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Bakken Providing Jobs, Economic Growth for Williston, ND

In a scene that is being played out in a number of areas across the country, residents of Williston, North Dakota are learning first-hand what a robust energy industry can do for a municipality. In fact, as economic development success stories go, few can top that of Williston, which has been going through a growth spurt in recent years “of historic proportions” amid prodigious oil and gas production in the nearby Bakken Shale formation, Caitlyn Beley, the Communications Director at the Williston Economic Development office, told Rigzone. “There’s no turning back now,” Beley said. “This is the new American dream.” Oil and gas production in the Bakken Shale is not just a part of the reason for Williston’s growth – it is the reason, Beley noted. In addition to the new development, Williston’s airport just added a direct flight from Houston, which is expected to further add to Williston’s […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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China August factory growth slows to near six-year low, more stimulus expected

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s factory output grew at the lowest pace in nearly six years in August while growth in other key sectors also cooled, raising fears the world’s second-largest economy may be at risk of a sharp slowdown unless Beijing takes fresh stimulus measures. The output data, combined with weaker readings in retail sales, investment and imports, pointed to a further loss of momentum as the rapidly cooling housing market increasingly drags on activity in other sectors from cement to steel and saps consumer confidence. Industrial output rose 6.9 percent in August from a year earlier – the lowest since 2008 when the economy was buffeted by the global financial crisis – compared with expectations for 8.8 percent and slowing sharply from 9.0 percent in July. "The August data may point to a hard landing. The extent of growth slowdown in the third quarter won’t be small," said […]

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Oil Rigs Surge to Record on Drilling in Bakken to Permian

Rigs targeting oil in the U.S. surged to a record this week as producers accelerated drilling in some of the nation’s biggest crude plays, from North Dakota ’s Bakken formation to the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico . Oil rigs rose by eight to 1,592, the highest count since Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI) separated its oil and gas rig counts in 1987, data posted on the company’s website show. The Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico added the most, rising by four to 561. North Dakota’s Williston Basin, home of the Bakken, climbed to the highest level since January 2013. The total energy rig count has almost doubled from five years ago as producers use horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing to draw record volumes of oil and gas out of shale formations across the middle of the country. The boom has raised domestic crude production to […]

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Statoil expanding project that captures flare gas in North Dakota

09/12/2014 Statoil ASA says a pilot project that captures flare gas in North Dakota is expanding to power six drilling rigs and a hydraulic fracturing fleet. A joint venture of GE and Ferus Natural Gas Fuels provided Statoil with the Last Mile Fueling Solution for an eight-month pilot. Statoil said expansion is expected to provide environmental, cost-saving, and logistics solutions for the company’s Bakken operations. The company anticipates commercial expansion will increase its flare gas capture to 3-5 MMcfd by yearend. “By using this captured natural gas in place of diesel in our drilling and hydraulic fracturing operations, we are further reducing emissions and costs,” said Lance Langford, Statoil vice-president for Bakken development and production. “This is both good for the bottom line and the climate.” Natural gas that Statoil captures and is not able to use in its own operations will be compressed and sold. Statoil said emerging […]

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Top boss at Bakken player resigns

OKLAHOMA CITY, Sept. 12 (UPI) — The head of Continental Resources, the largest player in North Dakota shale, is leaving to pursue his options elsewhere, the company said. Continental announced President and Chief Operating Officer Rick Bott had resigned "to pursue other options." When releasing its second quarter results in August, the company said net production from the Bakken field, spread out over much of North Dakota and Montana, totaled 108,573 barrels of oil equivalent per day during the second quarter, a 23 percent increase year-on-year. The company boasted that cumulative oil production from the Bakken reserve reached the 1 billion barrel mark at some point during the first quarter. Quarterly profits for the second quarter, however, were down 68 percent. Chairman and Chief Executive Office Harold Hamm said the company is ahead of its five-year plan to triple production by 2017, drawing on Bakken and its shale reserves […]

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Canadian crude oil exports hold steady

