US To Start Supplying LNG To Lithuania -- Chenier Energy -- February 28, 2015

Regular readers have followed the story of Cheniere and the US export of LNG (see LNG_Export_US tag). RBN Energy has provided many updates regarding Cheniere over the last few years.

Things are starting to come together. AFP is reporting:

Lithuania said Saturday it had signed a trade agreement to buy liquified natural gas from the United States in a move aimed at reducing the EU Baltic state's heavy dependence on Russian gas deliveries.

Under the deal with Houston-based Chenier Energy company, the first LNG fuel is expected to arrive in Lithuania as early as next year, state-owned company Litgas said in a statement. Lithuania's first floating LNG terminal started commercial activity in January, becoming the first such facility to sever Moscow's grip on gas deliveries to the Baltic states.

The nation of three million will initially import 0.54 billion cubic metres of gas from Statoil in 2015, covering about one-fifth of its demand.

The first US LNG export terminal is expected to starts its operations later this year.

From what I've read, and it is somewhat supported by this article, the amount of LNG that the US can actually provide is a very, very small percent of all that would be needed in any of these countries. But it's a start.

It also naturally leads to the next question: export of US oil to countries threatened with embargo by some other producer....

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

Idle Chatter

See disclaimer. This is not an investment site. Do not make any investment, financial, or relationship decisions based on anything you read here or think you may have read here. This is for the archives. 

I don't know why I'm even posting this. I'm not even sure how I got to the story linked below. It's funny how the mind works. I was reading and posting the link to the Cheniere story above, and something led me to something else and then to something else, and I ended up reading an Investopedia article on EDP:

Enterprise Products Partners prides itself on being one of the more conservative energy infrastructure companies. That conservatism ensures it can make it through an inevitable downturn in commodity prices relatively unscathed. It also puts the company in a strong position to take advantage of rivals that aren't as well prepared -- Enterprise has historically gone on the offensive to acquire weaker rivals that find themselves in a tough spot when the commodity market turns down. Needless to say, the company would love for that history to repeat in the current market chaos.

On Enterprise's fourth-quarter conference call, COO Jim Teague took some time to discuss today's market environment:

Global energy market is somewhere between turmoil and chaos. We have no clue how low prices may go or how long they will stay depressed but then nor does anyone else. We do know that Enterprise typically thrives on change that we perform and grow in both the up and down cycles.

Teague's first comment is one of the most honest assessments any energy company has given on its view of commodity prices. In full, he offered a useful reminder that investors should not put too much stock in the bold calls we're seeing on what the price of oil will do next. Key to Enterprise investors, though, is Teague's declaration about the company's ability to thrive during times of change.

Later in the article:

In the conference call, Teague pointed out one legacy oil source in particular where the company would love to grow its footprint: the Permian Basin, where Enterprise is not as well positioned as it would like but where it also sees opportunity if the plunging price of oil dries up the capital that had been flowing into the region.

There are a number of story lines in that article. I still think 2017 is going to be a great year for oil and gas investors, if not as early as 2016.

I track "pipelines" here as well as other places on the blog.

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

Global Warming Headlines Today

Coldest NYC month in 80 years....
Snow for all 50 states forecast in next week...
NOAA:  2,185 cold records broken or tied in last seven (7) days

And then this. Ice Age Now is reporting:

Lowest temperature ever recorded in Cuba during the entire month of February. Ties the record low temperature for ANY month of the year.

Cubans bundled up against a record low temperature in Havana on Friday, February 20.

The Cuban Institute of Meteorology reported that last Friday morning (Feb 20) the temperature fell to one degree Celsius (33.8^o F) in the town of Union Reyes in western Matanzas province.

It was the lowest temperature ever recorded in Cuba during the entire month of February.

Flashback: How Long Will The Bakken Last? -- February 28, 2015

Flashback, this was taken from my FAQ page:

FAQ #19. How long will "the Bakken" last? See also question #2.

Obviously that question cannot be answered with any degree of certainty. But in January, 2010, analysts suggested North Dakota's oil output will increase to 400,000 bopd by mid-2011, and that level of production will be sustained for 10 - 15 years.

And, yes, that link still works. Perhaps with the slump in oil prices, North Dakota oil output will fall back to 400,000 bopd but the above projection was not based on a slump in oil prices. Today, North Dakota's oil output is solidly above 1 million bopd.

