NDIC Hearing Dockets For November, 2019, Have Been Posted

The NDIC hearing dockets are tracked here.

Link here.

The usual disclaimer applies. As usual this is done very quickly and using shorthand for my benefit. There will be factual and typographical errors on this page. Do not quote me on any of this. It's for my personal use to help me better understand the Bakken. Do not read it. If you do happen to read it, do not make any investment, financial, job, relationship, or travel plans based on anything you read here or think you may have read here. If this stuff is important to you, and I doubt that it is, but if it is, go to the source.

November 6, 2019: a single case

27124, Mach Energy, LLC, and M3 Resources, LLC, to rescind their election to participate in drilling STR1 22-15 163-90 B (#33148); require Petro Harvester Operating Co to issue a new invitation to participate in drilling that well;

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Quick summary:

• nine pages
• cases 28076 - 28119 
• no flaring cases
• one legalese case
• mostly pooling cases
• an incredible BR case, #28117

Cases, list is complete:

• 28076, Euinor, Cow Creek-Bakken; legalese, revoke a Zavanna permit, Leoopard 2018 4TFH, #37036; Williams County
• 28077, Hess, Alkali Creek-Bakken; one well in a new 2560-acre unit; Mountrail County
• 28078, Hess, Beaver Lodge-Bakken; three wells in a new 1280-acre unit, sections 18/19-156-95; Williams County
• 28079, Hess, setback rules
• 28080, Petrogulf Corp, Antelope-Sanish; amend order # 26411; very complicated amendment but bottom line, but company wants to authority "for up to fourteen wells effective as of the first day of operations..."; McKenize, Mountrail
• 28081, MRO, Jim Creek and/or Murphy Creek-Bakken; one well in a new overlapping 3840-acre unit; Dunn County;
• 28082, Bruin, pooling;
• 28083, Bruin, pooling
• 28084, Bruin, pooling
• 28085, Bruin, Ellisville-Bakken; two wells on a 2560-acre unit, Williams County
• 28086, Kraken, pooling 
• 28087, Kraken, pooling
• 28088, Kraken, pooling
• 28089, Whiting, pooling
• 28090, Whiting, pooling 
• 28091, Whiting, pooling 
• 28092, Whiting, pooling 
• 28093, Whiting, pooling 
• 28094, Whiting, pooling 
• 28095, Whiting, pooling 
• 28096, Whiting, pooling 
• 28097, Whiting, pooling 
• 28098, Whiting, pooling 
• 28099, Whiting, pooling 
• 28100, Whiting, pooling 
• 28101, Whiting, pooling 
• 28102, Hess, pooling 
• 28103, Hess, pooling 
• 28104, Hess, pooling 
• 28105, Hess, commingling 
• 28106, Hess, commingling 
• 28107, Hess, commingling 
• 28108, Hess, commingling 
• 28109, Hess, commingling 
• 28110, MRO, pooling 
• 28111, MRO, pooling 
• 28112, MRO, pooling 
• 28113, MRO, pooling 
• 28114, MRO, pooling 
• 28115, MRO, Murphy Creek-Bakken, seven wells on a 1280-acre unit, sections 21/22-145-96; Dunn County
• 28116, BR, Pershing-Bakken, 20 wells on a 2560-acre unit; sections 16/21/28/33-150-96; McKenzie; see wells and graphics at this post;
• 28117, BR, Johnson Corner and/or Pershing-Bakken, twenty (20) wells on a 2560-acre unit, section 15/22/27/34 - 15-96; McKenzie County; see wells and graphic at this post;
• 28118, BR, commingling
• 28119, Hydra, SWD

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Quick summary:

• nine pages
• cases 28120 - 28144
• no flaring cases
• no legalese cases

Cases, list is complete:

• 28120, New Horizon Resources, new field, Harold Haugen well, #6900, section 25-161-103; temporary spacing, Divide COunty
• 28121, Lincoln Energy Partners, Noonan-Bakken, i) two 1920-acre units; 8 wells on each; ii) an overlapping 3840-acre unit; one well; Divide County
• 28122, Liberty Resources Management, East Tioga-Bakken, setback rules, Mountrail County
• 28123, Liberty Resources Management, Northwest McGregor-Bakken, setback rules, Williams
• 28124, Liberty Resources Management, Temple-Bakken, setback rules, Williams County
• 28125, Liberty Resources Management, Temple-Bakken, 6 wells on an existing 2560-acre unit; Williams County
• 28126, WPX, Squaw Creek-Bakken, terminate an existing 640-acre unit to proceed with drilling a section line well on an existing overlapping 3840-acre unit; McKenzie County
• 28127, WPX, Mandaree-Bakken, three wells on an existing 1280-acre unit; McKenzie County
• 28128, CLR, Indian Hill-Bakken; one well on an overlapping 2560-acre unit; McKenzieCounty
• 28129, CLR, Alkali Creek-Bakken, two wells on a new 2560-acre unit; Mountrail, McKenzie
• 28130, RimRock, Heart Butte-Bakken i) two wells on a new overlapping 1280-acre unit; ii) from two wells to one well on an existing 2560-acre unit; Dunn County
• 28131, XTO, Cedar Coulee-Bakken, to use wells located in section 33-148-96 and section 4-147-96  as injection wells for an enhanced oil recovery pilot operation; Dunn County
• 28132, XTO, Bear Creek-Bakken; to use wells located in sections 27/34-148-96 as injection wells for an enhanced oil recovery pilot operation;
• 28133, XTO, pooling,
• 28134, XTO pooling,
• 28135, CLR, pooling,
• 28136, Nine Point Energy, pooling,
• 28137, Ballantyne, commingling,
• 28138, Ballantyne, commingling,
• 28139, Ballantyne, commingling,
• 28140, Equinor, commingling,
• 28141, Equinor, commingling,
• 28142, Slawson, commingling,
• 28143, Slawson, commingling,
• 28144, Newfield, Siverston-Bakken; two wells on an existing overlapping 2560-acre unit; McKenzie County

