Wells Coming Off Confidential List Thursday; XOM HIts a New All-Time High

21474, 845, Whtiting, Kjelstrup 44-24TFH, Cooks Peak, t3/12; cum 27K 7/12;
22079, 795, Hess, EN-Fretheim 154-93-0508H-3, Robinson Lake, t6/12; cum 44K 7/12;
22266, drl, BEXP, Panzer 22-23 2TFH, Alger,

Cooks Peak is a very irregularly shaped oil field in southwestern North Dakota. It is west of Whiting's activity in the Pronghorn Sands in the Bell oil field area.  The horizontal/directional wells in this field appear to be predominantly Birdbear wells; if the Kjelstrup well is a good well, it might open a new chapter in the Bakken.

That's another nice Hess well in Robinson Lake:

Monthly Production Data Pool Date Days BBLS Oil Runs BBLS Water MCF Prod MCF Sold Vent/Flare BAKKEN 7-2012 29 12535 12698 5484 14602 14466 136 BAKKEN 6-2012 29 21667 21521 9067 22990 22362 628 BAKKEN 5-2012 8 9731 9432 10 1519 1129 390

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Another great educational article from RBN Energy: refining 101.

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Oil futures are up one dollar. Brent up over $114.

Oil futures rose above $114 per barrel on Thursday, buoyed by expectations the European Central Bank will manage to ease its debt crisis with a new programme of bond purchases.

I'm sure there will be some profit taking before the day is over, and so XOM won't hit a new high today, but XOM certainly is close to hitting an all-time new high. [I was wrong: XOM his an all-time high this a.m.] [Later: XOM blasts through to hit all-time new high; may even close at all-time new high.]

Egypt's Largest Company To Build Fertilizer Plant in Iowa

Link to Wall Street Journal:

Egypt's largest company announced plans to spend $1.4 billion building a fertilizer plant in Iowa, tapping into cheap U.S. natural-gas supplies and the nation's role as the world's most important food exporter. Orascom Construction Industries opted to build the plant in the heart of the Corn Belt over a competing package of incentives from neighboring Illinois, highlighting the tough "beauty contests" between U.S. states for investment from domestic and overseas companies.

So many story lines; so little time.

Added, later, after "anon 1" sent in a comment:

Egypt-based Orascom Construction Industries plans to build the largest project in Iowa history — a $1.4 billion fertilizer plant — and also buy the state’s largest construction company.  

The Weitz Co. is one of Iowa’s oldest companies — at 157 years — and has built many of the state’s most prominent buildings, including arenas, academic halls, corporate headquarters, hospitals and hotels.  

The purchase was disclosed Wednesday at a news conference that also announced that Orascom will bring the fertilizer plant to Lee County in southeast Iowa.

Railroads Are Booming -- Thanks To The Bakken -- Carpe Diem

Link here to CarpeDiem.com.

Among the biggest beneficiaries of the demand for transport of crude oil out of North Dakota’s Bakken shale region are the owners of the two main rail links to the region, Canadian Pacific Railway and Burlington Northern Santa Fe, which is owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.

For Investors Only -- From Yahoo-InPlay -- TransCanada Submits New Plan for Keystone XL 2.0 Connector (275 Mile Link)

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site.

Enbridge Energy commenced underwritten public offering of ~14 mln of its Class A Common Units: Co expects to use the net proceeds from the offering, including the proceeds from any exercise of the over-allotment option, to fund a portion of its capital expansion projects, for general partnership purposes or any combination of such purposes.

QEP Resources announces pricing of $650 mln of 5.25% senior notes due 2023. The notes are being offered to fund a portion of the consideration to acquire producing and undeveloped oil and gas properties in North Dakota's Williams and McKenzie counties. The oil and gas properties will be acquired pursuant to two related purchase and sale agreements.

TransCanada submits Supplemental Environmental Report to the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality for the preferred alternative route for the Keystone XL Pipeline in Nebraska: Today's filing respects the NDEQ's timelines and the overall regulatory process for determining a re-route in Nebraska, as requested by the U.S. Department of State in November 2011. The preferred alternative route and additional information presented in the SER addresses feedback from over 670 Nebraskans who took part in open house discussions, hundreds of additional comments submitted to the Nebraska DEQ and direct conversations with landowners along the pipeline corridor. The route covers approximately 210 miles of the Keystone XL route in Nebraska and increases the length of the pipeline in the state by 20 miles to a new total length of approximately 275 miles. The Nebraska DEQ and other state and federal agencies developed a map that accurately defines the Sandhills region. The re-route respects this map and avoids the Sandhills area. The route included in the SER crosses fewer miles of threatened and endangered species habitat, fewer streams and rivers and considerably fewer miles of severely wind erodible soils. Also, two wellhead protection areas have been avoided. In addition to submitting the SER to the Nebraska DEQ, TransCanada will provide an environmental report to the DOS on September 7, 2012. The environmental report is required as part of the DOS review of the company's Presidential Permit application. Keystone XL will be the safest pipeline built in America.

SM Energy provides update on operated Eagle Ford production; announces increase in borrowing base: Co announced that net production from the Company's operated Eagle Ford shale program averaged 230 MMCFE/d in July 2012. For the second quarter of 2012, net production in this program averaged 207 MMCFE/d. SM Energy also announces that it is currently starting up additional tank batteries to allow for continued production growth in its operated Eagle Ford shale program.

Zoning for Housing and Oil Field Training Facility Approved for Stark County

Updates

September 9, 2012: background re: MBI out of Minneapolis.

Original Post

Link here to Dickinson Press/InsideClimate News.

With protests by a neighbor lingering in the air, the Stark County Commission on Tuesday approved a rezoning request for 78 acres of Belfield land that Missouri Basin Inc. Energy Services plans to use as an oil field training and housing facility. 

Jim Arthaud, CEO of MBI Energy Services, said the company hopes to start finalizing plans now that it has the commission’s approval. Brian Dolyniuk of Beach, the land owner, requested the zoning change at a Stark County Planning and Zoning Board meeting last month, so MBI could purchase the property and construct a 60-unit housing complex to accompany a workover rig and driver training facility.

Very, very interesting.
Just Dropped In To See What Condition My Condition Was In, Willie Nelson

It surprised my daughter to hear that this was a cover, a song that I heard back in 1968, or thereabouts.