WTI Plummets; Trades Below $54; Twelve New Permits In North Dakota -- May 31, 2019

Newbies: note the number of active rigs, 64, which seems about right in North Dakota when WTI ranges between $55 and $65. Note how few active rigs there were in 2016 -- that was during the "trillion-dollar mistake" by the Saudis when they tried to crush US shale by opening their spigots.

More important than the number of active rigs is the number of wells not producing for operational reasons. As of the the most recent Director's Cut, the March, 2019, data:

• DUCs: 968, up 74 from last report
• inactive: 1,697, up 30 from last report
• total: 2,665 (up from 2,561 last month; this represents about 1,000 more wells than will be drilled this calendar year; 2,561 is about what North Dakota will complete every three years)

Active rigs:

$53.50	5/31/2019	05/31/2018	05/31/2017	05/31/2016	05/31/2015
Active Rigs	64	61	48	28	80

Twelve new permits:

• Operators: Hess (6); RimRock (6)
• Fields: Alkali Creek (Mountrail); Heart Butte (Dunn)
• Comments:
• RimRock has permits for a 6-well Skunk Creek pad in lot 2/section 7-148-92;
• Hess has permits for a 6-well EN-Sorenson B pad in section 35-155-94, Alkali Creek;

One well did come of the confidential list today:

• 35242, SI/NC, WPX, Badlands 5-32-29HT, Heart Butte, no production data,

Five permits renewed:

• Slawson: five Gunslinger Federal permits, all in McKenzie County