Showing posts with label ONEOK_NG_Plants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ONEOK_NG_Plants. Show all posts

Thursday, November 18, 2021

Bakken Natural Gas Flaring Reaches Historical Low As Production Climbs -- Platts -- November 18, 2021

I mentioned this in passing when the North Dakota September, 2021, data, was released with the Director's Cut earlier in the week, but I did not headline it:

Comments:

  • an incredibly good report;
  • natural gas capture rate up from 92% to 94%
  • look at that crude oil price appreciation from August, 2021
  • two consecutive months with increased production m/m
  • rig count pretty much steady but up slightly
  • DUC count down slightly, but not worth a headline

But Platts did headline it: Bakken Shale natural gas flaring reaches historical low as production climbs --

  • North Dakota gross gas volumes surpassed 3 billion cubic feet / day
  • new midstream infrastructure promises upside

So many stories:

  • The impending completion of WBI Energy Transmission's North Bakken Expansion natural gas pipeline project is likely to increase the Bakken's ability push more gas to Northern Border Pipeline for ultimate delivery downstream in the Midwest.
  • ONEOK recently announced that it will build Demicks Lake III, announced sometime ago, before the project was "suspended."

Lots of information regarding MDU's subsidiary WBI at the linked Platts article. 

Monday, November 15, 2021

ONEOK To Complete Previously Announced Natural Gas Processing Facilities -- November 15, 2021

Natural gas processing plants in North Dakota are tracked here.

A reader, thank you, alerted me to this ONEOK story. 

The company's press release via Yahoo!Finance:

ONEOK, Inc. today announced plans to complete previously announced natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) infrastructure projects, including:

  • Demicks Lake III, a 200 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) natural gas processing facility in the Williston Basin.

  • MB-5, a 125,000-barrel per day (bpd) NGL fractionator in Mont Belvieu, Texas.

The Demicks Lake III plant:

  • the 200-MMcf/d Demicks Lake III natural gas processing plant in McKenzie County, North Dakota, is expected to cost approximately $140 million to complete.
  • the facility, which is supported by acreage dedications with primarily fee-based contracts, is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2023. 
  • the new plant will increase ONEOK's Williston Basin natural gas processing capacity to approximately 1.9 billion cubic feet per day.

"People" keep telling me the end is near for the Bakken, and then we get another one of these stories. 

See also this post, as well as many others if one searches "Demicks Lake."

Thursday, December 3, 2020

ONEOK Seeks To Expand Pipeline Capacity Near Halliday, Dunn County -- December 3, 2020

It's possible this has been posted earlier but do not remember. Regardless, I would rather report a second time than miss something.

From a reader, who alerted me to this story: ONEOK seeks to expand a NGL pipeline that connects to its Bear Creek gas processing plant near Halliday in Dunn County.

Data points:

  • wants to add two pump stations
  • currently carries up to 15, 000 bpd
  • expansion would permit up to 80,000 bpd
  • one pump: on a 5-acre parcel of land eight miles southeast of Watford City
  • second pump: on a 7-acre parcel of land 18 miles northwest of Killdeer
  • pipeline: 38 miles long; built in 2016;
  • no change in maximum operating pressure;
  • NGLs ultimately be shipped via ONEOK's Bakken and Elk Creek pipelines, from eastern MT to Kansas
  • this expansion is separate from a planned expansion of the Bear Creek processing plant

Natural gas processing plants in North Dakota are tracked here.

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Elf On A Shelf

With Sophia's favorite salty snack. 

Thursday, July 25, 2019

ONEOK Announces Additional Infrastructure -- July 25, 2019

If I can find the post from sometime earlier this week suggesting that we were about to see some announcements along this line, I will post the link.

Until then, a huge "thank you" to a reader for sending me this article. I had not seen it.

From a press release, ONEOK announces plans to expand natural gas and NGL infrastructure. Data points:
  • North Dakota / Bakken / Bear Creek:
    • a 200 million cfpd expansion of the Bear Creek natural gas processing facility
    • Dunn County, ND
    • $405 million project
    • to be completed in 1Q21
  • Mid-Continent NGL fractionation expansions totaling approx 65,000 bpd and additional NGL infrastructure capacity between the Elk Creek and Arbuckle II
    • $150 million project
    • 15,000 bpd expansion to be completed in 3Q20
    • 50,000 bpd expansion to be completed 1Q21
    • why? In expectation of accelerating volume growth from the Williston and Powder River basins, additional infrastructure will be constructed to increase connectivity between the Elk Creek and Arbuckle II pipelines.
More on the Bear Creek expansion:
ONEOK's Williston Basin natural gas processing capacity will increase to more than 1.6 billion cubic feet per day following the completion of the Bear Creek expansion. The expansion is expected to produce approximately 25,000 bpd of NGLs in ethane rejection, resulting in 225,000 bpd of raw feed contracted since the announcement of the Elk Creek Pipeline.
More at the link including expansion plans for the Permian.

Natural gas processing plants in North Dakota are tracked here.

At that link, there is a "Bear Creek II," 200 million cfpd, 2021 -- that may, in fact, represent this newest announcement. ONEOK calls is an expansion; ND regulators list it as a new project, co-located at existing Bear Creek I, it appears.

Call me naive, but this would suggest to me that ONEOK does not agree that the North Dakota Bakken is reaching peak production. 

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Natural Gas Records

Saturday, April 27, 2019

Hess Reclaims Bragging Rights To Largest Natural Gas Processing Plant In North Dakota -- April 27, 2019


April 27, 2019: see also this post on the Vantage Pipeline.

