Venezuela’s claim of being home to the world’s largest oil reserves based on its massive Orinoco heavy oil belt has been the subject of industry skepticism for years.The Bakken: 500 billion bbls OOIP x 12% = 60 billion bbls.
The South American producer estimates it has over 300 billion barrels of proven oil, a figure naysayers believe is grossly overstated as much of its huge bitumen resources are tricky, and hence too costly, to produce.
Now two years after the biggest oil price collapse in a generation, Venezuela’s world-beating oil reserve claims are not only looking increasingly shaky but the country’s current economic and political quagmire means its recoverable oil reserves are now firmly in retreat, according to an independent study.
Norwegian oil consultancy Rystad Energy last week estimated that Venezuela’s total recoverable oil resources stand at 75 billion barrels, 24% below ago levels and less than a quarter of the official 302.3 billion barrels figure for proven reserves.
The shortfall is even more dramatic given Rystad’s approach to classifying recoverable oil resources.Unlike BP’s touchstone annual Statistical Review, which presents a mix of resource categories based on opaque official sources as “proven”, Rystad claims to take a more rigorous approach by applying Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) standards.
On this basis, Venezuela’s proved reserves actually stand at just 8 billion barrels, a fraction of the claimed total and less than neighboring Brazil. Even on a more generous proved and probable basis—equivalent to 2P reserves cited by oil companies as the most likely estimate of their recoverable oil—Venezuela holds 17 billion barrels, Rystad believes.
Monday, July 10, 2017
Venezuela? All These Years, Fake News? -- July 10, 2017
From Platts:
Wow! Halliburton Is Huge In Williston -- Good News! -- July 10, 2017
Over at Fox Business: Halliburton hiring surges as US fracking demand swells.
Meanwhile, over at Zacks, it is being reported that Chevron sells Gulf of Mexico oil fields to Cantium. Data points:
Houston, Texas-based oilfield services company Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) said Monday it has seen a surge of new job openings this year thanks to an increased demand for fracking in the United States.I assume there are a lot of Bakken DUCs that are coming up on the 2-year time limit.
The company is hiring about 100 new employees each month to keep pace with demand in west Texas and has expanded its workforce in the region by more than one-third, to 2,700 employees, the company’s head of operations in the Permian Basin Chris Gatjanis told the Houston Chronicle. Halliburton has had to extend its search for employees beyond Texas, into neighboring states and beyond.
Meanwhile, over at Zacks, it is being reported that Chevron sells Gulf of Mexico oil fields to Cantium. Data points:
- Chevron sold five fields
- 300 active wells, 151 platforms, other assets
- the deal amount was not disclosed
- Cantium was established in 2016; is based in Covington, LA
- in line with Chevron's plan announced last year to divest $10 billion shallow water assets during 2016 - 2017
- with this deal, Chevron completes its divestment of its remaining shelf assets
India Signs First Deal To Buy US Crude Oil -- July 10, 2017
From Platts:
The wiki report on the off-shore Mars oil drilling platform can be found here.
Considering that US crude oil exports are now setting new records each month, this is an incredibly big story.
A story that probably won't be on the evening news.
Indian Oil Corp has sealed its first deal to import crude oil from the US, making it the first ever US crude purchase among India's state-run refiners, while more deals are possible in coming months, IOC's director of finance A.K. Sharma told S&P Global Platts in an interview.Mars was recently mentioned on the blog.
IOC joins other refiners in leading Asian crude importers who have been sourcing US crude because of favorable economics, adding to the headache of some Middle Eastern suppliers, as they will have to brace for increased competition in India, which is witnessing robust growth in oil products demand.
IOC's move to add the US to its long list of suppliers could open the way for more purchases by other Indian refiners, both state-run and private.
The wiki report on the off-shore Mars oil drilling platform can be found here.
Considering that US crude oil exports are now setting new records each month, this is an incredibly big story.
A story that probably won't be on the evening news.
Hedderich's Building On Fire? -- July 10, 2017
A reader tells me that "Hedderich's Building" on Main Street, Williston, ND, is currently "burning to the ground." I'm sure details will follow.
Check twitter.
Here it is: via Twitter, from The Williston Herald.
From the linked story:
Also, at Twitter, a seven-second video.
For me this is really, really sad. I grew up with Hedderich's. I have many, many fond memories of visiting this store with my mom.
Wow, the loss of the Hedderich's building is really, really sad. It was the first department store (and only department store) for many years for my mother. She took me there often in the 50s and the 60s. Many memories.
