A reader alerted me to this story over at Platts: Cove Point LNG production to start in November (and for those not paying attention), today is the fourth day of November. According to the Platts article posted October 30, 2017:
The company has said previously it expects feedgas to flow to the
facility by Tuesday. The plant was still not flowing any feedgas to the
liquefaction plant as of Monday. However, once flows begin, receipt
volumes at both the Loudoun and Pleasant Valley interconnects with
Columbia Gas Transmission and Transcontinental Gas Pipeline,
respectively, can be expected to increase as the two points are the main
supply meters for the liquefaction plant.
In the process of looking for another article (which I have not yet found), I ran across this article again from theoildrum: "The Bakken Formation: How Much Will It Help?" by a "petroleum engineer working in the petroleum industry," posted back in 2008.
His observations and conclusions:
daily Bakken production in October, 2008: 75,000 bopd
it seems unlikely that total Bakken production will exceed 2x to 3x current rate of 75,000 bopd (or 225,000 bopd) -- for newbies, unfettered, the Bakken can produce 2.2 million bopd; currently it produces over 1 million bopd, down from its all-time record due to low price of oil
based on current production, the USGS estimate of technically recovery recovery (sic) resources seems optimistic
the Bakken will have minimal impact on US production or imports -- for newbies, Saudi has slashed crude oil exports headed for the US
a rate of 75,000 bopd amounts to only 0.4% of US oil consumption, or 0.6% of imports -- for newbies, I believe the Bakken now accounts for about 10% of total crude oil production
per-well Bakken production peaked in August, 2005, at 116 bopd, and was down to 79 bopd in October, 2007; if the Bakken production history in the 1990s can be used as a guide, the peaking of per-well production may portend a peak in total Bakken production
Comments on the article, I particularly enjoyed:
From "NeverLNG":
Thanks for the superb rundown on Bakken. I'll
read it carefully later -- but it certainly is in accord with other
things I have read.
I just went through there on Amtrak Empire Builder -- there is a huge
buzz in North Dakota about the possibility of vast riches to be had. I
fear there will be massive disappointment when the reality hits.
From Will Stewart:
Not surprisingly, the hype about the Bakken's potential ends up being
hype after all. Even if the Bakken's could be produced at peak levels
starting right now (which it can't), it would only delay global peak production by approximately 6 weeks; so much for the "Saudi Arabia" of Northern Plains that oil company surrogates have attempted to spin.
From Gwydion:
You know how the old saying goes: A gold mine is a hole in the ground
with a liar on top. Something similar might be said for oil too.
However, we've talked about this a bit previously on this site and up
until now I've been pretty skeptical but now that I've read this I'm
fairly impressed.
Even if this does nothing for global supplies, or
make a dent in the U.S. imports, this will be a boon for the economy of
these states. Or rather, it will be a boon to the finances of those who
lease the land the wells are on and the few people who are actively
engaged in extracting and shipping the oil. Yet, translating mineral
wealth into a diversified economy has always been a challenge for the
western states.
From Dave Cohen:
I came to the same conclusions
as you did, saying that production would peak somewhere in excess of
100,000 barrels per day but likely never matching peak output from
Thunder Horse (250,000 b/d). I also said that peak rates from the Middle
Bakken won't come for another 5-10 years.
As you say, longer term production will depend on the number of wells
drilled. A few thousands wells will be required to boost production to
the eventual peak in the low hundreds of thousands of barrels per day.
Alright, enough of this. Time to find that other article. I apologize for posting this song again, so soon, but there is simply not a better song for this post:
The economy continues to get better and better by any objective measurement -- and yet the mainstream media has trouble dealing with it. Perhaps one of the best indicators of the growing economy was this: American orders for trucks soar.
Comments: Oasis has six permits for an Aagvik/Nelson 6-well pad in SESW 23-152-98 (see below); and, WPX has permits for a three-well Otter Woman pad in section 5-148-93;
I apologize for the few stories on the Bakken. It's relatively quiet. I hope to have a great flashback posted over the weekend, but for now, taking a short break.
