Month: July 2012

5 internal obstacles that block social media progress

What can get in the way of developing a social media platform in your organization?

The Social Media Minefield: Five factors blocking your success is a great post by Mark Schaefer describing five obstacles.

The takeaway is you need to figure out the obstacles in your organization to developing a social media platform. Then you can figure out a plan to remove them.

He sees five very common obstacles routinely encountered in organizations: Continue reading “5 internal obstacles that block social media progress”

New drilling permits in Bakken and Eagle Ford – May and June 2012

Eagle Ford Shale blog reports the number of permits issued by Texas RRC: 

Since May 14 when the RRC last updated the data points on its map, the commission has issued 367 permits. That’s more than 7 permits per day over a period of 50 days.

Adjust that count for the number of days and it is the rate of 220 per 30 days (367 / 50 *30).

How does that compare to Bakken?

Continue reading “New drilling permits in Bakken and Eagle Ford – May and June 2012”

Bakken oil output 2 million bopd by 2025?

That is the forecast by Bentek Energy LLC. I’ve been pointing out forecasts for Bakken production and this is the longest forecast I’ve seen.

The Dickinson Press picks up the AP report in their article Study: ND oil output may jump threefold by 2025.  The opening paragraph:

Continue reading “Bakken oil output 2 million bopd by 2025?”

Productivity of Bakken and Eagle Ford wells

IHS Global Insights has a new study out comparing the productivity of Bakken and Eagle Ford wells. Looks like the wells in Eagle Ford are pumping out more oil. The announcement of the study is at Eagle Ford Shale Drilling Results Compare favorable with Bakken, Says IHS.

Check out this comment on comparative productivity:

Continue reading “Productivity of Bakken and Eagle Ford wells”

Bakken as an illustration of reserve growth – how we find more oil in known fields that appear to be in decline. Peak Oil #8

Does oil just magically appear in a tapped out field or do the oil people learn how large the field really is, locate more oil, and develop new ways to get the oil out of the ground?

If you’ve read this blog for long, you know what I think the answer is.

Look at the monthly production data for the Bakken field, exclusive of wells elsewhere in North Dakota. You can find the data here. This data is for the Bakken, Sanish, Three Forks, and Bakken/Three Forks pools only.

  • December 1953 – One well is online producing 5,429 barrels. That’s for the month. A mere 175 barrels of oil per day (bopd).

Continue reading “Bakken as an illustration of reserve growth – how we find more oil in known fields that appear to be in decline. Peak Oil #8”

Downward spiral in Mali – rebel alliance unfolds

The alliance between the local Tuareg rebels in northern Mali with the Ansar Dine militants from Libya has ended.

Walter Russell Mead summarizes developments in his post The Longest Afterparty Ever? Libya and Mali.

The concise summary: Continue reading “Downward spiral in Mali – rebel alliance unfolds”

Good problems continue – increase in backlog of N.D. wells waiting for fracking crews

The backlog of wells in North Dakota that have been drilled but waiting to be fracked has increased in the last six months.

Last June, I mentioned there were 248 wells waiting for fracking crews.

In the July 2012 Director’s Cut report, Lynn Helms reports there is a backlog of 336 wells.

While that is an increase in numbers, that represents a decrease in the number of months worth of new wells. Let me explain.

Continue reading “Good problems continue – increase in backlog of N.D. wells waiting for fracking crews”

Tradeoffs in using water – keep 57 golf courses green for a year or produce 2 billion barrels of oil

I’ve read that it takes millions of gallons of water and perhaps 2,000 visits from a truck in order to drill a well.  Finally came across something that puts that in perspective.

Let’s look at the water used to drill a well in terms of tradeoff.  What else could we do with the water we use to drill and frack a well?

Looking only at the water input, with the same amount of water we could:

  • Irrigate 57 golf courses in Palm Springs for one year, or
  • Drill 4,161 wells in North Dakota that will produce 2.2 billion barrels of oil over the next 3 decades (4,161 wells as calculated below x expected lifetime product of 540,000 barrels per well)

The Economist has a 14 page special report on natural gas in their July 14 edition: An unconventional bonanza. I discussed that previously here.

The article Sorting frack from fiction, puts the water and truck traffic in perspective.

Consider this for water: Continue reading “Tradeoffs in using water – keep 57 golf courses green for a year or produce 2 billion barrels of oil”

Some perspective on how much truck traffic it takes to drill and frack a well

I’ve read that it takes millions of gallons of water and perhaps 2,000 visits from a truck in order to drill a well.

Finally came across something that puts that in perspective.

I’ll start with truck traffic.  Will discuss the water needs next.

Continue reading “Some perspective on how much truck traffic it takes to drill and frack a well”

Background on natural gas revolution

I am rapidly getting educated on the revolution in oil that is underway. Haven’t dug into the natural gas revolution that has been going on a long time.

The Economist has a 14 page special report on natural gas in their July 14 edition: An unconventional bonanza.

If you are reading my posts on energy, you will want to check out their articles.

A few of the things I learned is that natural gas is very difficult to transport. As a result, there is a limited international market. That means that most gas is sold and used in the country where it is produced. That would be why prices in the US have dropped so radically but stayed stable elsewhere.

The technology is evolving rapidly. This also means the costs to drill are dropping and will probably continue to drop:

Continue reading “Background on natural gas revolution”

What 30 years of change looks like

Change in technology, the all-white old-boys network, and turnaround time are just a few of the things Mark Schaefer has seen in the 30 years since he started his business career. He discusses the changes in his post, 30 years of business change in one blog post.

One of the changes I’ve benefited from is the growth in personal opportunity. The entry cost to start anything new has dropped dramatically.

In my case, the cost of starting a new accounting firm is minimal.

Continue reading “What 30 years of change looks like”

Scaleable drones based on how a maple seed flies

Ever play with maple seeds? They have a flat, blade-like tail. When they fall, the tail creates lift, generating spin, and the seed floats to the ground quite some distance from the tree.

They were fun to play with when I was a kid. Throw them in the air and they slowly spin to the ground like helicopter in auto-rotation.

Lockheed Martin has developed drones based on the same concept. A small propeller on the end of the tail creates a controllable, rapid spin which allows the drone to fly. A fixed camera on the drone is synchronized to the spin to produce a very stable view from the drone.

Check out this video:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=n_q_DD_4LNg]

The drone could be scaled down to a small size for recon.

Continue reading “Scaleable drones based on how a maple seed flies”

Two more reasons for an oil and gas boom in the U.S. – free market capitalism and private property rights

The two biggest factors driving the tremendous expansion of shale oil and shale gas production are first, hydraulic fracturing and second, horizontal drilling.

There are two more major factors that have allowed this boom to take place, as pointed out by The Wall Street Journal in their editorial, The Shale Gas Secret (behind paywall).

Continue reading “Two more reasons for an oil and gas boom in the U.S. – free market capitalism and private property rights”

More background on privately run trips to the moon

Space.com has good background on Excalibur Almaz, one of the companies working towards private space flight including excursions to the moon, in their article Space Tourist Trip to the Moon May Fly on Recycled Spaceships.

Excalibur Almaz will start with refurbished Russian spacecraft:

It bought four 1970s-era Soviet Almaz program three-crew capsules and two Russian Salyut-class 63,800-pound (29,000 kilograms) space station pressure vessels.

The plan is to lift an Almaz reusable return vehicle and a Salyut space station into Earth orbit separately. Then match them together with a propulsion unit and the combined stack heads to the moon.

Continue reading “More background on privately run trips to the moon”