NORTH DAKOTA ASSOCIATION OF OIL AND GAS PRODUCING COUNTIES
NDAOGPC Newsletter
August 2, 2013 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Greetings!
|  The North Dakota Association of Oil and Gas Producing Counties (NDAOGPC) is the trusted and unified voice for the betterment of the citizens of North Dakota and the membership of the North Dakota Association of Oil and Gas Producing Counties. Through this newsletter we strive to provide accurate, up-to-date information surrounding the energy activities throughout the North Dakota energy producing counties. |
|
NDAOGPC Annual Meeting Registration Now Open!
| Registration for the ND Association of Oil and Gas Producing Counties' 2013 Annual Meeting is now available online at the Association website, http://www.ndenergy.org/AnnualMeeting.aspx.
This year's Annual Meeting will take place on Thursday, September 26, 2013 at the Ramada Grand Dakota Lodge in Dickinson, ND. A room block has been set up at the hotel.
Speaking this year will be State Treasurer Kelly Schmidt who will give an overview of oil and gas Gross Production Tax distributions and Joel Quanbeck who will share what was found in the NDAOGPC commissioned study of emergency service coverage in western North Dakota.
Additionally, we'll hear from Dept. of Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms, and Jim Arthaud, owner and CEO of MBI Energy Services, will lead a panel of several oil and gas industry representatives in discussions on the current trends in oil and gas recovery. Terry Kovacevich, Marathon Oil; Jack Ekstrom, Whiting Petroleum; and Blu Hulsey, Continental Resources, have agreed to participate on the panel.
Members will also have the opportunity to elect county, city, and school district committee members as well as the representatives on the Executive Committee. Current Executive Committee members up for reelection are Mountrail County Commissioner Greg Boschee and City Engineer for the City of Bowman, Dan Brosz. Bowman County School District Superintendent Tony Duletski will be leaving the Executive Committee after nine years of service. Over his years with the Association, Tony has served as President, and we would like to thank him for his contributionto the members of the ND Association of Oil and Gas Producing Counties. His replacement will also be elected.
We look forward to seeing you at this year's Annual Meeting in Dickinson!
|
|
|
|
|
Legislative Interim Committees Kick Off Work
| Several interim committees began their work of policy review, financial oversight, and interim studies over the course of this week in Bismarck. Legislators gathered at the State Capitol Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for meetings including the Energy Development and Transmission (ED&T) Committee, the Economic Impact Committee, the Government Finance Committee, the Taxation Committee, and the Health Services Committee.
Government Finance Committee members met on Tuesday, July 30. Pam Sharp, Director of the state's Office of Management and Budget, gave an update on the current status of the state general fund as well as other selected special funds like the Budget Stabilization Fund and the Legacy Fund. The preliminary ending balance of the General Fund stands at about $1.53 billion, as of June 30, 2013. The Legacy Fund, according to the same preliminary fund balance report, is just over $1.28 billion.
 | |
Department of Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms speaks to the Government Finance Committee on Tuesday on current activity within the Williston Basin.
|
The Government Finance Committee also had the opportunity to hear from Department of Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms on oil and gas developments within the state. Helms said that the state may have reached its "cruising altitude" in terms of the pace of those developments. The Industrial Commission is currently receiving an average of approximately 200 drilling permits a month. Helms' department is also doing its best to line up drilling pads in an attempt to minimize impact on the region. "We're well into the efficiency mode," Helms said.
In terms of the state's 2013-2015 budget estimates, Helms said that the actual production and pricing of oil and gas during the month of May were within 1% of estimates, indicating that expected future revenue from oil and gas taxes may be quite close to the estimates made during the 2013 legislative session. Production estimates for the 2013-15 biennium range from 830,000 to 850,000 barrels per day at prices ranging from $70-$80 per barrel. Helms pointed out that oil refining capacity limits may create competition for light sweet crude oil to find its way into the market and could potentially lower the price of Bakken crude. Factors reflecting refining capacity across the world, he said, must be built in to the state's revenue projections.
Helms also talked to the committee about the impacts in western North Dakota, particularly how infrastructure improvements like pipeline expansions and proper housing development will help to both minimize the negative impacts and allow for the economical continuation of oil and gas extraction. He also spoke about how electricity transmission will remain a "chronic need for the next nineteen years" due to continued pipeline development, water distribution expansion, and eventually enhanced oil recovery.
 | |
Gerry Fisher, the Assistant Director of the Energy Infrastructure and Impact Office, explains the energy impact grant program to members of the Energy Development and Transmission Committee on Wednesday. A similar presentation was made by Land Commissioner Lance Gaebe in Wednesday's Government Finance Committee meeting.
|
Also presenting at the Government Finance Committee meeting was State Land Commissioner Lance Gaebe, who spoke on the Energy Infrastructure and Impact Office (EIIO) and its administration of energy impact grants appropriated by the state legislature. Questions from Committee Chair Jeff Delzer on State Land Board policies of local cost shares and the funding of local staffing being compliant with legislative intent arose. Delzer explained that legislative intent for energy impact dollars specifically designated to counties' sheriff departments was to include funding for staffing. Regarding the "local match" requirement typical of city infrastructure project funding as well as other projects, Gaebe stated that a 20% local match was used in the last biennium on a case by case basis. He also said that with a limited amount of energy impact funding available, the 20% local match was meant to stretch resources as far as possible to as many entities as possible.
