Week 52: December 24, 2017 -- December 30, 2017

In the draft version of the top stories for 2017, for the category, "North Dakota, energy" I suggested the successful opening of the DAPL. Now, today, the last edition of The WSJ for the year has this op-ed: "North Dakota's Pipeline Payoff":

The Dakota Access Pipeline marks six months of operations on New Year’s Day, and new data show that North Dakota is already enjoying major benefits from the $3.8 billion project.

The pipeline has significantly lowered energy transportation costs and energy companies to move their oil to the Gulf Coast, where it fetches a higher price. So it’s little surprise that energy production has surged since the Dakota Access Pipeline opened.

Operations
The Bakken strikes back, version 2
Active rigs in North Dakota drops below 50 
What does Whiting see in Alger / Robinson Lake?
Bakken wells turned off when oil prices drop
CLR with two nice wells in Brooklyn oil field
Case study: Kukla well, #16422
CLR shows major improvement in oil production -- Mike Filloon

Fracking
Random update of re-fracked QEP wells in Heart Butte

Miscellaneous
Operators who may have benefited by scrapping hedges 
WTI closes out the year at $60.10 
NDSG releases rare earths study 
Whiting discovers new oil and gas pool in western North Dakota 
Record cold in the Bakken (for this time of year)