CALGARY, Alberta, Sept. 12 (UPI) — Total crude oil exports from Canada in June were about 38,000 barrels per day less than the previous month, government data show, and on par with the average. The Canadian National Energy Board released data from total oil exports through June , the last full month for which data are available. Total exports for June were 2.8 million barrels per day, about 38,000 bpd, or roughly 1 percent, less than the previous month. So far this year, Canadian exports have averaged about 2.78 million bpd. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has sought to add a layer of diversity to an energy export economy that depends almost exclusively on the United States . Canadian exports to the United States for the second week of September are up about 27 percent compared with the same time last year. For the week ending Sept. 5, the […]

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U.S. importing less oil, data show

WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 (UPI) — EIA published its weekly status report on the petroleum markets. For the week ending Sept. 5, EIA said crude oil imports averaged over 7.6 million barrels per day, down 54,000 bpd from the previous week. The four-week average of 7.6 million bpd was 6.8 percent less than the same period in 2013. Canada remained the top crude oil exporter to the U.S. market. Year-on-year, imports from Canada are up 27.2 percent. Imports from Saudi Arabia and Mexico, the No. 2 and No. 3 exporters, respectively, nearly doubled from the previous week. In terms of production, EIA said the United States produced an average 8.59 million bpd during the week ending Sept. 5. That’s 40,000 bpd less than the previous week, but 845,000 bpd more year-on-year. The cumulative average daily production for the week ending Sept. 5 was 14.6 higher year-on-year, EIA said Thursday. The […]

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Minnesota balks on Enbridge oil pipeline

ST. PAUL, Minn., Sept. 12 (UPI) — Sandpiper would stretch 616 miles from Tioga, N.D., through Minnesota and to an Enbridge terminal in Superior, Wisc. It would then transfer oil to other pipelines for delivery to the U.S. and Canadian refinery markets. State regulators in a 3-2 decision called on Enbridge to study the environmental issues surrounding six alternative routes through the state proposed by outside groups. State Commissioner Dan Lipschultz said Minnesota regulators need to take their time in approving a pipeline designed to carry crude oil from the Bakken reserve area in North Dakota. "I don’t want to rush to a thumbs down any more than I want to rush to a thumbs up," he said Thursday . "I want to get it right." Enbridge in June received backing from state legislators in North Dakota to build Sandpiper . Enbridge attorney Christina Brusven said each setback is […]

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DOT under fire for oil train rules

WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 (UPI) — The Department of Transportation in July published a 200-page proposal calling for the eventual elimination of older rail cars designated DOT 111 used to ship flammable liquids, "including most Bakken crude oil." The increase in U.S. crude oil production is more than the existing network of pipelines can handle and industry officials say rail is the primary alternative transit method. DOT-111 rail cars carrying crude oil have been involved in a series of disastrous derailments , including the deadly incident in Lac-Megantic, Quebec in 2013. Earthjustice, ForestEthics and the Sierra Club filed a lawsuit against the Department of Transportation for not responding to a petition filed in July calling for a ban on shipping Bakken crude using DOT-111 cars. Matt Krogh, campaign director with ForestEthics, said DOT-111 cars are "tin cans on wheels." "We can’t run the risk of another disaster like Lac-Megantic," Earthjustice […]

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Falling oil price tilts political, economic balance in U.S. favor

LONDON/KUWAIT (Reuters) – The drop in oil prices to their lowest in two years has caught many observers off guard, coming against a backdrop of the worst violence in Iraq this decade, heightened tensions between the West and Russia, and sanctions against Iran. But as rising supplies of North American crude and tepid demand have pushed prices LCOc1 below $100 a barrel, the move underlies how the shale oil revolution is creating a political and economic advantage for Washington and its Western allies. Russia and Iran are heavily reliant on oil sales and face budget shortages at current price levels, analysts say, weakening their position when negotiating over Ukrainian sovereignty or the Iranian nuclear deal. And higher oil production from the United States as well as Canada is providing a buffer against the threat of retaliatory supply curbs from Russia or further disruptions to supplies from the Middle East. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple