September 26, 2026: production update; the Rella wells started to show production in June, 2026. Early production:
42344, conf, Oasis, Rella W 5303 13-18 2B, Ft. Buford, spud, 11/18/2025; t--; cum --;
Date
OilRuns
MCF Sold
7-2026
22087
15872
6-2026
6071
4341
42345, conf, Oasis, Rella W 5303 13-18 3B, Ft. Buford, spud, 11/19/2025; t--; cum --;
Date
OilRuns
MCF Sold
7-2026
23895
17097
6-2026
5913
4630
42346, conf, Oasis, Rella W 5303 13-18 4BX, Ft. Buford, spud, 11/20/2025; t--; cum --;
Date
OilRuns
MCF Sold
7-2026
23895
17097
6-2026
5913
4630
Original Post
The wells:
it looks like the reader has a new family of wells, the Oasis Rella
wells in Ft Buford. These are incredibly long laterals -- four miles
long. Remember, the standard Bakken well is two miles long; we've seen a
few three-mile horizontals but I can't recall any four-mile laterals.
These wells are in Ft Buford, in township 153N and range 103W.
They
are sited in section at the north section line and extend through four
sections to end at the south line of section 31. The reader has
royalties in section 31-153-103.
42344, drl, Oasis, Rella W 5303 13-18 2B, Ft. Buford, spud, 11/18/2025; t--; cum --;
42345, drl, Oasis, Rella W 5303 13-18 3B, Ft. Buford, spud, 11/19/2025; t--; cum --;
42346, drl, Oasis, Rella W 5303 13-18 4BX, Ft. Buford, spud, 11/20/2025; t--; cum --;
The deed:
The Oasis permits approved September 25, 2025. They have all been drilled to depth and are waiting to be fracked, from the daily activity report: The Oasis permits:
From the daily activity report:
The permits:
The maps:
This is a very, very busy slide. I may come back to it and explain it. Until I do, you're on your own.
The second map: simply documenting the wells have been drilled, waiting to be fracked:
The third map: the three-well Rella pad sited in section 18-153-103 in Ft Buford.
The fact that these numbers and these launches get very little
mainstream media attention one can safely say the US has fully moved
into space -- it has moved from the "exploration" cycle (which lasted
for decades); is now in the late states of the "boom" cycle (which will
probably last less than ten years due to Elon Musk); and quickly moving
into the "sustainability" or "manufacturing" stage.
One wonders if all
that talk about going to Mars was less about actually going to Mars but
use that "excitement" to get the sector (the space launch sector)
moving.
Finally:
The Wright brothers flight: 1903.
I think one can argue the US entered
the modern air travel age in 1936 with The Douglas DC-3 (1936): this
revolutionary aircraft allowed airlines to make a profit strictly from
carrying passengers, freeing them from a reliance on government mail
subsidies and launching modern commercial air travel. That took only 36
years.
With space exploration it has taken much, much longer, but I
think one can argue that the modern space age (cargo) began in 2018
with Elon Musk's Falcon Heavy launch. And, now, only 2018 t0 2025, seven
years. Thoughts?
It's going to be easier than ever to write books in the future.
****************************** The Book Page
Speaking of books, I continue to read Stephen Witt's biography of Jensen Huang. Absolutely fascinating. It explains very, very well how PC gaming / PC gamers were related to Nvidia. Today, we begin Chapter 9, "CUDA." This should be very, very interesting.
The "big book" I'm reading is the authoritative book on Transcendentalism by Robert A Gross, 2021, along with Gemini. You can follow our discussions, chapter by chapter, by clicking here.
Chapter 9, "Cuda" begins:
Ian Buck was a graduate student in computer graphics at Stanford in 2000.
Gamers like Johnathan Wendel lowered their screen resolution to maximize the frame rate in deathmatch. Ian Buck took things to the opposite extreme .... in 2000 he chained thirty-two GeForce units together to render Quake III across eight projectors.... it took an entire wall....
Poking around the circuits, Buck began to wonder if his GPU daisy chain might be used for tasks other than shooting grenades at his friends. If you wanted to hand-render thirty frames of Quake III in 8K using pencil andpaper, and you were willing to work twenty-four hours a day to do so, the arithmetic would take about 16,000 years to complete. Buck's GeForce array was doing that every second. Plus, the whoel rig cost only about $20,000 to assemble -- a pittance by the standards of high-performance computing. To play Quake on the wall, Buck had inadvertently build a low-budget supercomputer.
DARPA, 2002 or thereabouts ...
2004, Jensen Huang called ...
Parallel-computing evangelist .. Bill Dally -- offered a job by Jensen Huang, 2003 ...