It's quite remarkable how things have turned out. 

Random Look At A Hess Well In Blue Buttes; 50K In One Month -- February 28, 2015

• 27505, 1,628, Hess, BB-Budahn A-150-95-0403H-6, Blue Buttes oil field, t12/14; cum 55K 12/14; very little water:

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	12-2014	31	40279	41301	2937	55665	26220	29445
BAKKEN	11-2014	8	14359	13015	1389	10531	0	10531

Other data points:

• 35 stages; 2.5 million lbs sand

• Total depth: 21,195
• Drilling rig: August 24, 2014
• TD: September 10, 2014
• Middle Bakken: 10,642' TVD
• Other geologic markers not yet provided
• Deepest portion of the curve reaching 10,673' TVD
• Background gases to 4,417 units early on; later up to 9,272 units;

This is why "anti-collision plans" are required before drilling (this is part of the Blue Buttes oil field):

Zooming in. Note the two 4-wells pad to the north and the six-well pad where the 27505 is sited. Just in this small area of this section, 14 wells are sited.

I track the Hess BB-Budahn wells here.

Basin Shale ND, LLC -- New Bakken Operator? -- February 28, 2015

Updates

October 30, 2015: Bakken Shale ND is looking to place 8 wells in a 2560-acre spacing unit. When checking NDIC Well Search database I do not find Basin Shale ND, LLC, listed. 

Original Post

 

Whenever I post notes like these, I'm always concerned that I'm misreading something or posting something that is inaccurate. This is my "take" on what I see. It may be factually incorrect; there may be typographical errors. If this is important to you, go to the source, perhaps starting with the NDIC and then talking with a landman.

The full name of the company below is a very "generic" Basin Shale ND, LLC (we've talked about LLC's in the Bakken before):

From the March 25 - 26, 2015, agenda for the NDIC hearing dockets, the following cases:

• 23846, Basin Shale, pooling, 13/24-145-100, in an unnamed Bakken pool, McKenzie
• 23847, Basin Shale, pooling, 14/23-145-100, in an unnamed Bakken pool, McKenzie
• 23848, Basin Shale, pooling, 15/22-145-100, in an unnamed Bakken pool, McKenzie
• 23849, Basin Shale, pooling, 16/21-145-100, in an unnamed Bakken pool, McKenzie
• 23850, Basin Shale, pooling, 25/36-145-100, in an unnamed Bakken pool, McKenzie
• 23851, Basin Shale, pooling, 26/27-145-100, in an unnamed Bakken pool, McKenzie
• 23852, Basin Shale, pooling, 28/33-145-100, in an unnamed Bakken pool, McKenzie
• 23853, Basin Shale, pooling, 29/32-145-100, in an unnamed Bakken pool, McKenzie
• 23854, Basin Shale, pooling, 30/31-145-100, in an unnamed Bakken pool, McKenzie
• 23855, Basin Shale, pooling, 34/35-145-100, in an unnamed Bakken pool, McKenzie

When checking NDIC Well Search database I do not find Basin Shale ND, LLC, listed. 

The 20 sections are in the far southeast corner of McKenzie County:

Of interest is the well to the immediate west of this 20-section unnamed field:

• 16185, 136, XTO, Rhoades Federal 4-20H, t11/06; cum 43K 12/14; 

This is an unusual well, to say the least. Dual laterals, both short laterals. Minimal fracking; less than 400,000 lbs of white sand (I do not know if that was total for both laterals, or just one lateral; I believe it was the total). It took a while longer for the first lateral to begin producing; lateral #2 began producing first; both legs completed sometime in 2007; extremely high pressure; background gases often at 5,000 units; as high as 20,000 units during some aspects of the operation; production never amounted to much, considering this was two laterals (1280-acre spacing); snapshot of early production (remember, completion sometime in 2007); the well is still active, producing about 500 bbls in a full month of production; no flaring:

