So, Who's In The Bakken -- The Williston Basin, North Dakota, USA

The following is a  list of advertisers in the Williston Herald glossy, "Talkin' the Bakken," the Year in Review, 2011, December, 2011.

Not "proofed" for typographical errors. I will gladly correct/edit any entry if asked. Groupings not entirely accurate. Not placed in any particular order.

Neset Consulting Service: Tioga
PLS Inc site consulting: Epping

Marquis Plaza & Suites
Missouri Flats Inn
Solsten Hotel: now open, Trenton, ND -- man-camp
M&M Cafe: Sidney

Primo Truck Park: truck stop; Sidney, MT

Western Cooperative Credit Union
ASB, American State Bank: Williston
Capital Solutions Bancorp, no physical address provided
Riviera Finance: Williston
Williston Basin/Mid-North America Stock Fund
Papineau Insurance: Tioga
DAWA Solutions Group: "701"

PCS LLC, Business Brokers
Clark & Associates Land Brokers, Inc: throughout the midwest and west
Pifer's Auction and Realty: Moorhed (sic), MN; Bowman, Bismarck
Empire Oil Company: Williston
Irish Oil & Gas, Inc: Bismarck
North Dakota Guaranty and Title Company: throughout the Bakken
Todd Kringen, private oil and gas mineral buying and selling: no physical address

Statoil
Hess
G3 Operating
Whiting

Ensign United States Drilling, Inc.: no physical address given

Armor Builders, Subcontracting and Turn-Key Solutions to all building needs
AgriComm Building: Williston
RAS International, specialized remote site structures for petroleum/mining industries, Alexandria, MN
Kleven Construction, Williston
American Builders: Williston, throughout ND
Advanced Building Services, Williston; Louisiana; Texas; California; Arkansas
Badlands Steel, Williston
ClearSpan Fabric Structures; no physical location given
Iseman Homes, Williston
Schutl Homes;Liechty Homes; Williston
Centennial Homes: Williston, Dickinson, Bismarck
Portable Crew Camps; no physical address given
Pierce: housing, RV, leasing: Billings, Great Falls, Kalispell
Dakota Custom Cabinets & Homes: Dickinson
Furniture & Interior Finishing Group: no physical address; "701"
Miller Insulation: Williston; throughout ND, UT, WY
E-Z Build Your Own: no physical address
Legacy Steel Buildings: no physical address
Bozeman Brick Block and Tile: Bozeman
REMS: off-grid housing: no physical address
Concrete Coatings: Williston

AES: civil engineering, structural and electrical engineering, surveying, mapping, throughout ND, MT
Morrison Maierle, engineering, surveyors; no physical address
Inland Tarp and Liner: no physical address given
Today's Tarp & Shoe Repair: Williston
Morrell International: staffing and lodging; no physical address given
Worker Camp Units: no physical address given
Mondak Portables: no physical address; "701"
Basic Rim Constructors: no physical address
Beamco, engineering and manufacturing company: "701"
Epic Engineering: "701"

Larson Electronics, LLC, lighting: Kemp, TX

Waste Control International: Williston phone number

Mac's Hardware: Bismarck, Minot, coming to Dickinson
Kenyon Noble, lumber, hardware: Bozeman

Kupper Chevrolet, Mandan, North Dakota; 2nd ad
Murphy Motors, Chevy, Cadillac, Buick, GMC, Williston
Murphy Rentals: Minot
CrankyApe.com: Powersport, RV and Marine Auctions; no physical address given
Rocky Toppers (toppers for pickups): Billings, MT
Arrow Truck Sales: no physical address
Badland Truck Sales: Glendive
Erickson Trucks N Parts, physical address not provided
Ajax To Waukesha Industrial Engine Repair: "701"
Watford City RV Rentals: Watford City

Mitchell's Oil Field Service, Inc; physical address not given
Basic Energy Services, Williston, Sidney, Glendive
FabcoPower, Chester NY 10918
Petroleum Services, Williston
Industrial Equipment, Williston
OilField Integrators, "701"; electrical contractors
Panther Inspection, drill pipe clean and visual; Williston phone number
GO Wireline: Williston
Frontier Wellhead: Williston, Watford City, Sidney; Colorado; Utah
Sanjel: Everywhere including Williston
Halliburton: Williston
Mud Masters Group: Glendive, MT
AWC, oil field, remote power: no physical address given
Wanzek: natural gas pumping, gathering, terminals: no physical address
JL Bryan Equipment, Inc; oil equipment, heaters: Perryton, TX
Lawlar's Hydro-vac Service: Baker, MT
Crane Solutions: Savannah, GA
Borsheim Crane Service: no physical address; in Williston
Interstate PowerSystems: Williston
Peterson Equipment (Pisten Bully, Thiokol, Formatic, Bmbardier): no physical address
Journey Energy Services: based out of Williston; no physical address; no "701" phone number
Altronic GTI Bi-Fuel: Minot, Dickinson, Bismarck
Tartan Controls, completions drilling services: Denver, Houston
Tioga Machine Shop: Tioga
BMP Enterprises, downhole monitoring: no physical address
EV: Downhole Video: no physical address
PTP Pro Tank: Minot
BTL, fabricators: no physical address
Missouri Basin Well Service, INC: "701"
J&L Pitliners: Sidney, MT