Compute Unified Domain Architecture, CUDA ... a secret Nvidia project at the time ..
John Nickolls, an Nvidia engineer who invented CUDA ...
Prediction that Intel's long domination would soon expire ... p. 94.... Moore's Law truly dead ....
CUDA launched in 2006 ... p. 100
The incredible argument between Deb Shoquist and Jensen Huang .. p. 103 .... worth the price of the book ..
... ends with Kirk leaving permanent job at Nvidia to become a part-time consultant and to find his replacement ... p. 105.... his replacement would soon transform Nvidia Research into the most successful corporate R&D department in the world.
*********************** The Car Page
Here are the photos. Narrative below the photos. The JEEP has a "Let's Go Brandon" above "Sahara." Below JEEP is "Wrangler." This is a brand new 2026 JEEP.
A rounding error, unless I made a basic error in arithmetic: it will be interesting to see where Lennar is five years from now. 26 million shares at $81 / share = $2 billion. Berkshire has $365 billion cash on hand. Huge headlines; hardly a rounding error. 2 / 365 = 0.5%. So, even if LEN triples -> 6 / 365 = 1.6%.
For me, housing:
generational wealth transfer: a lot of old housing is going to become available as seniors downsize over the nest 30 years;
financing: like McDonald's, I don't see a lot of foot traffic moving to homebuilders;
margins: historically 11 - 15%; Lennar says it will give up some margins to move property; it's costing them a lot of money to hold unsold property; 11% on a homebuilding bet or 6% on Treasuries?
declining birth rate;
#1 reason for US population increase disappeared almost two years ago; we're starting to see that in rental rates and have seen that in used car prices for quite some time;
not sure if I can find where homebuilders can cut production costs.
Demographics: Millennials (Gen Y): Born 1981 to 1996, making them 30 to 45 years old.
The younger half of the 30–50 range belongs to this group.
Generation Z:
Born 1997 to 2012, making them 14 to 29 years old.
Facts:
Baby boomers (62 to 80 years old): downsizing; out of the housing market; their children won't move into their old homes.
Generation X (45 to 61 years old): thinking about downsizing; regardless how much they want to buy, they are pretty much fixed in their current homes.
Generation Y(millennials, 30 to 45 years old): prime home-buying segment; more on them below.
Generation Z(14 to 29 years old): too soon to say but it will be nothing like the homebuying frenzy we saw after WWII by my parents' generation and my generation later.
Opinion:
Homebuying is not dead, but it certainly doesn't look like a growth industry. Technology is the growth industry -- technology as the "infrastructure" for everything else, and I just don't see much technology in homebuilding that would entice Generation Y (the 30- to 45-year-old group).Generations Z and Y are more interested in travel, experiences, job hopping, experimenting, way fewer children (perhaps zero).
Before we get started, this is truly bizarre. I can't find "Jane Nielsen," "Saving The West," or "Don't Believe The Hype. Sure, There's Some Oil There, But Not Much." Having spent a fair amount of time searing for "Jane Nielsen" and her article on the Bakken years ago, it appears she has disappeared. I can't even find the link on my blog. Bizarre. Whatever.
Now this from "Alison":
North Dakota’s oil industry set new
records in July as operators accelerated well completions and leaned
harder into longer laterals.
The state
counted 20,072 producing wells in July, a new high, with inactive wells
dropping by about 500 each month and total producing wells rising by
roughly 111, month over month.
July oil production came in at 1.156 million barrels per
day.
“Current production and prices
are above revenue forecast. We're seeing a stable rig count, continuing
to see an increase in three- and four-mile lateral wells being drilled,
and we're continuing to see operators decrease the time from spud to
first production,” said Gunter Harms, speaking for the DMR.
The
DMR’s internal rig count showed about 34 drilling rigs active in North
Dakota, with no net change from August to September, though rigs have
shifted among operators. August saw 84 drilling permits approved,
compared with 93 in July and 85 in June, indicating steady permitting
activity. Wells waiting on completion continued to fall as completions
rose, with 9 frac crews operating in the state.
Longer
laterals remain a key driver. In 2024, operators completed roughly
10.67 million feet of lateral, with the share of three- and four-mile
laterals steadily increasing. Current permitting is roughly 46% two-mile
laterals, 46% three-mile and 8% four-mile.
