Wells Coming Off Confidential List Thursday; Miscellaneous Links; ATT/Apple Setting Sales Records; Oasis With Two Nice Wells; Fidelity With a Nice Well

Bakken Operations

Active wells: 181 (intra-boom low is 180; hit earlier this week)

Wells coming off confidential list, Thursday:
20030, 1,283, Fidelity, Amundson 23-14H, Stanley, t10/12; cum 19K 10/12;
22044, del, Zavanna, George 19-30 1H, Stockyard Creek, a great well; 21K first full month;
22349, 1,587, Oasis, Ricky Federal 5602 43-35H, Bonetrail, t6/12; cum 34K 10/12;
22350, 1,193, Oasis, Bobby 5602 43-35H, Squires, t7/12; cum 25K 10/12;
22646, drl, BEXP, Jerome Anderson 10-15 4H, Alger,
22935, drl, CLR, Salem 3-6H, Dollar Joe,

Other links

RBN Energy: after the flood.

A veritable flood of more than 3 MMb/d of new crude production from the US and Canada will come into the Houston region by 2015 via long awaited new pipeline infrastructure. The most immediate impact will be to back out light sweet crudes from the Gulf Coast region – as early as 2013. Today we assess how the changes will affect light sweet crude pricing. 

Fossil fuel will supply 80% of energy for US in 2040 -- US DOE report via CarpeDiem.com. Less than 11 percent will be provided by taxpayer-dependent energy sources (wind, solar).

ATT smart phone sales setting a new record, MacRumors.com:

The wireless carrier is selling smartphones at a record pace -- 6.4 million already in the first two months of the quarter, according to Ralph de la Vega, CEO of AT&T's mobility arm. De la Vega, speaking at an investor conference today, said he now expects to sell 26 million smartphones this year, 1 million more than previously expected. 

Given that the iPhone typically represents 70-80% of AT&T's smartphones, the carrier's record numbers for the quarter so far bode well for Apple. Apple will likely also see a boost from its rapid rollout of the iPhone 5, which is already offered in nearly 50 countries and will be available in more than 50 additional countries by the end of the month.

Apple is clearly expecting a blockbuster quarter, having issued guidance for a record $52 billion in revenue on the strength of not only the iPhone 5 but also the new iPad mini and the just-updated full-size iPad, as well as recent updates to most of the company's Mac and iPod lines. [standard disclaimer: this site is not an investment site; do not make any investment decisions based on what you read here]

Meanwhile: the last of the four major US telecoms has just announced it will now offer the iPhone. T-Mobile USA says it will begin selling the iPhone in 2013. 

For investors only: update on Halcon as an investment, SeekingAlpha.com [standard disclaimer: this site is not an investment site; do not make any investment decisions based on what you read here]

For investors only: update on American Eagle Energy as an investment, SeekingAlpha.com [standard disclaimer: this site is not an investment site; do not make any investment decisions based on what you read here]. For newbies who do not recognize American Eagle, click here and scroll down for American Eagle Energy.

Not a Bakken Story: Rich Californians, Hawaiians, New Yorkers Will Pay Nation's Highest Marginal Tax Rate

Link to SacramentoBee.com.

Thanks to passage of Proposition 30 last month, high-income Californians would pay the nation's highest marginal income tax rates -- nearly 52 percent -- if "we" go over the ObamaCliff.

Cue up Connie Francis.

Who wants to bet against me that Kobe Bryant will ask to be traded from the LA Lakers to San Antonio Spurs or Miami Heat before the end of 2013?

Speaking of which, Kobe goes over 30,000 life-time points tonight. Despite the LA Lakers apparently imploding, Kobe should be able to get the 13 points or so that he needs.

[As far as Hawaii and New York City: more to come.]

But Americans are content/satisfied.

Read more here: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2012/12/high-income-californians-may-pay-nations-highest-tax-rate.html#storylink=cpy

Not a Bakken Story But Several Readers Interested In Regional Stories: PolyMet and Twin Metals; Minnesota With Larger Deposit of Precious Metals Than Previously Estimated

Link here to StarTribune.com.

