In 2012 Duane Sand left his political pursuits in the dust to jump into the business of industrial frack water in the Bakken. As president of North Star Water and Whitehorse Water, Sand built multiple water distribution systems to provide frack water for the oil industry. Between that and his political background, Sand has a unique perspective to the way ...
Read More »Author Archives: Mary Schimke
Holy moly! Rig count up again! Texas gains zero
The Baker Hughes North American Rig Count continues to climb. This week, the US total climbed by 12 total rigs to 768. Two offshore rigs were added, while 9 land rigs and one in inland waters. Eight of the new rigs are exploring for oil while 5 of the additions are exploring for gas. Despite the largest US oil discovery ...
Read More »Repsol announces largest U.S. oil discovery in 30 years
Spanish oil company Repsol announced what it is calling “the largest U.S. onshore discovery in 30 years,” according to a March 9 press release. Repsol, and its partner Armstrong Energy discovered what they believe is approximately 1.2 billion barrels of recoverable light oil from Alaska’s North Slope in the Nanushuk play. Repsol isn’t new to Alaska. The company has been ...
Read More »EIA: Natural gas, crude production fell in 2016
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration March 8, 2017 report, U.S. natural gas production and crude production both fell in 2016. Average crude oil production in the lower 48 states in 2016 fell to 8.39 million barrels per day (b/d). This is a decrease of 6.1 percent from the 2015 average, or approximately 0.55 million b/d. Natural gas withdrawals also decreased ...
Read More »Eugene Graner: Did oil top in January? [video]
A “winter rally high” in January showed oil at a high around $55 per barrel. Eugene Graner, from Heartland Investor Services, walks us through crude oil prices and what he thinks the market will do next, including a discussion of OPEC and crude oil inventories. Visit Heartland to see this week’s Market Quick Take video. About Heartland Investor Services: Heartland Investor Services ...
Read More »This week’s Top 5 Bakken Jobs
Searching for a job in the oilfield? You won’t want to miss these opportunities to work in North Dakota’s beautiful Bakken. Here are a couple of our favorites for March 7, 2017: Field Operator III: Located in Stanley, North Dakota, just west of Minot, the position of Field Operator for Enbridge is responsible for checking the merchantability of crude oil ...
Read More »Minot legislators stand on principle against taxing frack water
The Minot Daily News reported yesterday that some Minot legislators have been taking some heat for voting against the Water Commission Budget (HB 1020), but they are standing their ground on principle to oppose the Water (Royalty) Tax on frack water for the oil industry. Reps. Larry Bellew and Dan and Matt Ruby, all R-Minot, explained their reasons for voting against ...
Read More »Baker Hughes: oil rig count up 7, gas rigs down 5
The Baker Hughes rig count rose to 756 this week, with a gain of 7 rigs exploring for oil and gas. The U.S. gas rig count dropped by 5, according to data from Baker Hughes March 3. According to Business Insider, WTI crude oil futures are headed for a weekly loss of 1.5%, following data from the Energy Information Administration ...
Read More »Humor in the Oilfield Finally Has A Book
These days, there hasn’t been much humor floating around, especially for the oil and gas industry. But one person, with over 40 years of experience in the industry, has managed to find humor in almost everything he’s been involved with over the years. And he put it in a book. Jeff Miller, frequent contributor to the Energy Media Group has ...
Read More »Is it the beginning of the end for the Bakken?
On March 1, 2017, petroleum geologist Art Berman wrote, “It’s the beginning of the end for the Bakken Shale play.” Berman gives several reasons why the Bakken oil fields will never return to its former glory. Here are the highlights: A decline in production that began January 2015. Berman says its “probably not reversible. New well performance has deteriorated. Gas-oil ...
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