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Friday, February 26, 2016

Four (4) New Permits -- February 26, 2016

Active rigs:


2/26/201602/26/201502/26/201402/26/201302/26/2012
Active Rigs38121193183204

Four (4) new permits --
  • Operator: Whiting
  • Field: Banks (McKenzie)
  • Comments:
Wapiti Operating canceled two permits, a Thor and an Ironman permit, both in Mountrail County; these were the only permits Wapiti Operating had:
  • 30210: Thor 24-13 1HB, Enget Lake
  • 30213: Ironman 27034 1HB, Enget Lake
One (1) producing well completed:
  • 30939, 2,325, BR, CCU Bison Point 34-34TFH, Corral Creek, FrackFocus, 4 million bbls water, sand 16% by weight, t1/16; cum -- 

Off The Net For Awhile

The sound was working great until she removed a wire. She was smart enough to realize the "wire" had something to do with, but just laying it there was not enough to make the sound come back:


Rumors Of North Dakota's Recession Are Exaggerated -- February 26, 2016

From Say Anything Blog today, rumors of North Dakota's recession are exaggerated, by David Flynn. A must-read.

****************************
You Have Got To Be Kidding
I Can't Make This Stuff Up

On December 12, 2015, I presented my argument why I knew scientists and government leaders know that global warming is nothing serious to worry about.  Today, EcoWatch validates that argument. Despite the fact that warmists tell us the "world hangs in the balance" with regard to global warming, when one of the biggest contributors to carbon emissions comes up with a huge plan to combat their emissions, the US and the global community cry "foul" and say India cannot execute that plan because they violate the gentlemen's agreement that was agreed to in Paris a few months ago. I can't make this stuff up.

Again, the warmists tells us the earth hangs in the balance.

India comes up with a plan to curb their emissions.  And then this from EcoWatch:
India has been told that it cannot go ahead as planned with its ambitious plan for a huge expansion of its renewable energy sector, because it seeks to provide work for Indian people. The case against India was brought by the U.S.
The ruling, by the World Trade Organization, says India’s National Solar Mission—which would create local jobs, while bringing electricity to millions of people—must be changed because it includes a domestic content clause requiring part of the solar cells to be produced nationally.
What a difference two months make. On Dec. 12 last year, U.S. President Barack Obama praised the Paris agreement on tackling climate change, just hours after it was finally concluded. “We’ve shown what’s possible when the world stands as one,” he said, adding that the agreement “represents the best chance we have to save the one planet that we’ve got.”
India should be applauded in their efforts to lower carbon emissions. They may be the biggest users of coal on a per capita basis. But yet, because they want to provide jobs for their own people, the US "shuts India down."

This tells me all I need to know about how serious global warming really is. Not very serious. Seriously.

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Australia Stops The Nonsense

When the US "shuts down" India's plan to cut emissions, I know the US doesn't "believe" in anthropomorphic global warming. Not does Australia. From The New York Times, February 28, 2016:
Perched on a wild, windy promontory on the rugged tip of northwestern Tasmania, the tiny Cape Grim research station has been measuring airborne greenhouse gases since 1976.
It is one of a handful of such stations in the world, and because the wind that reaches it has traveled more than 6,600 miles across the southern oceans, uncontaminated by cities or factories, the measurements are considered a baseline for tracking changes in the earth’s atmosphere.
Now a decision by Australia’s science agency to lay off 350 researchers and shift the organization’s focus to more commercial enterprise threatens not only the work done at the station but also climate studies around the globe.
Scientists worldwide have protested the shift, saying the loss of the Australian data — from both Cape Grim and the agency’s role in a vital ocean-monitoring program called Argo — could impair their ability to predict severe regional weather and help people prepare for extreme floods, drought, bushfires and cyclones.
“This, for me, is such a big shock,” said Ronald G. Prinn, director of the Center for Global Change Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “To think that you could stop measurements or throw out the people, that doesn’t make any sense to me and to many, many other people around the world.”

