liquid CO2.

The offset production wells will be sampled at regular one-day intervals and processed for CO2 concentrations at the Robinson Lake Gas plant, in the Sanish field. Should CO2 be detected at levels 50% greater than background sampling, the injection will cease. If CO2 is not detected by the end of the planned injection volume, the will be shut in for a few days, and then flowed back to sample and monitor the properties of the oil. any oil recovered will be re-injected back into the well.

Twelve (12) New Permits -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA; Otherwise Quiet; Whiting Has Two More Permits In Rawson Oil Field

Wells coming off the confidential list Friday:

• 25709, 475, OXY USA, Martin 4-30-31H-144-96, Cabernet, t11/13; cum 10K 3/14;
• 26141, 523, OXY USA, Walter Cook 1-9-4H-143-98, Little Knife, t11/13; cum 16K 3/14;
• 26805, drl, MRO, Renn 41-4TFH, Reunion Bay, no production data,

Active rigs:

	5/22/2014	05/22/2013	05/22/2012	05/22/2011	05/22/2010
Active Rigs	189	185	213	179	116

Twelve (12) new permits --

• Operators: Zavanna (6), American Eagle (2), Whiting (2), EOG (2)
• Fields: East Fork (Williams), Rawson (McKenzie), Parhall (Mountrail)
• Comments: All six Zavnna permits appear to be on one pad; looks like 3 in the Three Forks, 3 in the middle Bakken. American Eagle has permits for two (2) wildcats, both in Divide County. Whiting has another two permits for wells in Rawson oil field.

Wells coming off the confidential list have been posted; see sidebar at the right.

Permits renewed:

• 18154, loc, Texakota, H. Borstad 2, Williams County
• 18155, loc, Texakota, H. Borstad 4-5, Williams County
• 19120, loc, Newfield, Jorgenson Federal 2-4H, Dunn County
• 19121, loc, Newfield, Lost Bridge Federal 13-9H, Dunn County

 Halliburton has a permit for some seismic action in Hess HA-Swenson.

It's Not Even Spin Any More; It's Boiler Plate: First Time Unemployment Claims Surge 28,000 And AP Says It's All Okay; Doesn't Even Say The Surge Was Twice What Was Expected

Updates

Later, 9:01 p.m. central time: In the original post below you will note that analysts had expected an increase of 16,000 applications, almost half of the actual number, 28,000. The "16,000" number happens to be coincidental with the number of employees Hewlett-Packard (H-P) may lay off due to worsening profit margins. Reuters is reporting:

Hewlett-Packard Co plans to cut as many as 16,000 more jobs in a major ramp-up of CEO Meg Whitman's years-long effort to turn around the personal computer maker and relieve pressure on its profit margins.

Whitman said the turnaround remained on track and her raised target reflected how HP continued to find areas to streamline across its broad portfolio, which encompasses computing, networking, storage and software. But some analysts wondered whether it signaled a worsening outlook for the coming year, or if more jobs may be cut.

Original Post

AP is reporting:

The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits jumped last week, but remained at a low level that suggests hiring should remain steady.

Applications rose 28,000 to a seasonally adjusted 326,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. The increase comes after applications fell to their lowest level since May 2007 two weeks ago. [28,000? Remember back in January, 20, 2014, when everyone agreed the jobs report was a very, very bad report? At that time, the jump was "only" 19,000. This time it jumps 28,000 and AP simply ignores it/doesn't put it in perspective.  The note from January 30, 2014: a BAD, BAD, BAD report, surging first time claims, up 19,000 and the revised number next week will show a higher number.] [Remember this? September 13, 2012: stunningly high increase in jobless claims blamed on ... a tropical storm; rose 15,000! to 382,000. That was a huge news story, jumping 15,000 and yet today (May 22, 2 014), the jump was 28,000 and no one takes notice.]

The four-week average, a less volatile measure, dipped 1,000 to 322,500. The average reached a seven-year low of 312,000 last month. Applications are a proxy for layoffs, so the low levels suggest companies are cutting few jobs.

The AP fails to note that analysts forecast a rise of "only" 16,000 applications.  In fact, the 28,000 is almost double what was forecast and with revisions that will come out next week, it's possible the 28,000 will be closer to 32,000, which would be double. But the AP says, "hey, it's not so bad. Things are on track."

The AP also fails to note that the 28,000 rise this week exceeded the "huge" drop last week of 24,000. 

Buried several paragraphs down and despite the spin/boiler plate, it's all bad news six years into the recovery:

The unemployment rate in April (last month) "plunged" to 6.3 percent from 6.7 percent.

