Week 12: March 20, 2016 -- March 26, 2016

The top energy story this week may be the contribution by Richard Zeits over at Seeking Alpha: the Permian Basin is fetching premium prices.

The international top energy story of the week may very well turn out to be the results of the discovery well near Gatwick Airport, England. A bigger story, of course, was that Shell and Saudi Aramco have split, making it possible for Saudi to monetize its assets and become a huge US midstream and downstream player. But that story broke the previous week.

Playing devil's advocate, as they say, I might argue that the biggest, biggest, biggest story was the news that Whiting, CLR, EOG, or Hess did not buy Emerald Oil's assets on the cheap. Really, really cheap. See below. I think a lot of folks might have missed that one. Five years from now we're going to see some new names in the Bakken break into the top ten Bakken producers. 

Operations
Bakken update, Mike Filloon 
Marathon to sell Wyoming assets; focus on Texas, North Dakota
Emerald Oil files for bankruptcy protection; mineral acres sold fro $150/acre in core Bakken?
The list of OXY USA wells transferred to Lime Rock Resources has been released
Top-tier plays in US tight oil -- Bakken 800K BOE EUR #2
CLR in the STACK/SCOOP -- a Mike Filloon update

DUCs
Multiplying
Analysts looking at impact of completing DUCs (they're getting ahead of their headlights)

CBR
Bakken CBR to the Pacific Northwest -- RBN Energy update
Palermo CBR terminal now on-line

Fracking
Another example of a possible halo effect when fracking
Can the halo effect stretch across an entire section? Part I 
Can the halo effect stretch across an entire section? Part II

Natural gas processing
Bear Creek NGL processing plant to be on-line 3Q16; near Killdeer, North Dakota

Flaring
The Bakken from space

Refining
Second greenfield refinery moves forward -- Belfield, North Dakota

Pipelines
Two North Dakota pipeline projects move forward

Bakken economy
$11 million school expansion approved for South Heart, North Dakota
Williston Wire updates
Williston names fastest growing micropolitan city fifth year in a row ; also here
Construction to begin on $2.3 million Pembina-Walsh Livestock Processing Plant

Miscellaneous
John Kemp looking for US gasoline demand record to be broken this summer
US shale gas -- ethane: first American shipment to Europe
The Saudi Surge: the crude oil market will re-balance this year -- Rystad
Is contango the new normal? 
Book review: Accidental Superpower
WTI-Brent narrows
How the Brent calendar expiration change influences the WTI-Brent spread
The Brent/WTI crude futures relationship just got trickier 
US distillates exported to northwest Europe from US gulf coast have surged this month (March)