Branding -- North Dakota -- Heart of the Bakken -- There's More to North Dakota Than Oil

Branding -- McKenzie County -- Memorial Day Weekend, 2011.

This was at least one of three sites where this group was branding cattle. It appears they could accomplish their goal in about 45 minutes (maybe less) in each area that they branded.

This is just one area so you can get a feeling about the number of head of cattle involved.

It was "fun" to note that the mother cows did not stray far from where their calves were being branded.

Clicking on the photos can enlarge them, and they are not copyrighted. 

Road Trip -- McKenzie County -- Mondak Oil Field -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

This is a posed, staged photo.

The bad news: there is no signage identifying this well.

The good news: based on GIS map server, and a few landmarks, there is a 99.99% chance that this well sits where this gentleman has a few mineral acres. The best landmark: a rig-on-site a few miles north which matches the one on the GIS map server. There is currently only one rig-on-site in the Mondak oil field.

The bad news: this well is still confidential and neither the gentleman nor the photographer know which way the horizontal legs run.

The bad news: based on where this well is sited inside the section, the horizontal legs most likely run south. The gentleman's mineral acres are north.

More bad news: this well has only three tanks. A small well?

Good news: The area is becoming very active, and over time additional wells will be put in.

Another Story on Lack of Adequate Workforce in the Bakken -- North Dakota, USA

This time: a focus on Minnesota workers. From the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

North Dakota's governor and commerce and tax commissioners, among other state officials, recently launched a full-scale recruiting mission in the North Star state. They are seeking engineers, electricians, IT pros, machine operators, health care experts and anyone else who wants a job, so long as they don't mind relocating.

"We are in such a wonderful position over here right now," said North Dakota Commerce Commissioner Alan Anderson. "But we have a 3.3 percent unemployment rate. ... So we have to either get some more folks coming back home or get more coming across the state line to share in the opportunities."

In the Twin Cities, North Dakota officials have dined with business leaders and brought in 40 businesses to interview 350 Minnesotans at a job fair in Minneapolis. They also have tapped Minnesota's colleges and universities for hiring leads.

After just a few days in Williston, I have heard many, many stories regarding this issue.

Perhaps when I have more time, I will post a few notes.

Coal Still King -- Not a Bakken Story

Link here.

Moose Spotted Near Missouri River Bridge South of Williston

Updates on flooding at this link.

My niece spotted a moose along the Missouri River near the bridge south of Williston. Fortunately she has a photo of it on her smart phone. I'm pretty impressed.