But the rate drop occurred because fewer people looked for work. The government doesn't count people as unemployed unless they are actively searching. [When everybody out of a job quits looking for work, the unemployment rate will hit 0% and Mr Obama will make a speech. And then go golfing.]

In the first four months of this year, employers have added an average of 214,000 jobs a month, up from 194,000 last year. [Statistically relevant? I doubt it.]

The improved hiring may help boost economic growth for the rest of 2014. More jobs means more people with paychecks to spend. [Really? This tells me the audience this story for whom this story was written.]

The economy grew just 0.1 percent at an annual rate in the first three months of this year, largely because cold weather kept consumers away from shopping malls and discouraged home and car sales. Data that has been released since then suggests that the economy actually contracted in the first quarter by as much as 0.8 percent, analysts say. [No comment.]

The number of comments at the AP story (over 2,500 comments) suggests that readers know this is not a good news story; they can see through the AP's spin.

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A Note to the Granddaughters

I never knew this story was first printed in The New Yorker: the story of John F. Kennedy and his PT-109. 

It's the second or third installment in the The New Yorker anthology, 40s: The Story of a Decade, c. 2014.

It's written by John Hersey, titled, "Survival: June 17, 1944 (On Lieutenant John F. Kennedy)."

One can probably find it somewhere on the internet; I haven't searched. The author had happened to meet Jack Kennedy somewhere in the area of  Melville, Rhode Island, heard about the story, and asked if Kennedy would relate the particulars and have it published.

Kennedy's response: Talk to some of his crew at the Motor Torpedo Boat Training Center, Melville, Rhode Island, first. There, the author spoke with three enlisted men named Johnston, McMahon, and McGruire. And the rest is history as they say.

We've all heard the story, or at least the Reader's Digest version; it is something else to read it, based on first hand accounts. I'm glad I happened across it.

Legacy Fund Goes Over $2 Billion In May, 2014; Now Averaging $80 Million/Month In Deposits

AP via Bakken.com is reporting:

North Dakota’s oil tax savings account is about to top $2 billion.

The Legacy Fund gets 30 percent of the state’s oil tax collections. The money can’t be touched before 2017 and it would still take a two-thirds vote of the Legislature for the state to dip into the fund.

North Dakota voters approved the fund in 2010. It received its first deposit of $34.3 million in September 2011. Monthly deposits have averaged $61 million, and the fund surpassed $1 billion in April 2013.

This month’s transfer of $81.7 million will put the account over the $2 billion mark, State Treasurer Kelly Schmidt said.

“At this pace, the Legacy Fund is on schedule to receive $3 billion by the end of the 2013-15 biennium,” or budget period, she said.

The fund has been growing faster than anticipated because of rising North Dakota oil production and high prices. State Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms said this week that he expects April’s oil production figures to be over 1 million barrels daily.

Timeline / rounded figures: 

• 2020: Legacy Fund approved by voters
• September, 2011: first deposit, $35 million
• April, 2013: $1 billion milestone (20 months)
• May, 2014: $2 billion milestone (33 months) 

BOTPE: $1 billion/year or $80 million/month currently

Perhaps the Legislature should consider releasing all money over and above the amount that was originally projected and send it to Watford City and to Parshall. And maybe a little bit to Dore. Because it has a cute name. LOL.

For Investors Only

Sanchez Energy, up 17%, breaks out to all time high after purchasing Eagle Ford shale assets from Royal Dutch Shell. I posted the link to the article regarding this deal yesterday. At $,6000/acre -- de-risked, and producing, it seemed like a steal.

Trading at new 52-week highs, though may have pulled back by the close: CLR, CPG, HES, NFX, NSC, PES, SN, SE, TRGP.

Demise of the big box store: Gap's quarterly profit gaps down, 22%.

And this is not good at all: H-P posted a bigger-than-expected 1 percent drop in quarterly revenue. Wow. Not good at all.

Demise of the sorta-big bog store: Aeropostale shares plunge after hours as loss widens. Wow, I guess: after-hours, shares plunge almost 20%. In a year, this stock has dropped from $16/sh to $4/share (in round numbers).

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New record: the price of gasoline has been above $3.00/gallon for 1,245 days. President Obama has been in office about 1,947 days.

On May 18, USA Today turned to the issue of gas prices again writing that "rumors about the demise of U.S. gasoline demand have been greatly exaggerated." Javier E. David of CNBC wrote for USA Today that international factors were keeping prices high and "defied the gravitational pull" of factors "that should blunt demand." 