The Industrial Group, pipeline: Ray, ND
Border Steel, structural steel and pipe: Williston
Do-All Metal Fabrications: Glenburn, ND; Estevan, SK CAN; Nisku, AB CAN
MD Hose & Fitting: Sidney

Kotana Communications: throughout the Bakken; no physical address

Bakken Express, trucking: Tacoma, Washington
Diamond B Trucking, Inc: Plentywood, MT
DC&B Hotshot and Trucking: Williston
T. Montana's Hotshot Service: no physical address, ND, SD, T, CO, MN, WY
Golden Eagle Trucking: Sidney, MT
Overland Aerial Photograph, Williston

Party Bus, Williston

R Rooster BBQ, Williston

Flame Resistant Clothing, Wrangler, no physical address given
Horizon Resources, clothing: Williston, Ray, Fairview
Cowboy Way Western Store: no physical address
Beaver Creek Archaeology: Mandan

BNSF Logistics

Trinity Health: no physical address; Minot-based, I believe

Drug and Alcohol Testing: throughout the Bakken
Badlands Integrity Group, alcohol testing, more: no physical address, "701"

Wholesale Textiles: no physical address

Double Helicopters: Mandan,ND

MDU, utilities: Williston

McCody Concrete: "701"

C&D Water Services: Williston

Island At Rock Creek: Red Lodge, MT; leisure

Historical Look At Taxable Sales And Purchases, North Dakota -- Some Idle Chatter -- July 15, 2014

Updates

Later, 5:33 p.m. PDT: I stand corrected. I am wrong with some of what I wrote in the original post; take that into consideration when you read the original post. A reader tells me that much of the "stuff" used to drill a well is, in fact, taxable. The reader wrote:

Just read your post on taxable sales and purchases.  You are probably right that most of pipe, sand, and ceramic are bought out of state but ND has a Sales and Use tax which means you must pay a use tax on materials used in ND.  To verify that this could apply to oil wells I found this document:

http://www.nd.gov/ndic/ogrp/info/g-015-033-faq.pdf

Here is an excerpt:

Does the state collect “use tax” or “sales tax” on all the steel and equipment being used?  

Sales tax is paid on everything that is permanently installed in or on the well. With booming oil activity, the sales tax revenues in western North Dakota cities have been growing at a record pace each quarter.

A huge thank-you to the reader for catching this; something (among many things) I did not know.

Original Post

 
For the archives, from The Williston Wire:

-------------------------- -Fargo ----- Bismarck ----- Williston ------- Grand Forks -- Minot ---  Dickinson

Some idle chatter.

My hunch is that much of the "stuff" used to drill wells is not bought in Williston. Rigs, pipe, sand, ceramic, comes from out-of-state. Much of the house-building was done with pre-manufactured frames also coming from out-of-state (Colorado?). As folks move into their homes, they will be maintaining their homes, furnishing their homes, and refurnishing their homes. Unlike many areas of the country, existing homeowners and new homeowners have money to spend.

Not only do the folks in Williston have money to spend, they have LOTS of money to spend. Williams County leads the state in average annual salary: $78,390

• North Dakota average annual salary: $48,000
• National average annual salary: $49,000

That's quite a delta between $80,000 and $50,000.

Without a Menard's, Home Depot, Target, Nieman Marcus in Williston, folks are driving to Bismarck, Minot, and Dickinson to do their shopping. Okay -- some exaggeration there, but one gets the point.

I think there are two important data points that are not reflected in the current taxable sales and purchases going forward:

• how much is being spent by Willistonites going to Minot
• how much will be spent by Willistonites simply because there are "more things" and "more places" to spend their money as these retailers are established

This is way out of my area of expertise, but my hunch is that more money stays in the area maintaining and servicing wells than drilling wells. Again, except for personnel costs, I assume most costs associated with drilling a well are "out-of-state" -- the big expense being the rig, pipe, sand, ceramic. However, on a day-to-day basis, maintaining and servicing existing wells would be local: gasoline/diesel for transportation to/from the site; meals on the road by the servicing crews; local supplies for minor repairs, etc.

With regard to drilling, all indications are that they will continue to drill about 200 new wells/month for the next (fill in the blank here) years. And, I know it's hard to believe, but each new well being drilled does not mean an old well is plugged and abandoned. Nope. The two hundred new wells are added to the existing 5,000 wells [yes, a small number of wells are plugged and abandoned every year, but the rate of such abandonment is probably decreasing as the economics (higher prices for oil) improve].

