Memo To Self: Follow-Up On This Two Years From Now To See How Saudi's Fracking Is Coming Along

OilPrice is reporting:

In an attempt to reduce its domestic consumption of oil, and therefore free up more product for export to the world markets, Saudi Arabia plans to become one of the first countries outside of North America to use shale gas for power generation.

The US shale gas boom transformed the country from the largest gas importer in the world, to a potentially huge exporter, and Saudi Arabia hopes that fracking will supply it with an abundance of natural gas that can be used for domestic power generation.

My hunch: this is about the last time we see an article on this "development."

Futures: Brent Is Surging -- Up Almost 2%, Nearing $110; WTI Holding Steady; Random Update On Advanced Biofuels

Futures mean squat, but ....

... a dynamic link that will change over time.

With oil solidly over $100, we can't get inexpensive biofuels fast enough. Fortunately, the Spaniards have answered the call. The New York Times is reporting:

There is an old joke in the energy business that advanced biofuels are the fuel of the future, and always will be.

A Spanish company, Abengoa Bioenergy, has bet $500 million on robbing that joke of its punch line. In the middle of a cornfield here it is building a 38-acre Erector set of electrical cable and pipe that will soon begin producing cellulosic ethanol, which it calls a low-polluting alternative to petroleum products. This is just as the George W. Bush administration and Congress intended seven years ago with legislation promoting energy independence.

But even as Abengoa and other companies prepare to produce significant amounts of cellulosic ethanol, using corn stalks and wheat straw as opposed to corn itself, the appetite for such fuels seems to be diminishing.

Never mind. I missed that last line the first time reading the article: "... the appetite for [biofuels] seems to be diminishing."

It looks like the "old joke in the energy business about advanced biofuels" will be around for awhile. LOL.

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A Note to the Granddaughters

Grammy returns to Grapevine tomorrow after being gone for about two weeks. It will be very, very good to have her back.  I sense a "but."

But I'm going to have to give up the man-cave experience. Wow, what an incredible two weeks. Up most mornings by 5:00 a.m. for four hours at Starbucks. The rest of the day revolved around responsibilities with the granddaughters. The day concluded with a Omaha Steak dinner most nights.

So, tonight/tomorrow: vacuum cleaner through the house. Haircut. Straighten up the living room. And the kitchen.

Probably less blogging. The time at Starbucks will be slightly less. Maybe only two hours at Starbucks and then I bicycle back home to pick Grammy up and take here to breakfast at a wonderful coffee/pastry shop on Main Street in Grapevine.

Worse: I'll have to share time with the granddaughters with Grammy.

Thirteen (13) New Permits -- The Williston Basin, North Dakota, USA; BR With Two "High-IP" Wells

Active rigs:

	4/14/2014	04/14/2013	04/14/2012	04/14/2011	04/14/2010
Active Rigs	188	186	206	174	107

Thirteen (13) new permits  --

• Operators: Hess (7), Oasis (2), CLR (2), XTO (2)
• Fields: Hawkeye (McKenzie), Truax (Williams), Cherry Creek (McKenzie), Crazy Man Creek (Williams), Gros Ventre (Burke), Siverston (McKenzie)
• Comments: It's been a long time since we've seen a Crazy Man Creek permit; don't judge a field by its IPs -- Oasis keeps drilling in the Gros Ventre which seems to be a mediocre field, the economics must work

Wells coming off the confidential list today were posted earlier; see side bar at the right.

One (1) producing well was completed:

• 26464, 1,857, MRO, Kimball 14-35TFH, Reunion Bay, t3/14; cum --

Wells coming off the confidential list Tuesday:

• 25914, drl, Zavanna, Bills 5-8 1H, Crazy Man Creek, no production data,
• 26167, 2,044, BR, Crater Lake 21-14MBH, Hawkeye, t3/14; cum --
• 26168, 2,520, BR, Crater Lake 31-14MBH, Hawkeye, t3/14; cum --

More Construction Workers Needed In North Dakota

The Williston Wire links The Dickinson Press: the boom is not over. Not by a long shot, despite reports in the Atlantic Monthly to the contrary:

Comparing current predictions for oil production and related community growth to lower ones from just a year ago, economist Dick Gardner said the change between the years shows the boom is here to stay and hasn’t peaked yet.

Especially because of new fracking technologies, drilling efficiencies and multi-well pads, oil production is growing more and expected to last longer than most thought a year ago, said Gardner, from the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship.

Permanent population in the Dickinson region — which includes eight southwestern North Dakota counties — is projected to increase from about 43,300 now to about 66,400 in 2020 and 82,000 in 2039. Permanent housing units, meanwhile, will grow from approximately 23,000 now to nearly 45,000 in 2039. For both projections, the year-over-year growth will slow down a little after 2020, according to analysis.

