Week 3: January 17, 2016 -- January 23, 2016

The big story this week was the announcement that TransCanada and First Nations have come to an agreement on a pipeline from landlocked Canadian natural gas to the Canadian west coast, through the pristine and Native-American owned British Columbia. That's a huge, huge story

In the Bakken, the big story was the data we learned from a CLR Three Forks second bench well. The other big story, of course, was finally learning who bought most of Fidelity. If Kaiser-Francis develops this asset play and doesn't simply "flip" it in pieces, we could see Kaiser-Francis back among the top private crude oil producers in the US. What a huge opportunity.

The other big story had to do with the announcement that MDU/Knife River was awarded its largest contract in history, on the heels of all its success stories in the Bakken, western North Dakota. Good going.

Operations
Majority of Fidelity wells sold to Kaiser-Francis
Number of active rigs ends week at new post-boom low: 47
Thirty-five (35) wells to be sited in one section
Random look at a CLR Three Forks Second Bench short lateral in Alkali Creek
On Monday: nine (9) huge Bakken wells reported; five (5) more DUCs
ND oil production defies calls for a decline -- Rigzone 

Pipelines
TransCanada, First Nations reach agreement on pipeline through British Columbia

Bakken Economy
Record number of births at Williston hospital in 2015 
MDU/Knife River awarded largest contract ever 

Keeping fossil fuels in the ground

US gasoline demand plummeting -- despite lowest prices on record

Bakken 101
Understanding the Bakken: overlapping units

Miscellaneous
Drilling into oldest rock on the planet near Rugby, ND 
First ship to deliver US crude oil overseas under relaxed export rules arrives at destination
Geico Rock Award nominations for 2016 finally posted; nominations accepted through mid-December, 2016