North Dakota's Newest And Largest Airport Terminal To Open Monday -- February 26, 2016

Roers Investments as announced the opening:
... of its first multi-family project in Williston. The Bluffs of Williston is a new apartment community located in the Harvest Hills Development. The site features a total of 148 units that are now open for leasing. RI has residential and multi-use projects in five communities in the Bakken Shale Oil and Gas region; Williston, Stanley, Tioga, Watford City and Sidney, MT. Some of its newest tenants are The Smiling Moose Deli in Watford City and Ackerman Estvold in Williston.
Did you see The Smiling Moose Deli mentioned in the previous story? Here's a bit more: The Smiling Moose Deli has restaurants in Williston and Watford City.
To reach its growth goal of 100 units by 2020, Smiling Moose Rocky Mountain Deli is embarking on a complete brand overhaul, including a major menu update and a complete restaurant redesign. The franchise currently has 19 delis in seven states including restaurants in Williston and Watford City. To meet the 2020 goal, the brand will focus growth in areas where the demographic mirrors its guest base, which includes Arizona, Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wyoming said CEO Sue Daggett. 
I didn't quite understand why a proposed mixed-use housing and retail development (Fivesouth), in downtown Bismarck would be in the Williston Wire, but then in the small print:
Developer Don Cardon, CEO of Phoenix-based Cardon Development Group, unveiled the FiveSouth development this past March (2015). Cardon is also partnering with the City of Williston on the Sloulin Field International Airport Redevelopment.
In North Dakota there's a lot of concern about how falling crude oil prices have idled drilling rigs, pushed down production and cut into state and local tax coffers.
But another type of industrial activity--constructing transmission lines--is in full swing. The collapse of oil prices has given utilities and project developers an opportunity to catch up to burgeoning electric demand in the oil fields. In recent years, diesel generators have provided a large share of electricity to well sites and remote processing and storage facilities.
It's dead but we will see stories on this pipeline for years and years to come:
Justin Kringstad, director of the North Dakota Pipeline Authority, said pipeline capacity added in 2015 via Kinder Morgan's Double H Pipeline in western North Dakota, a decline in oil field production and changed market conditions have reduced that state's reduced crude-by-rail volume. Yet even with North Dakota's production decline to 1.15 million gallons per day, the state still lacks sufficient pipeline takeaway capacity. One anticipated project - Enbridge Energy's 225,000-barrel-per-day Sandpiper pipeline from North Dakota and across northern Minnesota - has been delayed until 2019 while Minnesota regulators review environmental issues.
North Dakota's largest airport terminal to officially open Monday:
An impressive, $43 million airport terminal was unveiled to the public at an open house at Minot International Airport Saturday. The building that will be the state's largest airport terminal doesn't officially become operational until February 29, 2016. But for six hours on Saturday, doors opened to give area residents a chance to wander the walkways, check out operations areas that won't be publicly accessible once the terminal opens and take in the airfield panorama from the glassed-in second-floor secured area.
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JE Dunn

On my most recent trip to the Bakken, I saw "JE Dunn" everywhere. It is the prime contractor for the new Williston High School which will open this fall (2016). From The Dickinson Press:
With the oil boom in full swing, Marc Mellmer saw the possibilities for growth and looming building projects in western North Dakota, and he wanted JE Dunn Construction to be a part of it.
Nearly three years and more than 20 building projects later, the 31-year-old construction operations coordinator sits in his sensible, windowless office in one of Dickinson’s newest buildings — one his firm had no hand in building, he notes with a laugh — and said despite the economic downturn in North Dakota set off by plunging oil prices, business is still looking good.
This year, JE Dunn will begin or continue work on — among its many projects — the North Dakota governor’s residence and the new Bank of North Dakota Financial Center in Bismarck, Harold Newman Arena in Jamestown, and the Trinity High School reconstruction and expansion, a project near to Mellmer’s heart as he’s a graduate of the Dickinson Catholic school.
Mellmer graduated from Trinity 13 years ago and went on to earn his degree in construction management at the University of Minnesota. He was working for JE Dunn on the Sanford Health Clinic in Detroit Lakes, MN, when he began pushing for the company to bid on projects in booming Dickinson.
JE Dunn came to the area in 2011 to build the Mercy Medical Center Birthing Center in Williston, where they’ve had an office since 2012. Not long after that, the company was aw arded building contracts for the $70 million Williston Area Recreation Center and the $100 million CHI St. Joseph’s Health campus in Dickinson.
Much, much more at the link. It's an incredible story.

J. E. Dunn Construction Group at wiki.

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Update on Industry in Southwest North Dakota Following The Boom

From The Dickinson Press:
Though the oil industry tends to be more visible, Dickinson’s manufacturing sector has historically been a significant driver of the town’s economy.

