How Busy Is It in The Bakken?

According to The Dickinson Press:

North Dakota Department of Transportation figures show that about 6,000 vehicles traveled on a stretch of U.S. Highway 85 west of Watford City to the junction of U.S. Highway 2 near Williston in 2011, compared to 2,300 vehicles on the same stretch in 2006.

The vehicle count on U.S. Highway 2 north of Williston to the junction of U.S. Highway 85 went from approximately 5,000 per day in 2006 to 12,000 in 2011.

How dangerous is it?

Well it's pretty dangerous if you're not wearing your seat belt, are driving drunk, or unlucky enough to be driving when others around you are driving drunk.

One can control two of those variables, and significantly reduce the risk of the third variable.

Again, it would be nice to see denominators in these stories. We have numerators (number of deaths) but not denominators (number of drivers). And lots of other data, most importantly, when highway deaths most likely to occur.

But with 6,000 vehicles vs 2,300 vehicles on one stretch of road, increased accidents is not a surprise.

But this is the big story: these vehicles are driving in an industrial park at 65 mph.

Measured in square miles, the Williston Basin is the biggest industrial/construction park in America. Perhaps this is an even better link.

(Note: Some cities/counties make it difficult for new taxi companies to operate; again, this is not rocket science.)

Random Photos of the New Location and Building for Oasis -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

This is located west of Williston, and a bit north of the other industrial parks. This is yet another industrial park, albeit much smaller than the others going in around Williston.

As the road curves around, heading south and then to the east, one ends up at Spring Lake Park area. One can stay on the east side of the highway and drive right up to Wal-Mart.

Industrial Parks -- Williston, North Dakota -- The Bakken

Highway 1804 heading east out of Williston

• Lined with oil service companies
• Halliburton, Sanjel, and Schlumberger all have operations at the far east end
• Major truck route heading out of town

2nd Street West, heading west out of Williston

• A few oil service companies; major truck route heading out of Williston
• MDU
• New Oasis well being drilled on south side of the highway, south of the frontage road, just across the tracks.

Highway 2 & 85, Million Dollar Way, north end of town

• Lined with oil service companies
• To the west and to the east, several blocks deep, more oil service companies

Highway 2 & 85, about two miles north of Williston

• Target Logistics man-camp
• New Sun Energy complex

Highway 2 & 85, four miles north of Williston, Epping turn-off, terminus of proposed Truck Reliever Route

• Granite Peak development, truck stop, Bakken Industrial Park

Highway 2 & 85, five miles north of Williston

• Missouri Ridge Commercial Center -- new

West of Million Dollar Way, about three miles

• The Oasis industrial park
  

Highway 2 & 85, west of town

• Along the four-lane divided highway, numerous oil service companies
• Numerous farm implement dealers
• Schlumberger along the highway, north side, about halfway between length of this stretch
• McCody Cement at far west end, at four-mile corner
• Plains All American: just west of the weigh scale near Pioneer Drilling
• SemCrude: across the four-lane highway from Schlumberger

North of Highway 2 & 85 west of Williston: at least three industrial parks, depending on how you count them
1) Industrial park just north of the highway, and well east of the four-mile corner

• Scores of oil service companies, including BHI SuperSite, new Schlumberger complex
• Cudd
• EnerMAX; formerly S&S Sales
• Stateline Services
• Hexom

2) Industrial park a bit farther north of the highway, north of four-mile corner; along the terminus of the south end of the Truck Reliever Route -- huge, perhaps 640 acres, certainly 320 acres; just going up now; video below

• Oil service facilities going up, but not yet identified

3) Proposed Truck Reliever Route, north of highway 2 west, about one mile west of four-mile corner, and heading north

• Nabors, has been here for a long time
• Most of the oil service companies are on the west side

The ONEOK natural gas processing and gathering facilities (3 sites) west of Williston. My hunch is these will turn into their own industrial parks.

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The video below is of the new industrial park identified as #2 above, north of the 4-mile corner. Turn down the volume so you don't hear all the wind.

Sorry for the sunlight "line" --

Sometimes, in the Eye of a Hurricane ...

About two years ago, I suppose, I made a comment that when you are in the eye of the hurricane, where it is very calm, you may not be aware of all the activity that is swirling around you. I think that's true for a lot of Willistonites. Of course, most of us living in Williston are aware of increased activity due to the traffic, but after seeing the new industrial park west of Williston tonight, the new ONEOK cryo natural gas processing plant west of Williston (being built by Linde), and now learning from a reader of yet another industrial park north of Williston, I am absolutely convinced there are very few Willistonites aware of the totality of it all, and/or how fast things are changing.

This is just idle rambling; everything in this posting has been posted earlier today or yesterday, but now I'm trying to synthesize what I've seen.

Three New Industrial Parks

First, the industrial parks. The Bakken Industrial Park, being developed by Granite Peak Development, is four miles north of Williston, at the Epping turn-off, and at the terminus of the proposed Truck Reliever Route, a new bypass to the northwest of Williston.

But now there is a new industrial park that I have just become aware of, thanks to a reader letting me know. It's the Missouri Ridge Retail Center five miles north of Williston, or one mile north of the Bakken Industrial Park.

And now a third industrial park, this one west of Williston and quite far along. I hope to have photos of it posted by Monday. I think this industrial park is about 640 acres. It is much bigger than any of us had imagined, I think.

Three New Cryo Natural Gas Processing Plants

Linde is building three new natural gas processing plants, each nearly the size of the Hess plant at Tioga. These three plants will almost double the state's capacity to process natural gas. The value of these three plants is probably in the $550 million ballpark. These three plants will be owned and operated by ONEOK: Garden Creek, northwest of Watford City; Stateline I, and Stateline II, both northwest of Williston.

Three New Major Facilities/Complexes

The BHI SuperSite complex; the Schlumberger complex; and, the McCody Concrete complex, all west of Williston, are just three of many new buildings going up, but these three are most noticeable.

Three New Hotels

Motel 6 (bypass), Holiday Inn Express (airport), and Hampton Inn and Suites (hospital). These are in addition to all the others that have gone up in Williston in the past two years.

Three New Wells Inside or Nearly Inside City Limits

Lucy Hanson, quite a ways east, but a huge well.

The new Oasis well inside city limits currently being drilled

A two-well pad on the northwest side of town; the Dave Arnson-O'Neil wells.

Huge Industrial Park West of Williston -- Heart of the Bakken, North Dakota, USA

I was out to the new industrial park west of Williston this afternoon. About two weeks ago a reader mentioned that new buildings were going up out there. I don't think many have any idea how huge this is. I think it might be a full section, 640 acres.

I know some folks think the development in the Williston area is chaotic but when you actually look at what is going on, one is quite impressed. It's interesting how this has all worked out.

There was room to expand east of Williston but the roads were much better west of Williston -- a divided four-lane highway already in place with a two-lane frontage road on the south side. On the other hand, it was only a two lane highway east of Williston. So, it only made sense that the development was mostly on the west.

Interestingly enough, the general consensus is that Bakken activity is headed to McKenzie County next summer. The industrial park west of Williston is in a perfect location. It's a direct shot from the park to McKenzie County with no intervening built-up area: no towns, nothing.

The new residential subdivisions are going up on the west side so oil field works will be on the same side of town as their work. The new Sand Creek Retail Center will also be on the west side, and it appears there will be a nice network of roads.

Anyway, just a rambling note, but the focus of photos this next week will be on the industrial park west of Williston. Anyone who thinks the Bakken boom is short-lived should take a drive out to this new park.