The company that controls mining rights to 32,000 acres on the doorstep of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area said Tuesday that the land contains 19 percent more copper, gold and palladium than it previously estimated, making Minnesota home to one of the world's largest deposits of precious metals.

"These are not minor mineral holdings," said Bob McFarlin, vice president for government and public affairs for Twin Metals, a partner in the planned project, which released the results of the new geological analysis. "The state is sitting on an absolute economic juggernaut for generations to come."

The value of the mineral wealth in the area was pegged last summer at more than $100 billion. The new estimate released Tuesday assigned high confidence to the presence of 13.7 billion pounds of copper, 4.4 billion pounds of nickel and 21.2 million ounces of palladium, platinum and gold. The platinum and palladium deposits would be one of the largest outside of South Africa.

The project, along with a proposed mine run by PolyMet Mining Corp., has raised alarms among environmentalists, who worry about the potential impact on northern forests and lake country. PolyMet, which plans a $600 million open-pit project near Hoyt Lakes, is now preparing for the environmental approval process, which it expects to start next year.

Seven (7) New Permits; BEXP With Three Nice Wells; Whiting With a Nice Well;

Bakken Operations

Active rigs: 181 (was at its intra-boom low of 180 today, new low)

Seven (7) new permits:

• Operators: EOG (3), Petro-Hunt (2), BEXP (2)
• Fields: Camp (McKenzie), Little Knife (Dunn), Ft Buford (Williams), Parshall (Mountrail)
  Comments: None

Wells coming off confidential list today were posted earlier; see sidebar at the right.

Producing wells completed:

• 23234, 521, Whiting,Bill TTT Federal 42-4TFH, Sanish, t10/12; cum 1K 10/12;
• 23235, 1,702, Whiting, Gordon TTT Federal 41-4H, Sanish, t10/12; cum 5K 10/12;
• 22883, 509, Whiting, Cvancara 21-14TFH, Alger, t11/12; cum --
• 21771, 3,080, BEXP, Jack Cvancara 19-18 2H, Alger, t10/12; cum 7K 10/12;
• 22381, A, BEXP, Vachal 3-34 4TFH, t--
• 21712, 2,604, BEXP, Rich 30-31 3H, Todd, t10/12; cum 17K 10/12;
• 22696, 2,898, BEXP, Ross-Alger 6-7 3H,  Alger, t10/12; cum 8K 10/12;

Filloon on Continental Resources; EURs of 1.5 Million Bbls in the Best Bakken?

Updates

December 6, 2012: so, is there any Three Forks well with more than a million bbls? Yes:
1987, 150, CLR, Woodrow Star "A" 1, Antelope, Sanish Pool, t10/58; cum 1.060 million bbls 10/12; still producing

Original Post

Link here to SeekingAlpha.com.

How good is the best Bakken?

Remember all that early talk of EURs averaging somewhere between 300- and 500-thousand bbls? Then KOG started talking about one-million-barrel EURs in the best Bakken.

Now, this from Mike Filloon:

.... interest in NE McKenzie has grown significantly over the past two years. QEP Resources' acquisition of Helis's acreage in Croff and Grail fields proves this value. The best wells in this area targeted the upper Three Forks, with consistent EURs of 1000 MBoe. Wells have modeled to a maximum EUR of 1500 MBoe. This area is inconsistent with the rest of the basin, as the upper Three Forks outperforms the middle Bakken in this field. In the general vicinity of this field, the upper Three Forks has produced 10 wells with more than 1101-1500 Mboe. The middle Bakken has produced 8 within this range.

Again, in case you missed it: some folks are talking about EURs of 1.5 million bbls in the best Bakken (assuming I read the article correctly). 

We've already seen any number of Bakken wells drilled in the last four or five years that have exceeded 500 thousand bbls. Visit "Monster Wells" and scroll down.