Lost in the 50s Tonight, Ronnie Milsap
Check twitter.
Here it is: via Twitter, from The Williston Herald.
The Hedderich building, at the corner of Second and Main streets, was reported on fire around 5:45 p.m., according to Williston police. Firefighters were still on the scene shortly after 7:30 p.m.Another one via twitter:
Also, at Twitter, a seven-second video.
For me this is really, really sad. I grew up with Hedderich's. I have many, many fond memories of visiting this store with my mom.
*****************************
Lost In The 50s Tonight
Wow, the loss of the Hedderich's building is really, really sad. It was the first department store (and only department store) for many years for my mother. She took me there often in the 50s and the 60s. Many memories.
If This Turns Out To Be True -- Quite A Story (Non-Bakken, Non-Energy) - July 10, 2017
Meningococcal vaccine may offer protection against gonorrhea. Link to story here.
With some exceptions, most states mandate meningococcal vaccination for those attending colleges or universities. The US military mandates this vaccination.
Despite the fact that gonorrhea and meningitis are quite different from one another, the bacteria that cause Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Neisseria meningitidis are actually related.
From the linked story:
I wasn't paying attention to CNBC today. Checking something tonight brought me to this -- it was posted early this morning, before the market opened.
I couldn't find any news regarding XLNX but apparently "the Nvidia story" was the story driving everything. Then over at Investor's Business Daily, this headline and story:
Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment, financial, job, relationship, or travel decisions based on what you read here or what you think you may have read here. If this is important to you, go to the source.
With some exceptions, most states mandate meningococcal vaccination for those attending colleges or universities. The US military mandates this vaccination.
Despite the fact that gonorrhea and meningitis are quite different from one another, the bacteria that cause Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Neisseria meningitidis are actually related.
From the linked story:
The research, conducted in New Zealand, found that the gonorrhea rate among teens and young adults there who had received a meningitis B vaccine during an emergency campaign in the early 2000s was significantly lower than the rate seen in people of the same age who weren’t vaccinated.
****************************
The Stock Market
I wasn't paying attention to CNBC today. Checking something tonight brought me to this -- it was posted early this morning, before the market opened.
These four sectors lead market higher; Amazon hurts retailers. Key U.S. index funds held modest gains Monday as tech stocks led the upside. Nvidia (NVDA) and Xilinx (XLNX) boosted chip ETFs.Wow. One doesn't see XLNX at the top of these lists often. (Ever?)
Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment, financial, job, relationship, or travel decisions based on what you read here or what you think you may have read here. If this is important to you, go to the source.
Vern Whitten Aerial Photography -- July 10, 2017
Link here. That link works fine for me; Vern says the link may not work for some mobile devices; if so, try this link: ttp://www.vernwhittenphotography.net/jun17.
Forty (40) photos.
Throughout the slide show:
Phone: (701) 261-7658
Forty (40) photos.
Throughout the slide show:
- note all the new buildings (hospitals, high schools, air terminals)
- note the new runways
#2: Solo pumper in the neighborhood, DickinsonVern Whitten's website.
#12: Lewis and Clark Bridge, Missouri River, SW of Williston
#14: Williston Rec Center
#15: Williston High School
#18: 24 wells on one pad?
#19: active fracking operation ("frack slide")
#22: look at the size of that rig -- the pumpers are huge, so one can imagine how huge the rig is
#32, 33, 34: build it; they will come in; a different kind of "pad"
Phone: (701) 261-7658
Oasis With Six New Permits - July 10, 2017
Active rigs:
Six new permits:
21903, 873, Oasis, Crane Federal 5300 41-26H, Willow Creek, 36 stages, 4.5 million lbs, t5/12; cum 258K 5/17;
| $44.55 | 7/10/2017 | 07/10/2016 | 07/10/2015 | 07/10/2014 | 07/10/2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active Rigs | 57 | 29 | 73 | 189 | 186 |
Six new permits:
- Operator: Oasis
- Field: Willow Creek (Williams)
- Comments: permits for a 6-well pad in NESE 27-153-100; see below
- Lime Rock: one Dora permit in Mountrail County
- Nine Point Energy: one Simpson permit in McKenzie County
**************************
21903, 873, Oasis, Crane Federal 5300 41-26H, Willow Creek, 36 stages, 4.5 million lbs, t5/12; cum 258K 5/17;
Royalties Can Make You Rich -- WSJ -- July 10, 2017
Updates
Later, 8:59 p.m. Central Time: see first comment for an interesting story regarding royalties; how they can affect trusts/estates.