Gaylon Baker, executive vice president of the Stark Development Corp., said there are more than a dozen manufacturing businesses in the immediate Dickinson area that collectively employ about 1,500 people.
Baker said the diversity of the sector — which makes goods ranging from learning and instructional kits for the schoolroom to metal fabrication bound for coal mines — is the “great thing about it” and protects against failure of any one trend.
Another benefit of the Dickinson manufacturing scene is the “organic” nature of the companies that make it.
“This is home to them,” Baker said. “And as they grow and expand, this will continue to be home. We’re seeing Dickinson-based companies putting operations in other towns, which is good for them and also good for us.”
The article goes on to mention several companies thriving in Dickinson. 

GDP, Revised 4Q15 And Forecast 1Q16 -- February 26, 2016

From Financial Times:
The US economy ended the year on a stronger footing than expected, providing some reassurance as the global outlook falters.
Expansion was unexpectedly revised to a 1 per cent annualised pace in the fourth quarter from 0.7 per cent, the Commerce Department said on Friday in its second estimate of how the economy performed. A downward revision to 0.4 per cent had been forecast.
A robust jobs market and still rising house prices are providing the ballast for an economy that’s facing weaker growth overseas, a sharp contraction in its manufacturing sector and retrenchment in the once booming oil industry.
The bulk of the surprise revision was down to companies accumulating stockpiles at a faster pace than estimated in the reading – a typically powerful variable in revisions.
Maybe that's what President Obama was working on this past weekend: massaging the 4Q15 GDP numbers. 

Maybe Yellen can raise rates again.

GDPNow, latest forecast, 2.1%, February 26, 2016:
The GDPNow model forecast for real GDP growth (seasonally adjusted annual rate) in the first quarter of 2016 is 2.1 percent on February 26, down from 2.5 percent on February 25.
The forecast for first-quarter real consumer spending growth increased from 3.1 percent to 3.5 percent following this morning’s personal income and outlays release from the U.S Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). This was more than offset by a downward revision of the contribution of inventory investment to first-quarter real GDP growth from 0.2 percentage points to -0.4 percentage points after this morning's GDP release from the BEA.
Yes, I think she can.

And durable orders jump. From Yahoo/AP:
Orders to U.S. companies for long-lasting manufactured goods advanced in January at the strongest pace in 10 months. Moreover, a key category that tracks business investment surged by the largest amount in 19 months.The bigger-than-expected gains could be a sign of better days ahead for the nation's beleaguered manufacturers.
Orders for durable goods, items ranging from autos and appliances to steel and machinery, rose 4.9 percent last month, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.
That represented a rebound from a 4.6 percent plunge in December and a 0.5 percent decline in November.
Demand in a category that serves as a proxy for business investment plans rose 3.9 percent in January, reversing a 3.7 percent fall in December. It was the biggest advance in this category since June 2014.
 Now I know she can.

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Notes for the Granddaughters
Word Of The Day

I keep a list of words I find in my daily reading that might be of interest to our oldest granddaughter. While driving from event to event to event, we often get the list out and go over some of the words.

The other day we revisited the Dallas Museum of Art, our second visit in two weeks. My wife had missed something I wanted her to see, so we went back.

Specifically I wanted her to see the Wittgenstein Vitrine and the Coco Chanel / Reves collection. The vitrine was a glass display case made in Vienna at the turn of the 20th century.  My wife, being the smarter of the two of us, "guessed" the translation of "vitrine" but never thought much about it after that. We moved on.

Then, last night, while reading a book in The New York Review of Books I came across this:
To make porcelain proper ("hardpaste" porcelain, as opposed to imitation "soft-paste"), you need to blend a white clay with a powdered rock. The two substances, each usually alumino-silicate in compositon, will fuse and vitrify when fired at extremely high temperatures to deliver a translucent and heat-resistant product. Kaolin, the clay to use, takes its name from the veins of it found at Mount Kaoling, some forty miles outside the city of Jingdezhen, which is itself three hundred miles southest of Shanghai.
"Vitrify" is one of those words you think you've seen everywhere and should know the definition but don't. Vitrify. Sort of like Spotify. Rectify. Electrify. But my wife, who is even more knowledgeable than I on things like this, said she had not heard the word "vitrify" before.

So, there you have it. The word of the day: vitrify. Vitrification (from Latin vitreum, "glass" via French vitrifier) is the transformation of a substance into a glass, that is to say a non-crystalline amorphous solid. In ceramics it gives impermeability to water. -- Wiki.