April 27, 2019: see second comment below --
Have often theorized the Hess and Targa want to deliver ethane to a cracker and convert the ethane pipeline to propane as Alberta has a propane cracker to be built. Targa owns half of the Little Missouri gas plant and is a supplier for Gulf Coast crackers.

There has been almost no word on a cracker for years- either dead or in the quiet phase.
April 27, 2019: see first comment below --
The Alliance pipeline, which only has conditioned Nat gas, ends in Illinois where that huge Nat gas is. Palermo, ND, has a lateral to that pipeline. Conditioned gas has all the sulfides, chlorides and non carbon gases removed.

It's a good way to deliver propane and butane etc to industrial parts. Nat gas delivered to users has an upper BTU limit, so they must be removed.
Original Post   

See tag, "NG_Plants_ND," although I have failed to tag a lot of posts that should have been tagged. My bad.

For gas plants in North Dakota, the "official site" of the North Dakota Pipeline Authority, link here.

I could be wrong, but when one thinks of natural gas processing in North Dakota, this is sort of the status in chronological order:
  • Hess is the oldest; has always been there; has made Tioga what it is -- the oil capital of ND (Williston is "Boom Town, USA"); if Hess was "ND Gas" it was somewhat local;
  • ONEOK was the big "outsider" to come into North Dakota at the very beginning of the boom; it probably did more than any other company to move the Bakken natural gas industry along; it deserves a lot of credit for having so much "faith" in North Dakota
  • Oasis: one of the independent, small operators who saw the potential for NG plants; may have the largest plant (at one time it did, apparently, but I've lost track of who has the biggest plant now); updated below;
  • CLR: does a lot of natural gas gathering but not known (at least in my mind) as a NG operator in the Bakken
All of that as background for newbies. If others have a different perspective on history of NG gathering and processing in the Bakken I would love to hear that, and post it (anonymously, of course, if so desired).

Disclaimer: I estimate that I understand 1% of all that is going on in the Bakken with regard to crude oil; I understand even less about the natural gas industry.

Hess to expand its natural gas processing capacity at its Tioga Gas Plant by 150 million cubic feet per day, creating a total of 400 million cfpd processing capacity north of the Missouri River. Link here.
  • cost: the expansion to cost approximately $150 million gross; or, 
  • $30 million net to Hess Midstream
  •  will add residue and y-grade liquids processing capacity to the existing full fractionation and ethane extraction capability of the current plant
  • I've forgotten but I believe Hess has a huge pipeline moving ethane from its Tioga plant to Canada (one pipeline not killed by the Obama administration)
Digression: this is really cool. For newbies, I have always divided the ND oil footprint into two geographic areas, the north and the south. The north would be the Bakken boom on both sides of the river; the south would be the legacy Red River wells and some Bakken in the southwestern part of the state. But looks like one can be a bit more specific, with four geographic areas:
  • north of the river, Bakken boom (CLR)
  • south of the river, excluding the reservation, Bakken boom (everyone)
  • the reservation, south of the river, Bakken boom (KOG, now Whiting, Senator Dorgan)
  • southwestern North Dakota: legacy Red River, and some Bakken boom (CLR)
Now back to Hess.

Again, repeating: for gas plants in North Dakota, the "official site" of the North Dakota Pipeline Authority, link here.

At that link, scroll down to see the spreadsheet. You can click on the spreadsheet to make it bigger. The spreadsheet now goes out to 2021. Oasis had bragging rights: it has the largest natural gas processing plant -- Wild Basin had a capacity of 320 million cfpd. The Oasis Wild Basin plant is in McKenzie County, south of the river.

But now Hess has reclaimed bragging rights. With its planned expansion, it will have a capacity of 400 million cfpd. 

How does 400 million cfpd compare with other natural gas processing plants across the US? I'm glad you asked.

See the EIA summary at this link. Wow, make my day. Making America great. Yeah, 400 million cfpd is huge, but there are plants out there with 1 billion and 2 billion cfpd capacity. The west has a few huge plants, but look at the number and size of the plants in Texas.

Okay, hold that image.

Now, move up to the northeast. Hard to make that out? Go to this link with this graphic:


Pretty impressive, huh?

Besides the "blue dots," there is something else of interest. Look at all the grey -- the shale plays. The graphic did not break out conventional plays and many (most?) of the shale plays overlap/extend the conventional plays.

Most surprising "data points" on that graph, at least for me, two:

  • the size of the Illinois blue dot; and, 
  • that huge shale play in Michigan; see this link; the narrative is very, very good
Well, that should keep enthusiasts busy all weekend. Go to the links, which will take you to more links, and before you know it, you will be in so deep in a rabbit hole, you will never get out. LOL. 

Thursday, September 27, 2018

The Bakken -- It Simply Never Quits -- September 27, 2018

This was recently posted, but I missed a small but interesting point. When ONEOK announced it was going to build yet another natural gas processing plant, I was unaware that they had not yet completed the one they are currently building, Demicks Lake 1. From The Bismarck Tribune:
A company that’s constructing a new natural gas processing plant in the core of the Bakken announced plans this week for a second plant, doubling the size of the project.
Oneok plans to construct Demicks Lake II in McKenzie County, adding 200 million cubic feet per day of processing capacity.
Demicks Lake I, which also will have a capacity of 200 million cubic feet per day, is under construction but expected to reach capacity soon after it’s complete, Terry Spencer, Oneok president and CEO, said in a news release.
That increased the need for the Demicks Lake II plant, a $410 million project.
I think this simply incredible. It's a big story that yet another natural gas plant is being built, but to learn that it would be oversubscribed as soon as it was completed, and would necessitate expansion or another processing plant altogether.