I think we agreed that the minimum amount of money being spent to maintain an existing well is at least $5,000/month. Unlike drilling a well, my hunch is most of that money (except perhaps for workover rigs) is spent locally.

*************************

Cherry Picking

1Q10:

• Fargo: $460K
• Bismarck: $277K
• Williston: $216K
• Minot: $200K

1Q11:

• Fargo: $481K
• Bismarck: $302K
• Williston: $447K
• Minot: $255K

1Q12:

• Fargo: $541K
• Bismarck: $386K
• Williston: $791K
• Minot: $357K

1Q13:

• Fargo: $543K
• Bismarck: $393K
• Williston: $790K
• Minot: $322K

1Q14 (city, taxable sales for the quarter, percent change from 1Q10):

• Fargo: $563K (22.4%)
• Bismarck: $385K (40.0%)
• Williston: $779K (261.0%)
• Minot: $309K (54.5%)

There are a number of observations that one could make from those data points. First, there seems to be a new normal:

• Fargo: $550K
• Bismarck: $400K
• Williston: $750K
• Minot: $325K 

There is nothing to suggest that trend will not continue, all things being equal.

The data I don't have is the split between "direct oil-related taxable sales" and "other." Let's be sexist here, and call the "direct oil-related taxable sales" those dollar amounts associated with "dad" and the "other" sales those associated with "mom." I assume the huge jump in taxable sales in Williston from
 1Q10 and 1Q12 (and that's a huge jump) was due to "dad." Taxable sales attributable to "dad" should start to level out as the oil industry matures in the Williston Basin.

On the other hand, the taxable sales attributable to "mom" should start to increase as more folks move into their own homes. As retail opportunities expand in Williston, "mom" will do more of her Neiman Marcus shopping in Williston rather than driving to Minot. I doubt we will see huge increases in the near term, but all things being equal, it's very possible "mom" will spend more of her dollars in Williston than in Minot.

Quick: what retail sector might show the most growth over the next five years in Williston? I would not be a bit surprised if it might not be .... drum roll ... drum roll ... automobiles and trucks. Two huge data points:

• the huge delta between the average salary in Williston and the rest of North Dakota
• as more and more families move in, more and more adult teenagers -- and hey, where are they building the new high school? Hint: not in walking distance for anyone except perhaps one housing subdivision on the northwest side of town. How many high school students do you know that enjoy taking the bus to school? LOL.

See this story, and this story. 

**************************************

Dickinson

A special note about Dickinson. Of the six cities listed below, one could argue that one of the six has not plateaued to the same extent as the other five: that would be Dickinson:

1Q10: $87K

1Q11: $131K

1Q12: $217K

1Q13: $249K

1Q14: $310K (256% change from 1Q10). 

It appears that Dickinson, unlike the other five cities, may not have reached its "new normal." With the MDU-Calumet refinery and the potential of the Tyler, Dickinson might be the surprise story over the next five years.  It's possible Williston, Watford City, and Dickinson still have a significant way to go to reach their "new normals," but Dickinson may be the most exciting in terms of new growth.

**************************************

Geography

Say what you want, but the delta between $750K (Williston) and $325 (Minot) is not trivial. I challenge a person who has never been to North Dakota before to spend one day in Williston and one day in Minot and tell me which city is "bigger." Hint: it's not Williston. Minot is THE big city between the geographic center of North America (Rugby, North Dakota) and Havre, Montana, a distance of 500 miles.

Between Regina, Saskatchewan (Canada) and Rapid City, a distance of almost a thousand miles, there are only two cities of any size: Williston ($750K) and Dickinson ($300K -- about the same as Minot).

Top Stories of 2012

Top Story of the Year:

• The Bakken has nearly a trillion barrels of "OOIP"

The world:

• The coldest winter storm in decades in Russia

The nation:

• Chevron moving 800 employees from its California headquarters to Houston
• Gulf Coast oil being shipped to Canadian refineries

North Dakota:

• Well density in the Bakken

Most exciting operator in the Bakken in 2012:

• Helis (but KOG is a very, very close second)

Most surprising story of 2012:

• Rail

The deals:

• See sidebar

Bakken Operations:

• Monster wells 
• Biggest reported Bakken IP in 2012:  #20636, 5,130, BR, Brazos 24-34H, Charlson,
• CLR: one million acres in the Bakken
• Formations: the four benches (talked about since August, 2011); completes TF3;
• CHK <-->: Chesapeake to leave Dickinson area; may leave Williston Basin; CHK to stay 

Most exciting production prediction:

• Bakken could produce 4 million bopd by 2025

Bakken oil field story of the year:

• Truax oil field

Biggest story in takeaway capacity:

• More Bakken oil moved by rail than by pipeline
  

Investment story of the year:

• Exxon buys DNR's assets in North Dakota

The "Other" Williston Basin formation:

• Red River

Record bonus paid per acre:

• $14,000/acre bonus: North Dakota state land lease sales results

Most hypocritical story of the year:

