From Earlier Today -- February 12, 2015

Dakota Plains announces strategic and corporate updates: Co to form strategy committee and review strategic alternatives to enhance stockholder value: Co announced strategic and corporate changes to further grow stockholder value. These updates follow the previously announced successful unwinding of the Company's joint ventures and the refinancing of the Company's debt.

WPX Energy announces a 2015 capital investment plan of ~725 mln, in-line with co's projected operating cash flow: Co announced a 2015 capital investment plan of approximately $725 million (midpoint), in line with the company's projected operating cash flow.

• As part of its long-term strategy, WPX will continue to diversify its historically gas-weighted portfolio.
• The company's 2015 capital plan is roughly half the amount of its capital plan last year, excluding acquisition capital.
• WPX expects its oil production to climb again in 2015. The company is targeting 15 to 20 percent oil growth this year even as it decreases capital spending and builds an inventory of wells awaiting completion for when commodity prices are more favorable.
• The company's 2015 capital program includes $275 million to $300 million for San Juan Basin development, $200 million to $225 million for Williston Basin activity, $200 million to $225 million for Piceance Basin development and $25 million for land and exploration. 

See disclaimer. 

Reason #56,892 Why I Love To Blog -- February 12, 2015

I feel somewhat remiss in not following up on Eckman. When a reader mentioned it the other day, I had planned to look up Eckman but never got around to it. I was pleasantly surprised when I opened an e-mail this evening with a bit of nostalgia regarding Eckman.

The reader linked Eckman with this "postcard / photograph."

For readers new to the blog, I was in high school, editor of the high school newspaper during my senior year, when I met Bill Shemorry. This photograph/post card was part of his collection.

When you get to the link, note that you can see both the front side of the postcard and the reverse.

It appears the photograph was taken in 1909 -- suggesting that "they" were drilling for natural gas in North Dakota as early as 1909. This as taken near Eckman, North Dakota.

The narrative that accompanies the photograph is fascinating: the derrick, the automobile, the men in derby hats (probably banks, not EPA or OSHA inspectors).

I find this particularly poignant, the message on the post card:

'Just to let you know that I am okay. Find farming kind of hard. Came here by team from Westhope. Your friend, Stenehjem.' 

Anyone who has read Giants in the Earth by Ole Edvart Rølvaag will know where I'm coming from. Giants in the Earth was one of the most "emotionally-laden" books I have ever read. I must have read it in middle school; not sure who would have recommended it to me to read. I think I did my "best" reading in middle school. By the time I got to high school, I was too busy to do much serious reading outside of class assignments. 

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Remember, It's Summer In The Antarctic

Ice Age Now is reporting:

The Australian 207-foot ship, the Antarctic Chieftain, has become trapped in thick Antarctic ice.

The US Coast Guard said the icebreaker Polar Star has been diverted to break through the ice and rescue the fishing vessel. Starting some 300 nautical miles away, the ice breaker was due to reach the stranded vessel by Friday or Saturday. In order to get there, it will need to cut through thick ice floes, heavy snow, and winds up to 35 miles per hour.

6/9 Wells To DRL Status; Ten (10) New Permits -- February 12, 2015

EPA reaffirms North Dakota's "haze-reduction" program. Link here:

North Dakota’s congressional delegation says the federal Environmental Protection Agency has reaffirmed its earlier approval of North Dakota’s plan to address haze caused by coal-fired power plants.
The EPA in 2012 agreed with the position of the North Dakota Health Department that power plants at Center and Stanton could use less-expensive technology to reduce haze that could affect Theodore Roosevelt National Park in western North Dakota.

UNP: stock hits new high. Judge dismisses lawsuit against UNP / fatal collision:

A Texas judge has dismissed a lawsuit against Union Pacific Corp brought in connection with a 2012 collision between a freight train and a parade float that killed four veterans in Texas. At least 14 people were also injured when the Union Pacific train slammed into a parade float pulled by a truck in Midland, Texas, in November 2012. The plaintiffs showed no evidence the train's crew could have avoided the collision as the parade float crossed the railroad tracks while the warning lights were flashing.

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Reporting tomorrow:
Targa Resources Partners (TRGP); forecast 64 cents; before market open;
TransCanada (TRP.TO); forecast 61 cents; before market open;

See disclaimer. And yes, tomorrow is "Friday the thirteenth."

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Triangle cancels six wells:

• #24885, $24886, #24880, #24882, #24877, #24879; Larsen and Kittleson wells, all in Williams County.