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Manic Monday

Yeah, I know it's Thursday, but "manic Thursday" doesn't work. LOL.

Wow, I'm in a great mood.

I try to ride my bike every day, even during the winter. I remember riding during snow days in Boston. Slipping and sliding.

Every day I ride, I grade the riding conditions on a scale of 0 - 10, in half point increments, based on: wind; precipitation/humidity; and, temperature (seasonally adjusted).

Temperature is seasonally adjusted because one can "dress" for the weather. The other two are not seasonally adjusted --

Best riding weather is 8.0 - 10.0, obviously. I generally won't ride if the number is below 6.0. Vertical snow might drop a half point, but horizontal snow easily knocks off four or five points. Rain? Depends. But a light drizzle, only a half point or so. A sudden downpour, four or five points. I won't start out in a downpour, but I occasionally get caught in one (poor planning on my part and I deserve no sympathy).

I do not allow any day to get a grade greater than 10.0 but if I could, today's grade would have been 12 to 14. They used to call this weather "Indian summer" but to be politically correct, I guess we either call it "Native American summer" or ... whatever.

Wow, it was gorgeous today.

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What A Great Country

I biked to Starbucks this morning, about 6:00 a.m. Sunrise at 7:14 a.m. I had been there about 90 minutes. At 8:00 a.m. my wife telephoned to tell me the "GasCap" light lit up on the dashboard of our very old Chrysler minivan, closely followed by the "EngineLight."

I left my back pack; my computer; my cellphone -- everything -- on "my" chair at Starbucks, and promptly got up and walked up to the Firestone Service Center about a block away. I told my wife I would meet her there. She arrived shortly thereafter. Chris, at Firestone, said he would take care of it, but he said the $100 diagnostic test that was mandated by the company would not be worth it. He said to go down the street to Chrysler and buy a new gas cap ("do not buy an after-market gas cap") -- if that doesn't solve the problem, he would gladly see me and take care of the problem.

My wife arrived, we drove down to Chrysler, and got the gas cap. The problem was solved.

My wife brought me back to Starbucks -- my stuff was still there -- someone saw me leave earlier and wondered -- but with my bike still there, they knew I would be coming back ...

Later, my wife called to confirm that the"EngineLight" also disappeared. I bought a $20 Jimmy John's gift card and gave it to Chris at Firestone on my bike ride home.

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The Bakken

I'm not going to post any new data here, but suffice to say, the Bakken is staggering. Absolutely staggering. I hope folks reading the blog are getting that same feeling. If not, I'm obviously not doing my job.

Elenore, The Turtles

Saturday, September 8, 2018

ONEOK North Dakota Update -- September 8, 2018 -- Might ONEOK Have The Largest Natural Gas Processing Plant In North Dakota?

See this ONEOK post for background, back in February, 2018.

I can't recall if I posted this story, but it's starting to get some national attention. From The Williston Herald, March 2, 2018: suspended plant out of mothboalls -- ONEOK's Demicks Lake "large" gas processing plant is back on the table. Data points:
  • project suspended when oil prices collapsed -- that was back in 2015
  • since then, huge flaring problem in the Bakken
  • the "new" plant will be located in McKenzie County near Fort Berthold
  • this area has the highest amount of flaring in the state
    • as much as 30% of gas produced in Fort Berthold was flared in 2017; back to 20% now
  • statewide: 13 percent of production flared; 284 million cubic feet (50K boe) flared in December, 2017
  • the new plant raises total gas processing in the state to exceed that produced but due to regional differences, flaring won't end statewide
  • footprint: 160 acres; 13 miles northeast of Watford City
  • 400 million cubic feet/day; two separate cryogenic turboexpanders units ("trains")
  • original (2015) cost estimate: $321 million; now $400 million
  • in service by 4Q19
North Dakota natural gas processing plants are tracked here.

But note this: the link above still shows the Demicks Lake plant with a capacity of 200 mcfpd, whereas the linked story above says the plant is likely to go to 400 mcfpd.

Oasis has bragging rights with the largest natural gas processing plant (Wild Basin) at 345 mcfpd, but ONEOK could claim the title if it goes to 400 mcfpd.

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Meanwhile, Kinder Morgan ...

This story was posted earlier, but for those who missed it the first time, from August 8, 2018, The Bismarck Tribune:
  • to expand the Roosevelt Gas Plant in McKenzie County by 150 million cubic feet per day
  • increasing the capacity to process up to 200 million cubic feet per day
Besides the obvious -- more natural gas processing capacity -- but more importantly, it needs drillers can increased oil production.

For newbies, crude oil production in North Dakota is constrained by:
  • the price of oil; demand for light oil
  • takeaway capacity (not much of an issue now that the DAPL is flowing)
  • flaring (a big issue)
  • workforce: competition with the Permian
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Highway Change

When biking along a busy highway, I generally won't stop to pick up a single penny, but occasionally I hit the "mother lode."

The other day, on the frontage road along the highway this treasure trove.


The ratio was very unusual. Generally I don't find nickels. The ratio is usually about 25 pennies to every two dimes and to every one quarter. But seldom any nickels. But look at all those nickels on the left. No quarters.

Down the road a bit further, same day, same ride:


The mix was a bit more typical, although the two nickels were still surprising. Four quarters (on the right), two dimes, only five pennies; an unusual mix.

