PAA Acquires New Terminal In Williston/Watford City Area, Johnson's Corner, McKenzie County -- March 12, 2015

This is a big story -- maybe the biggest story of the week or month for me, but probably not for anyone else. Whatever.

Bakken.com is reporting:

Plains All American Pipeline LP recently acquired an oil terminal, currently under construction, that is well-positioned to become a central logistics hub in the Bakken oil patch, according to a report from Zacks.com.

The deal will give PAA rights to use the terminal previously owned by Legion Terminal LLC. The terminal is located in Johnson’s Corner, McKenzie County, North Dakota.

The facility, expected to be operational by the third quarter of 2015, will have 500,000 barrels of crude oil storage, pipeline interconnects, truck facilities and various other assets. The terminal has also been approved for a possible storage expansion of up to 2 million barrels.

As reported by Zacks, analysts anticipate the area, rich with oil and natural gas reserves, will continue to be one of the nation’s largest oil producing reserves for many years to come.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that North Dakota’s proved reserves have surpassed federal offshore reserves in the Gulf of Mexico.

As production continues, the demand for midstream energy services in the region will continue to grow. The terminal is conveniently located near PAA’s existing Williston Basin assets, increasing the company’s presence in the core of the shale play.

The company’s Trenton crude oil gathering system and its Manitou and Van Hook rail trans-loading facilities are located within 50 miles of the new terminal, bolstering the marketability of the facility, according to Zacks.

When I saw this I wrote to a regular reader:

I have said several times that every time I go up to Williston, I see more and more storage tanks -- thinking Williston could be a mini-Cushing hub.

If the Keystone goes through, a mini-Cushing hub would absolutely be needed to store Bakken oil before it enters that pipeline.

Disclaimer: regular readers know that I am inappropriately exuberant about the Bakken. I have no formal training or background in the oil and gas industry. The story above sounds like part (or all) of it comes from a press release. It may not be a big deal. But I think it's a big deal. I would not make any investment, financial, or relationship decisions based on what I posted above or what I post anywhere on this blog, but it is what it is. This and $1.79 will get you a cup of coffee at a Starbucks in the DFW metroplex. However, I think this is a pretty big deal. If it's important to you, go to the source, perhaps starting with Zacks or PAA.

To put this in context, one may want to look at how much crude oil storage there is by PADD.  Note, specifically PADDs 1 and 4.

The EIA states crude oil storage for PADD 1 and 4 at this site (dynamic), refineries:

• PADD 1: 15 million bbls
• PADD 4: 4 million bbls

The EIA states crude oil storage for PADD 1 and 4 at this site (dynamic), crude tank farms:

• PADD 1: 4 million bbls
• PADD 4: 13 million bbls

Again, I am probably misreading this data. If it's important to you, go to the source.

Director's Cut Is Out; Data For January, 2015; Number Of Wells Waiting To Be Fracked Rises Significantly From Last Summer; Production Decreases Slightly; Flaring Target In Sight -- March 12, 2015

Link here.

Disclaimer: this update is always done in haste; typographical errors are likely. This is for my use only. If this is important to you, you should go to the source. 

Oil:

• January, 2015: 1,190,490 (preliminary -- all time high was last month)
• December, 2014: revised, 1,227,483 (preliminary - 1,227,344 bopd - preliminary, new all-time high)
• delta: 36,993 bopd; decrease of 3%.

Producing wells: 

• January, 2015: 12,181 (preliminary -- new all-time high)
• December, 2014: 12,134 (preliminary, new all-time high)
• November, 2014: 11,951 (revised); 11,942 (preliminary, new all-time high)
• October, 2014: 11,892; revised 11,942 (preliminary, new all-time high)
• September, 2014: 11,758 (revised); 11,741 (preliminary; new all-time high)
• August, 2014: 11,565
• July, 2014: 11,293

Permitting:

• February, 2015: 197
• January, 2015: 246
• December, 2014: 251
• November, 2014: 235
• October, 2014: 328
• September, 2014: 261
• August, 2014: 273
• July, 2014: 265
• All-time high was 370 in 10/2012
  

Pricing:

• Today, 2015: $32.00 (lowest since February, 2009, and January, 2015) (all-time high was $136.29 7/3/2008)
• February, 2015: $34.11
• January, 2015: $31.41
• December, 2014: $40.74
• November, 2014: $60.61
• October, 2014: $68.94
• Sept, 2014: $74.85
• August, 2014: $78.46

Rig count:

• Today: 111 (lowest since April 2010) (all time high was 218 on 5/29/2012) 
• February: 133
• January: 160
• December, 2014: 181
• November, 2014: 188
• October, 2014: 191
• Sept, 2014: 193
• August, 2014: 193
• July, 2014:  192

Director's comments:

Drilling rig count:

• dropped 7 from November to December
• dropped 21 from December to January
• dropped 23 from January to today

Well completions:

• December: 173 (preliminary)
• November: 48

Weather:

• no major precipitation events
• only 5 days with wind speeds in excess of 35 mph (too high for completion work)
• 8 days with temperatures below -10F

Wells waiting to be completed:

• Today's (March, 2015) Director's Cut -- 825 wells -- an increase of 75
• Previous Director's Cut -- 750, a decrease of 25
• Red Queen: 115 completions per month to maintain 1.2 million bopd

