Energy – Page 21 – Outrun Change

Thoughts about the Director’s Cut from The Overnighters documentary – part 2

This continues my pondering about the Overnighters program after watching the director’s cut of a documentary by the same name.

Your worldview controls how you view everything in the world

Your worldview filters everything you see and think. It drives how you interpret everything around you.

You take your worldview with you into every conversation.

Mr. Jesse Moss, who created, filmed, and directed the documentary, has stated several times in articles I have read that he is not a Christian. If I understood his comments correctly he is not a follower of any faith tradition. I do not state that to be critical in any way; I merely wish to identify his worldview.

In case it was not previously obvious, I will share with you that I am a Christian. In particular I worship in a denomination that is a part of the Protestant community. I do not hesitate to say that my worldview filters everything I see and how interpret everything around me.

Back to the documentary.

What was the pastor’s motivation?

Continue reading “Thoughts about the Director’s Cut from The Overnighters documentary – part 2”

Thoughts about the Director’s Cut from The Overnighters documentary – part 1

I recently watched the director’s cut of The Overnighters. Many things come into focus after listening to the interview.

This will be the first in a series of posts reflecting on the director’s cut. I would like to get these posted before the middle of July, which is the scheduled start of a federal trial of one of the participants in the documentary.

My previous discussions of the documentary can be found here.

The limit of my vision is not the limit of the world

That is a perceptive comment I came across a few years ago that helps me understand many things. There is far more going on in the world that I can see or perceive or understand or even have a clue that exists.

Assuming that nothing exists beyond what you or I know about is a serious danger.

Continue reading “Thoughts about the Director’s Cut from The Overnighters documentary – part 1”

The War on Coal

If you sometimes think there is an orchestrated effort to shut down coal, which currently provides 40% of our electricity, you would be correct. There is even a name for the effort. It’s called the “war on coal.”

5/27 – Politico – Inside the war on coal – The article shows this is a multi-front guerrilla campaign. According to the article, one of the leaders is the Beyond Coal project run by the Sierra Club.

The article, apparently written by an active partisan who is loyal to the campaign, spells out the strategy.

Continue reading “The War on Coal”

What do the economics of one Bakken well look like?

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — Two traditional pump jacks aside two of Chinese design. Photo by James Ulvog. I see two or three million barrels of oil from that pad over the next few decades.

Prof. Mark Perry pulled together some estimates on the economics of a Bakken well in North Dakota in his post Top ten things I learned on my summer trip to the Bakken oil fields, Part II. Previously discussed Part I and Part II.

Here was his data:

Average cost to drill, frack and complete a Bakken oil well: $9 million

Expected production life of a Bakken oil well: 45 years

Lifetime oil production per well: 615,000 barrels

Expected lifetime revenue generated per well: $46.125 million at $75 per barrel

Total operating expenses per well: $2.3 million

Royalty payments to mineral owners per well over 45 years: $7.3 million

Taxes Paid per well: $4.325 million total ($2.1 million gross production taxes, $1.8 million extraction tax and $425,000 in sales taxes)

Total employee salaries and wages per well: $2.125 million

Average Profits Generated per Bakken well: $20 million net of costs and taxes

Let me rework those numbers –

This is a really rough guess of what the lifetime income statement might look like for one well: Continue reading “What do the economics of one Bakken well look like?”

More great things to learn about Bakken – part 2

Prof. Mark Perry did a heap of learnin’ on his trip to Williston in May. He wraps up comments at his post, Top ten things I learned on my summer trip to the Bakken oil fields, Part II

My comments on part I here.

If you are looking for a primer on the oil revolution or Bakken or fracking, check out his articles.

A few highlights from his 3,000+ word post and a few of my thoughts. Continue reading “More great things to learn about Bakken – part 2”

Peak Oil doctrine is still dead. #40

Previously discussed an amazing article by Mark Perry at Carpe Diem. Post provides yet another reminder that Peak Oil is a failed concept.

Check out the June 23 post from Carpe Diem at American Enterprise Institute: Bakken updates: 1) Williston as ground zero for the American spirit and 2) Here comes Shale 2.0!

Recoverable oil

The post quotes a correspondent who works for a drilling company and has deep knowledge. This correspondent says the expectation at the beginning of the boom was 3.5% of the original oil in place would be recovered. Industry estimates today suggest the recovery rate is 15-18%. With additional technological developments, the correspondent’s guess is there could be another 5% of the oil recovered.

Get a fresh cup of coffee and journey with me as my little brain processes through what this means.

Continue reading “Peak Oil doctrine is still dead. #40”

Individual drive of workers in Bakken

Amazing article by Mark Perry at Carpe Diem. Brings to mind lots of ideas, such as the amazing attitude of people working in the oil patch and yet another reminder that Peak Oil is a failed concept. Here is the first of my reactions to his post.

American Spirit on display in Bakken field

6/23 – Carpe Diem at American Enterprise Institute – Bakken updates: 1) Williston as ground zero for the American spirit and 2) Here comes Shale 2.0! – Article quotes a correspondent amazed at the people working in Williston. Everyone is there to earn a living. Not looking for handouts. Wanting to work.

