Encana To Focus On San Juan Basin In 2014

A big "thank you" to a reader alerting me to this update.

Daily Times/Four Corners Business is reporting:

Encana Corporation announced earlier this month a new company strategy and vision, with much of that strategy being focused on the San Juan Basin where it plans to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in new oil and gas production beginning in 2014.

The announcement has prompted a flurry of speculation among those in the local oil and gas industry that the increased drilling will begin immediately after the first of the year.
In a Nov. 5 news release, the Calgary-based Encana outlined key points of its strategy, the first of which states that it will "focus its capital investment on five oil and liquids-rich resource plays in North America."

The release goes on to state that Encana will "invest approximately 75 percent of its 2014 capital into five high return oil and liquids-rich plays: the Montney, Duvernay, DJ Basin, San Juan Basin and Tuscaloosa Marine Shale."

Two years ago I had not heard of half these oil plays; now I have them all linked on the sidebar at the right. 

Random Update Of A KOG Well East Of Williston

For newbies, just another example of the relevancy of IPs:

• 23423, 820, KOG, Northern 155-100-30-31-1H, Springbrook oil field, 35 stages; 4.1 million lbs; t12/12; cum 173K 9/13

This well had a very nice, but somewhat unremarkable -- for the Bakken -- IP of 820 bbls. And now, less than a year later, still flowing on its own (no pump noted at the NDIC website -- though reports are often delayed) this well has already produced almost 175,000 bbls of oil. Also note, that it has not been on-line every day most months, some days as few as 18 days pumping:

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	9-2013	30	9535	9201	10563	6811	0	6738
BAKKEN	8-2013	23	10222	9242	10063	7333	0	7273
BAKKEN	7-2013	25	13434	13948	12576	10784	0	10711
BAKKEN	6-2013	22	13250	13246	12729	10709	0	10709
BAKKEN	5-2013	18	7122	6723	7323	5367	0	5367
BAKKEN	4-2013	24	13961	14001	13890	12146	0	12146
BAKKEN	3-2013	29	14845	14517	16770	13341	0	13341
BAKKEN	2-2013	28	18073	18181	16787	16268	0	16268
BAKKEN	1-2013	31	19664	19534	19163	16966	0	16966
BAKKEN	12-2012	31	23803	23699	23811	20375	0	20375
BAKKEN	11-2012	22	29557	28742	44338	26010	0	26010

One also notes that all natural gas is being flared due to lack of natural gas processing plant capacity. Even if KOG put in the pipeline, there would be no place for the natural gas to be processed.

I could be wrong, but I think I drove past this well a couple of weeks ago: it sits on the northwest corner of a huge sand and gravel pit, which is remarkable for all the temporary housing units co-located at the site. One gets a great satellite view on Google. Zoom in at the corner of 134th Avenue NW and 56th NW, northeast of Williston. Again, I could be wrong but it certainly seems to fit.

As Challenging As Ever -- The Williston Wire

The Bakken boom began in North Dakota in 2007 (in Montana in 2000). Many thought things would slow down a bit, start to level off by this time, but now The Williston Wire has several stories suggesting things are not slowing down:

US Postal Service workers are "burning out" in the Bakken oil patch due to the tremendous work demands.

Former governor, now Senator Hoeven says "Williston will settle down."Wi

Williston mayor appoints panel on affordable housing.

"Can For Can" Challenge is being initiated by Whiting Oil and Gas and IVM Construction to compete in the Bakken to raise canned and non-perishable items for local food pantries.

Hertz Equipment Rental moves into spacious facility in Williston, a 12,720 square-foot building situated on a 5-acre lot in the Missouri Ridge Commercial Park.

Complete Nutrition opened in the new Sand Creek Town Centre.

This is great news: Gaffaney's Total Office Source re-opens after a fire five months ago.

New wellness center opens in Crosby (Divide County), North Dakota.

New middle school will open in Minot next week, December 2, 2013.

North Dakota Leads Region In Federal Oil, Gas Leases

The Bismarck Tribune is reporting:

Developers have bought the oil and gas rights to about three-fourths of the available federal land in western North Dakota, pushing prices to record levels despite industry complaints that the federal permitting process is still too onerous to immediately develop the land.

Federal oil and gas lease sales in the Dakotas and Montana totaled $64.4 million in fiscal 2013, up from $50.1 million the year before, according to the Bureau of Land Management. North Dakota, which has led the three-state region in oil and gas leases for most of the past decade, accounted for the vast majority of sales — $61.4 million — which was up from $44.3 million in fiscal 2012.

Montana tallied $2.9 million in fiscal 2013, down from $4.5 million the year before, and South Dakota fetched about $67,660, down from about $1.3 million in fiscal 2012.

It's a great article. A lot of data points. Helps one interpret the tea leaves.

It confirms that it takes approximately 300 days to get a federal permit approved compared to a state permit of just 60 days.

And this: Despite the demand for the federal development rights, only two of the 187 rigs working in North Dakota's oil patch on Monday were drilling on federal, non-tribal land.

One wonders if there is some relationship between the glacial speed of the federal permitting process and the excessive flaring that occurs on BLM land compared to the rest of the oil patch. 

[The Williston Wire alerted readers to the story.]

Fourteen New Permits -- The Williston Basin, North Dakota, USA

Active rigs:191

Fourteen (14) new permits --

• Operators: Oasis (7), EOG (3), BR (2), CLR (2)
• Fields: Banks (McKenzie), Parshall (Mountrail), Border (Burke), Keene (McKenzie), Cedar Hills (Bowman)
• Comments: all seven Oasis permits are for wells in section 31-152-98 where there is already a producig well (see below)

Wells coming off the confidential list were posted earlier; see sidebar at the right.

Above, it was noted that Oasis will be placing seven (7) wells in section 31-152-98, Banks oil field:

• 20731, 1,598, Zenergy, Hagen 31-30H, t11/11; cum 154K 10/13;

It look like Oasis picked up these acres earlier this year in the $1.5 billion deal to acquire 160,000 acres from Zenergy.