Friday, March 23, 2018

Rigs Continue To Rise In US; Plunging In Canada; WTI Moves Up Nicely -- March 23, 2018

FWIW, North American oil and gas rigs:
  • US: gained four to 804, which is 152 more than last year at this time
  • Canada: lost 58 (after losing 54 last week, losing 29 the week before that); now down to 161 rigs, or 84 fewer rigs than one year ago
  • did I hear someone say "ouch"?
Big North Dakota energy stories this past week, from ndenergy.org, briefly:
  • DAPL adding $10 million / month to ND coffers; DAPL alone would have paid for schools in Williston in less than a year
  • Baby boom: Bakken communities are experiencing a baby boom
    • The number of children born in McKenzie County, located at the heart of the Bakken, has more than quadrupled, from just 60 births reported in 2007, to 245 babies born in 2016. Birth rates in other parts of western North Dakota have more than doubled since the oil boom began. There were 712 babies born in Williams County in 2016, compared to only 306 in 2007. Stark County saw 549 births in 2016, compared to 290 in 2007.
    • too bad we're not going to have the necessary school rooms
  • Natural gas processing expansion: Dunn County supports ONEOK plant expansion; Bear Creek Plant expansion would increase capacity from 80 million to 175 million cf/d
  • New refinery: Meridian's Belfield refinery, 45-day comment period
    • more than 11,000 comments
    • of those, 10,068 were form letters via e-mail; none with relevant comments
    • of all comments, 22% received from the west coast, specifically Oregon, Washington, and California
    • 1.8% of the comments were from North Dakota respondents
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Back to the Bakken

Active rigs:

$65.903/23/201803/23/201703/23/201603/23/201503/23/2014
Active Rigs604932104198

Four new permits:
  • Operator: Kraken Operating 
  • Field: Squires (Williams )
  • Comments: Kraken has permits for a 4-well Anseth/Anseth-Sukut pad in NENE 29-155-103;
Another day with no producing wells (DUCs) reported as completed.

No permits canceled.

Three permits renewed:
  • Whiting: a Pronghorn State Federal permit (Billings County); a Niemitalo permit (Mountrail County); and a Crosby Creek permit (Dunn County)

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

North Dakota Natural Gas Production Is Again Becoming An Issue For The State -- February 20, 2018

Updates

February 21, 2018: see first comment.

Original Post
 
A reader sent me this story (thank you, again). I was not going to post it -- it sounded a bit "excessive," shall we say? A little bit of hyperbole? I thought maybe the writer mis-heard or mis-wrote.

The lede in This Williston Herald story:
North Dakota’s oil and gas industry has invested more than $13 billion in gas gathering and processing infrastructure to date, but it needs at least another $11 billion to meet the state’s more stringent gas capture targets that begin in November.
I replied that I must be missing something because the most recent Director's Cut seems to suggest North Dakota is close to the target, and the most recent data is December, 2017, data. We still have almost a year to go (the more stringent target goes into effect in November, 2018) -- from the most recent Director's Cut, with December, 2018, data:
  • statewide: 87% (previous -- 86% [trend has improved)
  • FBIR: 80% (much improved; previous -- 75%) 
  • 88% target becomes effective November, 2018
  • 88% through October 31, 2020; then 91%
At 87%, the state is very close to the 88% target.

But then look at that second paragraph in the linked story:
So far, an additional 800 mcf of gathering and processing capacity has been proposed for 2018 and 2019, but these are not nearly enough to get there, according to projections by North Dakota Pipeline Authority Justin Kringstad.
I assume the "800 mcf" is 800 million cubic feet because 800,000 cubic feet would make no sense. Crestwood, for example, announced one December 6, 2017, that it was commissioning Phase 1 of the Bear Den natural gas processing plan in Watford City, which would add another 30 million cf/d. 

But having thought it through and looking at this graphic from the NDIC site, I thought it was a great story to post. North Dakota is producing about 2.1 billion cubic day:
But I still find that absolutely incredible:
  • already, $13 billion in natural gas gathering and processing, and, yet,
  • another $11 billion in more natural gas gathering and processing needed
  • the time-frame was not stated
The writer wondered whether there might be a possibility of a "cracker" somewhere in the state. Some links regarding crackers:

Thursday, January 25, 2018

Unless Something Bigger Happens In The Next 48 Hours, This Is The Biggest Bakken Story Of The Week -- January 25, 2018

Link here to Rigzone.
Hess Midstream Partners LP and Targa Resources Corp. have formed a 50/50 joint venture to build a new 200 million standard cubic feet per day dry gas processing plant near Targa’s existing Little Missouri facility in McKenzie County, North Dakota, Hess Midstream announced Thursday.

“The Little Missouri Four Gas Processing Plant demonstrates our commitment to executing our strategy by providing additional Bakken basin processing capacity, which provides another layer of organic growth to meet our long-term targeted annual distribution per unit growth,” John Gatling, Hess Midstream’s chief operating officer, said in a company statement. “By executing infrastructure projects that provide more optionality to producers, Hess Midstream expects to continue to capture additional Hess and third-party volumes, reinforcing the competitive advantage we enjoy from our strategically located infrastructure in the core of the Bakken.”