• US and Germany only two countries to decrease CO2 emissions, and China/India given a pass on the Kyoto Protocol; overwhelming majority of CO2 emissions come from China/India

Sources:

• MDW's most cited local newspaper: The Dickinson Press
• MDW's least visited local newspaper: The Williston Herald
• Best education site: RBN Energy

Biggest dud:

• Keystone XL
• Chesapeake's drilling program in North Dakota

The Williston Wire's Top Ten Stories of 2012

Williston named fastest growing micro area in the United States

Williston to annex 4,800 acres north of Williston

KKR makes game-changing housing investment in Williston

Williston population to grow to 50,000 by 2017

More than $470 million in construction projects permitted in Williston in 2012

United, Delta Airlines launch service in Williston

Williston led state in taxable sales and purchases

Construction begins on Williston area recreation center 

Mercy Medical Center, Trinity open new facilities

WSC opens new science center, broke ground on housing for essential services employees

Famous Dave's, Buffalo Wild Wings announce plans to open in Williston in 2013

Temporary truck bypass opens in August, 2012

Williston approves revised plans for northwest bypass

Governor's budget recommends four-laning highway 85 between Williston and Watford City

Expanded List of Top Stories of 2012

The Short List

The nation:

• US oil imports from Saudi Arabia quietly increased by 25% this time last year

The Bakken: production

• North Dakota jumps to #2 in oil production; one year earlier than anticipated; passed CA earlier
• 1.5 million bbl-EURs  
• Bakken boom will get bigger; at least 35,000 more wells to drill  

The Bakken: fields

• The "Helis Grail"
• The Brooklyn oil field

The Bakken: formations

• Three Forks may be 200 feet thick in the core Bakken; What the four TFS benches might mean
• Pronghorn Sands part of the Bakken; Whiting presentation, February 7, 2012 
• Red River: multiple pay zones  
• Slawson proving that upper Bakken shale will produce oil

The Bakken: wells

• BEXP reports a great IP (4,368 bbls) for a wildcat in the Bakken
• Samson Resources' Thomte well with 102,000 bbls in first six months, Divide County
• CLR successfully completes first TF3 well

The Bakken: well density

• CLR's 14-well/1280-acre spacing unit
• Continental Resources proposal for drilling 14 wells on on 2560-acre spacing unit 
• 10+ wells on one 1280-acre spacing unit
• $100 million, 12-well Hess pad?
• 32 long laterals in four adjacent spacing units -- Abraxas
• EOG: 320-acre spacing in the Bakken
• 640-acre spacing vs 1280-acre spacing in the Bakken 

The Bakken: operators

• May hearing dockets:
  

• Oasis: 84 wells
• Zenergy: 456 wells 
• G3 Operating: 672 wells

The Bakken: crude by rail

• BNI's huge crude-by-rail operation 
• Plains All American 5-Terminal Expansion  
• Savage announces completion of its Trenton double-track CBR facility
• Is there more to rail transport of crude than we're aware? 
• Dickinson facility expanding 
• Statoil to lease > 1,000 rail cars to ship oil
• BNSF investing $200 million in upgrades, maintenance
• Just how big IS the Bakken? BNSF now has capacity for 1 million bopd
• Backhaul of diluent in otherwise empty tank cars 
• Growth of CBR in the Bakken 
• Bakken hits new production record; 40% of Bakken oil is going out by rail
• Coolest link of the week: photos of BNSF crude-by-rail terminals 
• Enbridge Announces Enbridge Rail
• First Bakken unit train arrives in Tacoma, Washington 

The Bakken: takeaway capacity

• Enbridge announcement: $6.2 billion pipeline expansion for the Bakken, Canadian oil
• Bakken oil being shipped to California  
• A  17-mile pipeline; Stanley to oil rail loading station: $14 million project 
• EOG: First CBR Bakken Oil to Louisiana
• Bakken crude being shipped to the Gulf Coast by barge
• Enbridge talking about need for yet another high capacity pipeline from the Bakken to Superior, WI

The Bakken: investments

• $700 million to improve Williston waste water plant
• $4 billion/month pouring into western North Dakota
• $26 million proppant distribution facility to Stark County?
• MDU proposing an 88-MW natural gas electric utility near Mandan
• Williston's new recreation center: even bigger
• Medical complex in Williston; fastest growing hospital in the nation; HAL donation 
• Tioga Hess expansion update 
• ONEOK to build fifth natural gas processing plant, Garden Creek II

The Bakken: taxable sales receipts

• North Dakota state sales tax collection increased by 40% yoy
• North Dakota tax receipts setting records 
• Williston surpassed Fargo by $100 million for 4Q11

The Bakken: fracking

• US Army Corps of Engineers will release river water for fracking 
• EPA: no health concerns with first well tests from Dimock, Pennsylvania
• Fracking deemed safe in California study  

The Bakken: miscellaneous records

• Hearing dockets for March, 2012: Hess requesting permits for 468 new wells
  Building permits, dollar value, Williston, triples previous year: $360 million for 2011
  Williston #6 on Forbes' fastest-growing small town list 
• Dickinson building permits -- a new record, second year in a row
• Williston's Amtrak station: fastest growing US train depot 
• On track for 2,514 permits this year; a new record
• On track for 2,535 new permits this year; new record
• On track for nearly 2,450 permits this calendar year in the Williston Basin
• Could the Bakken rival Ghawar?
• Bakken might need 50,000 additional workers in next few years

Development:

• Millionaires: 634 in 2011; 532 in 2010 (North Dakota)
• Williston, Minot set record for new building permits (as of early December, 2012) 
• Williston's building permits, >$405 million; exceeds those of Fargo AND Minot combined
• Developer: 500 new homes in Watford City
• Minot: building permits will set record; > $300 million
• 300 apartment units in South Heart, North Dakota? 
• 24-hour Wendy's and Chester's Chicken coming to Williston
• More oil patch housing, Oppidan to invest $100 million 
• More oil patch housing, 1,500 units to Burlington 
• Counties secure $370 million in loans for electric grid build-out 
• Electricity demand could triple in western North Dakota over next 20 years
• Another 123-single family unit development, east of Dickinson 
• Dickinson: $20 million health care facility underway 
• Watford City: housing needs assessment 

Renewable energy meets reality

• The Dutch pull the plug on off-shore wind; the Spanish suspend all renewable projcts
• Wind farms in Wyoming on hold
• GM "temporarily" halts production of the Volt
• Batteries of all Nissan Leafs to be replaced; premature loss of capacity
• 440,000 birds killed annually by wind turbines  
• Solar power: the math doesn't work

Commentaries, Resources

The "Red Queen" Phenomenon

Williston Sets 3-Month Record for Permitting; Dickinson Permitting: Picking Up

Well, despite the best efforts to stop growth in Dickinson by faux environmentalists, permitting and growth is picking up significantly in that city.

The Dickinson Press is comparing apples to oranges in its lede:

Williston set a three-month record for building permit values from January to March with more than $33.55 million, but Dickinson beat them out with almost $36.11 million in March alone, according to code enforcement reports.

The big story: the Bakken boom has been going on since 2007 in North Dakota (it started earlier in Montana). I had thought by now Williston would have started to level off with regard to permitting, with regard to growth, so I almost missed the real headline in this story:

Williston Sets New Record For Permitting

Some data points:

• Williston does not count permit fees for manufactured homes, and the three-month period showed it allowed 103 to be built.
• Dickinson counts the values for the homes, which could make the totals higher than Williston.

Growth in Williston started in 2007.

• 2010: $106 million, Williston
• 2011: $358 million, Williston, a record

• 2009: Dickinson started to see growth
• 2011: $144 million, Dickinson, a record

• March, 2012: $36 million, Dickinson
• September, 2011: $41 million, Dickinson, the monthly record

That's an interesting statistic that the $33 million is a 3-month record and the yearly record is $358 million for Williston. I can't do the math. Maybe I'm reading it wrong. Maybe they mean the January-March quarter set a record for that quarter, but it seems difficult to hit $358 million/year without any single quarter exceeding $33 million?

Alison Ritter's Quick Connects -- November 21, 2025

Locator: 49773B. 

Quick connects:

• Hennen: North Dakota's energy has worked hard, and the luck is lining up -- InForum

• North Dakota coal industry prepares to seize opportunity for growth -- North Dakota Monitor

• Utility regulators to consider state's first-ever battery storage sites -- North Dakota Monitor

• Tesla sues North Dakota car dealership law after DOT blocks applications -- Dickinson Press

• Preliminary findings show fatigue crack caused Keystone Pipeline spill in North Dakota -- Bismarck Tribune

• North Dakota utilities praise federal coal changes but still 'all-of-the-above' on energy -- Bismarck Tribune

• Bridger Pipeline to acquire 210 miles of Caliber Midstream assets in Williston Basin -- Pipeline & Gas Journal

• From AI data centers to natural gas, summit explores North Dakota energy scene -- Dickinson Press

• BLM announces oil and gas lease sale for January; to include 20 parcels across Montana, ND -- KX News

• Driving an EV across North Dakota? Thank the Standing Rock Tribe for their chargers. -- New York Times

• Viral oilfield artist from Oklahoma made a special visit to North Dakota; lands 'Landman' cameo -- KX News

• North Dakota regulators open route permit hearings for controversial JETx power line -- Bismarck Tribune

• Billions of Legacy Fund dollars shielded from public disclosure, considered confidential -- Grand Forks Herald

• Gov. issues executive order establishing Interagency Council on Homelessness -- Office of the Governor

• Change means North Dakotans may see unclaimed property checks in mailboxes -- North Dakota Monitor

• Tough turkey Ruben belligerently gobbles his way through annual pardoning ceremony -- Dickinson Press