Flaring:

• decreased to 22%
• Tioga gas plant increased to 80% of full capacity
• expansion of gas gathering from south of Lake Sakakawea is still delayed

Gas capture statistics:

• statewide: 78% (October 2014 target was 74%; January 2015 capture target is 77%)
• FBIR: 79% (up from 77% last month)

Twenty-One (21) New Permits -- March 12, 2015

Active rigs:

	3/12/2015	03/12/2014	03/12/2013	03/12/2012	03/12/2011
Active Rigs	111	193	187	201	173

Twenty-One (21) new permits --

• Operators: Corinthian (8), Oasis (5), XTO (3), SM Energy (3), CLR, EOG
• Fields: Souris (Bottineau), Camp (McKenzie), Siverston (McKenzie), Poe (McKenzie), Long Creek (Williams),  Parshall (Mountrail)
• Comments:

Wells coming off the confidential list Friday:

• 28469, drl, Hess, EN-Rehak-155-93-0718H-8, Alger, no production data,
• 28664, drl, MRO, Kerkhoff 14-8H, Murphy Creek, no production data,
• 28886, drl, Zavanna, Gust 2-11 2H,  Long Creek, no production data,
• 29011, drl, XTO, Nelson 24X-11A, Garden, no production data,
• 29053, drl, Stephens Production, York 3-9, wildcat, 3-156-82, no production data,
• 29231, drl, Statoil, Heen 26-35 4TFH, Todd, no production data,

This is the second well for Stephens Production; its first well, #25603, Matson 3-1, 3-157-82, was reported as dry back in mid-2013. The York well is about a mile south of t2)he Matson well, and about 6 miles north of Minot (near the Glenburn oil field.

Permits canceled:
Whiting cancels eleven (11) permits in the following counties: McKenzie (4), Dunn (5), Williams (2).
EOG cancels two (2) permits, both in Burke County.
Petro-Hunt cancels one permit, in McKenzie County.
Emerald Oil is canceling two (2)  Ron Burgundy wells in Williams County.

I believe I have heard through the grapevine that Whiting is offering for sale some non-core assets, or its positions in non-operated wells. I could be wrong on that; I don't know if there has been an official press release or news item to that effect. This is outside the WSJ article that Whiting, the company, is looking to be bought. It's also possible these permits are old KOG permits that are going to be "re-accomplished." The Whiting permits that have been canceled have these key words in their names: Koala (1), Moccasin Creek (1), Skunk Creek (4), Smokey (3), and Nystuen (2).

Pi = 3.14159265359 -- Party Time!

Saturday is the Pi(e) Day of the Century: 3.14159265359.

Date:

• 3= March 
• 14 = Day 
• 15 = Year 

Time:

• 9:26 (either am or pm -- for a party, "PM" works better) 
• 53 seconds 
• 59 milliseconds

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Obama Update

The Obama administration has a news embargo on Ebola stories but "independent" news outlets are still reporting the grim statistics.

First: an American who contracted Ebola in Africa will be treated in America. According to the AP, the individual will be admitted to NIH in Bethesda.

Reuters/WHO reports that most recent death tally stands at 10,000 from current West Africa outbreak.

Meanwhile, Variety is reporting:

Dr. Nancy Snyderman, the veteran TV-news medical correspondent, said she would step down from her job at NBC News. Snyderman was caught breaking a voluntary quarantine in New Jersey after potentially being exposed to the Ebola virus while covering the recent outbreak in Liberia, and subsequently took time off. [Comment: she will be joining Brian Williams in an undisclosed location.]

At least it's hard to catch.

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Hillary Rising

Earlier I posted that the Hillary e-mail story would be forgotten by Americans within a month. I was off by 29 days. Polls show that Hillary's popularity remains high, outstripping that of GOP rivals. Jay Leno's "jay-walkers" thought everyone had a private e-mail; they don't know what the fuss is all about.

Snowiest US Cities This Past Winter -- Or Where The Kennedys Can Take Their Grandchildren To See Snow -- March 12, 2015

As of February 12, 2015, according to The Washington Post, the five snowiest cities in the US, this winter (with "normal" at this point in time):

• Syracuse, NY: 74.7 (87 inches)
• Boston, MA: 78.5 (27.4 inches) -- WOW!
• Erie, PA: 85.9 (73.6 inches)
• Buffalo, NY: 86.4 (68.8 inches)

And the snowiest city in the US, so far, this year .... drum roll ...

• Worcester, MA: 92.1 (40.6 inches) -- WOW!

Obviously the Kennedys won't have to travel far to show their kids and grandkids snow.

However, Syracuse.com is reporting:

We keep hearing about Boston and Massachusetts getting so much snow that people are diving out second-story windows.

We've heard about Syracuse being the center for last month's cold and snow. Who really has the most snow in the United States?

Lewis County's village of Copenhagen: 256.2 inches.

Copenhagen is in New York State. 

Syracuse.com's Glenn Coin took a ride up there Friday to let you see what it's like to live in a place that's has received more than 21 feet of snow.

We determined that small village got the most snow in the nation by gathering reports from more than 20,000 places in all 50 states collected by NOAA's Regional Climate Centers.

We also created a database that will let you look up snowfall totals throughout the nation, filtering by place and/or state.

See database at the linked article.