North Dakota Association of Oil and Gas Producing Counties

Radio and television host Sean Hannity, pictured left, took time to sign autographs and take pictures following his keynote address to the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference. Pictured right is NDAOGPC Deputy Executive Director Brady Pelton.

"In spite of government, you have been able to show the entire country that there is an answer out there - the answer is oil, the answer is energy, it's the lifeblood of our economy," he said to the crowd. "You have shown the country the way, I just hope that America is wise and smart enough to follow North Dakota."

 

He said he wants the country to drill for energy anywhere it can, adding that 48 states have oil that could be tapped.

 

North Dakota's oil boom in recent years has made the state the second-biggest oil producer in the country.

On his shows, Hannity has encouraged listeners and viewers hurt by economic downturn to head to the state for jobs. North Dakota's oil boom has given the state the lowest unemployment rate in the nation.

 

He also encouraged America to become energy independent and stop buying oil from countries such as Saudi Arabia.

North Dakota's top energy industry regulator says he expects April's oil production figures to be over 1 million barrels daily.

 

State Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms spoke on Wednesday at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference in Bismarck, which has drawn more than 4,000 people for three days of events. He says he expects oil production to increase from 977,000 barrels daily in March.

 

Click here to read the complete Associated Press story.

If promising tests results from the lab can be duplicated in the field, they could lead to the recovery of more oil from Bakken wells, a North Dakota researcher says.

 

Steven Hawthorne, a senior research manager for the Energy and Environmental Research Center in Grand Forks, spoke Wednesday at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference about enhanced recovery.

 

Between 4 percent and 6 percent of oil is now recoverable from the Williston Basin, Hawthorne said. Another 1 percent could be "a big game on this field," he said.

 

He estimated that 1 percent would equal an additional 2 billion to 9 billion recoverable barrels of oil.

 

Click here to read Nick Smith's complete story. 

ND Governor Jack Dalrymple addresses the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference on Wednesday.

Gov. Jack Dalrymple told a huge oil industry conference Wednesday that North Dakota would no longer tolerate flaring of natural gas from oil wells in the Bakken region for longer than one year.

Speaking to a conference at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference with more than 4,000 people registered, Dalrymple said the state had been lax on companies, often giving them more time once they reach their one year anniversary of flaring gas.

 

"Those days are over," Dalrymple said. "We're not going to do that anymore."

 

Click here to read Josh Wood's complete story. 

With energy production setting records in the region, regulators and industry officials stressed the need for collaboration and communication in the permitting process, during a discussion Wednesday at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference.

David Glatt, head of the environmental section of the state Health Department, said 10 oil field waste disposal facilities are operating in the state and several of them are seeking approval for expansions.

 

Click here to read Nick Smith's complete story. 

A top BNSF executive said Wednesday the railroad is catching up with a backlog of fertilizer shipments and orders to move North Dakota farm products to market, but wet weather has hampered progress.

In a sit-down interview with Forum News Service at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference in Bismarck, BNSF Executive Chairman Matt Rose said the railroad still has 6,800 past-due railcars for shipment of agricultural products in North Dakota, down from a peak of 8,200 in March.

 

"We're going to see those start to come down meaningfully in June" as the railroad moves more shuttles into single-car service, he said.

Click here to read Mike Nowatzki's complete story. 

The FBI wants the oil industry's help in tackling crime in North Dakota's oil patch.

 

John Dalziel is a supervisory senior resident agent with the FBI. He says local and state law enforcement are overtaxed by the growth in the oil country, making it difficult to go after certain crimes.

 

He says the FBI has just two agents in the oil patch and the industry's cooperation is key to combatting crime.

 

Danziel on Wednesday spoke at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference in Bismarck.

 

Click here to read the complete Associated Press story. 

The Bakken oil formation is synonymous with North Dakota to many. But other areas of the play are producing oil as well.

Melinda Yurkowski is an assistant chief geologist with the Saskatchewan Ministry of the Economy. She says 65,000 of the 480,000 barrels of crude the province produces per day come from the Bakken.

 

Yurkowski on Wednesday spoke at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference in Bismarck. The province of Saskatchewan and North Dakota are sponsors of the annual conference.

 

Click here to read the complete Associated Press story. 

Sixteen junior high students from West Fargo won the rare opportunity to rub elbows with oil company executives here Wednesday - and offer a few tips on how to solve problems in their industry.

The eighth-graders from Cheney Middle School won a STEM competition - short for science, technology, engineering and mathematics - for the right to display their research and solutions at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference at the Bismarck Civic Center.

 

Click here to read Mike Nowatzki's complete story. 

As North Dakota oil production approaches the milestone of producing 1 million barrels a day, CEOs of three top Bakken companies said Thursday that's only the beginning.

 

Continental Resources CEO Harold Hamm said he projects that technology advancements will push the state's production to 2 million barrels per day.

 

"I don't think that's over the top, folks," Hamm said Thursday, drawing applause during the final day of the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference.