BAKKEN	1-2008	31	707	940	976	71	0	0
BAKKEN	12-2007	31	309	0	461	71	0	0
BAKKEN	11-2007	30	375	497	608	69	0	0
BAKKEN	10-2007	31	583	683	1141	71	0	0
BAKKEN	9-2007	30	727	732	1218	69	0	0
BAKKEN	8-2007	31	458	225	682	71	0	0
BAKKEN	7-2007	31	460	663	1030	71	0	0
BAKKEN	6-2007	30	683	759	1371	69	0	0
BAKKEN	5-2007	31	432	224	668	71	0	0
BAKKEN	4-2007	30	401	492	960	69	0	0
BAKKEN	3-2007	29	319	220	1024	797	0	726
BAKKEN	2-2007	28	298	222	1018	253	0	189
BAKKEN	1-2007	31	727	725	1986	869	0	798
BAKKEN	12-2006	27	791	1128	2040	766	0	695
BAKKEN	11-2006	23	544	0	1796	0	0	0

Comment from Don: we may start seeing many NEW small players. Yesterday on CNBC they were talking for a few minutes about BlackRock and other hedge funds getting together pools of money to invest NOW in oil , oil wells, and E+P companies.

From Reuters/CNBC, February 19, 2015:

Still, oil prices are down 50 percent from last June, leaving many energy company stocks looking cheap. A Reuters review of regulatory filings, as well as interviews with more than two dozen company executives, investment bankers, lawyers and investors, reveal that many hedge funds are seizing the opportunity to buy shares on the cheap

"Activists are secretly buying up stakes now because they believe the markets have hit rock bottom," said Kai Haakon Liekefett, a partner at Vinson & Elkins LLP in Houston who heads the law firm's shareholder activism response team. He said hedge fund activity in the oil patch "may get hot" as early as this fall or winter.

Agenda For The March, 2015, NDIC Hearing Docket -- A New Bakken Operator In Southeast McKenzie County?

This is my own shorthand; there may be errors. If this is important to you go to the source. Link here. 

Highlights of the March 25 - 26, 2015, dockets are posted here.

There appears to be a new operator in the Bakken, Basin Shale ND, LLC, (cases 23846 - 23855, inclusive). I have a separate post regarding these ten (10) cases.

March 25, 2015 

(8 pages vs the usual 14 - 20 pages)

23727, cont'd
23707, cont'd
23650, cont'd
23651, cont'd
23766, Whiting, South Fork-Bakken, amend, 12 wells on each of 3 1280-acre units; establish an overlapping 2560-acre unit; 2 wells on that unit; Dunn
23767, Whiting, Heart Butte-Bakken, amend, 12 wells on each of 2 1280-acre units; establish an overlapping 2560-acre unit, 2 wells on that unit; Dunn
23768, MRO, Reunion Bay-Bakken, amend, establish an overlapping 2560-acre unit; 1 well, Dn, Mt
23769, MRO, Van Hook-Bakken, amend, establish an overlapping 2560-acre unit; 2 wells; Mt
23518, cont'd
23666, cont'd
23770, Murex, West Ambrose-Bakken, revoke a Crescent Point Energy permit, Aldag, Divide
23235, cont'd
23771, Oasis, Willow Creek-Bakken and/or Camp-Bakken, amend, establish 3 overlapping 2560-acre units; 3 wells on each; Wms, McK
23772, Petro-Hunt, Charlson-Bakken, amen, establish a 2560-acre unit, 4 wells, Wms, McK
23773, Petro-Hunt, Little Knife-Bakken, amen, establish an overlapping 2560-acre unit; 1 well, Dunn
23774, Hess, Beaver Lodge-Bakken, amend, establish an overlapping 2560-acre unit; 1 well; establish a 1280-acre unit; 7 wells; Wms
23775, Hess, Alkali Creek and/or charlson-Bakken, amen, establish an overlapping 2560-acre unit; 2 wells; establish a 2560-acre unit, 1 well, McK, Mt
23776, BR, amend, Jim Creek and/or Murphy Creek-Bakken, extend the outline, establish 4 overlapping 2560-acre units; 1+ wells; allow up to 6 wells to be drilled on an existing 1280-acre unit; allow up to 7 wells to be driled on two existing 1280-acre units; and allow up to 8 wells to be drilled on an exsiting 1280-acre unit; Dunn
23641, cont'd
23642, cont'd
23643, cont'd
23777, CLR, revoke a Slawson permit, Lightning Federal, Mt
23778, CLR, revoke a Slawson permit, Lightning Federal, Mt
23779, CLR, revoke a Slawson permit, Lightning Federal, Mt
22803, cont'd
23580, cont'd
23581, cont'd
23582, cont'd
23780, Newalta Environmental Services, a treating plant, Wms
23647, cont'd
23376, cont'd
23781, Hess, Beaver Lodge-Bakken, amend, 8 wells on a 1280-acre unit; 10 wells on a 1280-acre unit; Wms
23782, Hess, Capa-Bakken and the Beaver Lodge Devonian Pool, amend, 9 wells in either hte Bakken or the Three Forks on a 1280-acre unit; Wms
23783, Hess, Alkali Creek-Bakken, amend, 11 wells on each of 2 1280-acre units, McK
23784, Hess, pooling,
23697, cont'd
23785, Whiting, Truax-Bakken, amend, 7 wells on a 2560-acre unit; Wms
23786, Whiting, Sanish-Bakken, amend, 11 wells on an existing 2560-acre unit; Mt
23787, Whiting, Heart Butte-Bakken, amend, 5 wells on a 320-acre unit; 10 wells on 2 1280-acre units; Dunn
23788, Petro-Hunt, pooling
23789, QEP, Blue Buttes-Bakken, amend, 5 wells on each of 3 overlapping 2560-acre units; McK
23790, MRO, pooling,
23791, BR, pooling,
23792, BR, pooling,
23793, BR, pooing,
23794, BR, pooling

