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Basin Bits Magazine

This semiannual magazine, published in the spring and fall, is the official publication of the ND Association of Oil and Gas Producing Counties.

To sign up to receive a copy of the magazine, please click here.

To read the latest Basin Bits edition via PDF, click this link.  
Uniform County Truck Permit System

This is a county road permit system for over-weight or over-width vehicles on county roads. Since 1986, the NDAOGPC has operated the Uniform County Truck Permit program as a service to counties and the petroleum industry.

For more information or to get permits, click here.

For the latest information on County Road Restrictions, click this link.
June 13, 2014
 

Thank you for your continued interest in the activity of the ND Association of Oil and Gas Producing Counties

 

We hope that you will find this week's News From the NDAOGPC as a valuable source of information. 

 
Have a great Father's Day weekend!
Western School Reps Talk Funding Remedies

The ND Association of Oil and Gas Producing Counties' Education Committee discussed proactive approaches to western ND school funding in a meeting called Wednesday, June 11 by Chairman Steve Holen, McKenzie County Public School District Superintendent. Education Committee members as well as representatives from the Great Northwest Education Cooperative met jointly and reviewed the changes to the oil and gas Gross Production Tax (GPT) distribution formula and how they affected regional school districts. In the last legislative session, a dividing line was drawn in the percentage of local-share GPT distributions to school districts.

 

Steve Holen
McKenzie County School District Superintendent Steve Holen, Chair of the NDAOGPC Education Committee, shares the history of Gross Production Tax distributions to school districts.

Those school districts in counties receiving under $5 million in GPT revenue were designated to receive 35% of the local share. Districts in counties receiving over $5 million in GPT revenue now receive only 5%. This change created problems, especially for school districts in counties receiving just over $5 million. Bowman County School District saw their GPT revenue reduced by about $780,000. Powers Lake School District saw a similar $740,000 reduction. More students, increased property tax valuation, and mill levy increases are not enough to cover the gap in funding made by the decrease from 35% to 5%.

 

A possible solution Holen shared focused on changing the GPT distribution formula to keep the 35% allocation to school districts in all counties for the first $5 million in local GPT receipts. After the first $5 million, the percentage allocation to school districts would potentially return to the current 5%. A tier funding model was also discussed, which could be used to prevent school districts in high producing counties from accumulating "too much" money. Overall, the GPT funding formula was seen as an appropriate funding mechanism for schools, meant to directly react to oil and gas activity and the correlated student increases/school impact increases.

 

Another issue that was discussed centered on using GPT revenue for debt servicing of capital construction projects. It was suggested by Holen that it would be important for western ND schools to not have GPT revenue put toward those capital construction projects or debt service on those projects used against them in determining their state aid funding.

 

Ending fund balance carryover was also addressed. For some schools, especially those with lower student populations, the percentage limit on carryover amounts simply does not work. One possible solution that was discussed was using a tier system to allow for a percentage of carryover plus a set amount. This would allow smaller schools to adequately prepare for potential reduced student foundation aid, anticipated rising expenditures, or problematic changes to the GPT distribution formula.

 

The committee also talked about the school construction loan program and the need to increase the amount of money available in the program fund. Holen suggested that projects should be given a prioritization number so that loan monies are made available to the most critical projects. Another idea was to remove interest charges on those loans. Finally, since construction costs are higher in western ND as compared to the rest of the state, it was suggested that the state could cover the additional expense required to get those projects done.

Local/State Leaders to Share Experiences and Advice

A handful of western North Dakota leaders have been invited to the "Local Responses to Unconventional Oil and Gas Development" conference at Sturm College of Law, University of Denver, June 26 and 27 in Denver, CO.  NDAOGPC Executive Committee member and Dickinson City Administrator Shawn Kessel, McKenzie County Auditor Linda Svihovec, NDAOGPC Executive Director Vicky Steiner and Brent Bogar, a former Williston City Commissioner, will present information to other local leaders from Wyoming, Texas, California and Colorado.  The lead sponsor for the event is Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. Tulsar Kunsal, Consensus Building Institute, is coordinating the event.

