Inforum.com is reporting: 14 North Dakotans have signed up for ObamaCare through Blue Cross/Blue Shield since the program went live October 1, 2013. That, apparently, has brought statewide enrollment to 20.
Okay.
It begs the question: is that more, less, or about the same that would have signed up in this same time period even without the mandate?
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Eagle Ford Hits 1 Million BOPD; The Bakken On Track To Be Not Far Behind
Reuters via Rigzone is reporting:
In the U.S. shale oil race, the Eagle Ford formation in Texas has beaten North Dakota's Bakken to the 1 million barrel per day milestone, according to a U.S. Energy Information Administration report on Tuesday. The new monthly report, which is the first national effort to lay out comparable monthly figures and projections from six major shale plays, highlighted the stunning speed with which the Eagle Ford region has overtaken the Bakken region that first showed how hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling technology could revolutionize the oil industry.
Total production from Eagle Ford hit 1 million bpd in August and is projected to rise to 1.07 million bpd in October and to 1.09 million bpd in November, the EIA report showed. The Bakken, mostly in North Dakota, is expected to produce 935,000 bpd in October and 960,000 bpd in November. The Bakken is the more mature of the two, with drilling ongoing since 2003. The Eagle Ford, which initially was seen as a natural gas play, did not have notable oil drilling until early 2009, according to consultant IHS.I don't think anyone is complaining.
Definition of "Zones" In Various Oil Fields In The Bakken
Some folks over at The Bakken Shale Discussion Group have been asking about rules/regulations and definitions of "zones" in various oil fields in the Bakken. A reader has provided this:
North Dakota Century Code 38-08-07 which can be found on slide 20 if you go to the NDIC web site and click on rules and regulations will explain zones in the context I believe you are looking for.
If you search for the word zones in that 270 some page document you find other definitions in my opinion.From that document:
When necessary to prevent waste, to avoid the drilling of unnecessary wells, or to
protect correlative rights, the commission shall establish spacing units for a pool.
Spacing units when established must be of uniform size and shape for the entire pool,
except that when found to be necessary for any of the purposes above mentioned, the
commission is authorized to divide any pool into zones and establish spacing units
for each zone, which units may differ in size and shape from those established in any other zone.
Update Of Economic Development in Dickinson
The Dickinson Press is reporting:
- as many as five new retail and commerce areas are "in the works"; some nearly complete
- West Ridge development, I-94 exit 59 -- Menards "well underway"
- Prairie Hills Mall, Plaza 619, area -- the new Anytime Fitness building near completion
- new project west of the Ramada Grand Dakota Lodge awaiting foundations
- Pinecrest, the Meyer Real Estate Group project, north of West Ridge, 30th Avenue West
- Dickinson Town Center, the Five Diamond development, south of I-94 exit 59, 30th Avenue West
- Dickinson Town Center (Utah developer): first phase includes Cash Wise (grocery), JoAnn Fabric, Petco, Dollar Tree
- Oppidan Investment Company (Minnesota developer): several restaurants, hotels, a movie theater
Thursday
Active rigs: 181 (steady, trending down)
RBN Energy: Pricing -- Brent, WTI, Alaska North Slope (California) --
Nostalgia is a funny thing. It stops me in my tracks. I have a lot of work each morning, getting caught up: tons of e-mail to get through, replying to folks with questions about the Bakken, updating wells that come off the confidential list, and reading stories sent to me readers. Which brings me to this.
I spent a lot of time in Yorkshire County, England, UK, between 2002 and 2007. I spent my weekends hiking throughout the countryside. Many of my favorite trips were to National Trust sites, a public trust that preserved historic British landmarks (castles, homes, estates, parks, etc). Don sent me a story today from AFP via Yahoo!News: the trust may consider fracking to develop natural gas under its holdings but will NEVER allow a wind turbine permit. If one spends any time thinking about the decision by the National Trust, it makes all kinds of sense. Funding is an incredible challenge for the trust, and royalties from natural gas must be very, very enticing. So, we will see.
RBN Energy: Pricing -- Brent, WTI, Alaska North Slope (California) --
WTI for prompt delivery closed $10.94/Bbl below Brent on Wednesday (October 23, 2013). Brent prices are disconnected from WTI and Light Louisiana Sweet because the Gulf Coast is awash with light sweet crude. West Coast crude prices on the other hand are supposed to march to a different tune – isolated from new shale and Canadian crude supplies and thus expected to continue tracking international Brent. But ANS prices on the West Coast have fallen to more than $5/Bbl below Brent in the past 2 weeks and seem to be tracking WTI. Is this just a temporary aberration or could it be signaling another step change in the road to US crude independence? Today we take a closer look at what’s going on.
US crude oil market analysis tends to be dominated by the spread between US domestic benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude and international benchmark Brent – aka “The Spread”. However, the West Coast market is more concerned with pricing for the dominant grade consumed there - Alaska North Slope (ANS) crude. ANS is shipped to refineries in Washington State and California from the Valdez Marine Terminal at the southern end of the Trans Alaska Pipeline (TAPS). We have previously documented the decline in ANS crude production from its heyday 2MMb/d in the 1980’s to 520 Mb/d in 2012. ANS production has actually improved to average 528 Mb/d so far in 2013 but it remains on a slow downward trend. Without changes to existing regulations and increased production, ANS is destined to be a dwindling resource supplied only to West Coast refineries.
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A Note To The Granddaughters
Nostalgia is a funny thing. It stops me in my tracks. I have a lot of work each morning, getting caught up: tons of e-mail to get through, replying to folks with questions about the Bakken, updating wells that come off the confidential list, and reading stories sent to me readers. Which brings me to this.
I spent a lot of time in Yorkshire County, England, UK, between 2002 and 2007. I spent my weekends hiking throughout the countryside. Many of my favorite trips were to National Trust sites, a public trust that preserved historic British landmarks (castles, homes, estates, parks, etc). Don sent me a story today from AFP via Yahoo!News: the trust may consider fracking to develop natural gas under its holdings but will NEVER allow a wind turbine permit. If one spends any time thinking about the decision by the National Trust, it makes all kinds of sense. Funding is an incredible challenge for the trust, and royalties from natural gas must be very, very enticing. So, we will see.
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