Two sentences from the person: Continue reading “Individual drive of workers in Bakken”

Don’t bet against shale oil

So many articles are pointing toward the idea that shale will be a major player for a long time.

What do you suppose would happen to new and used car dealers if automobile prices dropped by 50% in the next 6 months with no indication when (or even if) the prices will recover? What would happen to retail bookstores if prices of books dropped by half?

How many new car lots, used car dealers, or bookstores would be open after 6 months?

A few articles on shale in general and Williston in particular:

Continue reading “Don’t bet against shale oil”

Details from June ’15 Director’s Cut

The monthly report from Lynn Helms of the Department of Mineral Resources has lots of info about oil production.

Things I find interesting are highlighted in the following graphs:

Fracklog increasing. This is the count of wells that have been completed but not fracked. Thus, no production. Bruce Oksol has characterized this as storing oil in the ground. Idea is to wait until prices recover, then bring the oil out of ‘storage.’
Oil prices are recovering. Quite a noticeable change.
Rig count continues to drop. Graph suggests a reduction in the rate of drop.

Here are the graphs.

Fracklog, or in-ground storage:

$fracklog 6-15$

Recovery in average price: Continue reading “Details from June ’15 Director’s Cut”

When we think about the damage to bats, maybe we should call a wind turbine ‘slicer-dicer-decompressor’

A commenter on another post introduced me to the term barotrauma. His concise explanation:

There is also something called barrotrauma, that is pulmonary embolism caused by a bat or bird flying behind the spinning blades. No contact is necessary and bats and sometimes birds can fly for quite a distance before hemorrhaging to death.

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know I’m not concise. So here is my longer explanation.

My correspondent refers to this summary. You can find the full article on the second tab of that link. I don’t see a specific data, but do notice a 2008 copyright date.

I also found the article here: Barotrauma is a significant cause of bat fatalities at wind turbines.

The team of biologists explain wind turbines create a low-pressure area behind the turbine. Bats have superb echo locating ability so they can easily identify turbines and stay out of their way. The low-pressure area is undetectable for them.

Continue reading “When we think about the damage to bats, maybe we should call a wind turbine ‘slicer-dicer-decompressor’”

Update on North Dakota wind farm projects

Here are few updates on one approved and one cancelled slice-and-dice project in North Dakota.

First, an update on the damage from wind turbines – 5/6 – Million Dollar Way – Great Prarie-Chickens Demand Wind-Turbine Free Zones – Researchers studying prairie-chicken nests, called leks, over a five-year period found that the leks are more likely to be abandoned within 8 km of slice-and-dicer turbines. More evidence of the environmental damage from wind power, which is an expected consequence.

About that cancelled project – I’ve previously mentioned Dickinson Wind, LLC was trying to get permits for an 87-turbine wind farm.

Continue reading “Update on North Dakota wind farm projects”

More on the economic damage from wind power

Germany’s push to rely on wind power and dump nuclear is hurting the economy. A few of the posts I’ve read on point:

4/22/14 – Stop These Things – Wind Power Costs send Germans back to the Stone Age – Skyrocketing electricity costs are seriously hurting poor people in Germany. Article points out 800,000 homes in Germany are off the grid because they can’t afford electricity. Article also says around 7 million households are in a place called “fuel poverty”, having to choose either heating or eating.

Continue reading “More on the economic damage from wind power”

Great things to learn about Bakken – part 1

Prof. Mark Perry provides his first report on the few days he was able to spend in Williston at the end of May. From Carpe Diem on June 16: Top ten things I learned on my summer trip to the Bakken oil fields, Part I

I was there for a few days last month also. I however, did not get a two-day personal tour of Continental’s drilling sites. What a blessing for him!

If you need a primer on Bakken, I heartily recommend his post.

Here are the first five of his points with my comments:

Continue reading “Great things to learn about Bakken – part 1”

Why solar-thermal farms are accurately called wing-toasters – Ivahpah offs an estimated 3,500 birds a year.

(Wing toaster portion of a wing-toasting facility in operation. Top of the tower is where the protected, migratory, and other birds get cooked. The white-hot section is around 750 degrees. Photo by James Ulvog.)

A detailed study of bird casualties estimates the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System kills about 3,500 birds a year. This is while it is only generating at 40% of expected capacity.

4/22 – Chris Clarke at ReWire – Solar Plant Likely Killed 3,500 Birds in 1st Year – The Ivanpah facility hired a firm to research the number of birds killed at the location. The number of fatalities is in a range between 2,500 and 6,700 with a point estimate of 3,504.

That is a range of 6.8 to 18.4 per day with point estimate of 9.6 each and every day.

That is in contrast to the facility’s biologist’s official count of 695 dead and eight injured birds. That would be an average of 1.9 casualties each day. Continue reading “Why solar-thermal farms are accurately called wing-toasters – Ivahpah offs an estimated 3,500 birds a year.”

Guess on how long Bakken oil will be pumped

A few thoughts on the upside of oil production in North Dakota.

6/14 – Million Dollar Way – A Long Rambling Note on a Bunch of Things Regarding the Bakken – If you are still wondering why I am so powerfully positive on the Bakken, check out Mr. Oksol’s post.

My overly compressed summary:

Continue reading “Guess on how long Bakken oil will be pumped”