On the Road Again

I'm on the road so I won't be posting as much as I usually do.

I'm hoping by Monday / Tuesday I will get back to more of a routine and be able to post more.

In the meantime, there are still lots of background information at this site for newbies to explore.

And yes, there should be a video here but cannot imbed it from the iPad. When I can tear my four-year-old granddaughter away from my iBook, I will imbed a video.

Finally, here it is:



On the Road Again, Willie Nelson

Coffee Talk This Morning at Economart (An Ole and Lena Story)

Overheard at the (Williston) Economart this morning. Idle chatter, no doubt with no substance.

BJ: Did you see oil, almost $90 yesterday?

CR: And the dollar strengthened a bit, so that was surprising.

DR: They say our number one supplier for oil is now Canada, the oil sands. And they've held up the new pipeline ...

CR: You mean the Keystone Extra or something like that ...

BJ: The Keystone XL, as in "extra large." It brings all the Canadian oil to the US.

CR: Hmmmm....

MK: Did you hear about Ole and Lena?

BJ: So, DR, what were you saying about the pipeline?

DR: Pelosi wants to stop the pipeline ....

CR: Yeah, her husband probably doesn't have any stock in TransCanada. When they buy in, they will let the Canadians build the pipeline.

BJ: And if that fails, we still have the Gulf of Mexico.

DR: Yeah, we still have the Gulf, but all the rigs have moved to Nigeria. The moratorium ...

MK: Did you hear about Ole and Lena?

CR: Someone is in deep doo-doo. And it ain't Ole.

Elk Reduction in the Park (Not a Bakken Story)

Somehow this doesn't seem right to be bringing up this story about Rudolph's cousins in North Dakota just weeks before they begin their grueling trip Christmas Eve.

Anyway, the Dickinson Press is reporting that the initial volunteer elk hunt went well in the park.

From what I have heard, this whole endeavor was undertaken with much forethought and "compassion," if that's the right word. If there's any complaint, it could only be directed at letting the herd outgrow what the park could support. However, most of us eat beef, chicken, or fish. Giving the elk meat to food banks, I think, is truly an appropriate outcome.

If there is any craziness, it is another example of bureaucratic inertia:

The park is reducing the elk herd because it is no longer allowed to transport elk to other places due to a 2003 moratorium concerning chronic wasting disease.

CWD tests on elk have all come back negative, a spokesman for the park said.

Moratorium? Where have we heard that before?

Updates

February 3, 2011: The elk hunt has ended and has been declared a success.  A three-month effort; a total of 406 elk were removed from the park between November 1, 2010, and January 20, 2011; the goal was 250; "...the effort exceeded all of our expectations," according to a spokesman.

December 11, 2010: The elk hunt has reached the midway point with resounding success. Except, of course, for some of the elk.

Sixteen (16) New Permits -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Operators: CLR (4), EOG (4), Whiting (2), Oasis (3), XTO, Ballantyne, Cornerstone.

Fields: Pershing, Mondak, Sanish, Heart Butte, Spring  Coulee, Kittleson Slough, Alkali Creek, Woburn, and two wildcats.

The four CLR permits represent an Eco-Pad, Pershing oil field, McKenzie, development wells.

The four EOG permits represent four wells all in immediate area, probably on same pad.

One of the wildcats is another Whiting well in Stark, near South Heart.

The other wildcat is southeast of Williston, about 6 miles, but north of the river. If you want to see the site, it's gonna be a heck of a ride on county roads. It's pretty quiet out there.

On track for 1,614 new permits in North Dakota for calendar year 2010.

South Heart Coal Resubmits Its Application to Mine Coal (ND, USA)

The Dickinson Press is reporting that South Heart Coal has resubmitted its proposal to strip mine coal in southwest North Dakota for a coal gasification plant three miles west of South Heart, North Dakota. For a primer on three coal technologies being pursued in North Dakota and an update on the South Heart Coal proposal, click here. For an update on the coal beneficiation plant north of Bismarck, click here.

From wikipedia, coal gasification:

... is the process of producing coal gas, a type of syngas –a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen gas – from coal. Carbon monoxide, which is a combustible gas, was traditionally used as a source of energy for municipal lighting and heat before the advent of industrial-scale production of natural gas, while the hydrogen obtained from gasification can be used for various purposes, such as making ammonia, powering a hydrogen economy, or upgrading fossil fuels. Alternatively, the coal gas (also known as "town gas") can be converted into transportation fuels such as gasoline and diesel through additional treatment. This latter purpose of coal gasification has been implemented by nations that have abundant sources of coal but little to no petroleum reserves, as well as by nations seeking to decrease their dependence on foreign sources of petroleum.

There are also indications that a coal beneficiation plant will be built in the same area.

Briefly, coal beneficiation is a coal-drying process in which water and toxic chemicals found within coal seams (such as mercury and sulfur) are removed, producing a "better" coal. This coal can then be used in conventional coal-powered electrical plants. This coal can also be used for gasification.

So, coal from the South Heart area --> beneficiation --> gasification.   Or coal from the South Heart area directly to gasification.

Hopefully I have that correct; it is still somewhat confusing to me exactly which companies are doing what where.

Note: the correct spelling for this process appears to be "beneficiation," though even local and regional North Dakota newspapers spell it "benefaction." I, too, have misspelled it, but I'm going back and trying to find all errors to correct them.