"Road bans affect us the most," said Terry Palisch, Global Engineering Advisor, CARBO. Palisch was part of a panel of oil industry speakers that the Bakken and Three Forks Innovation Conference and Expo (BOCE). Palisch added that weather and regulations also impact their ability to deliver proppant to sites. Pat Montalban, President and CEO of Mountainview Energy, Cutbank, Montana outlined his firm's success in Divide county. Montalban advised newcomers to the Bakken play to "watch your money". He added, "We love being in business in North Dakota."  KLJ Director of Oilfield Services Trent Howard said there is much opportunity now in produced water.   Howard said pipeline easements continue to be a challenge.

Hettinger County JDA Director Mark Resner, left, ND Dept. of Mineral Resources Assistant Director Bruce Hicks and Edward Kinley, New Brunswick Canada Senior Trade Executive, discuss the Bakken and its impact on the Canadian economy. Hicks gave the keynote speech at the Bakken and Three Forks Shale Innovation Conference and Expo in Grand Forks, ND February 10-12.

The first Bakken oil well was in 2004. Today, 92% of North Dakota's oil is from the Bakken formation.

Steve Benson, Director of the University of North Dakota Dept. of Petroleum Engineering, said that petroleum engineers will be retiring in the next ten years leaving much opportunity to young engineers. North American and African oil fields will have the greatest shortage. Russia has a balance between retirees and graduates.

EERC Senior Research Manager Jim Sorenson said there is potential for carbon dioxide use for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) but research continues. It appears that the primary mechanism is diffusion in CO₂ experimentation.

EOR advocates predict another 4-7 billion barrels from ND Bakken oil fields could be coaxed from the earth with the proper EOR application. Other topics over the three days included flaring techniques, well optimization, trans loading, storage, spill incidents, policy and refining.

Exhibition participants peruse the EERC Williston Basin maps at the NDAOGPC display booth.

John Felmy, API Chief Economist, said it's unlikely that President Obama will make a decision on the Keystone pipeline because he has supporters on both sides of the issue. Brad Crabtree, Great Plains Institute, advocated for the use of CO₂ for enhanced oil recovery as a win-win for industry.

Vicky Steiner, NDAOGPC Executive Director, spoke about the 5% gross production tax, the oil extraction tax and the top issues facing western counties, cities, schools and townships. Steiner also distributed Basin Bits magazines, Vision West ND handouts and  EERC Williston Basin maps at the Association's booth during the three day event.

Major updates on transportation infrastructure, oil-related waste/spills, and natural gas flaring in the state were heard by members of the Energy Development and Transmission (ED&T) Committee during its February 11 meeting in Bismarck.

Eric Dille, government relations director for EOG Resources, Inc., gave a presentation similar to the one he presented before the ND Industrial Commission at its meeting on January 29. Dille detailed the results of the ND Petroleum Council's Flaring Task Force and the group's mission to curb natural gas flaring in western North Dakota. According to Dille, actions like requiring a Gas Capture Plan at the time of well permitting, gathering line oversight, midstream planning and tracking, and ways to better address the rights of way issue for gas pipelines are possible solutions toward reducing flaring.

The task force found that the state could aid in flare reductions by incentivizing intrastate value added markets, supporting dense phase high pressure export pipelines, and incentivizing rapid build out capacity for gas infrastructure. The task force's plan outlined steps needed to take place in order to facilitate 90% gas capture by 2020. Up to 95% capture is possible with full engagement by the state, counties, ND Industrial Commission, Three Affiliated Tribes, landowners, the industry, and others. The percentage of gas flared, according to statistics released in December 2013, was at 28%. More information on the NDPC's flaring task force results are available on the NDPC website at www.ndoil.org. 

Director of the ND Dept. of Mineral Resources (DMR) Lynn Helms gave an overview of how HB 1333 and other statutes passed in the last legislative session will affect his department's ability to properly regulate underground gathering pipelines. Spot inspections by DMR staff will take place on all newly constructed underground gathering lines to make sure that proper backfilling, pipeline construction, and installation procedures take place. This, Helms said, may alleviate some concerns from landowners granting rights of way for pipelines while potentially reducing the likelihood of pipeline incidents.

Helms also spoke to the committee on spill reporting rules and the illegal dumping remediation program. There is a group, made up of oil and gas industry members, that has a plan and equipment in place to address spills on or near Lake Sakakawea. The Sakakawea Area Spill Response (SASR) functions as a group to share and make available spill response and containment equipment but is not a spill responder. The Dept. of Mineral Resources is currently in the process of contracting with SASR on using their equipment in the event of a Lake Sakakawea spill.

Illegal dumping incidents are all the more prevalent in western ND as well, according to Helms. He said that requirements put in place by HB 1333 in the 2013 legislative session increase his department's responsibility to respond to such incidents. One way the DMR has moved to meet those requirements was by creating an "Abandoned Oil & Gas Well Plugging and Site Reclamation Fund (AWPSRF) Program team. That team, in the event of an illegal dumping incident, will use member skill sets for initial site identification and review. As of the end of December 2013, $6.7 million was in the AWPSRF to remediate illegal dumping cleanup costs. The City of Williston has received $12,000 and McKenzie County has received about $2,000 in approved reimbursements for costs incurred during their responses to illegal dumping incidents. Helms proposed two possible methods of reducing the number of illegal dumping occurrences. One was requiring all salt water haulers to be licensed. The other would require GPS monitoring on salt water trucks to better track what happens to the cargo. 