During the current legislative interim, Legislative Council has opted to gather presentations and testimony in advance of committee meetings if possible. To view presentations made during committee meetings, visit the Legislative Council website and click on the agenda of the appropriate committee meeting. When the agenda is loaded, it will contain links to the presentations of those that provided them.
|
|
In Association News...
| |
Janet Sanford with TeamWorks has been hired to manage the finances of the Association effective August 1, 2013. Jane Erickson-Perdue resigned in July.
Look for the upcoming fall 2013 edition of Basin Bits Magainze due out in early September, NDAOGPC President Dan Brosz highlights the legislative session and where the positive and negative changes occurred. Executive Director Vicky Steiner writes about the regional impact to other states and the need for additional state investment in infrastructure. This bi-annual magazine generates scholarship dollars for ND students majoring in an oil and gas related field with plans to work in North Dakota. The Executive Committee awarded ten scholarships worth $10,000 yesterday at their Executive Committee meeting in Riverdale, ND.
|
|
Interim Committees Look at Transportation Issues
|
ND Department of Transportation Director Grant Levi and others within he department provided updates this week to three legislative interim committees. Levi gave a summary of legislatively appropriated state highway and local road dollars and how the projects funded are progressing.
Bidding for the Williston bypass intersection took place August 1, and several state highway system projects are currently underway. Weather has placed certain limits on the pace of highway construction, often delaying projects, Levi said. The four-laning of Highway 85 from Williston and Watford City is also underway, though it is facing significant time delays due to environmental impact statements and clearance from a variety of state and federal agencies. More information on Highway 85 activity can be found on the NDDOT website by clicking here. Information on other western ND road construction projects is available here.
The Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute received funding during the legislative session for further testing of state and local roadways and bridges. That testing, said Levi, will provide better insight into the total costs for repairs throughout the state. In the UGPTI study, data such as roadway use, vehicle weight, transportation routes will be used to determine how and when roads and bridges will need to be repaired.
More information can be viewed in the presentations below:
Grant Levi presentation to the Government Finance Committee - July 30, 2013
Needs Study of ND Roads and Bridges - July 31, 2013
|
|
Tuscaloosa Oil Shale Development
|
The code is cracked in the Tuscaloosa marine oil shale play as the drilling heats up in Louisiana. Similar to the early Bakken oil wells in North Dakota seven years ago, drillers in the southern state have experimented with their methods. One of their issues is to stop the clay from swelling. One driller believes he's figured it out and his method will be successful.
For more information on oil shale developments in Tuscaloosa, please click this link.
|
|
Upcoming Events
|
August 22, 2013
Vision West ND Consortium meeting in Bottineau, ND. September 12-14, 2013ND League of Cities Annual Conference in Bismarck, ND. A preliminary agenda and links to register for the conference are available here or by visiting the League of Cities website at www.ndlc.org. September 16-18, 2013The ND Petroleum Council will hold its annual meeting September 16-18, 2013 in Grand Forks, ND. The meeting will be held in the Alerus Center. Registration is set to open Tuesday, June 25. More information can be found by visiting the ND Petroleum Council website at www.ndoil.org.
September 26, 2013
Be sure to mark your calendars for the NDAOGPC 2013 Annual Meeting set for Thursday, September 26, 2013 at the Ramada Grand Dakota in Dickinson, ND. Online registration is now available at http://www.ndenergy.org/AnnualMeeting.aspx.
October 6-8, 2013Online registration is now open for the ND Association of Counties Annual Conference, scheduled for October 6-8 at the Ramkota Hotel in Bismarck. Visit the NDACo website at www.ndaco.org for more information and to register.
May 20-22, 2014
The 22nd Annual Williston Basin Petroleum Conference will be held May 20-22, 2014 at the Bismarck Civic Center in Bismarck, ND. There have already been over 200 hotel rooms reserved for this conference. We recommend booking the hotel rooms that you need now. Conference registration opens on January 29, 2014.
|
|
Oil and Gas Stats
| |
WTI Crude: $107.71
Brent Crude: $109.28
Natural Gas: $3.40
ND Rig Count: 178
From the ND Petroleum Council's News Clips for August 2, 2013 |
|
|
Please take your time to review all materials and links provided for your convenience. We will continue to provide you up-to-date information on upcoming events and news happening in North Dakota's oil and gas producing counties!
Sincerely,
|
Vicky Steiner
Executive Director
Brady Pelton
Deputy Executive Director
ND Assoc. of Oil & Gas Producing Counties
|
|
|
|
|
