ND Legacy Fund Through November, 2016 -- Deposits Total About $3.7 Billion

I track the Legacy Fund here.

Deposits through November, 2016: $3,700,055,301.

It appears that about $30 million was added in each of the last two months, October, and November, which is comparable to the $32 million added in September, 2016. See first link above.

Note: deposits do not equal asset value of the Legacy Fund.

Bakken 2.0: Dunn County's Breakeven Costs About The Same As Iran's; A Little Higher Than Iraq's -- Reuters -- November 30, 2016

So much for the trope that it's so much cheaper to drill in the Mideast. It may cost Saudi Arabia $12.50 / bbl to produce but its national budget is based on $92 oil. 

From Reuters: leaner and meaner -- US shale greater threat to OPEC after oil price war.

This is a must-read article for Bakken fans. It is quite amazing. Note:

• this article is a Reuters article; and,
• of all the shale plays in the US, it is the Bakken that is singled out.

The lede:

In a corner of the prolific Bakken shale play in North Dakota, oil companies can now pump crude at a price almost as low as that enjoyed by OPEC giants Iran and Iraq.

In an earlier post it was noted that break-even costs in some areas of the Bakken are now below $20/bbl. Compare that with the break-even costs for middle eastern oil field breakeven costs at the linked article:

Amazing, huh?

The trillion-dollar mistake:

Rather than killing the U.S. shale industry, the ensuing two-year price war made shale a stronger rival, even in the current low-price environment.

In Dunn County, North Dakota, there are around 2,000 square miles where the cost to produce Bakken shale is $15 a barrel and falling, according to Lynn Helms, head of the state's Department of Mineral Resources.

Again, this is a Reuters article:

Dunn County's cost is about the same as Iran's, and a little higher than Iraq's. Dunn County produces about 200,000 barrels of oil a day, about a fifth of daily production in the state.

It is North Dakota's sweet spot because it boasts the lowest costs in the state, yet improved technology and drilling techniques have boosted efficiency for the whole state and the entire U.S. oil industry.

And more:

The breakeven cost per barrel, on average, to produce Bakken shale at the wellhead has fallen to $29.44 in 2016 from $59.03 in 2014, according to consultancy Rystad Energy. It added that in terms of wellhead prices, Bakken is the most competitive of major U.S. shale plays.

Wood Mackenzie said technology advances should further reduce breakeven points.

More at the link. 

I can't wait for Donald Trump to visit the Bakken.

Energy Drilling Rig No. 7 in Casper, Wyoming, from 2014:

North Dakota Borrows Another $7 Million For DAPL Protest Costs -- November 30, 2016

Link here.

The group earlier approved $10 million in emergency spending.

Officials say the new loan should cover the state's cost of policing protests over the $3.8 billion pipeline through December.

I guess this explains why the governor says he will meet with the protestors this week, or whenever it was.

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Record Cold In USA Next Week

 
Link here: I cannot recall last time I have seen such a cold anomaly forecast across almost entire USA.’-- climatologist Dr Roger Pielke, Sr. See NWS forecast.

The Washington Post: frigid air mass building in Alaska, poised to spill into Lower 48 next week. 

Alaska is witnessing its coldest air in almost two years, and some of the biting chill is forecast to plunge into the western United States in about a week’s time.

In Fairbanks on Tuesday morning, the temperature tanked to minus-31 degrees, ending a 624-day stretch in which it was warmer than that — the second longest on record.

Tuesday afternoon, the mercury only recovered to minus-21, ending a record-long 658-day stretch with highs above minus-10.

It was even colder in Bettles, Alaska, on Tuesday, where the temperature dropped to minus-41 with a bone-chilling wind chill of minus-53.

Statewide, it was the first time Alaska’s daily temperature index was significantly below normal in almost a year.

So, we'll see.

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Whatever Happened To Harrisburg?

November 30, 2016: whatever happened to Harrisburg? In 2011, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, became the first and only capital city in America to file for bankruptcy. The seven-term mayor has been indicted on 500 counts of corruption.  He was mayor for 27 years, from 1982 to 2010.

What was the result of that case?

“He has pled not guilty and the case is ongoing.”

“But it’s not just him. It’s the people who advised him. It’s the people who drafted the documents. He didn’t do this alone. Now, he’s facing 500 charges of corruption. He has pled not guilty to all of them. A trial date has not been set, but this is going to trial. The people who helped him — none of them have been held accountable. He didn’t do this by himself. He didn’t draft those documents alone. He didn’t write this stuff up alone. He had lawyers, accountants — they were all in on this.”

“The Attorney General of Pennsylvania has said that they are also being investigated. There is a grand jury investigating right now. They are looking into this to see what charges they can bring against the professionals who helped him. Also, the Governor of Pennsylvania has hired a law firm from Washington DC to go after the firms and the professionals civilly to try and claw back some of the money that Harrisburg lost in these loans that shouldn’t have been issued.”

Two New Permits -- November 30, 2016

Active rigs:

	11/30/2016	11/30/2015	11/30/2014	11/30/2013	11/30/2012
Active Rigs	39	65	185	191	182

Wells coming off confidential list Thursday:

• 31249, 127, EOG, WEst Clark 201-01SWD, Clarks Creek, Three Forks, 2 stages, 800K lbs proppant, t6/16, cum -- ; but note the name of the well; from the sundry form: perf'd and frack'd two (2) stages; noted a pressure drop at end of stage 2; determined that casing "part" at the collar with slight casing offset; as a result it was decided to not attempt to continue on with fracking operations due to operational risks associated with a reduced I.D. (internal diameter?) from a casing patch
• 32217, SI/NC, XTO, Little Pete Federal 41X-3G2, Bear Creek, no production data,
• 32218, SI/NC, XTO, Little Pete Federal 41X-3D, Bear Creek, no production data,
• 32379, SI/NC XTO, Werre Trust 21X-3E, Bear Creek, no production data,

Two new permtis:

• Operators: NP Resources, BR
• Fields: Elkhorn Ranch (Billings), Big Gulch (Dunn)
• Comments:

Fourteen wells temporary abandoned:

• Statoil: 6 - all in Williams County
• Oasis: 6 - all in Williams County
• Enduro: 2 - one in Bottineau County; one in McKenzie County

No producing wells (DUCs) reported as completed.

Alaska Rejects 5 Cubic Feet Of Natural Gas Every Day For Every Cubic Foot Of Natural Gas North Dakota Produces -- November 30, 2016

From an earlier post, from RBN Energy:

Every day, crude oil producers on Alaska’s North Slope re-inject nearly 7.8 Bcf of natural gas into their wells, enough gas to supply the entire U.S. West Coast—California, Oregon and Washington State.

7.8 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.

How much natural gas does North Dakota produce each day? From the most recent Director's Cut, North Dakota produced 1,611,836 million cubic feet per day or 1.6 billion cubic feet day.

• 7.8 billion / 1.6 million = almost 5 cubic feet in Alaska for every one cubic foot of natural gas in North Dakota (assuming I did the math correctly -- which is a huge assumption).

This sort of helps me put things into perspective.

Note: I made huge mistake when I first posted this. See first comment below. I made the corrections above. Hopefully they are correct now. 

And a huge "thank you" to the reader who caught the error ... and didn't call me an idiot in the process. LOL. Much appreciated.