We need to learn quickly to keep up with the massive change around us so we don't get run over. We need to outrun change.
(photo by James Ulvog taken in October 2013)
(Photo by James Ulvog, closeup of above pump; notice flare pit in foreground)
Production in North Dakota in July was 1,110,653 bopd, an increase of “only” 1.66% over the slightly revised June number of 1,092,519 bopd. Bakken only production was only up 1.9%.
(Update at bottom of post about that 5% increase for the month.)
Here’s the graph:
I say “only” because Mr. Helms was expecting an increase of 5% for each of the summer months.
Vinyl LPs going strong, Rams vs. Drones is lopsided game, downside of cell phone tracking.
Surge of US energy production and a collapse in Venezuela.
Just like the wild west in the late 1800s, the frontiers of private space exploration, energy and technology are wide open. A few articles to stretch your brain.
A decidedly low-tech countermeasure to surveillance drones:
9/2 – The Dish – Sheep Solved Drone Debate – From Buddhanz1. A ram is not amused with an intruding drone and takes it out. Is equally unamused by owner of said drone trying to make an escape with the recovered drone:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfLCb4ewDDc&feature=player_embedded]
Technology
8/27 – TVGConsulting – The History of Business Technology – Continue reading “More good stuff on the open frontiers – 9/11”
Here’s a few quick notes on interesting news that I won’t cover in a separate post.
Here is an early estimate for the July numbers. On 8/25, Bentek Energy issued a press release: Production from Bakken, Eagle Ford Rose 3.4% in July. Their prediction is
The cutting edge of renewable energy is chopping down trees, chipping them, loading the chips onto a truck, transporting to a brand new plant, and burning them.
Yes, burning trees to read your paper at night, illuminate your office during the day, and (for some) cooking dinner. The new technology is called biomass.
That’s the same power source used by Abraham Lincoln when he was going to school. His family used wood for cooking, heating, and illumination.
In fact, as recently as when my dad was growing up on a farm, the family used wood for cooking and heating. Thanks to John Rockefeller, they were able to use kerosene for illumination. They would buy coal to keep the house warm overnight. Wood was the sole cooking source and primary heating source.
Public Service of New Hampshire has a new wood-burner fully online. I calculate it will cost New Hampshire residents an extra 1 or 2 cents a kilowatt-hour.
For the next 20 years.
New wood-burner plant at full capacity
(Update: Solar #25)
Germany is in the midst of moving toward getting 40% to 45% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020, which is six years from now. The goal for the whole of EU is 35%. By 2050, the German goal is 80% from renewable. They plan to do this with zero reliance on nuclear energy.
Some of the destructive implications are spelled out in detail by the Wall Street Journal article, Germany’s Expensive Gamble on Renewable Energy. The article more explanation than I’ve seen elsewhere.
Here are a few summarized highlights. If you are interested in reading the rest of my article, you will really want to check out the full WSJ article. It is excellent.
Higher costs
(Photo by James Ulvog)
Officials from Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System report there were 321 dead birds found on the site in the first six months of operation. Annualizing that would imply 642 birds will die each year at the facility shown above.
Is that the total of birds killed at the site? Let me ask you a few questions.
If you answered yes to all of those three questions then you will certainly agree that the grand total of birds killed at Ivanpah is limited to the reported amount of 321 in six months, or around 600 a year.
On the other hand, if you think the number of drunk drivers is greater than the number arrested or if you believe there is actually more insider trading going on than the SEC prosecutes, then the question is to what extent are the toasted wings undercounted at Ivanpah.
Causes of undercount
Continue reading “Does the Ivanpah solar facility toast 642 or 28,000 birds a year? Solar #24”
Bruce Oksol arrived in Williston today. He is the author of Million Dollar Way blog. He will be in town 7 or 10 days and (hopefully) will be posting a lot of articles while he is there.
First report, Arrived Safely in Williston, ND, The Heart of the Bakken describes the visible growth.
By the way, his blog has been one of the major sources of education for me since I started paying attention to the energy revolution. If you’ve been reading my blog for the energy news, you really ought to check out his blog regularly. Maybe even set it up on an RSS feed so you automatically get all his posts.
Just a few articles on green energy that caught my eye.