Thursday, March 26, 2015 

(15 pages; low end of the usual 14 - 20 pages)

22837, cont'd
23421, cont'd
23143, cont'd
23589, cont'd
23144, cont'd
23795, Armstrong, temporary spacing, Dunn
23796, Corinthian Exploration, rework a Corinthian Skarphol well, Bottineau
23446, cont't
23277, cont'd
23797, Denbury, complete a well as an exception to location, Bowman
23798, Liberty Resources, Capa and/or Manitou-Bakken, amend, establish 2 overlapping 2560-acre units; 3 wells; Wms, Mt
23799, Liberty Resources, Stoneview-Bakken, amend, terminate order #25189 (a 1280-acre unit) and instead, creating 2 overlapping 1280-acre units; 1 well on each, Burke
23800, Liberty Resources, Hanson and/or Temple-Bakken, amend, establish 2 overlapping 2560-acre units; 3 wells; Wms
23801, Liberty Resources, West Tioga-Bakken, amend, establish an overlapping 640-acre unit; 13 wells, Wms
23802, Liberty Resources, Big Meadow and/or Temple-Bakken, amend, establish 2 overlapping 2560-acre units, 3 wells; Wms
23803, Samson Resources, Blooming Prairie-Bakken, amend, establish an overlapping 2560-acre unit; 1 well; Divide
23804, XTO, Indian Hill-Bakken, amend, establish an overlapping 2560-acre unit; 2 wells; McK
23805, XTO, Camp-Bakken, amend, establish 3 overlapping 2560-acre units; 2 wells, McK
23806, XTO, Squaw Creek-Bakken, amend, establish 4 overlapping 640-acre units; 4 wells, McK
23807, XTO, Haystack Butte-Bakken, amend, establish 2 overlapping 2560-acre units, 2 wells, McK, Dunn
23808, XTO, Corral-Creek, flaring waiver
23809, XTO, Haystack Butte-Bakken, flaring waiver
23810, XTO, Killdeer-Bakken, flaring waiver
23811, XTO, Little Knife-Bakken, flaring waiver
23812, XTO, Lost Bridge-Bakken, flaring waiver
23813, XTO, Bear Creek-Bakken, flaring waiver
23814, XTO, Bear Den-Bakken, flaring waiver
23815, XTO, Cedar Coulee-Bakken, flaring waiver
23816, XTO, Murphy Creek-Bakken, flaring waiver
23817, WPX, Van Hook-Bakken, amend, establish an overlapping 2560-acre unit; 1 well, Mt
23818, WPX, Reunion Bay-Bakken, amend, establish an overlapping 2560-acre unit; 2 wells, Dn, Mt
23819, WPX, Eagle Nest-Bakken, amend, establish 2 overlapping 2560-acre units; 3 wells, McK
23605, cont'd
23145, cont'd
23590, cont'd
23712, cont'd
23713, cont'd
23714, cont'd
23715, cont'd
23716, cont'd
23717, cont'd
23723, cont'd
23724, cont'd
23725, cont'd
23013, cont'd
23820, XTO, pooling,
23821, XTO, pooling,
23822, XTO, pooling,
23823, XTO, pooling,
23824, XTO, pooling,
23825, XTO, Glass Bluff-Bakken, 10 wells on each of 3 existing 1280-acre units; McK, Wms
23826, XTO, Squaw Creek-Bakken, 6 wells on an existing 320-acre unit; McK
23827, Sinclair, pooling,
23828, Sinclair, pooling,
23829, Sinclair, pooling,
23830, Statoil, pooling,
23831, Statoil, pooling,
23832, Statoil, pooling,
23833, Statoil, pooling,
23834, Statoil, pooling,
23835, Statoil, pooling,
23836, Statoil, pooling,
23837, Statoil, pooling,
23838, Statoil, pooling,
23839, Statoil, pooling,
23840, Crescent Point, pooling,
23841, Samson Resources, pooling,
23842, Samson Resources, Blooming Prairie-Bakken, 7 wells on each of 2 existing 280-acre units; Divide
23843, Liberty Resources, pooling, 
23844, Liberty Resources, pooling,
23845, Liberty Resources, pooling,
23846, Basin Shale, pooling, 13/24-145-100, in an unnamed Bakken pool, McKenzie
23847, Basin Shale, pooling, 14/23-145-100, in an unnamed Bakken pool, McKenzie
23848, Basin Shale, pooling, 15/22-145-100, in an unnamed Bakken pool, McKenzie
23849, Basin Shale, pooling, 16/21-145-100, in an unnamed Bakken pool, McKenzie
23850, Basin Shale, pooling, 25/36-145-100, in an unnamed Bakken pool, McKenzie
23851, Basin Shale, pooling, 26/27-145-100, in an unnamed Bakken pool, McKenzie
23852, Basin Shale, pooling, 28/33-145-100, in an unnamed Bakken pool, McKenzie
23853, Basin Shale, pooling, 29/32-145-100, in an unnamed Bakken pool, McKenzie
23854, Basin Shale, pooling, 30/31-145-100, in an unnamed Bakken pool, McKenzie
23855, Basin Shale, pooling, 34/35-145-100, in an unnamed Bakken pool, McKenzie
23856, Ballard, Chatfield-Madison, flaring waiver, 
23857, CLR, commingling, Bowman
23858, CLR, commingling, Mountrail
23859, SHD, Clarks Creek Field, SWD, McKenzie
23860, EOG, Parshall Field, SWD, Mountrail
23012, cont'd
23508, cont'd