• Ethics Commissioner does not have the support to keep serving, governor argues -- North Dakota Monitor

• ND250 Commission awards five community grants totaling $48,199 for 250th celebration -- Minot Daily News

• Stark County approves $13.9M general fund budget for 2026; $1.8M increase over 2025 -- Dickinson Press

• Popular Magical Medora Christmas tour is coming to Watford City December 3 -- McKenzie County Farmer

• Assistant Chief of Operations Corey Johnson appointed interim fire chief for Williston -- Supertalk1270

• New lodging development The Ranch brings visitors closer to Bully Pulpit Golf Course -- Dickinson Press

• Pantry helps fill shutdown gap; shelves are stocked thanks to state funds, local donations -- The Journal

• Employee bonuses, pay adjustment, hiring new officer top Tioga Commission agenda -- Williston Herald

• Dickinson approves rezone request in southwest Dickinson despite community opposition -- Dickinson Press

• District 6 GOP party censures legislator over vote during 2025 legislative assembly -- Minot Daily News

• Child care looks to innovate in North Dakota; increased collaboration could ease issues -- Dickinson Press

• North Dakota ballot measure being drafted that would require the state to pay for school meals -- WZFG

• We must strengthen and protect North Dakota's public schools during American Education Week -- InForum

• Increasing freshmen enrollment highlights growth at North Dakota colleges and universities -- KFYR-TV

• Williston State College receives $20,000 grant from TC Energy's Build Strong program -- Williston Herald

• NDSU president shares what he's most proud of as he prepares to leave for Iowa State -- Dickinson Press

• Divide seeks boost for math scores; administrators reviewing possible curriculum updates -- The Journal

• Lt. Governor, North Dakota lawmakers learn about unique education model at Williston Schools -- KFYR-TV

• US Department of Education announces restructuring, will not impact North Dakota schools -- KX News

• Dickinson State, Williston State presidents discuss 4 year business degree offerings in Williston -- KFYR-TV

• Board of Regents mandates 'climate' curricula as NY kids still struggle with math and reading -- NY Post

• EPA proposes narrowed new rules for WOTUS protected the under Clean Water Act -- North Dakota Monitor

• US oil and gas drilling activity has continued to decline even as production reaches record highs -- Reuters

• Coal is in a fight for its life and industry supporters better step up. Passivity does not work. -- Coal Zoom

• Interior finalizes rule to open up about half of National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska to drilling -- E&E News

• Big Oil companies are still reporting robust profits despite prices being below recent highs -- Yahoo Finance

• Trump is leading the charge to address the nation's alarming mineral import reliance -- RealClearEnergy

• A trend break? EIA sees jump in Alaska oil production in 2026, the first in nearly a decade -- Oil Price

• Global oil demand jumped in September by 1.8M bpd from a year earlier, 1.4M bpd over August -- Oil Price

• US Department of Energy closes on $1B loan to restart nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island -- E&E News

• EPA cutting the legs out from under US oil and gas competitiveness in int'l markets -- RealClearEnergy

• Dark money network that's funding climate lawsuits against energy faces IRS scrutiny -- Energy in Depth

• Unelected UN bureaucrats are threatening global economic growth with carbon tax push -- Daily Caller

• Five harsh energy realities are shattering the religious "climate change" orthodoxy -- American Greatness

North Dakota's Newest And Largest Airport Terminal To Open Monday -- February 26, 2016

Roers Investments as announced the opening:

... of its first multi-family project in Williston. The Bluffs of Williston is a new apartment community located in the Harvest Hills Development. The site features a total of 148 units that are now open for leasing. RI has residential and multi-use projects in five communities in the Bakken Shale Oil and Gas region; Williston, Stanley, Tioga, Watford City and Sidney, MT. Some of its newest tenants are The Smiling Moose Deli in Watford City and Ackerman Estvold in Williston.

Did you see The Smiling Moose Deli mentioned in the previous story? Here's a bit more: The Smiling Moose Deli has restaurants in Williston and Watford City.

To reach its growth goal of 100 units by 2020, Smiling Moose Rocky Mountain Deli is embarking on a complete brand overhaul, including a major menu update and a complete restaurant redesign. The franchise currently has 19 delis in seven states including restaurants in Williston and Watford City. To meet the 2020 goal, the brand will focus growth in areas where the demographic mirrors its guest base, which includes Arizona, Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wyoming said CEO Sue Daggett. 

I didn't quite understand why a proposed mixed-use housing and retail development (Fivesouth), in downtown Bismarck would be in the Williston Wire, but then in the small print:

Developer Don Cardon, CEO of Phoenix-based Cardon Development Group, unveiled the FiveSouth development this past March (2015). Cardon is also partnering with the City of Williston on the Sloulin Field International Airport Redevelopment.

In North Dakota there's a lot of concern about how falling crude oil prices have idled drilling rigs, pushed down production and cut into state and local tax coffers.