Notes From All Over, Part 2 -- October 25, 2019

Pipeline bottlenecks and worthless acreage: the downsides of world-leading production -- from Forbes, yesterday. Another must-read article. I had trouble following some of the arguments/discussion but I read it quickly. Later I will go back and read it more closely. But it looks like a good article for the archives. I think the challenges analysts talk about now -- chokepoints and liquidity -- are minor and pale in comparison to what will happen under a Democrat administration.

Reason #45 why I love to blog: my original post on the John Svedrup discovery was dated March 19, 2018. At the time I did not pay much attention to the discovery; it appeared to be just another Norwegian success story. Same book, just a new chapter. But, wow, it has turned into quite a story. It reached 200,000 bopd ahead of schedule (and below budget, I suppose) and will, within a year or so, reach full production at about 400,000 bopd. And the Asians love it: low sulfur and mid-density. Bakken oil is a bit light for most global refineries, but global refineries are adapting.

API: for newbies, the link at this post will provide a nice pdf that graphically depicts the various types of oil. For those who want to direct:

• https://t.co/nnJ6yljeHC -- a PDF will likely load on your desktop.

Biden's autobiography: Joe Biden may well steal this autobiography book title from Leonard Woolf (Virginia Woolf's husband): Downhill All The Way, c. 1967. It will cover the years from 2016 - 2019.

Hillary's next book: Hillary can also steal an autobiography book title from Leonard Woolf: Beginning Again, c. 1975 [1964]. It will cover the months from August, 2019, to December, 2019.

Notes From All Over, Part 1 -- October 24, 2019

First things first: a belated "Happy Diwali!"

Word for the day: cachinnation.

We're number one! From the Powerline -- all about the success of the US shale revolution.  A must read, very short, two minutes. 

Los Angeles: huge wildfires.

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site.  Do not make any investment, financial, career, travel, job, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here.

The market, before the opening: quiet, quiet, quiet. Everything slightly negative. Looking for good news. Hard to find. Even TSLA is down slightly before the market opens.

Dividends: three sites I find very, very useful:

• stock dividend calendar; 
• ex-date; and,
• pay dates
• there are many more out there but for now, these seem to work best for me. 

Slow. Things are so slow I am looking at consumer sentiment in Germany, based on a telephone survey of 2,000 Germans:

• Germany: consumer sentiment, released today --
• prior: 9.9
• consensus: 9.8
• actual: 9.6
• I have no idea what those numbers mean but the chart at this site should help. It looks like the Germans are in a dour mood. 
• monthly consumer sentiment in the US will be released later this morning, about 9:00 a.m. CT
• Americans are in a much better mood (at least based on the last two surveys)

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The Book Page

Along with Camille Paglia's Provocations, which I mentioned yesterday, I am also re-reading The Plausibility of Life, Resolving Darwin's Dilemma, Marc W. Kirschner and John C. Gerhart, c. 2005, Yale University Press.

I've read the book before but I had trouble enjoying it. My notes at the time are posted here.

I'm trying again, to give the book a second chance. Already I'm enjoying it more, reading it from a different perspective.

One of the problems I have with the book is a personal problem and probably not dissimilar from others. We are taught how things are, or at least how we think things are. What is often missing is the history of how we got there (or how we got here). 20/20 hindsight often make things appear so simple, but the struggle to find answers is the bigger story, and if told well, would help students understand the subject matter, regardless of the discipline: biology, literature, math, history, art, physics, music.

It took me a long, long time to sort out what was meant by neo-Darwinists. Or is Neo-Darwinists? Whatever. That's because all those years in high school and college I was a Darwinist; in fact, my colleagues and I were neo-Darwinists and we did not know that. Our teachers in high school and our professors in college never made the distinction between Darwinism and neo-Darwinism.

In hindsight, it's such an obvious "thing" that no one really gives it a thought, the difference between Darwinism and neo-Darwinism.

I'm not going to define the latter at risk of really screwing things up. But at least I feel much more comfortable with my worldview, my myth, regarding evolution.

