Week 41: October 11, 2015 -- October 17, 2015

Perhaps the biggest Bakken story of the week was the announcement that OXY sold its North Dakota acreage to Lime Rock Resources.  It appears Lime Rock got a great deal; Whiting, CLR, and others missed a great opportunity.

The other big story may be a wildcat natural gas well east of the Bakken that has produced one million boe in the past three years. The other big story, of course, is that despite record low activity in the Bakken (since the boom began in 2007) daily production in August, 2015, exceeded that of daily production one year earlier (linked below). Along that line, the Bakken fracklog hits a new record (linked below).

North Dakota received some nice national exposure in Forbes, which suggested that the state, due to a diversified economy, is poised to thrive.

Operations
32 wells to be sited in one section 
Transfer of 50 older wells from Whiting to White Rock
Rig count: post-boom record low (66)
Record low activity in the Bakken; production increases year-over-year
CLR reports another huge Three Forks well; this one in Chimney Butte oil field

Fracking
Large frack sand mining operation north of the Bakken
Fracklog hits record
No evidence of groundwater contamination from fracking -- NPR

Pipelines
$80 million NST Express pipeline from Alexander to Fairview approved

Bakken economy
$150 million trucker reliever route around northwest side of Williston is officially completed
A new 36-unit development has opened

Miscellaneous
Another look at the Niobrara in North Dakota
Northrop Grumman coming to Grand Forks -- big drone story

Compare these top stories with the "top five" stories at Bakken.com: http://bakken.com/news/id/246291/top-5-bakken-stories-of-the-week-33/. I like my selection better.  Just saying. It's hard to believe the OXY story did not make the Top 5 at that site but an HBO comedy video did.