Thursday, January 8, 2015

Top Stories For 2014

2014 was an interesting year for the Bakken. It was really two "years." The first year was the first 9 months; the second "year" was the last three months. Two completely different periods. The first nine months of 2014 were incredible for the Bakken enthusiast; the last three months: a real downer. It makes it hard to sort out the top Bakken stories for 2014. The top story without a doubt is the bust in oil prices. The rest of the top stories will probably come from the first nine months of the year, which now seems a long, long time ago.

 For me, 2014 boils down to two stories:
  • the Bakken economy -- the build-out continues in all sectors
  • the slump in oil prices
There are so many stories that could make the list. A quick scroll through the top stories of 2014 by month is perhaps the best place to start.

Williston Wire's top 10 stories for 2014. 

********************************************
The List 
Subject To Change

Top Story of the Year:
The slump in oil prices

The world: Russia

The nation:
Bakken regains its position as largest tight oil play in the United States -- EIA 

North Dakota:
Williston apartment rent: highest in the nation
North Dakota, #1, population increase, 2014, year over year
North Dakota, #1, in job creation
North Dakota taxable sales and purchases, Dickinson story
Of America's ten counties with highest per-capita income, five counties are in western North Dakota
 
Minnesota:
None.

Most exciting operator in the Bakken in 2014: Whiting
Whiting to acquire KOG for $3.8 billion; no cash premium; all stock deal
Did Whiting set a new record IP in the Bakken (a Three Forks 2nd bench well) 
Whiting's Sanish wells model to 2 million bbls EUR (2013)
Whiting to expand the Robinson Lake natural gas processing plant
Whiting well in Twin Valley: 150,000 bbls in less than four months
March NDIC hearing dockets -- Whiting with 243 more drilling locations
Petro-Hunt transferred about 30 wells to Whiting

Most surprising story of 2014:
Fidelity E&P done

The deals:
See sidebar
Whiting to acquire KOG for $3.8 billion; no cash premium; all stock deal
Harold Hamm's divorce finalized (but will surely be appealed) 

Record price per acre:
Producing acres in the Bakken going for $40,000/acre
Bakken acreage goes for $34,000/acre 
Leasing in McKenzie County: $27,300/acre with a 22% royalty

Bakken Operations: production

Bakken Operations: infill density
EOG with a case for 64-wells in a single spacing unit
Sixty (60) wells in one 2560-acre drilling unit

Most exciting production prediction:
Estimated ultimate recovery in the Bakken as much as 40%

Bakken oil field story of the year:
None. Perhaps the Grail. Or Stockyard Creek.

Biggest story in takeaway capacity:
BNSF to buy its own fleet of 5,000 new crude oil tank cars with safety features that exceed stds 
Re-posting: three new pipelines could add almost one million bopd takeaway capacity

CBR:
BNSF will add $1,000/old tank car as a surcharge to push operators to use safer tank cars

Fracking:
Another staggering EOG well -- 54 stages; 17 million pounds; 216,000 bbls in less than 5 months
New record set: 94-stage and 102-stage fracks in the North Dakota Bakken

Natural gas:
ONEOK to double capacity of proposed new Demicks Lake natural gas processing plant
Hess' Tioga natural gas processing plant is back on-line / Rigzone's perspective
ONEOK to build 7th natural gas gathering and processing plant in Williston Basin
Targa to build 200 MMcf/d natural gas processing plant in McKenzie County
Halcon to build out CNG facilities

Investment story of the year:
CLR/Harold Hamm scraps hedges

The "Other" Williston Basin formations
New Madison field in the Williston Basin, North Dakota?

Bakken economy (to list just a few)
El Rancho Motel in Williston sold
Watford City boom -- The Atlantic Monthly
Starbucks in Williston 
New casino west of Williston 
Home Depot coming to Williston
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