State plan will help determine where infrastructure development takes place
   - Jessica Holdman, Bismarck Tribune
A new state plan could identify and help fix slow spots for truck traffic, saving companies time, fuel and, ultimately, money.

"We're trying to have a system that doesn't create a barrier to business in the state," said Ben Ehreth, administrative transportation planner for the North Dakota Department of Transportation.

 

With oil production booming in the West and the economy booming across the state a lot of growth has happened related to freight, Ehreth said. That has created a lot of demand on North Dakota's transportation system. The North Dakota State Freight Plan is NDDOT's response.

 

"With the increase in vehicle miles traveled, it became apparent this needs further examination," said Arik Spencer, executive vice president of the North Dakota Motor Carriers Association.

 

The freight plan is the first plan of this nature the North Dakota Department of Transportation has undertaken. It takes into account rail, air, pipeline and road transport and identifies "bottlenecks" slowing down transport, Ehreth said.

 

Click here to read Holdman's complete story. 

EmPower ND Commission Presentations Now Available

The Assistant State Engineer Michelle Klose presented an update on water supply and appropriations in North Dakota to the EmPower ND Commission recently in Mandan, ND.

 

The presentation, available here, provided information on projects, issues and challenges for both western and eastern North Dakota. Klose said the western water supply projects will need to expand and the Red River Valley is looking for a new water source, bypassing federal routes, to allow for a quicker time frame.

 

Edward Glatzer and Don Bari presented studies to evaluate value-added market opportunities for ND concerning natural gas liquids and ethanol and other bio-chemical derivatives at the June 5 EmPower ND Commission meeting. The final study will be presented to an interim legislative committee in July.  

Helms offers 2014 midyear update
   - Jason Spiess for the Bismarck Tribune

A couple weeks ago, as the weather warmed up, the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference seemed to be the starting pistol for many in the Bakken oil fields. Speaking to many of the attendees, they were using the information and connections gathered at the conference for a fresh approach towards the many opportunities in region. Truth be told, many of the companies I spoke with are just now transitioning from their off-season to their on-season mode and noticing the year 2014 is half gone.

 

While state officials, CEOs, oil investors and other energy enthusiasts prepare for the One Million Barrel Celebration June 25 at the Neset Consulting Offices, Tioga, N.D., I was able to catch up with Lynn Helms, director of the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources, for a "middle of the year State of the Bakken" conversation.

 

Click here to read more of Spiess' conversation with Dept. of Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms. 

Upcoming Events

June 24, 2014

The North Dakota Governor's Pipeline Summit will take place the morning of Tuesday, June 24, at the National Energy Center of Excellence, located at 1200 Schafer Street on the Bismarck State College campus.

View a Tentative Agenda for the Governor's Pipeline Summit.

Pipeline industry leaders will be on hand to talk about their investments in building the state's pipeline infrastructure to help reduce impacts in North Dakota's oil country. Pipelines provide great opportunity for helping to:

  • reduce impact to roads and highways,
  • increase safety both on roads and product handling, and
  • provide reliable and efficient routes to key market destinations.
There is no cost to attend the summit. If you plan to attend, please take a moment to pre-register now. On-site registration the day of the event will also be available.

For those unable to attend in person, the summit will be available via video stream at www.governor.nd.gov 

 

June 25, 2014  

 

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.

Oil and Gas Stats

 

ND Petroleum Council Logo

WTI Crude: $106.94

Brent Crude: $113.41

Natural Gas: $4.77

ND Rig Count: 185

 

From the ND Petroleum Council's News Clips
for June 13, 2014.
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,

Vicky Steiner
Executive Director

Brady Pelton
Deputy Executive Director

ND Association of Oil & Gas Producing Counties 
NDAOGPC | 701-751-3597 | www.ndenergy.org

400 East Broadway Avenue
Suite 304
Bismarck, ND 58501

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