Carpe Diem: North Dakota's Higher Education Boom -- Somewhat Related to the Bakken

Link here.

Carpe Diem picked up a New York Times story that I would have missed.

Ms. Malinowski is evidence of an unlikely trend: the growing allure of higher education in North Dakota. The state ranks 48th in the U.S. at attracting tourists. Its young people routinely flee for warmer or more exciting places. The private sector here, struggling to lure sufficient numbers of workers from elsewhere, is wrestling with labor shortages even amid national unemployment around 9%.

But college students are flocking here in ever greater numbers. Out-of-state students account for about 55% of the 14,500 enrolled at North Dakota State University, as well as at similarly sized University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. Nonresident students at North Dakota's 11 public colleges constitute a higher ratio than in almost every other state.

I believe the UND aviation program is one of the top aviation programs in the country. Part of the reason, as I understand it, is the number of days year-round that weather is clear and great for flying. Cold in the winter, perhaps, but that doesn't stop flying. It's a lot colder at altitude than it is on the ground.

It is my understanding that the UND / NDSU geosciences departments are top notch, and with the Bakken play, are becoming increasingly sought after. Folks graduating with geology degrees from UND/NDSU will find jobs in the oil industry.

Williston State College has partnered with leading oil industry companies to train folks for jobs in the oil patch.

290 Rigs in the Bakken? Typo? Timeline? -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

A big "thank you" to "anon 1" for finding this story.

Someone had tweeted the "290" but didn't supply a source or link. I looked for the story but couldn't find it.

The story is about how slowly the Niobrara seems to be developing.

[A spokesman] said there is too little information yet to determine how successful the play will be in the end.

This is because of the low number of commercial wells and rules that allow companies to keep their results confidential for up to six months.

"We just haven't seen enough drilling rigs and enough activity to really know if there is a play yet," he said.

Another reason for the oil play's slowdown could be because of increased activity in North Dakota, [the spokesman] said.

He said the Bakken oil play is gearing up to have 170 active drilling rigs and up to 290 by the end of the year. That could leave a shortage of equipment and workers for activity here.

"They claim that they are using many new rigs, so that may not be a problem," Doll said. "But my concern is: Where are you going to get the drillers, roughnecks and (fracking) crews who are trained to do the sophisticated work?"

In fact, North Dakota already has about 180 active rigs; I'm not sure what he meant by "gearing up to have 170 active drilling rigs." Is this an old story? 

The question is where will the Niobrara get those "drillers, roughnecks and (fracking) crews who are trained to do the sophisticated work" if they are all tied up in the Bakken? By the way, North Dakota as the same six-month confidentiality rule.

North Dakota Looking To Hire a Potash Geologist

PDF file.

In case link is lost/broken, key portion:

Position Number: 405-00028314
Starting Salary Range: $4,333 – $4,879/month plus benefits
Closing Date: August 22, 2011
Status: Full-time
Recruitment: Internal/External
Location: Bismarck, ND
The North Dakota Geological Survey is hiring for a newly created geology position. The successful candidate will manage the state’s subsurface mineral exploration and production program and will conduct stratigraphic studies of potash and other economic rocks and minerals in the Williston Basin of North Dakota.

The Silurian Formation -- Idle Rambling -- For My Own Benefit -- Others May Enjoy It -- North Dakota, USA

Locator: 10010SILURIAN.

Like the Red Wing Creek wells, it is possible the Silurian formation is a relatively local phenomenon in North Dakota. More on that later, but for now, a look at some nice Silurian wells in the Charlson oil field. Some are still active, some are permanently abandoned.

• 10224, PA/1,560, Petro-Hunt, Devonian 10-1, vertical, AL, 614K (two formations) 2/15;
• 10498, 1,142, Phillip D. Armstrong, I. Thompson 8-34, vertical, abandoned, but Bakken in 1993 still flowing without pump; (two formations; Bakken still flowing); 198K 4/17; 202K 11/24; essentially producing nothing now, 11/24;
• 10499, PA/368, Berco Resources, LLC, Federal 17-32, vertical, abandoned, 414,862; still significant production when well shut down
• 11064, DRY -- Birdbear, Madison (abandoned), Silurian, Petro-Hunt, CMSU C-421
• 11194, PA/1,200, Petro-Hunt, Silurian 37-1, abandoned, 457,803; 12 years of production; stripper well level of production at end of production
• 11353, 711, Petro-Hunt, Silurian 39-1, vertical, still producing, cum 559K 4/17; cum 615K 11/24;
• 11853, PA/AB/869, XTO/Denbury Onshore, Silurian Unit 56-1, vertical, no production since 10/11, cum 354,168 10/11;
• 11897, 36 (not a typo), but the Madison, 312, Petro-Hunt, CMU B-108, vertical, still producing, cum 400K 4/17; cum 493K 11/24;
• 11948, PA/941, Prosper Energy, Prosper-Isaacson 1, vertical, abandoned, 196,553; abandoned after less than 3.5 years of production and still producing enough for a stripper well designation
• 12148, Dry -- but the Madison, PA/67 (not a typo), Petro-Hunt, CMSU A-421, vertical, last produced 1/13; cum 325,668 1/13;

No rhyme or reason to the wells I picked except for the fact they were in one small area in the Charlson that I could see quickly, and they were in the permit file range of 10,000 to 12,000, when there was activity in the Silurian. 

My hunch is that a lot of these wells were abandoned at a time when price of oil made them all not that economical, but with price of oil at $100, I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see some more vertical activity in these other formations.

With regard to the Silurian, from NDGS:

Oil is the most important hydrocarbon produced in the state, but oil was not discovered until 1951 when Amerada Hess Corporation completed the Clarence Iverson #1 on the Nesson anticline. Since then, oil exploration has been nearly continuous in the state. The discovery well was completed in the Silurian Interlake Formation but subsequent development on the anticline focused on the Mississippian Madison Group.

From that same link:

The upper Interlake Formation is productive along large structures (Fig. 15), but the controls on production are not well understood. Salt-plugged porosity degrades reservoir performance in some places whereas fracturing has enhanced performance in other areas. The middle Interlake Formation is productive in two fields in Stark County and the lower Interlake Formation produces from two porosity zones, informally named the Salsbury and the Putnam. These two porosity zones produce on major structures in North Dakota and production can be significant, like that at Stoneview Field on the Nesson anticline. Typically, oil with a significant volume of gas is produced from Interlake reservoirs.

The Charlson Field Has Been Updated -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

I've updated a few IPs for the Charlson field.

I was curious how the Norby wells would turn out. They turned out quite well. They should hit 100,000 bbls cumulative by first year of production.

• 18814, 1,754, St Mary, Wilson 8-20H, 91k as of May, 2011; less than a year old
• 18815, 853, St Mary, Norby 9-20H, 81k as of May, 2011; less than a year old
• 18816, 1,415, St Mary, Norby 16-20H, 66k as of May, 2011; one year old

For newbies, the Charlson field is a great field.