But another type of industrial activity--constructing transmission lines--is in full swing. The collapse of oil prices has given utilities and project developers an opportunity to catch up to burgeoning electric demand in the oil fields. In recent years, diesel generators have provided a large share of electricity to well sites and remote processing and storage facilities.

It's dead but we will see stories on this pipeline for years and years to come:

Justin Kringstad, director of the North Dakota Pipeline Authority, said pipeline capacity added in 2015 via Kinder Morgan's Double H Pipeline in western North Dakota, a decline in oil field production and changed market conditions have reduced that state's reduced crude-by-rail volume. Yet even with North Dakota's production decline to 1.15 million gallons per day, the state still lacks sufficient pipeline takeaway capacity. One anticipated project - Enbridge Energy's 225,000-barrel-per-day Sandpiper pipeline from North Dakota and across northern Minnesota - has been delayed until 2019 while Minnesota regulators review environmental issues.

North Dakota's largest airport terminal to officially open Monday:

An impressive, $43 million airport terminal was unveiled to the public at an open house at Minot International Airport Saturday. The building that will be the state's largest airport terminal doesn't officially become operational until February 29, 2016. But for six hours on Saturday, doors opened to give area residents a chance to wander the walkways, check out operations areas that won't be publicly accessible once the terminal opens and take in the airfield panorama from the glassed-in second-floor secured area.

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JE Dunn

On my most recent trip to the Bakken, I saw "JE Dunn" everywhere. It is the prime contractor for the new Williston High School which will open this fall (2016). From The Dickinson Press:

With the oil boom in full swing, Marc Mellmer saw the possibilities for growth and looming building projects in western North Dakota, and he wanted JE Dunn Construction to be a part of it.

Nearly three years and more than 20 building projects later, the 31-year-old construction operations coordinator sits in his sensible, windowless office in one of Dickinson’s newest buildings — one his firm had no hand in building, he notes with a laugh — and said despite the economic downturn in North Dakota set off by plunging oil prices, business is still looking good.

This year, JE Dunn will begin or continue work on — among its many projects — the North Dakota governor’s residence and the new Bank of North Dakota Financial Center in Bismarck, Harold Newman Arena in Jamestown, and the Trinity High School reconstruction and expansion, a project near to Mellmer’s heart as he’s a graduate of the Dickinson Catholic school.

Mellmer graduated from Trinity 13 years ago and went on to earn his degree in construction management at the University of Minnesota. He was working for JE Dunn on the Sanford Health Clinic in Detroit Lakes, MN, when he began pushing for the company to bid on projects in booming Dickinson.

JE Dunn came to the area in 2011 to build the Mercy Medical Center Birthing Center in Williston, where they’ve had an office since 2012. Not long after that, the company was aw arded building contracts for the $70 million Williston Area Recreation Center and the $100 million CHI St. Joseph’s Health campus in Dickinson.

Much, much more at the link. It's an incredible story.

J. E. Dunn Construction Group at wiki.

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Update on Industry in Southwest North Dakota Following The Boom

From The Dickinson Press:

Though the oil industry tends to be more visible, Dickinson’s manufacturing sector has historically been a significant driver of the town’s economy.

Gaylon Baker, executive vice president of the Stark Development Corp., said there are more than a dozen manufacturing businesses in the immediate Dickinson area that collectively employ about 1,500 people.

Baker said the diversity of the sector — which makes goods ranging from learning and instructional kits for the schoolroom to metal fabrication bound for coal mines — is the “great thing about it” and protects against failure of any one trend.

Another benefit of the Dickinson manufacturing scene is the “organic” nature of the companies that make it.

“This is home to them,” Baker said. “And as they grow and expand, this will continue to be home. We’re seeing Dickinson-based companies putting operations in other towns, which is good for them and also good for us.”

The article goes on to mention several companies thriving in Dickinson. 

A Little Bit Of This; A Little Bit Of That -- August 1, 2015

Updates

August 3, 2015: see original post below. In all, six North Dakota airports receive significant federal funding, continuing the grand tradition of maintaining the moniker, the "Greece" of  the United States -- taking more from the Federal government than paying into it. What a concept. So it's only fitting that The Washington Times is reporting:

North Dakota’s congressional delegation says six western North Dakota airports are getting nearly $10 million for improvements.
The money from the U.S. Department of Transportation is slated for airports in Williston, Stanley, Tioga, Garrison, Dickinson and Mercer County.

• Tioga: $5 million, taxiway and apron
• Garrison Municipal Airport: $2. million to rehab the existing runway
• Williston's Sloulin Field International Airport: $1.3 million to rehab existing apron and taxiway
• Mercer County Regional Airport: $419,400
• Stanley Municpal Airport: $73,357
• Dickinson's Theodore Roosevelt Regional Airport: $300,000 fro taxiway improvements

Original Post

Bakken.com rates CLR presentation "best ever":

Heath Mireles, manager of resources development for Continental Resources delivered one of the best presentations on the Bakken I've seen. And, although it may sound outlandish, I think it was actually the best. In his efforts to describe one of the Bakken's greatest and biggest science projects, the Hawkinson pad, he provided a video detailing the results from the multi-well pad design.