ABC, CBS and NBC morning and evening news shows haven't spent much time on gas prices, lately. A Nexis search yielded only 11 stories mentioning what was going on with gas prices in the past three months.

After 1,245 days of high prices, it's no longer news. Duh.

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A Note to the Granddaughters

When I was my very busiest, the first two years of graduate school at the University of Southern California, and in some ways among the happiest days of my life, I subscribed to a gazillion weeklies and monthlies. Al Gore had not yet invented the internet. In fact, I don't recall using any computer during those years. Now, that I have more leisure time than ever, I subscribe to very little. Gradually, that's changing.

For the past several years my only subscription has been The Wall Street Journal. I first subscribed to The Journal back in 1983 and have had subscriptions to it off and on over the years. From the beginning, I subscribed to it because of the good writing; the business end of it was secondary. That holds true today.

About the same time I first subscribed to The Journal, I subscribed to The New Yorker, again for its excellent writing. But, for whatever reason, I quit subscribing years ago. Lately, I found myself missing it, and subscribed once again. 

And that's it. But it could change. I am enjoying more and more each day discussing current events, as well as history, geography, physics, math, and almost anything else of interest, with the granddaughters. 

A couple of days ago, my wife asked the younger one if the older granddaughter knew any species of hummingbirds. It turns out that our older granddaughter, Arianna, new four species of hummingbirds by name. I mentioned to Arianna that I knew only one species, the red-throated hummingbird, and that was because we play "Bird Bingo" so much. Arianna replied, "Well, actually, it's the ruby-throated hummingbird." LOL.

I was reminded of that story because I am reading 40s: The Story of a Decade, an anthology of articles from The New Yorker during the decade of the 1940s. The New Yorker was born in 1925, but the editor chose the 1940s for a reason; it has to do with WWII. I asked Arianna the other day if she knew what the big event in the 1940s was. A bit hesitant, but she answered correctly, "World War II?" She was hesitant, I suppose, because she thought it must have been a trick question.

Last week I picked up the latest issue of The Scientific American. I last subscribed years ago. The cover story intrigued me: "A Crisis in Physics: If Supersymmetry Doesn't Pan Out, Scientists Need A New Way To Explain The Universe."  The four of us (my wife and I, and the two granddaughters) are watching "Cosmos" every Sunday night (two more episodes left). We all find it very interesting. Even my wife wants her turn at the paperback I just finished reading: The Particle at the End of the Universe: How the Hunt for the Higgs Boson Leads Us to the Edge of a New World, by Sean Carroll.

I had forgotten how really good The Scientific American can be. It looks like I will subscribe again. Unlike The New Yorker which is "hit or miss" with regard to articles I enjoy, The Scientific American always has many articles of interest. 

The best thing about some of these subscriptions: even when traveling one has access to digital copies, and subscribers have access to the archives.

Natural Gas, Bi-Fuel Drilling Rigs In The Bakken

The Bismarck Tribuine is reporting:

With a new liquefied natural gas plant in the works in Tioga, North Dakota LNG Chief Executive Officer Pat Hughes predicts 50 percent of North Dakota oil drilling rigs will run on natural gas in the next 12 months.

Hughes is hopeful that 100 percent will use natural gas to supplement diesel fuel by the end of 2015, he said Tuesday during the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference.

Though most rigs run on a mixture of diesel and natural gas, Hughes told conference-goers Ensign Resource Service Group has some full liquefied natural gas.

Those units tend to have less torque than their bi-fuel counterparts. Adding natural gas also makes the rigs’ engines last longer and lowers emissions.

Sixty to 70 rigs in the U.S. now use liquefied natural gas, said Kirt Montague of North Dakota LNG parent company Prairie Companies.

“There are bi-fuel rigs coming into North Dakota,” he said “There are more coming in all the time.”

Nabors, apparently, is taking the lead on natural-gas bi-fuel rigs.

Thursday, May 22, 2014 -- The Governor Of North Dakota Says Days Of Going Easy On Flaring "Are Over"

Active rigs:

	5/22/2014	05/22/2013	05/22/2012	05/22/2011	05/22/2010
Active Rigs	189	185	213	179	116

RBN Energy: a must-read, feel-good article on US crude oil production.

Last week US crude oil production reached 8.4 MMb/d – its highest level since October 1986 – up 50 percent since the start of 2011. The engines of growth are Texas and North Dakota and within those states, horizontal drilling in tight oil shale are generating the most exciting results. And while production is soaring, proved reserves are increasing even faster – laying the groundwork for continued output. Today we look at past, current and future US crude production growth.

