The Bakken Economy -- November 1, 2015

The Williston Airport

The Dickinson Press is reporting discord among the Williams County commissioners on the new Williston airport. Whatever. I don't think there is anything new in the article except to hear from some opponents of the airport. Whatever. Some data points:

• tentatively: ground will be broken in the spring
• 1,540-acre site
• goal: completion by 2018; a very aggressive timetable, according to some
• new airport is a $254 million project
• has received $27 million in federal funding
• state has dedicated $59 million (to date)
• Williston is negotiating with FAA for long-term, large-scale project funding: $120 million
• rest of funding will come from proceeds from sale of current airport (740-acre parcel)
• the process for land acquisition has started
• a 2-mile road off the city's new truck bypass will lead to the airport
• current airport operating outside of FAA standards
• $240 million would be need to bring existing airport into compliance compared to $254 million for a new facility

With regard to the two county commissioners opposed to this, ask yourself: "What would Harold Hamm do?"

Other links regarding the Williston airport:

• Williston gets a FONSI for the airport
• update on six western regional airport upgrades
• Sloulin International Airport names "Airport of the Year" by TSA
• General update
• Note where the "trucker reliever route" (NDDOT Bypass) is in relation to the new Williston airport
• The truck reliever route
• Airport relocation information here

There were scores of other posts on air travel into Williston during the boom; they were not linked.

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SM Energy

This is a most interesting and unexpected story. The Dickinson Press is reporting that SM Energy has opened a new Williston office complex; located north of Williston. It was unexpected because I thought they were talking about a "new" complex. If this is the one I think they are talking about, it's been under construction for quite some time now. I've seen the complex while it was being built during my past two visits to the Bakken. I thought this story was about yet another SM Energy. My bad. Whatever.

So, SM Energy has opened their new complex north of Williston. Some data points:

• SM Energy has not yet laid anyone off
• SM Energy is working a sweet spot well north of North Dakota, in Divide County
• SM Energy has been in Williston since 2008; started with eight employees; now 105
• headquartered in Denver; regional offices in Billings, Houston, Midland 
• satellite offices in Divide County, Watford City, Sidney (MT), and Belfield
• Bakken HQ: Williston
• 28,000 square feet
• fitness center with men's and women's locker rooms

A spokesman mentioned these positives for putting the complex north of Williston:

• their focus is in Divide County; ease of getting to Divide County -- just drive straight north
• airport (current location; new location)
• trucker reliever route (goes right by their complex)

Oil production out of the Bakken:

• 31,000 boepd; 580 active wells; about 12 million boe annually out of the Bakken; 2 rigs through 2016
• determines the number of rigs based on cash flow; not on price point or borrowing base

Company-wide production: 64 million boe per year

Note comment about SM Energy at this posted, dated November 6, 2015.

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An E-Mail From The Field

The other day I received a long e-mail from a reader who recently visited his "homesite" in the Bakken. Some observations of his while traversing the Bakken three times over the past six weeks:

Just the south half of the new, heavy-duty replacement of the 4-lane stretch of Hwy 2, between Tioga and the junction with Hwy 85, north of Williston, was open to traffic.

The roughly 4-mile piece of ND Hwy 40 that links Tioga to Hwy 2 is still a mess but a great work in progress. With pouring of the west lanes proceeding, a glimpse is offered of the blessed relief to come, upon completion.

Having experienced speed reductions down to 15 mph on that short stretch to or from Tioga, for my next traverse I decided to avoid Tioga altogether by continuing north on Hwy. 85 from Williston almost to the Canada line. That would surely save time. Where Hwy 85 leaves Hwy 2, however, a sign greeted me with "45 mph next 21 miles."

But no matter --- the roughly 75-mile stretch ahead of me was beautifully serene, although worthily included on the short-list of oil-producing counties. I would be hard pressed to call any visible Big Oil impacts "blemishes." That is not to say there haven't been illegal, gross or disgusting spills, but it is also remarkable how quickly disturbances from trenching for oil, gas and fresh or "produced" water pipelines recover, after construction.

The inconveniences from road construction amounted to but a small blip in overall driving pleasure across the Bakken. I have never been prouder of my home state.

The road improvements between Williston and Watford City, including the Williston by-pass (just dedicated), and those at Alexander and Watford City were breathtaking and beautiful, as was the remaining 2-lane stretch south to the Interstate at Belfield. The Badlands and Theodore Roosevelt Park were stunning---the golden fall foliage enhanced all the more, by the greening of the prairie grasslands from recent rains.

I tried to capture the feeling of the Williston, Watford City, and Alexander bypasses in previous posts, but I was unable to say it as well as this reader. The Williston truck reliever route is utilitarian at the moment but its character will change a 100-fold when the new airport is in place.

On the other hand, the Watford City and Alexander bypasses truly are breath-taking. These are expanses of asphalt and cement no one would expect in this remote region of the United States. They would make great alternate emergency landing runways for the Space Shuttle.

Up in Divide County, the reader is describing exactly what the other land owners in that county seem to be expressing with regard to SM Energy -- see previous story.

So much more could be written, but I must move on.