8/7 -WSJ – Wind Power Hopes for Sea Change – Lots of delays and cost overruns building the large off-shore wind farms in Europe. The Meerwind facility had 80 turbines located 50 miles offshore. Getting the electricity to shore takes converters that cost a billion Euros each. Article doesn’t say how many are needed for 80 turbines.
Economics are a bit of a problem. From the article:
(Photo by James Ulvog. Four wells on a pad was big news only a short while ago. Now 4 is a small site.)
Only 10 oil fields have surpassed a production level of one million barrels a day. Currently three of them are running in the U.S.: Bakken, Eagle Ford, and Permian.
I’ve been wanting to find a source for Eagle Ford production. After reading a Carpe Diem post (which I can’t find again), I found a great source: the Energy Information Administration’s Drilling Productivity Report. Check out the second tab, Production by region, and the report data on the right side of the page.
Here is the production for the three top regions, in average daily production for each month from January 2007 through September 2014. Data for the last three months is estimated.
Two notes on the data.
Continue reading “Production in 3 biggest US oil fields – Aug. ’14”
(Photo by James Ulvog)
Production in the state hit an average of 1,092,617 barrels per day (bopd) in June 2014, up from a revised 1,040,469 in May. That’s an increase of 5.01%. Since December, that would be an 18.7% increase. Not bad for six months.
Even better, Bakken-only production passed the one million point – 1,028,352 bopd.
Here are two graphs showing the production trend.
Production by month since 2008, showing total for the state and Bakken-only:
Total production by month since 1990:
Continue reading “North Dakota oil production up 5% in June 2014”
Just like the wild west in the late 1800s, the frontiers of publishing, technology, and energy are wide open. Here’s a few of the articles that stretched my understanding of this amazing world we live in. Just a brief comment on each.
Downside of technology
Yes, there is a downside.
7/30 – Yahoo – Drone Carrying contraband crashes at SC prison – Drone carrying cell phones, marijuana, synthetic marijuana (huh? what is that?), and tobacco crashed outside the fence of a prison. Article mentions a successful effort to get contraband inside a Georgia prison last year.
Continue reading “More good stuff on the open frontiers – 8/15”
Here’s a few quick notes on interesting news that I won’t cover in a separate post:
7/25 – PR Newswire – More than 30% Growth in Shale Oil Output in Bakken, Eagle Ford: Platts’ Bentek Energy – In June ’14, increase of prior year June production was 28.9% in Bakken and 37.6% in Eagle Ford. Compared to where I was four years ago, if I saw that report fresh today, I would write a full length post on that one article. Today, that is old news for me.
Internal rate of return is above 50% in Bakken and 65% in Eagle Ford. The article explains what that means: Continue reading “More good stuff on the Bakken – 8/11”
I see a major downside to the current approach to renewable energy.
Our society is pouring huge amounts of money into projects using current technology. These are inefficient, damaging to the environment in so many dimensions, are viable only because government agencies demand utilities buy their output, and produce very expensive electricity even after massive subsidies. Worse yet, these are locking today’s technology in to many multi-billion dollar megaprojects.
Here is a hint, just a hint, of what could happen if we were to put those billions into research.
8/2 – The Economist – Picking up steam – carbon-based material gives solar steam-power a boost.
Continue reading “More research please. Faster too. – solar #23”
The wide open frontiers of publishing, technology, energy and space do have a down side. Not everything is rosy. Here’s a few of the articles on the unpleasant side of this amazing world we live in.
The closed energy frontier and a great quote on the role of faith in environmental issues
7/8 – The Feed – Germany Bows to Green Folly, Backs Off Fracking (link broken) – Germany closed down its nuclear reactions and increased coal-burning to offset. It relies on Russia for most of its natural gas. To those two dangerous issues, a proposal on the table will ban fracking for 7 years, locking in their hostage status with Russia as they increase their carbon output.
7/8 – Wall Street Journal – Germany’s Fracking Retreat – Continue reading “More good stuff on the downside of the open frontiers – 7/30”
Eleven more years with more than 1 million barrels every day. Production at 100,000 bopd in 2100.
That’s the prediction from Lynn Helms, director of North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources, speaking at the Bakken Rocks CookFest on July 17, 2014.
Two things could cause a breakout on the upside, according to Mr. Helms.
Continue reading “Eighty year prediction of North Dakota oil production”