NORTH DAKOTA ASSOCIATION OF OIL AND GAS PRODUCING COUNTIES
NDAOGPC Newsletter
October 4, 2013
In This Issue
Article 1 - 2013 NDAOGPC Annual Meeting Audio Recordings and Resources Available on Web
Article 2 - Ports-to-Plains Alliance Meets in Texas
Article 3 - Lignite Energy Council Holds 2013 Annual Meeting in Bismarck
Article 4 - Wall Street Journal - U.S. Now #1 in Energy Production
Article 5 - Companies Promise Open Process on Oil Terminal
Article 6 - Upcoming Events
Article 7 - Oil and Gas Stats
Join Our Mailing List!
Quick Links
Find us on Facebook
Derrick well
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.
2013 NDAOGPC Annual Meeting Audio Recordings and Resources Available on Web
Visitors to the North Dakota Association of Oil and Gas Producing Counties' website, www.ndenergy.org, will be able to access audio recordings made during the 28th Annual NDAOGPC Annual Meeting held last Thursday, September 26 in Dickinson.

The recordings can be found in the Links and Resources section of the website, or by clicking this link. A playlist of the recordings can also be accessed through YouTube.

Presentations made by State Treasurer Kelly Schmidt on the 5% Oil and Gas Gross Production Tax Distribution and NDDOT representatives Wayde Swenson and Bryon Fuchs on a NDDOT Update can be viewed by clicking the links above.

A record number of attendees took part in this year's Annual Meeting, which showcased NDAOGPC projects and activities, gave an update on oil and gas industry development, and provided a networking opportunity for NDAOGPC members from throughout the nineteen western ND counties.
Ports-to-Plains Alliance Meets in Texas
About 200 people gathered in Amarillo, Texas Wednesday and Thursday this week to discuss an interstate route from Texas to Canada. The Ports-to-Plains Alliance contains a section through western North Dakota beginning at Bowman, ND and passing through Williston, ND.

Texas is better for the Ports-to-Plains work, according to Jeff Moseley, Commissioner within the Texas Transportation Commission. Moseley said Texas has 80,233 miles of highways, over a trillion dollars in road assets, and it will take $5 billion for the maintenance of Texas' state roads. He encouraged the Texans in the room to support a future vote to take $1 billion out of the state's "rainy day trust fund". That fund, the Economic Stabilization fund, sits at $10 billion. He told the group there is the value of getting goods to market and the quality of life that depends on a good road network.

Ports-to-Plains Alliance Annual Meeting
Alberta MLA David Quest (left) and Texas State Representative Drew Darby (right) share thoughts on an interstate to bring commerce between them at the 2013 Ports-to-Plains Annual Meeting in Amarillo.
Moseley also advised that the "Mexican economy is on fire", and in 30 years, economists predict that Mexico will eclipse Germany's economy. North America, with it's domestic oil booms, will be much more attractive and competitive in the global economy in the near future, according to David Ross, CFA Managing Director, STIFEL Equity Research, Transportation & Logistics.

The Texas legislature appropriated $450 million dollars to state and county roads, although about 83 miles of pavement will be plowed up into gravel in the oil counties. Texas Rep. Drew Darby, District 72, said grinding up pavement is a "despicable but necessary option, but I think that's a step backwards." The roads are too narrow and for safety's sake, they have to widen them. They are too narrow for the current industrial truck traffic. Darby said Texas needs to adjust their gas tax and registration fees, which haven't been changed in over 30 years. He said early polling shows 49% of the voters favor taking the $1 billion from the rainy day trust fund and putting it into a road fund for all of Texas. Water and roads are the top two priorities for west Texas, he said.

The City of Williston will host the 2015 Ports-to-Plains Alliance annual meeting. Williston City Commissioner Brad Bekkedahl, Williston CVB's Amy Krueger, Theodore Roosevelt Expressway Association Executive Director Cal Klewin, and ND Association of Oil and Gas Producing Counties Executive Director Vicky Steiner also participated in the Amarillo meeting.
Lignite Energy Council Holds 2013 Annual Meeting in Bismarck
Coal industry executives, contractors, suppliers, state officials, and others interested in the well-being of North Dakota's lignite energy sector met in Bismarck, ND on Wednesday and Thursday of this week to discuss issues relevant to one of the state's largest industries.

Jason Bohrer
Jason Bohrer, President and CEO of the Lignite Energy Council.
Included on the list of issues was the need to continually educate the public on the benefits of lignite energy, which accounted for almost 15% of the state's economic base in 2010. Three panels focused on government action, public affairs, and research and development projects. Jason Bohrer, who was selected to replace recently retired John Dwyer as President and CEO of the Lignite Energy Council, spoke about the importance of increasing the public's knowledge of lignite energy and how important it is to the well being of our society. Not only does the lignite industry employ a great number of people, both directly and indirectly, it also plays an integral role in "keeping the lights on" through affordable and reliable energy production.

Al Hodnik, past chairman of the Lignite Energy Council board, said that "our issue is not one of trying to necessarily kill other energy forms. Our issue is one of trying to maintain our platform here in North Dakota and help the United States get to its goals of energy independence by 2020." Hodnik's words fit well with the theme of the 2013 annual meeting, "Enhance, Preserve and Protect".

Current LEC chairman Mac McLennan, who is also the president and CEO of Minnkota Power Cooperative, also stressed the need for improving public opinion for lignite coal energy. Priorities he gave for the LEC in coming years included addressing public health arguments head on, engaging lignite energy customers to support lignite, and prioritizing research and development initiatives on NOx and other emissions.

A speaker panel moderated by LEC VP of Communications Steve Van Dyke also discussed building support for coal-based electricity. Citing U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp's advice to "speak outside the choir", Van Dyke and others on the panel suggested taking the hidden assets of coal energy to a more visible state through letters to the editor, social media, and editorial boards. In response to a public perception that coal is "dirty" and ought to be replaced by "green" energy solutions like solar and wind power, panelists discussed how coal is a part of answer to energy, not the answer. It is a part of the nation's green future, not opposed to it. The reliability, cleanliness, and cost effectiveness of coal energy should be shared with the public more, they said. Jobs creation, they said, is another benefit of the coal industry.
Wall Street Journal - U.S. Now #1 in Energy Production

The Wall Street Journal front page headline yesterday, Thursday, October 3, 2013, read "U.S. Rises to No. 1 Energy Producer."

 

Also in the article: "The U.S. last year tapped more natural gas than Russia for the first time since 1982". One of the heads of a Russian energy company, OAO Gazprom, has called the expanding U.S. shale output "a bubble that will soon burst."

WSJ journalists Russell Gold and Daniel Gilbert wrote that "even optimists concede the shale booms longevity could hinge on" three things: 1. Commodity prices 2. Government regulations and 3. Public support.

It's been reported that some people are less supportive of hydraulic fracturing than six months ago. North Dakota has not had one incident related to hydraulic fracturing. Also, the WSJ reports that oil companies have said the amount of oil and gas produced by shale isn't dropping as fast as predicted earlier.

For more information 
Companies Promise Open Process on Oil Terminal
The companies planning a $110 million terminal at the Port of Vancouver to handle trains carrying oil from North Dakota have promised residents the permit process would be transparent and the facility would be a good neighbor.

For more information
Upcoming Events
October 6-8, 2013
Online 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.

October 7, 2013
The fall meeting for the NDAOGPC Uniform County Truck Permit Committee will be held at the ND Association of Counties Annual Conference on Monday, October 7, 2013 from 5:30pm to 6:15pm Central Time in the Heart Room of the Ramkota Hotel in Bismarck, ND.
NDAOGPC County Commissioners, County Sheriffs, and Road Superintendents/Engineers are invited to attend. 

Also making a report at the Uniform County Truck Permit Committee meeting will be Bill Anderson with NDLTAP who will talk about county road best practices he's identified. Anderson's work was part of a contract negotiated between LTAP and the NDAOGPC to bring value to county road departments in the west.


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

ND Petroleum Council Logo  

WTI Crude: $103.62

Brent Crude: $109.30

Natural Gas: $3.50

 

 

From the ND Petroleum Council's News Clips for October 4, 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