According to Hess Midstream, Targa will manage construction of the approximately $150 million Little Missouri Four (LM4) plant and operate the facility. Hess TGP Operations L.P. – owned on a 20/80 basis by Hess Midstream and Hess Infrastructure Partners LP (HIP), respectively – will hold Hess Midstream’s 50-percent stake in the gas plant, the company added. In addition to contributing a total of $75 million to the plant’s construction, Hess Midstream said the two Hess units will invest approximately $100 million toward new pipeline infrastructure to gather volumes to LM4.
Earlier this was posted:
Link here at The Bismarck Tribune. Data points:
  • Hess Midstream Partners
  • $150 million natural gas processing plant
  • partner: Targa Resources Corp
  • name: Little Missouri Four plan
  • capacity: 200 million cf/d
  • location: near Targa's existing facility south of the Missouri River near Watford City
  • completion date: by the end of this year
  • natural gas production in ND set a record in November, 2017: 2.1 billion cubic feet/day
  • flaring: still at 14%
  • one of four natural gas processing plants in the planning or construction stages in North Dakota
  • the four projects would add an additional 615 million cubic feet per day of additional processing capacity
  • ONEOK: to expand it Bear Creek natural gas processing plant north of Killdeer; will expand from a capacity of 80 million to 175 million cubic feet per day
  • Crestwood Equity Partners: expand the Arrow Bear Den gas processing plant near Watford City, adding another 120 million cfpd
  • Oasis Wild Basin processing plant it expanding to process 345 million cfpd in McKenzie CountyN
Note: if that is not an error in reporting, it seems that the Oasis expansion to 345 million cfpd is a huge addition; prior it was 80 at Plant 1; and 150 at Plant 2.
Note: it looks like a race among Hess, ONEOK and, Oasis to see who will have bragging rights to most natural gas processing capacity in the state.
Note: for newbies, this is a huge, huge story. The Bakken is an "oily" story, an "oily" play; no one expected this much natural gas activity back in 2007.

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Update On ONEOK's Plan To Boost Bakken Takeaway Capacity -- RBN Energy -- January 24, 2017

Measles outbreak in Texas. Shocking. Surprising? Not.

ObamaCare: healthcare premiums rise well ahead of healthcare costs for employer-provided health insurance. Huge story over at WSJ. How often do folks buy $500 washing machines? How often are folks paying premiums for ObamaCare?
Report finds boost in spending as use of most health-care services declined.Spending on health care accelerated in 2016 for Americans who get insurance through work, even as use of most health-care services declined or remained flat. The reason, according to a new report: price increases.

Rising prices for prescription drugs, surgery, emergency-room visits and other services drove a 4.6% increase in total spending per person, versus 4.1% in 2015 and less than 3% in the two previous years, according to the research nonprofit Health Care Cost Institute, which analyzed data for nearly 40 million people up to age 65 with employer-sponsored insurance.

The institute found the same trend when it analyzed spending over the five years from 2012 to 2016. Prices and spending rose, while use of health care largely declined.
Canadian CBR: we just talked about this the other day. Now Reuters is reporting that Canadian National Rail cannot meet demand for Canadian CBR.

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment, financial, travel, job, or relationship-related decisions based on anything you read here or think you ma have read here.

At least this part of GE is working: BHGE adjusted earnings beat forecasts on strong North American demand.

KMI: Motley Fool has thoughts. Very, very positive.

Closing: Toys "R" US closing 180 stores in the US.

They must be reading the blog: we wrote about this the other day, "more reasons why the stock market is surging." This will only add to "synchronized global growth." From The WSJ:
foreign firms brace for potential cost increases after U.S. tax overhaul finance. Executives worry certain provisions of the new tax law could offset some of the gains from the lower U.S. tax rate.
Foreign companies are calculating whether the cost increases they will bear under the new U.S. tax law will outweigh the benefits of a lower corporate rate.
New measures, such as taxing large companies on payments made to international affiliates under the Base Erosion and Anti-Abuse Tax—or BEAT—are raising alarm among international companies operating in the U.S. Meanwhile, tighter rules on the deductibility of interest and one-time charges linked to a reduction in the value of deferred tax assets are also sparking concern.
Foreign companies worry these moves will put them at a competitive disadvantage.
Still, a centerpiece provision of the new tax law ushers in a steep reduction in the U.S. corporate tax rate to 21% from 35%, which makes doing business in the U.S. more attractive.
GS/CEO: incredibly bullish on the market. But worries that once interest rates "normalize," things will change (get worse). "Easy money" driving the market. Haven't we had easy money for sixteen years? Certainly we've had easy money for nine years. The "easy money" story didn't change. What changed? Trump. GS/CEO says he likes Trump's policies. On CNBC this morning.

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Back to the Bakken

Active rigs:

$64.721/24/201801/24/201701/24/201601/24/201501/24/2014
Active Rigs573847157186

RBN Energy: ONEOK's plan to boost Bakken and Niobara/DJ Basin NGL takeaway capacity.
There has been growing concern regarding NGL pipeline takeaway capacity out of the Williston Basin and the Niobrara — particularly the DJ Basin — over the past year, with one of the major pipes through those regions now running full. Finally, ONEOK has announced plans for the Elk Creek Pipeline, which will have an initial capacity of 240 Mb/d and be expandable to 400 Mb/d. The new pipe will transport mixed, unfractionated NGLs from eastern Montana to the Conway/Bushton fractionation hub in central Kansas, and provide long-term relief for a lot of Bakken, Powder River and Denver-Julesburg (DJ) Basin producers. But with an end-of-2019 in-service date, will the new capacity come soon enough to avert NGL takeaway constraints? Today, we discuss the Elk Creek project, the flows on existing NGL pipes to Conway/Bushton, and the growing significance of ethane as pipelines fill.