On the subject of infrastructure development in the state's energy sector, Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute (UGPTI) Director Denver Tolliver gave an update on his organization's soon to be completed needs study of ND roads and bridges. Tolliver gave a status report similar to the one presented at last week's Economic Impact Committee meeting. That update, available here, shared the methodology of the UGPTI study, designed to forecast road and bridge investment needs in the next 20 years. The study will identify the biennial needs of county, township, tribal, and city roads/bridges. GIS maps will be developed through the study and will show improvements needed on local roads by type, as well as bridge locations.

Tolliver shared that local roads within oil-producing counties are seeing heavy truck traffic that is predicted to deteriorate roads designed to last 20 years in 12 to 12.5 years. The final study results are expected to be completed no later than July 1 of this year.

State is 'terrible' at sharing

A study says North Dakota is not returning a fair share of tax revenues to the areas being most affected by the energy development. Local officials agree.

McKenzie County Auditor Linda Svihovec said in a typical year, oil wells in the county produce more than $1 billion in revenue to the state. But the county is getting back just under $80 million, which is shared by the county, the schools, cities and townships.

"We're just not getting enough of the money back that we need to make the improvements that we have to make," Watford City Mayor Brent Sanford said.

He said the county is getting back 8.7 percent of the taxes generated by wells in the county.

"The state isn't taking care of us when you look at the in lieu of tax that the severance taxes were supposed to take care."

And that is exactly what the study by Headwaters Economics of Bozeman, Mont., showed.

"North Dakota does a very good job of collecting the oil and gas taxes," said Mark Haggerty of Headwaters.

"But it does a terrible job of getting the money back to the counties that are being impacted."

- McKenzie County Farmer, Watford City

Click Here to read more of Steve Andrist's Bakken briefly. 

Increased crude oil and freight shipments largely have been blamed for causing the rail delays. BNSF has said that rail service is being hampered by a wave of blizzards and subzero weather.

Sens. John Hoeven and Heidi Heitkamp and Rep. Kevin Cramer met with BNSF Chairman and CEO Matt Rose and senior officials from American Crystal Sugar Co. and the North Dakota Farmers Union to help resolve shipping delays that have occurred this winter.

"BNSF has to make a resource commitment and they say that's what they'll do," Hoeven told The Associated Press.

BNSF intends to add 5,000 crew members systemwide, including 250 temporary workers in North Dakota, Hoeven said. The railroad also pledged to add 5,000 railcars and 125 temporary locomotives that will be dispatched to North Dakota within the next two weeks.

"Adding locomotives and cars is the biggest thing," Hoeven said.

For more of James MacPherson's Bismarck Tribune article, click here. 

February 15, 2014

The 17^th Annual A.P. I. Gumbo Cookoff will be held Saturday, February 15, at the Quality Inn & Suites in Dickinson, ND.  Eighteen teams will compete against each other for a first place trophy and $300, a second place trophy and $200 and a third place trophy and $100.  Trophies will also be awarded for the Best Cajun Costume and the People's Choice Award for the Gumbo.

The American Petroleum Industry and area businesses will be hosting this winter bayou event that will include public taste testing, door prizes and an evening dance for $6 per person.  All proceeds go toward local charities and college scholarships.

Cooking begins at 11:00 am with teams preparing their ingredients.  The public is welcome to view the preparations early in the day and the taste testing begins at 6:30 pm.  The dance begins at 8:30 pm until 12 am.

February 19, 2014

County, city, school, and township officials will be meeting with western ND state legislators, economic developers, and state officials on Wednesday February 19 to discuss funding for the western region's political subdivisions. 

February 25, 2014

The ND Local Technical Assistance Program (NDLTAP) is hosting a roundtable discussion meeting for oil and gas producing county officials on Tuesday, February 25 at the Buckskin Bar and Grill in Killdeer, ND. The meeting will begin at 9:00 AM MT and go until 2:00 PM. This is an informal meeting where the challenges and successes of road issues in the oil producing counties will be discussed. Participants are asked to register for the meeting in order to ensure an accurate meal count. Please contact NDLTAP Training Coordinator Denise Brown at (701) 328-9856 for more information.

February 26-27, 2014

ND Housing Finance Agency's 23rd Annual Statewide Housing Conference will be held on February 26 and 27, 2014, at the Ramkota Hotel in Bismarck, ND. The event will bring together community leaders and industry professionals from across the state to discuss the ways that our state's unique housing challenges can be addressed.

Conference attendees will learn from experts, hone their skills and discuss trends. Networking with peers will enhance learning opportunities. For more information on the event, check out the NDHFA's website at www.ndhfa.org.  

April 2-4, 2014

The DUG Bakken and Niobrara Conference and Exhibition is scheduled for April 2-4, 2014. The event comes one month earlier this year. Last year's event attracted more than 2,000 attendees, 38 sponsors, and 200 exhibitors. The conference focuses on the Bakken, the emerging Niobrara, and oil- and liquids-rich resource plays throughout the Rockies. Check out more information on the event at www.dugbakken.com.

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 opened this week, with every available event exhibition booth being booked within four minutes of registration going live. More information on the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference is available here. 

September 18, 2014
Be sure to mark your calendars for the 2014 Annual Meeting of the ND Association of Oil and Gas Producing Counties to be held Thursday, September 18, 2014 at the Grand Williston Hotel in Williston, ND. Information on hotel room blocks, the registration process, and sponsorship opportunities will be shared as we get closer to the event.

WTI Crude: $99.94

Brent Crude: $108.43

Natural Gas: $5.32

ND Rig Count: 188