Fracking In The Bakken -- Signs Of Life? October 6, 2016

This may not mean a thing, but over the past couple of days, I've seen Hess report wells being completed without going to DUC status. There's a slight hint that operators may be starting to frack again in the Bakken. As it stands, I do not see there is any way that operators can get all their DUCs fracked before the "statute of limitations" run out -- two years to get a well completed now in the Bakken is the rule, rather than the one-year rule that was in place for decades.

When I was back in the Bakken there was a new fracking company: Liberty Frac, headquartered out of Denver (previously reported). They bought Sanjel (bankrupt). Liberty Frac had five frack spreads in North Dakota/Montana but were in the process of moving three of those teams to the Permian, leaving two in the Bakken.

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Stroh Wells Have Been Updated

Link here.  The update shows the cumulative production of these wells as of 8/16, and reflects the transfer of the OXY USA wells to Lime Rock Resources.

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Notes to the Granddaughters 

This is so cool. Two days ago, I learned yesterday, Arianna's teacher asked the students if they knew whether koalas preferred chocolate or fruit, generally speaking? Arianna, age 13, did not understand the question. Then her teacher wrote it on the board, and immediately Arianna recognized it as a mnemnic for taxonomic classification. I was so incredibly impressed.

She said another student then recognized the mnemonic, but Arianna was first. I was so incredibly proud and impressed.

Years ago, probably when Arianna was in second grade -- at least that's when she said she learned a mnemonic from me, she told the teacher -- she and I worked out our own mnemonic. She was really, really involved in girl scouts in Boston at the time, and this was the mnemonic we had come up with on our own: King Phillip carried off funny girl scouts. I had forgotten the "D" -- domain, but that could easily be added, "Did King Phillip carry off funny girl scouts?"

But one gets the point.

Arianna and Ian were on their way to water polo and I was driving them. I asked them if they knew the three domains and they did: archaebacteria, bacteria, and eukaryota. I guess "archaebacteria" is already outdated, and the proper term is Archaea.

They also knew that there are six kingdoms of life: two of the kingdoms are prokaryotes (aracheae and bacteria) and four are eukaryotes (protista, fungi, animalia, and plantae). That's where we stopped. Ian was laughing; he said researchers had discovered a seventh kingdom but one year later that kingdom was "gone." That kingdom, he laughed, didn't last a year. I said that was like Pluto, once a planet, but then not a planet. He explained to me why that analogy did not work. Whatever. LOL.

I then asked if they knew the organelle in animal cells that provided energy for the cell? They knew it was the mitochondria and they knew the energy organelle in plants: chloroplasts. They knew about "iron" in animal cells but I was finally able to introduce them to something they did not know:that the "counterpart" in plants cells to "iron" was "magnesium."

To which Ian said that "made sense," that it was "iron" in animal cells and "magnesium" in plant cells. I did not know why that "made sense," but it was clear I was dealing with a 13-year-old who was smarter than I and decided it was best to let Ian and Arianna go back to discussing whatever they were discussing.

I went back to Sophia, who was in the car seat behind me, and have her point out the red lights and the green lights at intersections -- something she just started doing this past week.  I am still able to keep up with Sophia, but I think Arianna and Ian, age 13, are now beyond what I can impart to them. LOL.