Tag: Bakken

Downside of the oil boom – towns struggling to provide infrastructure

Bloomberg describes the struggle many towns in Montana are facing from the ripple effects of the oil boom:  Montana Towns Struggle With Oil Boom Cost as Dollars Flee.

The wear on roads, increased school enrollment, and load on sewage treatment are a few of the issues hitting small communities on the periphery of the North Dakota boom. Lack of housing in Williston is pushing people to drive from nearby communities, which do not have an ability to rapidly increase their public services.

Here’s a brief picture: Continue reading “Downside of the oil boom – towns struggling to provide infrastructure”

Pipeline leak near Tioga, North Dakota

The Dickenson Press seems to have been the first to report on the leak: Pipeline leak spills 20,600 barrels of oil near Tioga.

The pipeline is reportedly 20 years old.

The farmer reporting the leak smelled the oil for a few days before he saw puddles in the field and oil sticking to his tires.

Continue reading “Pipeline leak near Tioga, North Dakota”

Run that by me again – – Record year of agricultural production in North Dakota generates half the revenue of oil production?

That’s the report from Dickinson Press, Oil, ag compete for role of ND’s biggest industry

Value of oil and natural gas produced in the state for the 12 months ending July 30, 2013 is estimated at $24.9 billion.

A record-setting year of revenue received by farmers and ranchers in 2012 was $12.1 billion. That is up from the previous record of $9B from 2010.

Continue reading “Run that by me again – – Record year of agricultural production in North Dakota generates half the revenue of oil production?”

Eventual Bakken production – 1.6M barrels a day. Current number of rigs could be in place for 20 years

That’s the forecast from Lynn Helms, Director of the Department of Mineral Resources while addressing the North Dakota Petroleum Council meeting.

The projections for production are to eventually hit a level of 1,600,000 barrels a day. That is with the rapid decline rate in Bakken wells.  July ’13 production for the state was 874,681 BOPD.

The Dickinson Press article, ND mineral resources director say Bakken in for some “turbulence” has this comment which needs explanation: Continue reading “Eventual Bakken production – 1.6M barrels a day. Current number of rigs could be in place for 20 years”

North Dakota oil production hits another record in 7-13 with 6.5% increase for month

Average daily production in July was 874,681 barrels (bopd), which is an increase of 53,150 per day, or 6.47% for the month.

By my calc, this is an increase of 198,281 bopd from 7-12 to 7-13, or 29.3%. In the prior year (7-11 to 7-12), daily production increased by 251,231 bopd, or 50.1%.

The 12 month increase through 7-13 was smaller in amount and percent than the prior year.  Only a one-third increase in a year.  As I’ve pointed out before, only in the world of North Dakota oil production is a 29% annual increase not impressive when compared to the prior year.

Director’s cut is here.

Here are some graphs. Average daily production of the last 5 1/2 years: Continue reading “North Dakota oil production hits another record in 7-13 with 6.5% increase for month”

Eagle Ford output passes 600K bopd in June – another prediction for 1M bopd in Bakken and Eagle Ford

Carpe Diem summarizes great news that “Eagle Ford June oil output increased 60% from a year ago to a new record high; will likely surpass Bakken next summer.”

Initial report shows production in Eagle Ford was about 621,000 barrels a day during June.

I haven’t figured out how to either track or understand the reports on Eagle Ford oil. The initial data is revised higher as additional companies report their data. For example, from my notes the initial reports rise anywhere from 26k bopd (9-12) up to 90k bopd (1-13) when all the data is in. That means that final tally for June is likely to be anywhere from 650k to near 700k.

The production race, million barrel prediction

Continue reading “Eagle Ford output passes 600K bopd in June – another prediction for 1M bopd in Bakken and Eagle Ford”

Air travel at record level in North Dakota

Record increases in boardings over last year.  Statewide increase of 9%, according to Bismark Tribune, N.D. airports post highest June boarding ever.

Article says boardings out of Williston tripled since June 2012.

That makes sense –  United and Delta flights to Williston started since last June; last fall as I recall.

Jet service from Dickinson to Denver and Minneapolis started in June 2013.

Obviously the oil boom is driving that traffic increase.

North Dakota oil production sets another record in 5-13

Production state-wide hit 810,314 bopd in May, up 2.07% from revised April amount of 793,913 bopd.

Here’s a graph:

 bakken production 5-13

Six month increase

That is an increase of only 8.1% over six months, which was the last month before the winter impacts hit.

Continue reading “North Dakota oil production sets another record in 5-13”

Survey of shale oil; also the Peak Oil Myth – #26

Matt Ridley provides an overview of the flood of fracked shale oil in his post, The dash for shale oil will shake the world.

He points to The Shale Oil Boom: a US Phenomenon, a newly released report from Leonardo Maugeri.

I’ve mentioned this in the past, but look again at the explosion of estimated recoverable oil in Bakken: Continue reading “Survey of shale oil; also the Peak Oil Myth – #26”

Superb intro to the Bakken

Million Dollar Way has a great overview of the Bakken that gives a great introduction to the 21st century gold rush that is happening now in North Dakota.

Bruce Oksal’s post is For Newbies.

There’s a lot of great comments and explanation. Here’s a few of the biggest points described from my just-past-newbie-stage perspective.

It is a big deal

Continue reading “Superb intro to the Bakken”

Bakken is land of opportunity, but there are cautions to consider before you jump in your truck and start driving

“Williston 101: Tip for Job seekers” contains some cautions if you plan to head out for the new gold rush.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fjj1BuWfh7o&feature=player_detailpage]

My list of things to consider before getting on the road: Continue reading “Bakken is land of opportunity, but there are cautions to consider before you jump in your truck and start driving”

In the Bakken, the calendar may say this is 2013, but for oil production it’s already 2016

In terms of Bentek’s forecast from 2011, production is already at 2016 levels. It is so cool they were wrong!

In the distant past of April 2011 (that data is only 24 months old), production was around 500k bopd. Production was forecast to hit around 700k bopd by the end of 2012 and around 900k bopd by December 2016.

That info from RBN Energy’s article Too Wrong for Too Long? How 2011 Bakken Crude Forecasts Compare to Today.

The graph of actual and forecast production now?

Continue reading “In the Bakken, the calendar may say this is 2013, but for oil production it’s already 2016”

How much water does it take to frack all the wells in Bakken for a year? Less than one day’s discharge from Garrison dam.

One of the worries about fracking is the humongous huge amount of water it takes to frack a well. Around 4,000,000 gallons for just one well. That’s more than I could drink in a lifetime.

Let’s put that in perspective. I mentioned this before here, but let’s take another look.

The Garrison dam at the end of Lake Sakakawea provides hydroelectric power. You can get some background info here.

Bruce Oksol provides some background at his post Water For Fracking In the Bakken.

His conclusion?

Less than a day’s worth of discharge from the Garrison Dam should be enough water to frack all the wells that will be fracked in the North Dakota Bakken this year.

I’ll backstop his calculations below, which confirm his calculation.

Continue reading “How much water does it take to frack all the wells in Bakken for a year? Less than one day’s discharge from Garrison dam.”

Superb background on Bakken – an industry not a boom

“This is an industry, not a boom.”

“It is going to last for a very long time!”

Million Dollar Way pointed out this great Powerpoint slide from Williston Economic Development on what’s going on in Bakken. Tom Rolfstad is the director.

If you are following the new frontier of energy on my blog, you will want to check out this presentation. It’s superb. Great points that are told without a speaker:

Continue reading “Superb background on Bakken – an industry not a boom”