Another Stab At The Flaring Issue -- Saturday -- February 28, 2015; Chicago Colder Than Detroit Overnight

Active rigs:

	2/28/2015	02/28/2014	02/28/2013	02/28/2012	02/28/2011
Active Rigs	119	192	183	205	169

Tulsa company will use the Bakken as a laboratory to end flaring as we know it. The Dickinson Press is reporting:

B&A Global Energy, a small company based in Tulsa, Okla., has acquired the rights to the Energy Capturing Operating System, a portable refinery able to be placed at a well site. The ECOS captures and processes methane gas produced in the hydraulic fracturing process into liquefied natural gas.

B&A Global wants to bring its ECOS technology to the U.S. -- specifically to North Dakota’s Bakken and Texas’ Eagle Ford shale formations -- after witnessing the technology work in Asia.

“We have chosen the Bakken as our focus,” said Bennett, B&A Global’s board chairman and founder.

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

One Winter: Weather

Consecutive Winters: Climate

Flashback: a year ago, Chicagoans were voting whether the 2014 winter was the worst on record. I don't know the results of that vote. Today I'm being told the Weather Channel is reporting that the overnight low (February 27/28, 2015) in Chicago was -10 below (actual air temperature / wind chill would be worse) which set an all-time, or 131-year,  record. In fact, new low records were being set all across the nation:

Record lows that were set on Saturday morning (new record in parentheses) include Chicago (minus 10 degrees), Rockford, Illinois (minus 16 degrees), Detroit (minus 2 degrees), Columbus, Ohio (0 degrees), Toledo, Ohio (minus 9 degrees), Cleveland (minus 9 degrees) and Bridgeport, Connecticut (8 degrees).

Update: this is what a reader said regarding Chicago:

Last winter was worse in Chicago by far. The month of February here appears to be the coldest on record as well as the 2nd or 3rd snowiest. I think by next Monday, March 9th, the weather is predicted to start breaking and a small spring warm up may be headed here.... overall this winter was much milder and less snowy then last year in Chicago....