Vitrine: the history of "vitrine" is clear as glass. It comes to English by way of the Old French word vitre, meaning "pane of glass," from Latin vitrum, meaning "glass." "Vitrum" has contributed a number of words to the English language besides "vitrine." "Vitreous" ("resembling glass" or "relating to, derived from, or consisting of glass") is the most common of these. "Vitrify" ("to convert or become converted into glass or into a glassy substance by heat and fusion") is another. A much rarer "vitrum" word - and one that also entered English by way of "vitre" - is vitrailed, meaning "fitted with stained glass." -- Merriam Webster.

And that would be it, except of course, there's more. When I saw that vitrification results in a "heat-resistant product" I immediately thought of fracking.

And then it came to me.

When going through the FracFocus reports, I often see aluminum-silicate (or some variation in spelling) among the proppants used. Lo and behold, from ceramics.org, December 15, 2011:
Developments in horizontal drilling technology offer unprecedented access to domestic oil and natural gas deposits, thereby placing the United States on the verge of sustained energy independence. Critical to this technology are spherical ceramic aggregates, known as proppants, which are used for enhancing oil and gas recovery from hydrofractured wells.
However, ceramic proppants are derived from sintered aluminosilicates such as bauxite, which is becoming increasingly scarce in the quality and quantities necessary to meet market demand for proppants.
This presentation summarizes our development and commercialization of glass ceramic proppants from alternative raw materials derived from industrial waste streams. These proppants, manufactured from basalt-based mine tailings and drill cuttings from shale gas wells, rival sintered bauxite-based proppants with regard to strength, hardness, specific gravity and conductivity in industry standard testing. Progression from laboratory demonstration to large scale processing and commercialization of these proppants is discussed.
Sintering is the process of compacting and forming a solid mass of material by heat and/or pressure without melting it to the point of liquefaction. Sintering happens naturally in mineral deposits or as a manufacturing process used with metals, ceramics, plastics, and other materials.

As long as I've digressed this long, I might as well as something else. Our oldest granddaughter loves geology and rocks and gems, precious and semi-precious. Corundum is considered the second hardest mineral, second only to diamond. Corundum is a crystalline form of aluminum oxide. Corundrum can come in many colors (due to "impurities"). Transparent corunum are used as gems. Keeping simple, all aluminum oxide gems are called corundum with one exception: ruby. A ruby is a red conrundum. There is one more exception, but one does not come across it often in the literature: padparadscha, which is pink-orange.

And yes, corundum is commonly found among the proppants used in fracking.

Wow. So much for Sophia, our 19-month-old, to learn.

[A reader noted: Hebron, ND, is known for Hebron brick, which are mainly sold in the  Midwest, but sold all over America. The company located there because of deposits of kaolin. Some readers may remember this article on kaolin and how it might be used in fracking, over at prairiebizmagazine.]