Based on the results of the Hawkinson unit, Mireles believes the data is strong enough to change the way the North Dakota portion of the Williston Basin is developed. The current setback limit for spacing units in the state is 200 feet, but, after watching the video created by Continental, it is fairly obvious that such setbacks could be leaving a significant amount of oil.

Because of that, Mireles proposes that North Dakota should place its setbacks (the space minimum a well bore must be from the spacing unit's invisible boundary) at 50 feet. Doing so, Mireles believes, could increase oil production in a given spacing unit by up to 10 percent. If you want access to the video, give me a call.

"Give me a call" is from the linked article. I don't have a copy of the video to release. At the link look for the phone number to call (or the e-mail address).

Overlapping units will capture "orphaned" oil, but decreasing the setback to 50 feet would allow better return for any given well. It's sort of a no-brainer, but we will see where it leads.

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Bakken Economy Doesn't Sound Like It's Beat Up All That Bad

The Williston Wire:

• MDU celebrates grand openings of its two new facilities in Williston and Watford City.
• USDOT awards $5 million toward Tioga's airport.
• USDOT awards $1.3 million for Williston's airport.
• Stanley, Dickinson, and Garrison airports will share about $1.6 million from USDOT.
• The North Dakota Board of University and School Lands has awarded $15 million in Energy Impact Grant funds to K-12 schools and another $1.3 million to airports in western North Dakota's oil and gas region. The Williston Public School District #1 received $2.65 million.
• The Board of University and School Lands has awarded $11.5 million in energy impact grants to local law enforcement agencies, non-profit service organizations and emergency medical services in western North Dakota. The funding includes $596,935 to the Williston Police Department for six police vehicles, equipment and salary support for three new officers; $77,162 for the Williston Family Crisis Shelter to fund a services advocate and office equipment; and $369,324 to the City of Williston for a quick-response vehicle, training, emergency equipment and staffing assistance.
• Williston is experiencing an interesting demographic shift that has many unable to give definitive answers as to what is actually happening to the population. However, one thing that can be said is that the ethnic population within Williston is growing drastically. The U.S. Census Bureau listed the demographic of Williston as 90 percent white but now estimates that figure at 79 percent.

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Say What?

Some weeks ago The Dickinson Press wrote:

With oil prices falling, you wouldn't think Williston was "the last great place for opportunity," but that is the slogan the state's oil hub has come up with to try to shake off its economic downturn.

Those lured by that promise will find apartment rents have begun to plunge in Williston after a 50 percent fall in the price of oil caused hundreds of layoffs and put off job seekers in search of the town's legendary six-figure pay packets.
In a state which expects six percent growth this year, largely on agriculture, Williston is trying to convince outsiders it has staying power and won't end up as another has-been boom town. 

Maybe, maybe not. 

But I see Williston's Wal-Mart is still open 24/7. Dickinson's Wal-Mart, on the other hand is cutting hours, closing at 1:00 a.m. weeknights, and not even opening until noon on Sundays. See first comment. Then see these two screenshots taken at 12:01 a.m. Sunday morning, August 2, 2015:

For more, see this post.

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Not Everyone Got The Memo

That All Lives Matter

First, Baltimore's mayor must not have gotten the memo. Baltimore's killings soar to a level not seen in 43 years. In August, 1972, there were 45 murders in Baltimore. It's interesting what "they're" blaming the murders on this time around. If accurate, the murders will start to decline when the murderers run out of opiates. Too bad Hunter S Thompson isn't around to opine on this. Flashback: on May 5, 1972, Governor George C. Wallace of Alabama was shot by Arthur H. Bremer at a political rally in Laurel, MD.

Second, Planned Parenthood videos are so disgusting, a US district judge has issued a "temporary" ban on further releases -- meanwhile Planned Parenthood supporters continue to carry banners with "All Lives Matter." It has been reported that the US district judge who issued the "temporary" ban raised $230,000 for the re-election of President Obama.

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IMF: Unavailable For Comment

Hollande: "Oui, Oui"

Merkel: "Ich Bein Ein Berliner" 

German Taxpayers: "WTF"

Reuters is reporting:

Greece may seek 24 billion euros in a first tranche of bailout aid from international lenders in August to prop up its banks and repay debts falling due at the ECB, a pro-government Greek newspaper said in its early Sunday editions.

Athens is now in talks with the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund to secure up to 86 billion euros ($94.48 billion) in bailout aid. It will be its third bailout since 2010.

I guess this is a trial balloon. Someone said Greece "may" ask for 24 billion Euros. If there's no push back, then, yes, they will ask for the 24 billion euros. My only question: why not a round number like 25 billion? That's probably what the IMF is asking. LOL.