Scientists have answered many of the little questions, like how to breed horses, dogs, and wheat, but the answers to the big questions are still out there.

Re-Posting Pipeline Activity Affecting The Bakken -- October 25, 2019

This is very old news. All of this has been previously posted. The purpose is to help me keep track of the various pipelines in the Bakken. From oilandgas360, July 3, 2019:

• Liberty Pipeline LLC: a 50/50 joint venture of Phillips 66 and Bridger Pipeline LLC
• constructing a 24-inch crude oil pipeline 
• Guernsey, WY, to Cushing OK
• Red Oak Pipeline LLC: a 50/50 joint venture of Phillips 66 and Plains All American Pipeline
• system with origins in Oklahoma and Texas
• terminals at the Gulf Coast to include Corpus Christi, Ingleside, Houston, and Beaumont, TX
• JV initiated in June, 2019, to construct the Red Oak Pipeline with initial service from Cushing, OK, to Texas Gulf Coast
• planned in-service date: 1Q21
• True companies
• based in Casper, WY
• Bridger Pipeline LLC: 
• Poplar System in eastern Montana; 
• the Four Bears Pipeline System in North Dakota
• the Parshall Gathering System and the Powder River System in wyoming
• Belle Fourche Pipeline Company
• gathers and transports crude oil in the Williston Basin of western North Dakota and the Powder River Basin of Wyoming
• Butte Pipe Line Company
• owns the transmission line from Baker, MT, to Guernsey, WY

True Companies website: http://www.truecos.com/. 

"Ready Availability Of Low-Cost Propane" -- Remember The Days Of Propane Shortages? -- Just A Few Years Ago -- Four Wells Coming Off The Confidential List Today -- October 25, 2019

Active rigs:

$56.08	10/25/2019	10/25/2018	10/25/2017	10/25/2016	10/25/2015
Active Rigs	56	68	54	35	68

Four wells coming off the confidential list today -- Friday, October 25, 2019: 85 for the month; 85 for the quarter:

• 35684, conf, Whiting, Norman 21-30H, 
• 35623, conf, Liberty Resources, Garnes 159-93-14-2-1MBHX, 
• 35397, conf, Hess, RS-Aadnes-157-91-2829H-3, 
• 35054, conf, CLR, Rader 4-24HSL1,  

RBN Energy: more propane-consuming PDH plants are on the way. 

The ready availability of low-cost propane, the expectation of renewed growth in global propylene demand and other factors are spurring development of another round of propane dehydrogenation plants in North America. Three PDH plants — two in Alberta and one in Texas — already are under construction and scheduled to come online in the 2021-23 period. Now, Enterprise Products Partners has committed to building a second PDH plant at its NGL/petchem complex in Mont Belvieu, TX, and PetroLogistics — which completed the U.S.’s first PDH plant in 2010 — has selected the technology it will use for a new facility it now plans to build along the Gulf Coast. Today, we discuss planned PDH capacity additions in the U.S. and Canada and what’s driving their development.

Propylene is a particularly useful chemical building block. About two-thirds of the propylene produced is used to make polypropylene (PP) — one of the best-selling plastics, second only to polyethylene — which is used to make (among other things) automotive parts, reusable shopping bags and plastic storage containers. Most of the rest is used to produce acrylonitrile, propylene oxide, oxo alcohols, cumene and isopropyl alcohol, which are used to make polyurethanes, polycarbonates and other materials that are part and parcel of a myriad of everyday products.

Global demand for propylene has been increasing at an average of about 5.2 million metric tons per annum (MMtpa) — a 3.6% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) — while North American demand is growing at a more modest average of 390,000 metric tons per year (Mtpa), for a CAGR of 2.2%. The problem is that the traditional “co-product” sources of propylene supply (steam crackers and refineries) have not kept up with demand. This is largely due to two Shale Era-related changes. First, refineries have been shifting their crude slates to lighter oils. And second, the steam-cracker sector has been shifting from old-standby feedstocks like propane, normal butane and naphtha, each of which produce 40 pounds or more of propylene for every 100 pounds of ethylene (the primary product of steam crackers), to ethane, which typically produces only 4 pounds of propylene for every 100 pounds of ethylene.

To help fill the gap between propylene supply and demand, a number of PDH plants have been built this decade — not just in the U.S. and Canada, but in Europe and Asia. Earlier this year we discussed the latest PDH project to reach a final investment decision (FID), namely, the plan by a joint venture of Canada’s Pembina Pipeline and Kuwait’s Petrochemical Industries Co. (PIC) to build a large PDH/PP complex in Alberta’s Industrial Heartland northeast of Edmonton. As we said then, the 550-Mtpa Pembina/PIC project, which is scheduled to begin operating in 2023, comes on the heels of a 525-Mtpa PDH/PP project by Inter Pipeline, also in the Industrial Heartland, that reached FID in 2017 and is slated to start up in late 2021. Each of the PDH plants will consume about 23 Mb/d of Western Canadian propane, which has been selling at a significant discount in recent years due largely to takeaway constraints.