From The Williston Wire:

The oil boom that has pulled in construction workers and contractors from across the country to North Dakota has led to a building boom that now requires even more workers. The huge population growth has created a demand for new government buildings, schools, hospitals recreation centers and more quality-of-life projects, reports South Dakota newspaper the Rapid City Journal.

In response to the demand, a coalition of six labor unions called Dakota Construction Careers has launched a recruiting campaign to attract both current construction workers and people outside of the industry willing to learn a trade to western North Dakota.

For those looking for specific work in the Bakken, check out the job-sites at the sidebar at the right, including the one most recently added: http://www.dakotaoiljobs.com/.

Also from The Williston Wire:

North Dakota officials are predicting a big surge in crude oil output in the next few months as the industry emerges from a tough winter. 

About 650 wells had been drilled, but were not producing at the end of February because it was too cold to inject water and chemicals for the final step, called hydraulic fracturing, the state Department of Mineral Resources Oil and Gas Division said recently. 

"As we see winter weather and road restrictions go away, we are going to see a big surge in well completion," Lynn Helms, the division's director and North Dakota's top energy production official, said on a conference call. 

Comment: North Dakota will blow through one million bopd by mid-summer. Remember: the "official" data is 45 days delayed. For example, production for the month of March, 2014, through the last day of March, 2014, will be posted on/about May 15, 2014. My hunch is we will get a pre-release of the milestone. [Note: "we" passed the 1.1 million bopd some time ago if the Montana/North Dakota Bakken is considered.]

From The Williston Wire, this is a must-read: the world's largest truck wash is located in the Bakken, reported in The Bismarck Tribune.

Old records get smashed just about every day in the oil patch, so it's no real surprise that it now may be home to the world's largest truck wash.

At least that’s owner Jeff Schutz’s take on the scale of the Kwik n Kleen at the corner of U.S. Highway 85 and N.D. Highway 68 just outside Alexander.

He’s developed wash stations throughout the Midwest and a fleet of mobile wash units and he’s sure there isn’t a bigger truck wash anywhere on the planet in terms of speed and water capacity. He opened Kwik n Kleen four days ago, good timing since just about every rig out there is sporting a few layers of mud and grime from greasy roads and springtime slush.

If the $6 million wash is one for the Guinness World Records book, like Schutz says his research finds, it stands to reason everything about it is sized off the charts.

Trucks roll through a 200-foot-long wash bay spaced with electronic eyes that start and stop all the wash, chemical and rinse cycles along the full length.

But besides the sheer length and height of the wash, which occupies the highway corner with same dominance an indoor sports arena would, for Schutz, it’s all about the water.

With the well-received new recreation center in Williston, Watford City is looking to replicate the project. Again, from The Williston Wire: Imagine Watford City having a facility that would have an indoor swimming pool, two sheets of ice for hockey and figure skating, as well as a 3,000 seat venue that could hold concerts, sporting events and conventions.  The facility would also include a walking/running track, meeting and conference rooms, and space for gymnastics and dance clubs and the Watford City Senior Citizens.  All of that and much more is possible, according to Brent Sanford, Watford City mayor, if voters approve a half cent city sales tax increase June 10th.

This is something you don't see often. The owners of Fuddruckers in Williston are expanding to Minot. For newbies, it usually works the other way, if it happens at all. 

Update On Samson Oil & Gas -- On A Pretty Exciting Day For Shale Oil; Zeits On Halcon

A reader sent me this link, updating Samson Oil & Gas; it's a nice layout.

From the same source, more on the Rennerfeldt wells, which I posted earlier.

One has to chuckle: the smaller the operator, the bigger and more frequent the press releases. Except for CLR which seems to have a press release several times a day, some days.

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The way folks are talking about the GDP well in the TMS today makes one wonder what "we're" doing wrong to get the message out about the Bakken.  LOL. Twice.

Even Richard Zeits seems overly enthused with his article over at SeekingAlpha:

This morning, Goodrich Petroleum (GDP) announced the result of its Blades 33H-1 well in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, which was anticipated sometime this week. According to the company's press release, the well has achieved peak 24-hour average production rate of 1,250 barrels of oil and 115 Mcf of gas per day on a 14/64-inch choke from a 5,000-foot completed lateral. The result is excellent and in line with the early performance of GDP's Crosby 12H-1 well, the strongest well in the play to date that has produced almost 170 Mboe in the first 13 months.

At one time, it was the expectation that a Bakken will would produce 100,000 bbls in the first 12 months, so 170,000 bbls in the first year is, indeed, a good well. But EOG raised the bar in the Bakken: EOG now looks for 100,000 bbls in the first six months. It won't happen every time, but it is happening more and more. EOG even has a few wells that hit 200,000 bbls in the first six months. 

In addition to the spectacular EOG (which can be tracked using the "tag"), I track "monster wells" here.

Having said all that, however, the GDP well is huge news for Halcon, which I posted earlier. Halcon is positioned incredibly well.

The big story here, though, is the overall shale potential in the United States. It was huge before the TMS; in one day, the bar has been raised. Again.