Russia Losing Dominance In The European Energy Market -- February 26, 2016

Two interesting data points show up today. The first from the EIA:
In Europe, the combination of low winter heating demand, high refinery runs, and increased imports have kept distillate fuel oil inventories in the Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Antwerp (ARA) area far above normal. Higher inventories have lowered distillate futures prices in the ARA area to a point where inventories are being held in floating storage and imported cargos are being diverted to longer voyages. --- EIA
The second, from The Wall Street Journal, front page, big story: Europe's energy escape valve -- US Gas -- Gulf Coast exports of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, are expected to loosen Russia's dominance in the European energy market.
ABOARD THE INDEPENDENCE, Lithuania—On the deck of this floating gas terminal, Mantas Bartuska awaits a tanker to pass a narrow inlet on the Baltic Sea with the first natural gas shipments from the Gulf Coast that many hope will transform Europe’s energy market.
“Soon, hopefully, U.S. gas will come,” said Mr. Bartuska, chief executive of the operator of the Independence, the gas terminal docked at the port city of Klaipeda, Lithuania.
After a yearslong effort, a tanker chartered by Cheniere Energy, an American company, left a Louisiana port this week with the first major exports of U.S. liquefied natural gas, or LNG. This shipment isn’t going to Europe, but others are expected to arrive by spring.
“Like shale gas was a game changer in the U.S., American gas exports could be a game changer for Europe,” said Maros Sefcovic, the European Union’s energy chief.
Many in Europe see U.S. entry into the market as part of a broader effort to challenge Russian domination of energy supplies and prices in this part of the world. Moscow has for years used its giant energy reserves as a strategic tool to influence former satellite countries, including Lithuania, one of the countries on the fringes of Russia that now see a chance to break away.
Some are building the capacity to handle seaborne LNG, including Poland, which opened its first import terminal last year. In Bulgaria, which buys about 90% of its gas from Russia, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said last month that supplies of U.S. gas could arrive via Greek LNG facilities, “God willing.”
The shale boom has reshaped the world energy market over the past decade, with the U.S. emerging as a new energy exporter, and the beginning of gas exports represents a big moment in this new world. Deutsche Bank estimates the U.S. could catch up with Russia as Europe’s biggest gas supplier within a decade, with each nation controlling around a fifth of the market. Russia supplies about a third of Europe’s gas via pipeline.
U.S. gas exports will improve energy security for its allies, said Chris Smith, assistant secretary at the U.S. Energy Department. Those include Lithuania, which was the first Soviet republic to declare independence in 1990 but remains reliant on Moscow for energy.
Until 2014, Gazprom owned 37% of Lithuania’s national gas company, Lietuvos Dujos, and dominated its boardroom, said current and former officials.
“There was no negotiation about gas prices,” said Jaroslav Neverovic, Lithuania’s energy minister from 2012 to 2014. He said Gazprom would send Lietuvos Dujos a list of gas prices, which the board automatically approved.
Mr. Neverovic said negotiations always took place on New Year’s Eve, when Gazprom would threaten to cut off supplies during winter’s coldest days. Gazprom denied setting unfair prices.
This is a huge story. Yesterday I had a long note on the headwinds facing both Russia and Saudi Arabia, ending with:
As Russia's footprint grows larger in the Mideast, it may behoove Saudi Arabia to find a better working relationship with Russia. This business about Saudi Arabia and US shale "living together" is not the story. The story is whether two arch enemies, Russia and Saudi Arabia can coexist.  
It appears Russia now faces another headwind, competition from the US to supply Europe with natural gas.

The story gets more and more interesting.

And in a sense, the story continues with a post by RBN Energy, today, of all things. How coincidental. Natural Gas Flowing To Sabine Pass LNG Export Plant – Part 2.
After years of debate and speculation regarding prospects for U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), the first cargo left the Gulf Coast around 8:30 pm EST Wednesday (February 24, 2016) from Cheniere’s Sabine Pass terminal, according to Genscape’s global LNG cargo monitoring service. The vessel carrying a little more than 3.0 Bcf of LNG is reportedly bound for Petrobras in Brazil. The incremental export demand that this LNG cargo and others like it to follow represent, is potentially good news for U.S. gas producers, with benchmark futures prices at Henry Hub, LA closing yesterday (February 25, 2016) near record seasonal lows at $1.711/MMBtu in the face of mild winter demand, record production and brimming storage levels.
Today we look at how this first cargo was supplied and what that tells us about current and future impact to flows and regional prices.Last time, in Part 1 of Commencing Countdown, we looked at gas flows into the Sabine terminal in preparation for this historic cargo and showed that since Dec. 1, 2015 Sabine Pass received close to 7.5 Bcf of gas supply from two separate pipelines – Creole and NGPL –as part of start-up testing and commissioning activities for the first two liquefaction trains. Since then, receipts have climbed to more than 8 Bcf. Of that, 4.0 Bcf (50%) has come from Creole Trail while the other half has come from NGPL. These volumes are not large enough to make a dent in the overall U.S. supply/demand balance. However, they may provide an early indication of how the terminal and subsequent exports will be supplied. So this time we look at where the gas is coming from.

Random Update Of 2Q15 Bakken DUCs That Have Been Fracked Since Last Update -- February 26, 2016

