Six (6) New Permits -- The Williston Basin, North Dakota, USA

Active rigs:

	3/14/2014	03/14/2013	03/14/2012	03/14/2011	03/14/2010
Active Rigs	190	187	203	174	104

Six (6) new permits --

• Operators: XTO (3), Emerald Oil (2), American Eagle
• Fields: Bear Den (McKenzie), Heart River (Stark), Colgan (Divide)
• Comments:

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

One (1) producing well was completed:

• 25811, 928, Slawson, Jugard (Federal) 2-26-35H, Big Bend, t1/14; cum 17K 1/14;

From The Williston Wire -- Ferry 'Cross The Missouri?

For those of us who remember going out to Spring Lake Park and going to the drive-in movies north of Williston, here's a bit of news that will change the landscape out there:

As soon as weather permits construction will get underway on a new mixed use subdivision in north Williston. The Spring Lake Village subdivision is located three blocks north of Walmart on the east side of US Highways 2 and 85. The development is approximately 85 acres in size and will provide a variety of commercial and residential services. Williston resident Ronica Branson-Harger is the Project Manager for the Spring Lake Village.

The new rec center on the east side of town, near the college, is going to be a game-changer.

Apartments are on a vertical trend. There are nearly 3,000 apartment units in Williston.  Half of those were added last year in the 45 new apartment buildings built in 2013.  "Before the boom hit, the last apartment building was built in 1983. So from 1983-2007 we did not have any new apartment buildings,"  said Kelly Aberle, Williston Building Department.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has issued a Finding of No Significant Impact regarding the construction of a four-lane limited-access highway west and north of the City of Williston. The FHWA has determined that the preferred alternative will have no significant impact on the environment. The preferred alternative route has been identified as the Hybrid Route (formerly known as the Green Route).The preferred alternative would begin at the west junction of US Highway 2 and US Highway 85 (Four-Mile Corner) and generally head north and east to connect with US Highway 2 at its junction with Williams County Highway (CH) 6. The total project length would be approximately 13.0 miles. [Comment: I wonder if anyone did a corresponding study to suggest the environmental impact if the bypass was not completed.]

Cool: A ferry to float vehicles across Lake Sakakawea could relieve traffic on overburdened Oil Patch highways, says a group working to plan western North Dakota's future. [Comment: during the winter, some truckers simply drive across the lake.]

Note: links are not provided. It is easy to subscribe to The Williston Wire.

The most interesting story line with regard to the ferry across the lake: folks aren't thinking of these ideas if they thought the boom was nearing its end. Think of the truck traffic that will be needed to service 24-well pads.

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Ferry 'cross the Missouri?

Ferry Cross the Mersey, Gerry & the Pacemakers

For Investors Only: A Cold Winter, A Cold War; A Cold Reality

Some common sense in California: power companies are allowed to purchase natural-gas electricity to replace nuclear-produced electricity. Bloomberg is reporting:

Edison International and Sempra Energy utilities in Southern California were cleared to buy as much as 1,500 megawatts of electricity to replace the power lost when the San Onofre nuclear plant shut in 2012.

Sempra’s San Diego Gas & Electric Co. was authorized by the California Public Utilities Commission today to secure 500 to 800 megawatts, with at least 175 coming from “preferred resources” such as solar, wind and energy-efficient sources and 25 from energy storage. [175/800 = 22%; and that's about the state mandate.]

Edison’s Southern California Edison in Rosemead was approved for 500 to 700 megawatts, with at least 400 from preferred sources. Environmental groups including the Natural Resources Defense Council and Sierra Club had argued that all additional power should come from renewables and other clean sources, saying the alternative would lead to more emissions-intensive power such as that produced by natural gas-fired plants.

“I wish we could do 100 percent preferred resources,” Michael Peevey, president of the commission, said at the panel’s meeting in San Francisco today. “We just don’t have it in the timeframe necessary to ensure economic well-being, prosperity and keeping the lights on in Southern California.”

The market is flat, slightly negative, and yet a fair number of energy-related stocks, especially utilities are doing very, very well. Nothing like a cold winter, a cold war, and cold reality to help the utilities:

• cold winter: global warming
• cold war: Ukraine
• cold reality: California buying natural-gas produced electricity; renewable energy math doesn't add up 

I finally broke down and added another utility to my portfolio. If Warren Buffett buys the company, I will post the story.

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

Statoil Reports A Dry Well In The North Sea

Rigzone is reporting:

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate reported Monday that Statoil has drilled a dry well north of the Fram field in the North Sea. The NPD said that Statoil is in the process of concluding the drilling of the wildcat well (35/11-16S). The well was drilled approximately 3.5 miles north of the Fram field in the northern North Sea, and around 80 miles northwest of Bergen.

It was drilled from production license 248C with the exploration target situated in license 090B. Its objective was to prove petroleum in Upper Jurassic reservoir rocks.

I doubt these wells are inexpensive.

Flood Affects Wells In The Bakken

Flooding affects wells at the confluence of the Missouri River and the Yellowstone.

The Department of Mineral Resources Oil and Gas Division began advising operators on Monday to shut down wells that at risk and move equipment and chemical containers in anticipation of possible flooding.

About 50 wells are in the area that’s being monitored, said spokeswoman Alison Ritter. Twenty-two wells cannot be accessed by road due to water on the roads, and seven wells have water on the well site, Ritter said.

Pretty standard.