Active rigs:

	2/12/2015	02/12/2014	02/12/2013	02/12/2012	02/12/2011
Active Rigs	137	189	183	203	165

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

Ten (10) new permits --

• Operators: QEP (6), XTO (3), Whiting
• Fields: Spotted Horn (McKenzie), Charlson (McKenzie), Ray (Williams)
• Comments:

One (1) producing well completed:

• 28818, 605, Triangle, Simpson 151-102-5-8-2H, Elk, no production data,

Wells coming off confidential list Friday:

• 21538, drl, Enerplus, TAT 150-94-32D-29H, Spotted Horn, no production data,
• 26485, drl, Statoil, Hawkeye 16-21 3H, Todd, t6/14; no production data,
• 27044, 931, EOG, Parshall 44-1004H, Parshall, t8/14; cum 159K 12/14;
• 27518, drl, XTO, Guy Federal 24X-35F2, Grinnell, no production data,
• 27947, 2,076, Whiting, Bock Federal 44-7PH, Bell, t8/14; cum 58K 12/14;
• 28346, IA, BR, Lillibridge 41-27TFH-ULW, Blue Buttes, 4 sections, producing,
• 28643, drl, CLR, Boston 2-25H, Brooklyn, no production data,
• 28705, drl, MRO, Castner 34-20H, Bailey, no production data,
• 28871, drl, Hess, GO-Hodenfield-157-97-3130H-2, Ray, no production data,
  

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27044, see above, EOG, Parshall 44-1004H, Parshall:

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
12-2014	20146	5100
11-2014	32763	8275
10-2014	41872	1523
9-2014	47650	0
8-2014	15562	0

Wall Map Of The Bakken -- February 12, 2015

A huge thank you to a reader for this "bigger-than-life" wall map of the Bakken. I hung the map while my wife was out of the apartment for the day. LOL.

"So, is this where the spill was?"

 
The first thing that jumped out at me looking at this "life-size" map was how much work still needs to be done. Even the most active areas are just barely touched considering that these areas will eventually have as many as 24 wells per 1280-acre spacing units (or more).

Random Update On Oasis -- Location Of Wells, Historically, And New Permits -- February 12, 2015

Disclaimer: some of this information comes from my database which may be different than that of the NDIC database. I often make mistakes. I often post quickly and don't get back to proofreading for typographical and factual errors until later. I'm less concerned about the specifics than about the trends. So whether there are 45 Oasis permits/wells in Willow Creek or 42 doesn't matter a whole lot to me. But it helps put it in perspective to know there are about 100 Oasis permits/wells in the Cottonwood oil field, for example. If this information is important to you, go to the source, generally the NDIC.

So far in 2015, Oasis has two new permits. Both of them were for wells in Willow Creek. Willow Creek is in/near one of the best spots in the North Dakota Bakken, north and east of the river, just a few miles east of Indian Hill and a few miles north and northwest of Camp and Banks oil fields.

Active Oasis drilling sites, according to the NDIC, the date of the original post:

• 29502, Camp, Noble 2, McKenzie, Brier 5200 42-22 9T,
• 29345, Sanish, Patterson 308, Mountrail, Helix 5393 41-4 6T3, 
• 27079, Willow Creek, Patterson 330, Williams, Hanover Federal 5300 44-11 5T,
• 29267, Todd, H & P 457, Williams, Harrier 5401 44-23 5B,
• 29518, Missouri Ridge, Ensign 158, Williams, Twobins 5501 41-20 8T, 
• 30169, Willow Creek, Extreme 21, Williams, Cook 5300 41-12 11T, 
• 30392, Willow Creek, Extreme 25, Williams, Hanover federal 5300 13-14 7T,
• 28856, Alkali Creek, Patterson 488, McKenzie, Wade Federal 5300 41-30 5T2,
• 28637, Baker, Nabors B22, McKenzie, Chalmers 5300 21-19 10T,
• 28655, Baker, Nabors 486, McKenzie, Kline Federal 5300 41-18 14BX,
• 29316, Baker, Nabors B27, McKenzie, Gramma Federal 5300 41-31 12T,

Where Oasis wells are located:

• Alger oil field: 50
• Alkali Creek: 20
• Assiniboine: 4
• Baker: 69
• Banks: 21
• Black Slough: 7
• Bonetrail: 8
• Bull Butte: 39
• Bull Moose: 1
• Camp: 64
• Cartwright: 1
• Church: 1
• Cottonwood: 110
• Cow Creek: 26
• Crazy Man Creek: 6
• Dore: 8
• Dublin: 3
• East Fork: 5
• East Goos Lake: 1
• Eightmile: 12
• Elidah: 2
• Elk: 2
• Enget Lake:  5
• Epping: 1
• Foothills: 11
• Foreman Butte: 56
• Ft Buford: 3
• Garden: 1
• Glass Bluff: 7
• Grand River: 1
• Gros Ventre: 41
• Harding: 13
• Indian Hill: 5
• Kittleson Slough: 1
• Lake Trenton: 5
• Last Chance: 2
• Leaf Mountain: 2
• Lucy: 2
• Marmon: 2
• Missouri Ridge: 45
• Mondak: 7
• Nameless: 2
• Nohly Lake: 2
• North Tioga: 1
• North Tobacco Garden: 2
• Painted Woods: 10
• Pronghorn: 4
• Randolph: 2
• Rawson: 1
• Robinson Lake: 17
• Rosebud: 10
• Sand Creek: 1
• Sanish: 29
• Siverston: 14
• Sorkness: 5
• Squires: 20
• Strandahl: 1
• Todd: 11
• Trenton: 2
• Tyrone: 51
• Viking: 1
• Wildcat: 3
• Willow Creek: 45
• Winter Butte: 2