One can scroll through the 2Q15 wells to see the DUCs that remain. I do not recall when I last updated this list, but today I see that the following DUCs have been fracked/completed (most are now off-line):
  • 29851, 1,121, WPX, Beaks 36-35HD, Mandaree, t12/15; cum 20K after 25 days;
  • 29852, 1,205, WPX, Beaks 36-35HC, Mandaree, t12/15; cum 23K after 28 days;
  • 29853, 1,397, WPX, Beaks 36-35HZ, Mandaree, t12/15; cum 26K after 29 days;
  • 29381, 2,449, MRO, Trinity 14-21H, Bailey,t2/16; cum --
  • 29382, 1,100, MRO, Ringer 14-21TFH, Bailey, ten-foot-payzone, very low background gas, t2/16; cum --
  • 29383, 1,975, MRO, Wilhelm 24-21TFH, Bailey, t1/16; cum --
  • 29384, 1,931, MRO, Ulmer 24-21H, Bailey, t1/16; cum --
  • 27690, 2,300, Oasis, Logan 5601 13-26 5B,  Tyrone, t11/15; cum 32K 12/15;
  • 26933, 1,243, CLR, Patterson Federal 7-13H, Camp, t1/16; cum -- off-line;
  • 26934, 1,228, CLR, Kuhn 6-13H1, Camp, t1/16; cum -- off-line;
  • 21790, 1,631, Enerplus, Tipi 148-93-22A-21H,  South Fork, t8/15; cum 120K 12/15; 22 days in 12/15;

Halliburton To Slash 5,000 More Jobs; Job Watch -- Random Op-Ed From The Wall Street Journal -- February 26, 2016

Halliburton to cut 5,000 more jobs. Flashback: GE looks to buy some of HAL's drilling assets.

Kohl's is closing stores as the department store industry collapses

I track the weekly jobs reports here.

Last week The Wall Street Journal had an op-ed on "the Sanders appeal."

The title of the op-ed and subject: The Young and the Economically Clueless. Millennials are flocking to Sanders, and in the GOP they favor Trump. Why are young people voting against their own interests?

From the article:
These young voters seem not to realize that the economic policies they find so resonant are the least likely to promote the growth and the social mobility they desire. They deserve to be lead from the discredited backwater of equalizing outcomes, forward with policies that instead help eliminate barriers frustrating their access to opportunities.
The millennials can’t be faulted for being anxious about their economic prospects. They are coming of age in the weakest economy in generations. The underemployment rate (measuring those working a job for which they’re overqualified and underpaid) for young adults below age 30 is 60%. The overall employment-to-population ratio of 77.4% for those in the prime-of-working-life 25-54 age bracket translates into 1.5 million jobs below the 20-year average.
The college graduate living in his parents’ basement and working a marginal job to service a student loan is by now an archetype of the Obama era. And while the headline unemployment numbers are down, and the administration congratulates itself on a tepid “recovery” that was almost exclusively dependent on Fed-engineered financial-asset inflation, there is every reason to be skeptical about the health of the labor market. The labor-participation rate languishes at its lowest level in 40 years, and credit creation, government and private investment aren’t faring much better.
Headwinds for the millennials:
Artificial intelligence and self-learning algorithms are efficiency-creating and cost-reducing, and soon they will be displacing service professionals and Ph.Ds just as they have factory workers. The Bank of England projects that 45% of jobs done by people in the U.K. will eventually be performed by robots. ArkInvest expects the U.S. to shed 75 million jobs in the next two decades.  
For me, reading the Ayn Rand biography helped me understand the history of all this. It is interesting to see that we may end up re-living that history.

Flashback: A Random Update Of One Of The First (?) Five-Well Pads In The Bakken -- February 26, 2016

Updates

February 26, 2016: the original post was dated November 23, 2011 and was very short; just pointing out the beginning of the "manufacturing stage" in the Bakken; the IPs, production profiles, and halo effect were all updated this date. 

The original 5-well pad now had a neighboring 3-well pad. Of the 8 wells, all run to the north, except #21952 and #21954, which run to the south. The wells on the 3-well pad all run to the north. For their production profiles, see the bottom of this post.


 
Original Post
November 23, 2011
 
I think this is the first bona fide 5-well pad (permits) in the Bakken, in Alger field, one of the better Bakken fields, all in SWSW 20-155N-92W, all are 350 feet from the south line; the farthest west is 950 feet from the west line, and then they are spaced 25 feet apart, so that the farthest east is 1,050 feet from the west line :
  • 21952, 4,293, Statoil/BEXP, Sorenson 29-32 3H, Alger, t9/12; cum 261K 12/15; runs south;
  • 21953, 2,790, Statoil/BEXP, Cvancara 20-17 2TFH, Alger, t9/12; cum 178K 12/15; runs north;
  • 21954, 3,078, Statoil/BEXP, Sorenson 29-32 4H, Alger, t9/12; cum 227K 12/15; runs south;
  • 21955, 2,972, Statoil/BEXP, Cvancara 20-17 3H, Alger, t9/12; cum 201K 12/15; runs north;
  • 21957, 1,779, Statoil/BEXP, Cvancara 20-17 4TFH, Alger, t7/14; cum 86K 12/15; runs north;
Pretty cool.