Original Post
One study estimated that in 2012 private owners earned some $22 billion in royalties.
Link here.
One often-overlooked benefit of the U.S. energy boom: The federal government receives billions of dollars in royalties annually. Thanks to property rights, so do millions of Americans. Over the past decade, for example, Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. has dished out $1 billion in royalties and $500 million in signing bonuses to Pennsylvania landowners in Susquehanna and Wyoming counties.
In fiscal 2016, Washington collected $3.9 billion in royalties from oil and gas production on federal land and offshore—and that’s down from $6.6 billion in 2015, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. Lower energy prices contributed to the decline, but so did the Obama administration’s roadblocks on drilling-permit applications.
The Congressional Research Service reports that federal lands produced 1.57 million barrels of crude oil a day in 2008. By 2015 that had risen 25% to 1.955 million. But over the same period production on nonfederal land more than doubled from 3.467 million barrels a day to 7.46 million.
The contrast was starker for natural gas. Federal lands produced 6,471 billion cubic feet in 2008, but that number shrank to 4,594 billion by 2015. Over the same period production on nonfederal lands grew from 14,523 billion cubic feet to 24,143 billion.
The difference is even more pronounced when you realize that the royalty rate is typically much higher on state and private land. Oil and gas producers are required to pay 12.5% to drill on federal land. Royalties on state land are usually in the range of 16% to 18%. In Texas, the largest producer, the typical rate is 25%. Royalties on private land often reflect the state rate.
Why would producers flock to state or private land rather than cheaper federal land? Because time is money. The Bureau of Land Management took an average of 307 days in 2011 to process applications for drilling permits. States can give approval within a few months.Based on what I see at the NDIC, it looks like North Dakota can process applications in less than one month in established drilling areas.
Much, much more at the link.
Pennsylvania fracks; New York state bans fracking. New York City's subways are in a world of hurt.
Hold that thought. A writer who knows the Bowman, ND, area very, very well, pointed out these facts regarding royalties and Bowman County:
- on Federal land the royalty money is split 50/50 (50% to federal government; 50% to the county)
- county royalties can only be used for infrastructure; no salaries paid with royalties
- a 300 X 20 ft indoor rodeo building (at the fair grounds );
- a new addition on the county court house;
- a new county garage/building;
- a fairly large school addition (the school had no building debt); and,
- the county buildings were paid for before they were built
- that is what OIL royalty does (that I know of) in a county with less than 3,800 people, in 13 years
Oasis Wants To Be The Biggest In The State -- Natural Gas Processing Plant -- July 10, 2017
Updates
December 6, 2017: Crestwood Arrow Bear Den natural gas processing plant:
Crestwood also announced December 6, 2017, the commissioning of Phase 1 of the Bear Den gas processing plant in Watford City, ND, adding 30 million cubic feet per day of processing capacity to support increasing gas volumes on Crestwood’s Arrow gathering system located on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. Additionally, Crestwood announced it has reached final investment decision to proceed with Phase 2 expansion of the Bear Den gas processing plant with the addition of a new 120 MMcf/d cryogenic gas processing plant.
July 26, 2017: more background information on the Oasis Wild Basin natural gas processing plant.
Original Post
From The Bismarck Tribune via The Charlotte Observer:
A company has proposed an expansion for a natural gas processing plant in the most prolific part of the Bakken oil patch in northwestern North Dakota.The North Dakota Pipeline Authority tracks the natural gas plants in North Dakota. Link here: https://northdakotapipelines.com/gas-plants/.
The Bismarck Tribune (http://bit.ly/2tFJeuB ) reports that Oasis Midstream wants to expand the Wild Basin Gas Plant in McKenzie County to make it the largest natural gas processing complex in the state.
The plant currently processes about 80 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. The expansion would add a new complex next to the existing plant, which would allow the plant to process an additional 265 million cubic feet per day.
According to documents filed with the North Dakota Public Service Commission, construction is expected to cost around $140 million.
This is the data base I have. It has not been updated and I can no longer vouch for its accuracy. If this is important to you, go to the source.