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Update On Natural Gas Processing Plants In North Dakota; Three Coming On Line By End Of 2016 -- October 4, 2016

Most recent update I could find on North Dakota natural gas processing plants coming on line by the end of the year (2016), from Big Sky Business Journal, data points, August 9, 2016 (note: there may be some errors in volume; the original story may have had some typos and I'm not sure I made the right corrections; if you note errors, send me the right numbers):
  • three natural gas plants in ND are expected to come on line by the end of the year
  • will add 180 MMcfpd to overall processing in ND (180 million cubic feet per day)
  • currently 27 plants in operation; processing 2,015 MMcf a day (2 thousand million cubic feet per day)
The three new plants. The one near Tioga is the latest. I drove by it last week. 
  • Williams County
    • Tioga, five miles northwest of Tioga
    • $3 million
    • Liberty Resources of Denver
    • 20 million cubic feet per day
  • Bear Creek -- completed in August, 2016; see Dickinson Press story dated October 13, 2016
    • Dunn County
    • ONEOK Partners
    • 80 million cubic feet
    • $265 million to $375 million
  • Oasis Petroleum: Wild Basin, McKenzie County 
    • $160 million
    • 80 million cubic feet
  • Currently, the state captures 89% of natural gas; the goal was 85%
  • ONEOK Partners posted a $253 million profit in natural gas in May, 2016 -- a 74% increase over the previous year
A North Dakota database of natural gas processing plants is at this link but I'm not sure it is up to date. I did not see the Liberty Resources plant, unless I missed it.

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Three New Natural Gas Plants Should Be Coming On-Line "Shortly" -- Lynn Helms, July 19, 2016

Lynn Helms recently noted that three new natural gas plants should be coming on-line shortly. At the article, also note his comments about the Hess facility in Tioga.

According to the table at this site, four new plants were scheduled for completion in 2016:
  • Lonesome Creek, McKenzie County, ONEOK, 200 million cfpd
  • Bear Creek, Dunn County, ONEOK, 80 million cfpd
  • Roosevelt, McKenzie, KMI, 80 million cfpd  
  • Wild Basin, McKenzie, Oasis, 80 million cfpd

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Bear Creek Natural Gas Processing Plant Should Be On-Line By Third Quarter 2016 -- March 23, 2016

From an earlier post, two natural gas processing plants were to be completed this year. At the time of the original post, I did not know the status of these processing plants. A reader provided the update -- ONEOK suspended plans for the Demicks Lake plant:
  • Demicks Lake, McKenzie, 200 MMcf/d -- announced July 30, 2014; to be completed in 2016; in this press release Oneok said more projects might be announced before the end of 2014; appears to have been revised upward to 400 MMcf/d in an article dated December 18, 2014. Update: see comments below -- this project was suspended; press release February 24, 2015.
  • Bear Creek, northwest Dunn County, 80 MMcf/d -- announced Sept 22, 2014; $300 million; to be completed 2Q16; 
Bear Creek will be the first natural gas processing plant in Dunn County.

Based on an article published in late 2015, the Bear Creek NG processing plant is now scheduled to be completed in the 3Q16.

I believe a ONEOK pipeline that would originate at the Bear Creek processing plant has just been approved. See this link

From The Bakken Magazine:



Based on reader's description, see first comment, the star in the graphic is about where the Bear Creek natural gas processing plant should be located:



Note CLR's Oakdale field is just to the northwest, as is Rattlesnake Point. Burlington Resources "controls" Corral Creek, also to the north, one of the best spots in the Bakken. I mention these fields because the wells in this area appear to be producing a fair amount of natural gas. There are a number of great fields in this area.

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Huge NGL Capacity Increase In The Bakken -- ONEOK -- March 12, 2015

Link here; this is from the March, 2015, presentation. Williston Basin slides, #14 - #18.

Reiterates flaring goals in North Dakota:
  • 23% by January 1, 2015
  • 15% by January 1, 2016
  • 10% by October 1, 2020
Still plenty of natural gas to be captured and flared in the Williston Basin
  • currently processing capacity: 600 million cubic feet/day
  • by 3Q16: 980 million cubic feet/day 
  • represents a 63% increase in processing capacity
Update on Bear Creek
  • increase CAPEX from $230 million to $330 million
  • 80 million cf/d
  • on-line: 3Q16
Pipeline to connect Bear Creek to Bakken NGL pipeline
  • increase CAPEX from $35 million to $45 million
  • to be completed by 3Q16
Update on Lonesome Creek
  • increase CAPEX from $550 million to $680 million
  • 200 million cf/d
  • on-line: 4Q15
Bakken NGL Pipeline expansion
  • expanded capacity from  60,000 bpd from 135,000 bpd; completed 9/14
  • will expand again; from 135,000 bpd to 160,000 bod by 2Q16
  • connects third-partts and Sage Creek in Powder river Basin to Bakken NGL Pipeline which connects to the Overland Pass Pipeline Expansion (ONEOK with 50% interest)

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

ONEOK To Halt Work On Three Mid-Continent Gas Plants -- February 25, 2015

Link here.

The three projects:
  • In mid-2014, Oneok announced plans for the 200-MMcfd Knox plant in Grady and Stephens counties, Oklahoma. It was to spend $365-470 million by expected plant start-up in late 2016. The Knox plant was to increase Oneok’s Oklahoma gas processing capacity to 900 MMcfd. Estimated costs included $175-240 million to build the plant and $190-230 million to build related systems, including gas gathering pipelines and compression.
  • The 100-MMcfd Bronco plant being built in southern Campbell County, WY, was to serve production from the NGL-rich Turner, Frontier, Sussex, and Niobrara shales. At its announcement in second-half 2014, Bronco was expected to cost $215-305 million to build towards a third-quarter 2016 completion. Oneok was spending $130-190 million to build the plant; $45-60 million to build a 65-mile, 10-in. NGL pipeline to connect it to Oneok’s Bakken NGL pipeline lateral; and $40-55 million to build related gas systems. 
  • The 200-MMcfd Demicks Lake plant in McKenzie County, ND, is part of 500 MMcfd of processing under way in the county, including the 100-Garden Creek III plant that was to be completed at yearend 2014 and the 200-MMcfd Lonesome Creek plant scheduled for completion in fourth-quarter this year. 
I track the ONEOK natural gas processing plants in North Dakota at this post

Monday, December 15, 2014

ONEOK To Add De-Ethanizers At Stateline I And Stateline II Plants West Of Williston -- December 15, 2014

A big apology; I accidentally rejected this comment. I was able to recapture it and place it here. I did not mean to reject it; I was typing too fast. Sorry.

A reader wrote:
OneOk is showing in their latest Wells Fargo presentation that they will be adding de-ethanizers to the Stateline I & II plants. 
Another company will build a pipeline, to the Vantage ethane pipeline to Alberta. 
Maybe Pembina Pipeline builds an extension. 
The supplier to the Badlands NGLs ethane cracker plant should soon be announced. Maybe OneOK will just be using the Northern Border pipeline to gather gaseous ethane and installing a de-ethanizer plant where the cracker plant goes, probably west of Mandan. That would eliminate the need for a separate ethane pipeline to the cracker plant.
http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/IROL/12/120070/WELLS-FARGO.pdf

Friday, September 26, 2014

Market Shenanigans -- September 26, 2014; Update/Overview Of ONEOK

2Q14 GDP better than previously reported: this is the third estimate -- now at 4.6%, better than the 4.2% at the second estimate, and much better than the original 4% estimate. Forbes is reporting:
On Friday, the Bureau of Economic Analysis released its third estimate of real gross domestic product for the second quarter of 2014 — covering April, May and June of this year. The release showed output in the U.S. increasing at an annual rate of 4.6%. This is relative to the first quarter when real GDP declined a sharp 2.1%.
The revision is up from BEA’s 4.2% second estimate released last month as well as its 4% advance estimate out in July. The revision, BEA said in a release, was largely due to a larger than previously estimated increase in nonresidential fixed investment and exports. Of the revision the BEA wrote, “The general picture of economic growth remains the same” as when it released the second estimate.
The 4.6% growth in real GDP reflected growing personal consumption, private inventory investment, exports, both residential and nonresidential fixed investment, as well as local government spending. The gains were partially offset by an increase in imports, which negatively impact GDP, and a 0.9% decline in federal government expenditures.
At this rate, US GDP for the 2Q14 will be estimated to have exceeded that of China's 8% by the time elections roll around in November. The bad news, of course, is when the third quarter GDP estimate comes out: gonna be hard to beat a 4.6% growth in GDP.

By the way, this is the fastest (US) growth (4.6%) since 4Q11. That's very impressive. The EU, on the other hand, is in a heap of trouble.
The German-based bank changed its mind after slicing its 2015 GDP view for the bloc to growth of 1% from 1.5%, noting, “the growth picture combined with softer commodity prices is increasing the risk of a flatter profile to the inflation trajectory.”
The GDP growth delta between the US and the EU could get much worse based on the the cost of energy in the US vs the EU.

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Yesterday the market "plunged" over 250 points. The mainstream media 30-second soundbite: world turmoil (ObamaWar, Ukraine) "roils" the market. (Their word, not mine).

Today, the market  is back up over 115 points. I guess the "world turmoil" ended. LOL.

No, there's another reason for the 250 points lost yesterday and the 115-point gain at this point in time today.

It's hard for me to believe that the market took off based on the 2Q14 GDP revision of 0.4%. Insignificant.

This is not an investment site. Do not make any investment or financial decisions based on anything you read here or think you may have read here.

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ONEOK

This is a most comprehensive update on ONEOK over at Market Realist. When you get to the link, be sure you are at the very top, Part 1. It is very, very easy to scroll down through all 15 parts of the "series."
Why Williston Basin is key
According to the company’s 10-K annual report, OKS is the largest independent operator of natural gas gathering and processing facilities in the Williston Basin, which includes the Bakken Shale and Three Forks formation.
The company reported that its natural gas gathering system in this region alone includes more than 6,500 miles. This is approximately 35% of its total gathering pipelines.
Also, the company added that ONEOK Partners’ systems serve approximately three million acres, or 60%, of the five million available acres of natural gas production. Plus, approximately half of producers’ rigs currently operating in the Williston Basin are drilling on acreage dedicated to ONEOK. This would make OKS’s assets crucial to producers in the region.
Major producers operating in this region include Continental Resources, EOG Resources, and Kodiak Oil & Gas. All of these companies are components of the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund.
Segment 10 of the 15-part series is on "ethane rejection," which is another "must-read" for those following the NG story in the Bakken. In addition, the site takes you to a link devoted entirely to "ethane rejection."

I track the North Dakota ONEOK natural gas processing plants in North Dakota at this post.

Monday, September 22, 2014

ONEOK Announces Another Natural Gas Processing Plant -- Dunn County -- September 22, 2014

Press release here.
Oneok Partners announced today plans to invest approximately $480 million to $680 million between now and the end of the third quarter 2016 to:
  • Build a new 80-million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) natural gas processing facility – the Bear Creek plant – and related infrastructure in northwest Dunn County, North Dakota, which will process natural gas produced from the Bakken Shale in the Williston Basin; and
  • Construct a new 100-MMcf/d natural gas processing facility – the Bronco plant – and related infrastructure in southern Campbell County, Wyoming, which will process natural gas produced from the NGL-rich Turner, Frontier, Sussex and Niobrara Shale formations in the Powder River Basin.
"In 2014, the partnership has announced $1.5 billion to $1.9 billion in capital-growth projects – a continuation of our $7.5 billion to $8.2 billion capital-growth program planned through 2016," said Terry K. Spencer, president and chief executive officer of ONEOK Partners.  
"The Bear Creek and Bronco plants will increase our natural gas processing capacity across our operating footprint by 180 MMcf/d and add additional natural gas and natural gas liquids volumes on our systems. These projects further demonstrate the value of the partnership's integrated operations that allows us to better serve area producers."
I track the ONEOK NG plants here.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