When you get to the Alger field (see link above), check out the huge BEXP wells in that field, and then do a head-to-head comparison of IPs with other drillers in that field.

This is where some record IPs were recorded by BEXP (Cvancara and Sorenson). I need to go find the links. This is really quite incredible.

Interestingly enough, these wells are just a few miles to the northeast of where KOG acquired the North Plains Energy acreage. Very, very exciting.

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Production Profiles For Past Few Months

21952, 4,293, BEXP, Sorenson 29-32 3H, Alger, t9/12; cum 261K 12/15:

PoolDateDaysBBLS OilRunsBBLS WaterMCF ProdMCF SoldVent/Flare
BAKKEN12-2015112655233112491227771456
BAKKEN11-20150000000
BAKKEN10-2015111726129288520921910182
BAKKEN9-20151416332239948872758114
BAKKEN8-20153142464094296122491988261
BAKKEN7-20153147224931282143093445864

21953, 2,790, BEXP, Cvancara 20-17 2TFH, Alger, t9/12; cum 178K 12/15:

PoolDateDaysBBLS OilRunsBBLS WaterMCF ProdMCF SoldVent/Flare
BAKKEN12-201531248924155087174417440
BAKKEN11-201530323733324113171917190
BAKKEN10-201519263223552846130413004
BAKKEN9-201516927737744529
BAKKEN8-20153130723144121827172150567
BAKKEN7-2015313804380354543033696607

21954, 3,078, BEXP, Sorenson 29-32 4H, Alger, t9/12; cum 227K 12/15:

PoolDateDaysBBLS OilRunsBBLS WaterMCF ProdMCF SoldVent/Flare
BAKKEN12-20151121161993142918661679187
BAKKEN11-20150000000
BAKKEN10-20151116921750777191919190
BAKKEN9-20151414411301561186118610
BAKKEN8-201531411842551109450745070
BAKKEN7-201531404540741425541454140

21955, 2,972, BEXP, Cvancara 20-17 3H, Alger, t9/12; cum 201K 12/15:

PoolDateDaysBBLS OilRunsBBLS WaterMCF ProdMCF SoldVent/Flare
BAKKEN12-20153149384767364049894824165
BAKKEN11-20153060096153320150254767258
BAKKEN10-20152046034731310321542012142
BAKKEN9-20151325862403131031812895286
BAKKEN8-201531627763802309731060781232
BAKKEN7-20153172087167393571386304834

21957, 1,779, BEXP, Cvancara 20-17 4TFH, Alger, t7/14; cum 86K 12/15:


PoolDateDaysBBLS OilRunsBBLS WaterMCF ProdMCF SoldVent/Flare
BAKKEN12-201530432440296839604846071441
BAKKEN11-20153029153025369236683548120
BAKKEN10-2015192589232129942282219092
BAKKEN9-20151863171061851805
BAKKEN8-20153134443606503667456332413
BAKKEN7-201531531251635337791767881129
BAKKEN6-20152933883520590246304387243
BAKKEN5-20153162236285716892969024272


Just one example of the halo effect. The first four wells were taken off-line in the summer of 2014, when the fifth well was fracked. This is the production profile of one of those four wells (#21954) around that time:

BAKKEN9-20142912815126815361165341649143
BAKKEN8-2014201169811389374915559142451314
BAKKEN7-2014233690000
BAKKEN6-20140000000
BAKKEN5-2014181174711722497814928135181410
BAKKEN4-201413954396631604751064521058
BAKKEN3-20141300000
BAKKEN2-20140000000
BAKKEN1-20140000000
BAKKEN12-20130000000
BAKKEN11-201330000000
BAKKEN10-20133123492879690189401894
BAKKEN9-201315383929141210290202902

************************************
Production Profiles Of The Three "New" Wells

26344, 1,896, Statoil, Dvancara 20-17 5H, t7/14; cum 115K 12/15:
26345, 1,463, Statoil, Cvancara 20-17 6TFH, t7/14; cum 60K 12/15:

26346, 2,384, Statoil, Cvancara 20-17 7H, t7/14; cum 152K 12/15:


PoolDateDaysBBLS OilRunsBBLS WaterMCF ProdMCF SoldVent/Flare
BAKKEN12-20153176897348611037163113603
BAKKEN11-201530816581554504708431723912
BAKKEN10-2015254403464032921707161097
BAKKEN9-201513293528981868445933081151
BAKKEN8-201531946496026245530625962710
BAKKEN7-20153110649103826985529028482442
BAKKEN6-201529718873474456367613742302
BAKKEN5-2015311130911388565834792520959
BAKKEN4-2015301270212967938324781853625
BAKKEN3-2015311547815204773944943786708
BAKKEN2-2015281608215919765357765040736
BAKKEN1-20151397599589640545474222325
BAKKEN12-2014181015196921515730612920141
BAKKEN11-20140013820000
BAKKEN10-20141417951185805826891276301282
BAKKEN9-20143039501939173225622229333
BAKKEN8-2014310350000
BAKKEN7-20143138473812130430930141295


************************************
A Re-Frack

21957, 1,779, Statoil, Cvancara 20-17 4TFH, spud 5/10/12; TD reached 6/3/12; t7/14; cum 86K 12/15;

This well was originally fracked 8/31/12: 5 stages; 534,092 lbs of proppant (sand + ceramic); obviously something went wrong with the frack or they were simply seeing what 5 stages would do (I doubt it) -- at the time of the application, they were planning on 33 swell packers to complete the well.

They came back and re-fracked on 6/11/2014: 35 stages; 3.3 million lbs proppants
(again, sand + ceramic).

The sundry form for both fracks was received by the NDIC on August 16, 2014. 

Even though it was re-fracked in July, 2014, the well did not reach significant production until several months later, December, 2014. There may have been operational reasons -- there are four other wells on that pad and another multi-well pad in the immediate area.

Full production profile:

PoolDateDaysBBLS OilRunsBBLS WaterMCF ProdMCF SoldVent/Flare
BAKKEN12-201530432440296839604846071441
BAKKEN11-20153029153025369236683548120
BAKKEN10-2015192589232129942282219092
BAKKEN9-20151863171061851805
BAKKEN8-20153134443606503667456332413
BAKKEN7-201531531251635337791767881129
BAKKEN6-20152933883520590246304387243
BAKKEN5-20153162236285716892969024272
BAKKEN4-20153072817436966278527479373
BAKKEN3-201531891487641094052865186100
BAKKEN2-20152894169911947363306166164
BAKKEN1-2015301489014554209911407613862214
BAKKEN12-20142513778131552725862945987307
BAKKEN11-20140030000
BAKKEN10-20144446261450145
BAKKEN9-2014304120114215114
BAKKEN8-2014310300000
BAKKEN7-2014313340331042761282418101014

Friday, February 26, 2016 -- Update On Drones In North Dakota

The Dickinson Press is reporting from Hillsboro, ND, midway between Grand Forks and Fargo, ND, along the Red River Valley on the east side of the state, far away from the Bakken:
Hillsboro may soon earn an aviation reputation of its own as UAS researchers and manufacturers have big plans for the small town and its municipal airport in the upcoming year.
Activity in Hillsboro so far has involved both local and international players, with representatives from firms in Finland and Israel conducting testing or visiting facilities Monday.
It falls outside of Class B airspace that surrounds both cities' airports. That airspace faces strict regulation and any aircraft entering it must have permission from an air traffic controller.
The hyperspectral camera attached to the unmanned aircraft was developed by Finnish company Rikola Ltd.
CEO Raimo Rikola and Chief Technology Officer Jussi Soukkamaki were among those watching from the ground as a flight crew with Grand Forks-based startup SkySkopes maneuvered the aircraft.
As the aircraft orbited around the pole, the hyperspectral camera took pictures observers hoped would show something the human eye cannot detect with its limited spectrum of vision.
A hyperspectral camera is capable of seeing wavelengths beyond human sight and identify signatures that can differentiate various materials based on how light reflects.
The technology is being applied to crops to detect diseases and nutrient deficiencies, but others hope to use it for inspecting utility poles and other infrastructure to find rot and other defects.
***********************************
Miscellaneous Video / Photos

Just visiting, south Main Street, Williston, February, 2016; the new Renaissance On Main at the beginning of the video:



Just visiting:


********************************
Notes For The Granddaughters

Learning about electric circuits:





Our 12-year-old daughter was given a Brazil jacket by a member of Brazil's national water polo team that has qualified for the 2016 Olympics: