Fewer Wells Going To DRL Status When They Come Off Confidential List -- August 2, 2015

Monday, August 3, 2015

• 29290, 721, CLR, Annapolis 6-29H1, Dollar Joe, 4 sections, t3/15; cum 26K 6/15;
• 29443, drl/NC, WPX, Olive Mae 7-8-9HW, Van Hook, no production data,
• 29663, drl/NC, Newfield, Olson 152-96-30-31-10H, Westberg, producing, a nice well,
• 30327, drl, SM Energy, Colleen 4-14HS, West Ambrose, no production data,

Sunday, August 2, 2015

• 26940, SI/NC, Sinclair, Sinclair State 3-36H, Robinson Lake, no production data,
• 29493, drl, XTO, Rita 44X-34BXC, Tobacco Garden, no production data,
• 29664, drl/NC, Newfield, Olson 152-96-30-31-1H, Westberg, a huge well,
• 30339, drl/NC, XTO, Lundin 14X-33F, Siverston, no production data,

Saturday, August 1, 2015

• 28714, 541, EOG, Parshall 93-2827H, Parshall, choked back, it appears; 41 stages, 8 million bbls sand, t2/15; cum 51K 6/15;
• 29459, 14, Denbury Onshore, CHSU 44-26NH 15, Cedar Hills, a South Red River B weel, t4/15; cum 4K 6/15;
• 30092, SI/NC, BR, CCU Dakotan 7-8-17MBH, Corral Creek, no production data,
• 30152, drl, Hess, EN-Weyrauch-LW-154-93-1918H-1, Alkali Creek, no production data,

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Silver Lining For Frackers

It seems I've seen this story before, or it's a reprint, or a re-write, or it's a theme that is starting to get some traction. USA Today is reporting:

The slump in oil prices is more than a year old now, with bad news continuing for producers around the world, including those responsible for the shale revolution in the U.S.

Just look at second-quarter earnings, which largely show disappointing results again for oil companies and their shareholders.

But while there may be no end in sight for the industry’s dilemma, there may be a silver lining for producers, especially those using the downturn to hone drilling techniques, like hydraulic fracturing, to reinforce their output and profits later.

Among those who see such positive signs for drillers is Bill White, the chairman of Houston operations for Lazard, the global investment bank, and a former three-term mayor of the Texas metropolis.

“Most of the shale oil and gas is produced from a relatively small percentage of the shale wells and a fairly small percentage of the fracks in each well,” White said in an interview. “When the industry learns to drill more wells like the best wells and to make more fracks productive, you will see a vastly greater amount of oil and gas produced in the United States at the same total cost.”

White, while well known for his political experience in Houston, has spent much of his career in energy, including as an official in the Clinton administration and a chief executive of a company that built oil service businesses.

“This is a topic I discuss weekly and almost daily with senior executives of the service companies and the oil and gas industry,” White said. “There’s a lot of progress being made. In this sense, that is the next big chapter in the shale revolution.”

And that's what should scare Saudi Arabia.

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Bakken Economy

The Dickinson Press is reporting:

A personal finance site found Dickinson to be the top city in the nation “where people are in best financial shape” in a study published last Monday.

Three North Dakota cities took top-five positions in the list, with Dickinson and Bismarck placing first and second with respective scores of 85.39 and 85.34.

Minot trailed a point behind third-place Sioux City, Iowa, with a score of 80.16.

This is why Williston did not make the cut:

Cities at the top of the list featured relatively low average housing costs and debt levels coupled with high average credit scores.

Had the criteria included "millionaires per capita" Williston would have led the list.

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Human Interest Story

The Williston Herald has a nice human interest story on Audrey Kalil, a plant pathologist, interning with Williston Research and Extension Center — one of the many bright new faces in the MonDak taking up an agriculture career. She’s looking for more fields to scout in her territory, which includes Williams, Divide, Burke, McKenzie and Mountrail counties.

I assume Ms Kalil is the granddaughter of Bud Kalil or one of his siblings (though I could be wrong). The Charles (Bud) Kalil family lived across the street from us when we growing up in Williston.

The Kalils have many, many entries in Prairie Peddlers: The Syrian-Lebanese in North Dakota, Williams C. Sherman, et al, c. 2002.

The entry for the patriarch of the Williston family is on page 229:

Williston, as seen in an earlier chapter, was a hot bed of Lebanese mercantile activities. (Within ten years after settlement almost a dozen small firms existed in the area under Lebanese ownership.) The Kalils homesteaded in Bull Butte Township. Soon one family was running a township grocery store and very quickly another Kalil brother was in the grocery business in the City of Williston. As time went on, a Kalil family member established a furniture store and played a major role in the operating of a local bank and a large restaurant / tavern. One of descendants, Charles (Bud), became a vice-president of the Metropolitan Bank in Fargo. 

Dan Kalil, a son of Charles, is a Williams County Commissioner.

My father was a Williams County Commissioner, also, many, many years ago, a role he talks about often with great fondness. I remember "campaigning" for him. I must have been about 12 years of age going door-to-door, asking folks to vote for my dad and handing them a card. Dad employed his four older children to do this, giving us, if I recall, a penny for each card we gave away. At least I recall it was a penny. It's possible it was a dime; I honestly can't remember. I do remember being very, very exact about the cards I handed out. Some weeks later I learned from one of my younger siblings, one of my sisters, that she found it easier to simply throw the cards in a trash can rather than knock on doors.  I don't know if Dad ever found out. "Statue of limitations" has run out so it's probably safe to tell the story.