Investment Opportunity

The following was sent in as a comment, but unlikely that many would see it.

Here it is. Consider it a public service announcement. I know nothing more about this than you, the reader:

I am building a 4-plex right outside of Watford City which will be available to be moved into the first part of Nov, 2012. We own enough property and have enough water for 6-8 more 4-plex units. Each unit is a 2-bed, 1-bath. We are looking to sell the 4-plex once complete and to keep building and selling, unless we can get some investors together to fund and rent them out. If interested in visiting about this please e-mail me at bizventures.tw@gmail.com and leave your name and contact information and I will get back to you.

I post it more as an example of the "stuff" that is going on in the oil patch than as an investment opportunity. Others will see it differently, I suppose. 

Cost of Re-Fracs as Of Summer, 2012

This came in as a comment. Again, since some folks don't read comments, I want to post this here where it is more accessible:

Re-fracs on wells usually incorporate the same stage designs as the initial frac. The DJ Basin re-fracs with guar-based gel are costing around $100,000/stage, depending on the amount of sand and gel used.

Gel is very expensive right now. I was informed that guar-based-gel is costing around $400.00/gal now as opposed to $75.00/gal a year ago. This is due to a scarity of product.

With the pumping rates being around 30 BPM to 40 BPM in the Williston Basin, gel has to be used to carry the sand into the horizontal wells. Some oil companies are using a slickwater design with the pumping rate being around 60 to 80 BPM (depending on formation). These stages are usually using a friction reducer (FR) and some secondary chemicals to carry the sand.The costs are cheaper with FR as opposed to gel, but are eaten up with the increased cost of ceramic sand.

I think it was Oasis who spoke about guar in their most recent (2Q12) earnings conference call; they mentioned they were able to obtain what they needed, but they were noticeably quiet about how much it cost.

I now have better insight/understanding regarding Slick Water. Thank you.

Speaking of Subsidies: Solar Subsidies Up 6-Fold; Wind Subsidies Up 10-Fold

As usual, the WSJ gets to the nut of the problem:

The nearby chart shows the assistance that each form of energy for electricity production received in 2010. The natural gas and oil industry received $2.8 billion in total subsidies, not the $4 billion Mr. Obama claims on the campaign trail, and $654 million for electric power. The biggest winner was wind, with $5 billion. Between 2007 and 2010, total energy subsidies rose 108%, but solar's subsidies increased six-fold and wind's were up 10-fold.

The best way to compare subsidy levels is by the amount of energy produced. But the Energy report conspicuously left out this analysis, though Congress specifically requested it.

Solar subsidies, and what do we have to show for it? Solyndra, Amonix, Abound Solar, SunPower - sputtering, Konart Technologies, First Solar -- Enbridge connection; Solar Trust, Cardinal Solar Technologies, Energy Conversion Devices, Topaz Solar Farm (Warren Buffett) -- status unknown, Evergreen Solar, SpectraWatt.

More Chariots On Fire: Fisker Hybrid Vehicles Now Recalled

Fisker recalls 2,400 Karmas for cooling problems due to bad fan; results in vehicle fire.

Fisker Automotive, a green car company that received funding from the U.S. government, is recalling about 2,400 Karma plug-in hybrids to repair a faulty cooling fan unit that was the cause of a vehicle fire in Woodside, California last week.

The Anaheim, California-based automaker, founded in 2007, said the August 10 fire began in front of the left wheel, where the low temperature cooling fan is located. An "internal fault" caused the sealed unit to fail, starting a slow burning fire, Fisker said in a statement on Saturday.

Looks like an easy fix. Provided as a public service announcement.

Week 33: August 12, 2012 -- August 18, 2012

Bakken Economic Development

Update on Williston economic development:

Blackwood Estates Subdivision, Pheasant Ridge Development (Watford City), master plan for Parshall (680 homes, 600 apartments, 320 hotel rooms), Marriott extended stay opens in Bismarck; etc.

New 120-unit apartment complex in Watford City
Williston: busiest McDonald's, busiest Wal-Mart, busiest gas station in the US
Update on hotel/motel construction in the oil patch
New airport for Bowman, ND -- paid for by US taxpayers
More oil patch housing, Oppidan to invest $100 million
More oil patch housing, 1,500 units to Burlington (west of Minot)
Port of North Dakota (Minot), update;
Another update on Bakken economic development:

Area's largest RV park and apartment complex in Harvest Hills subdivision; Hampton Inns and Suites opens in Williston; Target Logistics opens Stanley Hotel; Microtel Inn and Suites opens in Stanley; indoor RV park;

Building permits (in dollar amount) may exceed 2011 record year
Halliburton, Love's Trucking building apartment complexes for their workers (same link)
Fourth year in a row: North Dakota best employment stats in the US

Bakken operations

Bakken boom will get bigger; at least 35,000 more wells to drill -- state official
KOG acquires 80 Bakken acres from the state; $560K
Serka Services, Turkey, enters the Bakken
Work over rigs: the next big thing to talk about in the Bakken
Re-fracking Marathon wells
Whiting pursues Red River formation in the Williston Basin - Oil and Gas Journal
For newbies: keep an eye on the Three Forks 
The Bakken in 2025: 2 million bopd; natural gas production to quintuple 
North Dakota daily production: sets new record, 660,000 bopd
Another OXY well
North Dakota State lease sale, August, 2012

Fracking

Obama re-defines 50-year-old trucking regulation to hinder fracking
Cost of re-fracks, summer, 2012

Rail

CBR narrows the WTO-Bakken differential
Tesoro to move more Bakken oil by rail

Pipelines

Enbridge succeeding where TransCanada failed -- LA Times

BakkenLink progresses

Less than 50% of Bakken oil now shipped by pipeline

Archival

Largest pea processing plant in the Americas in Williston
US CO2 emissions lowest in 20 years
Permian will exceed takeaway capacity
Eagle Ford costs to get crude to market
US energy revolution: is this just the tip of the iceberg?
The Great Plains: Joe Kotkin in the WSJ
PBS discovers the Bakken boom
Solar power: the math doesn't work