The Wall Street Journal

Mr Obama is really, really angry with the VA. I assume he will be golfing this weekend. He needs to cool off. Things are so bad the Phoenix VA director's bonus was rescinded. Wow. You mean he/she was up for a bonus! Anyway, enough of this, but if VA Secretary Eric Shinseki is not part of the foursome this weekend, the tea leaves suggest his tenure at the VA could be coming to an end. The VA admits to 23 deaths directly related to "delay in care." That's 23 more deaths than deaths related to CBR derailments in the US. By the way, back in 2008, Mr Obama said the VA would lead the way for medical reform in the US -- based on the ObamaCare rollout appears he was right on the mark. Blame Bush.

A rabbi, a Boy Scout leader, and two police officers walk into a bar ... and they aren't there to play bridge...

California oil deposit is far smaller than predicted -- previously posted.

Crude oil jumps on large decline in supplies. My wife thinks crude oil jumped because of "speculators." I posted the summary yesterday.

From "Overheard on the street":

Something is missing.

Every year, the satellite-TV operator has filed its proxy in late March and held its shareholder meeting in early May. Every year, that is, until this one. May is mostly over, and Dish hasn't filed its proxy or set a date for its annual meeting.

Dish says schedule conflicts have kept it from setting a meeting date. That rings a bit hollow, given the company's past regularity. Another possible explanation: Dish could be working on some announcement that would require a shareholder vote, and so may be delaying to present the issue at the meeting.

Granted, shareholder opinions don't matter much at Dish, which is controlled by Chairman Charlie Ergen. But the meeting is one of the few places to hear him discuss his vision for the company. And the silence has raised a few eyebrows among analysts and investors. Meanwhile, Dish filed an amended version of its annual financial filing on April 29 as required if a proxy hasn't been filed within 120 days of the end of the fiscal year.

Proxies may typically be run of the mill. Dish's delay suggests this year's could be quite the page turner.

The Los Angeles Times

Existing home sales rise for first time this year. That cinches it; the recovery is here. Existing home sales climbed 1.3% from March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.65 million, the National Assn. of Realtors reported Thursday. That was the first gain this year, though it missed expectations slightly.

Mother's mental health is focus in brutal slaying of her three little girls. Yeah, that would be a good place to start. Mental health.

Boston Marathon bombers may have had help in Boston attack. Duh. Great headline, but the article has (almost) no new information.

I assume the folks over at The Los Angeles Times were opening bottles of champagne when the report was released, but other than activist environmentalists, they were about the only ones celebrating. Others, say The Times, are "bristling" at "new federal findings that dramatically slashed the estimated amount of oil able to be pulled out of the Monterey Shale, a vast stretch of Central and Southern California that is estimated to contain two-thirds of the nation's deep-rock oil deposits."

The USC study originally forecast that tapping the Monterey could generate 2.8 million additional jobs in the state by 2020. California now employs about 800,000 workers in the oil and gas industry and in fields such as hospitality that support energy workers, according to the American Petroleum Institute.

If the new federal estimates are accurate, Rose predicted that only 110,000 jobs may be created instead.

Oil industry executives said the report backed up what they had been seeing on the ground: They just weren't finding the oil they had been expecting to find. And many big rigs already had been stilled as anti-fracking sentiment grew.

And so it goes.

The Dickinson Press

It's called Barons Vista. It's a Singapore-based LLC. It is proposing a multi-million dollar "lifestyle development," 282-acre, sprawling residential and retail complex west of Dickinson. The city is moving cautiously, approving the next step, summed up in this quote from the community development director:

“The rezoning for that development and subsequent planning for that is not on the agenda,” he said. “It’s just to allow the ability that, OK, urban services could be provided.”

Whatever that means.

Meanwhile, the governor says he's had it with flaring in North Dakota, and he's not going to take it any more. He says the days of "going easy on the oil companies and flaring" are over.

Effective June 1, all applications for a permit to drill must come with a gas capture plan, including plans for hooking up to a gas line. The new rules are largely adapted from recommendations made in January by a North Dakota Petroleum Council task force on flaring.

In his own remarks Wednesday, Department of Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms said that for the rest of 2014, getting gas capture plans in place is “going to be a huge focus for us.”

Helms’ department also sent a letter to operators reminding them of the penalties for not following the new regulations. Sent May 9, the letter reminded operators that failure to abide by the new rules could result in penalties, including restrictions on production.