Another Day With No New Permits -- February 13, 2020

Congrats!! Lynn Helms gets a shout-out from the EIA. Link here.

North Dakota provides regulatory guidance to reduce natural gas flaring.

Natural gas production in North Dakota reached 3.1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in November 2019, a more than ten-fold increase compared with January 2010 levels.

In the first 11 months of 2019, North Dakota flared about 20% of its natural gas production, or 0.56 Bcf/d, which is 40% higher than in 2018. Increases in natural gas production are primarily related to associated gas produced from oil wells in the Bakken formation. Flaring refers to combusting natural gas in the atmosphere instead of capturing and processing natural gas in a processing plant.

North Dakota implemented natural gas capture goals in 2014 to limit the amount of natural gas flared into the atmosphere. Natural gas processing capacity has increased alongside crude oil production but has lagged behind the growth in associated natural gas production. The state natural gas capture target—currently at 88% and set to increase to 91% in November 2020—has not been met in every month since March 2018. In the most recent data month, November 2019, only 83% of natural gas produced in North Dakota was captured.

Insufficient natural gas processing capacity has placed constraints on crude oil production, and oil producers are looking for ways to comply with natural gas capture targets.

According to the North Dakota Pipeline Authority, natural gas processing plant capacity additions in 2019 increased total capacity by 0.71 Bcf/d to reach 3.1 Bcf/d. They expect an additional 0.9 Bcf/d of natural gas processing to enter service during 2020 and 2021. These additions will support crude oil production growth, but the new capacity may fill up faster than anticipated.

On November 15, 2019, the North Dakota Industrial Commission (NDIC), the regulatory entity that oversees the state’s flaring reduction rules, held a hearing to consider both how to raise natural gas capture levels using alternative natural gas capture strategies and how to provide regulatory clarity in natural gas gathering agreements. According to the North Dakota Pipeline Authority, about three-fourths of flaring is associated with oil wells connected to natural gas gathering pipelines.

Much, much more at the link.

Active rigs:

$51.60	2/13/2020	02/13/2019	02/13/2018	02/13/2017	02/13/2016
Active Rigs	55	63	58	36	41

No new permits.

permits renewed: pending.

permits canceled: pending.

Two producing wells (DUCs) reported as completed (see this note):

• 36524, n/d, Slawson, Challenger Federal 9-29-32H, Big Bend, F, t--; cum 13K over 9 days; extrapolates to 42K over 30 days;
• 30177, n/d, Slawson, Muskrat Federal 5 SLTFH, Big Bend, F, t--; cum 10K over 6 days; extrapolates to 48K over 30 days;