ONEOK May Increase Capacity At Its Garden Creek II Natural Gas Processing Facility - September 2, 2014; Increased Storage Capacity Slated For New Town, North Dakota; Update On Vantage Pipeline (Tioga To Canada)

Interesting to say the least. Sent in by a reader. Platts is reporting:
ONEOK's newly opened 100,000 mcf/d Garden Creek II natural gas processing facility in eastern McKenzie County, North Dakota, may add another 18,000 b/d of natural gas liquids production to the region, a Platts analysis found Wednesday.
ONEOK Partners on Tuesday announced the plant is now operational, doubling capacity at the Garden Creek complex from 100,000 mcf/d to 200,000 mcf/d.
According to Maria Mejia, an analyst at Bentek, a unit of Platts, the Garden Creek I plant became operational in mid-2011 and has been operating at or above its nameplate capacity of 100,000 mcf/d since August 2012.
I track the ONEOK NG plants here.

Be careful on this one. The second paragraph says the capacity was doubled to 200,000 -- as noted in the paragraph, that's for the entire complex which has Garden Creek 1 and Garden Creek 2. There is a Garden Creek 3 proposed/under construction which may / may not be part of the same complex.

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The Wall Street Journal is reporting:
Pembina Pipeline Corporation is pleased to announce that it has entered into agreements to acquire the Vantage pipeline system and Mistral Midstream Inc.'s interest in the Saskatchewan Ethane Extraction Plant for total consideration of US$650 million.
 
Vantage is a recently constructed, approximately 700 kilometre ("km"), 40,000 barrel per day ("bpd"), high vapour pressure pipeline that originates in Tioga, North Dakota and terminates near Empress, Alberta. Vantage provides long-term, fee-for-service cash flow and strategic access to the prolific and growing North Dakota Bakken play for future natural gas liquids (NGL) opportunities. 
The Vantage pipeline can be increased to 60,000 bpd with minimum costs.

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Dakota Plains is reporting:
Dakota Plains Holdings, Inc. today announced that its Board of Directors and joint venture partner have approved the expansion of oil storage at its Pioneer Terminal in New Town, North Dakota. Construction of a third 90,000 barrel storage tank is set to immediately commence; regulatory permits and engineering design are complete and Dakota Plains expects the storage tank to be operational by summer 2015.
The Pioneer Terminal is located in the heart of the Bakken and Three Forks formations and currently has sustainable throughput capacity of 45,000 barrels of oil per day with onsite oil storage of 180,000 barrels. The addition of a third storage tank, recently announced Hiland Partners gathering pipeline, and anticipated expanded rail service will facilitate increasing the sustainable throughput rate to a unit train per day - equivalent to 80,000 barrels of oil per day.
On August 18, 2014, I posted an earlier story related to this announcement.  Wow, it's nice that these projects can all be done in-state, and not have to include Minnesota or Iowa to weigh in on these projects. This represents a lot of jobs for American men and women.
 
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Also, ABC News is reporting:
Dominion Resources, Duke Energy and other partners are proposing a $5 billion natural gas pipeline to connect the Southeast with the prodigious supplies of natural gas being produced in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia.

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Nothing About The Bakken

This is an interesting psychological insight that historians may address thirty years from now with regard to US presidents using President Obama as a case study.

It's pretty much agreed that the president has checked out of day-to-day world events, concentrating more on golf and fund-raisers. (Their analysis, not mine.)

There is a "feeling"among some that the president realizes that he does not have much leverage at this point. He has no strategy for Syria (his words, not mine), and Putin says he can take Kiev in two weeks and Obama has no military plans for Ukraine (his words, not mine). In response, he phones it in, or ignores it completely.

My interest is pretty much energy-related, and Bakken-centered. I doubt the US has ever been in a better position, compared to the rest of the world, with regard to energy. We have it all: nuclear, thermal, hydroelectric, solar, wind, biomass, ethanol, coal, natural gas, oil, and yet, I don't recall the president talking about US energy policy except to say a long time ago, something about "all of the above." Except coal. And no Canadian oil. From my perspective, he has failed to use North American energy as leverage to frame world events going forward, not just one or two years into the future, but decades into the future.

It appears that the president has "interpreted" his loss of leverage (a lame duck president with looming mid-term elections, and a White House strategy to keep him out of toss-up states [their words, not mine]) to affect his legacy as a loss of leverage for the US to affect / frame global events. In psychiatry that is called "transference."

He appears to see the future of the United States what he sees in his own personal future. I doubt this is unique for this president.

The phenomenon was noted in Jimmy Carter's "malaise speech."

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Disengaged

The Washington Post:
Obama has been giving Americans a pep talk, essentially counseling them not to let international turmoil get in the way of the domestic economic recovery. “The world has always been messy,” he said Friday. “In part, we’re just noticing now because of social media and our capacity to see in intimate detail the hardships that people are going through.”
So we wouldn’t have fussed over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine if not for Facebook? Or worried about terrorists taking over much of Syria and Iraq if not for Twitter? This explanation, following Obama’s indiscrete admission Thursday that “we don’t have a strategy yet” for military action against ISIS, adds to the impression that Obama is disengaged.
Wow, The Washington Post no less.