Quick connects:
North Dakota oil output seen rising in August, state regulator says -- EnergyNow.com
• North Dakota oil production and tax revenue keeps rising as US-Iran war drags on -- InForum
• Commentary: North Dakota lawmakers punt on data center concerns -- North Dakota Monitor
• Rising diesel costs negatively impact trucking industry in North Dakota -- KFYR-TV
• North Dakota Industrial Commission approves $600,000 in grants for renewable projects -- KX News
• Public hearing set for 67 wind turbine farm proposed for northwest North Dakota -- North Dakota Monitor
• Environmental review timeline set for Steel Reef Flat Lake Access Pipeline Project -- Pipeline & Gas Journal
• Protests didn't stop the Dakota Access Pipeline. Tribal leaders still see an impact. -- North Dakota Monitor
• EPA awards more than $1.5M to North Dakota to support brownfield cleanup activities -- Kevin Cramer
• Armada CEO highlights sovereign AI and distributed data centers in North Dakota partnership -- WDAY
• ONEOK named NDPC Member of the Year at annual meeting in Watford City -- McKenzie County Farmer
• Outgoing Chairman Todd Slawson recognized by NDPC for enduring impact -- McKenzie County Farmer
• Is a data center 'worth chasing'? Divide officials are unsure, but have regulations in place -- The Journal
• Mandan petition with 703 signatures seeks vote on banning large AI data centers -- Bismarck Tribune
• City of Aberdeen has sold more than one million gallons of water to Ellendale data center -- KFYR-TV
• Jennifer Turnbow named new director of ND Department of Environmental Quality -- North Dakota Monitor
• North Dakota Supreme Court races are nonpartisan, but Republicans play a big role -- North Dakota Monitor
• Secretary of State sends out 2026 ballot measure guide ahead of November election -- Bismarck Tribune
• ND livestock relief program funds 470 projects as most of state remains in drought -- North Dakota Monitor
• Audit finds documents missing or incomplete for millions in ND fund transactions -- Bismarck Tribune
• Over $1 million awarded to NDDOT for improvements supporting Minot Air Force Base -- Kevin Cramer
• Residential property insurance projected to jump in North Dakota, analysis shows -- North Dakota Monitor
• Armstrong leads beam signing ceremony marking milestone for new State Hospital -- Office of the Governor
• So long, summer 2026: Season will go down on record among the driest ever -- Prairie Public Newsroom
• Sponsor, opponent debate need for ND ballot measure to change constitution -- North Dakota Monitor
• Lawmakers seek AG probe after audit finds problems with business financing -- North Dakota Monitor
• FEMA awards $7.7 M in grant dollars to North Dakota Fire Departments and first responders -- KFYR-TV
• State's eight commercial service airports report 4% decrease compared to August 2025 -- Minot Daily News
• Veteran educator from rural North Dakota is taking home the state's highest teaching honor -- KFYR-TV
• Feds investigate University of North Dakota for reporting of foreign funding -- North Dakota Monitor
• Changes to federal funding system could gut North Dakota K-12 technology budgets -- Bismarck Tribune
• Tioga Public School board approves budget as rising valuation drives mill levy down -- Williston Herald
• Williston Basin school board unanimously approves 2026-2027 year budget and levy -- Williston Herald
• Teachers at Dickinson Middle School hold assembly for Constitution Day and 9/11 -- Dickinson Press
• New high school program offers North Dakota students early path to firefighting careers -- KFYR-TV
• Free school meal ballot measure debated at Greater ND Chamber Policy Summit -- North Dakota Monitor
• State Superintendent and High School Activities Association announce launch of the Dakota Cup -- KFYR-TV
• North Dakota's 11 public colleges and universities reported stable fall enrollment -- North Dakota Monitor
• North Dakota K-12 math and English proficiency data delayed due to testing issues -- Bismarck Tribune
• Dickinson Public Schools board discusses 2026-2027 preliminary budget during meeting -- Dickinson Press
• Arnegard school owners contest $8M rehab figure, place property on market -- McKenzie County Farmer
• Local businesses bring construction equipment to SWCTE for Demo Day event -- Dickinson Press
• Ray Public School officials praise ongoing progress on design of elementary expansion -- The Journal
• NDSU reports first overall enrollment drop in 3 years, but sees growth in certain areas -- Dickinson Press
• CSPS board to hold town hall addressing dire needs ahead of general election -- The Center Republican
• North Dakota scholarships help keep high school students in state after graduation -- Minot Daily News
• Hazen School District unanimously approves 2026-27 budget, setting road map for year ahead -- Hazen Star
• Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation reports record-breaking attendance in Medora -- Dickinson Press
• Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library has appointed Robbie Lauf interim CEO -- Bismarck Tribune
• Williams County Commission approved its final 2027 budget and proposed 3% levy -- Williston Herald
• Commission advances data center noise rules, hears concerns of 1100+ citizens -- McKenzie County Farmer
• Minot City Council approved the 2027 budget on second reading following weeks of discussion -- KFYR-TV