 

Hamm and CEOs of Whiting Petroleum and Oasis Petroleum said they have up to 20 more years of drilling in the Bakken at the current pace, with decades of more oil production after that.

 

"We've got a resource life here that's 50 to 60 years," said Tommy Nusz of Oasis. "It's not your father's oil boom anymore. This is going to part of life in North Dakota for a long time." 

Click here to read Amy Dalrymple's full report.

North Dakota oil tax fund about to top $2 billion

BISMARCK, N.D. - North Dakota's oil tax savings account is about to top $2 billion.

 

The Legacy Fund gets 30 percent of the state's oil tax collections. The money can't be touched before 2017 and it would still take a two-thirds vote of the Legislature for the state to dip into the fund.

 

State Treasurer Kelly Schmidt

North Dakota voters approved the fund in 2010. It received its first deposit of $34.3 million in September 2011. Monthly deposits have averaged $61 million, and the fund surpassed $1 billion in April 2013.

 

This month's transfer of $81.7 million will put the account over the $2 billion mark, state Treasurer Kelly Schmidt said.

 

"At this pace, the Legacy Fund is on schedule to receive $3 billion by the end of the 2013-15 biennium," or budget period, she said.

 

Click here to read the full Associated Press story. 

 

Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant greets IOGCC attendees with facts about the oil play in his state.

"In Mississippi, we want to add a lot more energy jobs," Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant told state regulators, association representatives and oil companies in Biloxi for the mid-year meeting of Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC).  The IOGCC is an association of 37 oil and gas states that communicate on energy-related issues and best practices along with common solutions.  Nationwide, the oil and gas industry provides 9 million good  paying jobs, "and that's without the Keystone pipeline", he added.  The Mississippi Tuscaloosa Marine Shale oil play (TMS) is located in western Mississippi near the Louisiana border.  It's in its infancy and looks to have great potential if operators can lower their $13 million dollar current drilling cost down to $10 million.

 

The average private sector job in Mississippi pays $33,524.  The average energy job in that state pays $63,456.  It creates 8% of the Gross Domestic Product of the state's economy.

 

Avery Holen, 6 month old daughter of NDAOGPC President Steve Holen and his wife Elizabeth, was the youngest attendee at the IOGCC event.

Bryant again supported the IOGCC States First Initiative, initially led by Alabama Governor Robert Bentley, to allow states to develop their resources.  Bryant played a States First Initiative video which featured Lynn Helms, ND's Director of Mineral Resources, talking about states being able to regulate their oil and gas resources.

 

"We live here. This is sacred ground", Bryant said, referring to the beach, land and water of the state. "The goal is energy independence.  We should all be very proud of what we're doing," he told the group in his welcome address.  Mississippi ranks #2 in time to permit an oil well and Bryant pledged to knock off the state holding the number one spot. "I don't know who it is, but we're comin' for you," he said.  Bryant also referred to the economic benefit in small communities as is being seen in North Dakota's oil play.

 

During an oil industry panel on the TMS play in Mississippi, operators carried the same message: "patience".  They said they are close to unlocking the secrets of the TMS.  Eduardo Sanchez said Sanchez Oil and Gas staff believe that the potential of TMS "is enormous."  "We think we are right around the corner," he added.  His company is applying what they learned in the Eagle Ford to the TMS. They also had experience in the North Dakota Bakken.

 

NDAOGPC Executive Director Vicky Steiner pictured with Governor Bryant at the IOGCC Midyear Meeting in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Charles Cusack, COO, Halcon Resources, said "I think we're close but I don't think we're there yet."  It may be two to three years out. They are drilling one well per 2,000 acres, and he doesn't want to see a patchwork drilling pattern that might strand acreage.  They also believe there are water sources beneath drinking water supplies to carry the play at current rates.

 

Cory Christofferson, Senior VP President Goodrich Petroleum, said the TMS is in the proving up phase.  "We like the rock," he added, but the challenge is in the completion techniques.   He also said he hopes with more service companies entering the market, costs will come down.

 

The Director of Office of Pollution Control, MS Dept of Environmental Quality, Richard Harrell suggested companies consider recycling their frack water in the future because there is concern that the groundwater sources are not adequate in that part of the state...even with 66 inches of rainfall a year. Cory told IOGCC attendees that the oil companies in the TMS oil play "are trying very hard to make this play and ask the communities patience and understanding."   It's anticipated that $1 billion could be invested in this play if drilling costs can be reduced or production increased.

 

Bruce Hicks, Deputy Director of the ND Dept. of Minerals, chaired the IOGCC Environment Research, Resource and Technology Committee.  The committ ee had two presentations: 1) How to use GIS for well pad locations ,and 2) Induced seismicity by Ohio Chief Richard Simmers.

Please take your time to review all materials and links provided for your convenience. We at the ND Association of Oil and Gas Producing Counties 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,

400 East Broadway Avenue
Suite 304
Bismarck, ND 58501