Owner Company
|
Facility
|
County
|
2006
|
2008
|
2010
|
2011
|
2012
|
2013
|
2014
|
2015
|
2016
|
2017
|
North Dakota
|
||||||||||||
ONEOK/Bear Paw
|
Lignite
|
Burke
|
6
|
6
|
6
|
6
|
6
|
6
|
6
|
6
|
6
|
|
ONEOK/Bear Paw
|
Marmath
|
Slope
|
7.5
|
7.5
|
7.5
|
7.5
|
7.5
|
7.5
|
7.5
|
7.5
|
7.5
|
|
ONEOK
|
Grasslands
|
McKenzie
|
63
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
|
ONEOK
|
Stateline I
|
Williams
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
|
ONEOK
|
Stateline II
|
Williams
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
|
ONEOK
|
Garden Creek I
|
McKenzie
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
|
ONEOK
|
Garden Creek II
|
McKenzie
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
|
ONEOK
|
Garden Creek III
|
McKenzie
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
120*
|
120
|
|
ONEOK
|
Lonesome Creek
|
McKenzie
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
200
|
200
|
|
ONEOK
|
Demicks Lake
|
McKenzie
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
200*
|
Suspended: Feb 24, 2015
|
ONEOK
|
Bear Creek
|
Dunn
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
80*
|
|
Petro Hunt
|
Little Knife
|
Billings
|
32
|
32
|
32
|
32
|
32
|
32
|
32
|
32
|
32
|
|
True Oil
|
Red Wing Creek
|
McKenzie
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
|
Sterling Energy
|
Ambrose
|
Divide
|
0.5
|
0.5
|
0.5
|
0.5
|
0.5
|
0.5
|
0.5
|
0.5
|
0.5
|
|
EOG Resources
|
Stanley
|
Mountrail
|
NA
|
20
|
0*
|
0*
|
0*
|
0*
|
0*
|
0*
|
0*
|
|
Whiting Oil & Gas
|
Robinson Lake
|
Mountrail
|
NA
|
30
|
45
|
90
|
90
|
90
|
110
|
110
|
110
|
|
Whiting Oil & Gas
|
Ray
|
Stark
|
NA
|
10
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
|
Whiting Oil & Gas
|
Belfield
|
Williams
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
30
|
30
|
35
|
35
|
35
|
35
|
|
XTO - Nesson
|
Ray
|
Williams
|
NA
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
|
Hess
|
Tioga
|
Williams
|
110
|
110
|
110
|
110
|
110
|
110
|
250
|
250
|
250
|
|
Hiland Partners
|
Badlands
|
Bowman
|
4
|
40
|
40
|
40
|
40
|
40
|
40
|
40
|
40
|
|
Hiland Partners
|
Norse
|
Divide
|
NA
|
NA
|
25
|
25
|
25
|
25
|
25
|
25
|
25
|
|
Hiland Partners
|
Watford City
|
McKenzie
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
50
|
90
|
90
|
90
|
90
|
90
|
|
Summit Resources
|
Knutson
|
Billings
|
NA**
|
NA**
|
NA**
|
NA**
|
NA**
|
NA**
|
NA**
|
NA**
|
NA**
|
|
Targa Resources
|
Badlands
|
McKenzie
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
45
|
45
|
45
|
45
|
45
|
45
|
|
Targa Resources
|
Badlands
|
McKenzie
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
200
|
200*
|
|
USG Midstream Bakken
|
DeWitt
|
Divide
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
|
Caliber Midstream
|
Caliber Midstream
|
McKenzie
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
|
Plains
|
Ross
|
Mountrail
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
75
|
75
|
175
|
|
Oasis
|
Wild Basin
|
McKenzie
|
80
|
Add 265 anounced
|
||||||||
Liberty Resources
|
Tioga
|
Williams
|
20
|
|||||||||
AUX Sable - Chicago, IL
|
||||||||||||
AUX Sable - Chicago, IL
|
Prairies Ross
|
Mountrail
|
NA
|
NA
|
110
|
110
|
110
|
110
|
110
|
110
|
110
|
|
227
|
370
|
490
|
760
|
900
|
1024
|
1369
|
1769
|
1889
|
||||
NOTE: the Plains facilty in Ross is rated 50 - 75.
|
||||||||||||
NOTE: Garden Creek III was originally planned to be 100 MMCF facility; in July 30, 2014, announcement, increased to 120 MMCF; ahead of schedule; will be completed 4Q14.
|
||||||||||||
NOTE: Demicks Lake announced July 30, 2014
|
||||||||||||
Note: Garden Creek II completed; announced August 26, 2014.
|
||||||||||||
Note: Bear Creek announced September 22, 2014.
|
||||||||||||
Note: Targa Badlands 200 for 2015 announced october 6, 2014.
|