Rural North Dakotans Protest DOT Shop Closings

More than 100 people packed a legislative committee room this week to protest plans by the ND Department of Transportation to close eight regional highway maintenance shops. The move is intended as a cost cutting measure, estimated to save $2.1 million per year. Included on the list is the highway shop at New England in Hettinger County.

Among those who testified against the proposal was Assistant Senate Majority Leader Jerry Klein.  The shop in his hometown of Fessenden is on the closure list.  Others include Courtenay, Gackle, Litchville, Finley, Mayville and Starkweather. 

Sen. Klein said the state needs to carefully consider the impact to public safety when looking for ways to cut costs.

Click here to listen to Senator Klein’s comments.

ND Legislative Committee Okays Re-Frac Study

The House Energy and Natural Resources Committee this week approved a resolution that calls for an interim legislative study of the estimated fiscal impact to the state of re-fracturing existing oil wells. 

HCR 3027, introduced by Representative Roscoe Streyle, R-Minot, notes that research has shown that a small increase in the percentage of oil recovered can result in billions of barrels of additional oil production.  Streyle’s resolution asks legislators to study whether the state should offer financial incentives to encourage companies to re-frac Bakken wells. 

Click here to listen to Rep. Streyle’s comments. 

Mud Flap Bill Gets Stuck in Committee

A bill aimed at reducing the number of broken windshields due to heavy truck traffic ran into opposition in the House Transportation Committee this week, and will head to the House floor next week with a Do NOT Pass recommendation.

SB 2341 requires all commercial trucks to have mud flaps that cover the rear wheels. Some committee members said the legislation wasn’t necessary, even though the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Brad Bekkedahl, R-Williston, said North Dakota is one of just 11 states that doesn’t require mud flaps. The original version of Bekkedahl’s legislation also required the use of tarps if a truck was equipped with one, but that requirement has been deleted.

Ness: News of Bakken Demise Greatly Exaggerated

An article published this week in Forbes Magazine paints an extremely pessimistic outlook for Bakken oil production.  Author Art Berman, a petroleum geologist, claims the decline in production that started in January 2015 is “probably not reversible,” noting that “new well performance has deteriorated, gas-oil ratios have increased and water cuts are rising.”

Ron Ness, President of the ND Petroleum Council, has a decidedly different view of the Bakken’s future. Ness points out recent production declines are almost entirely related to winter weather.  He also said rig counts are climbing in North Dakota, and lifetime production volumes from individual wells have improved.

Click here to listen to comments from Ness.  

Click here to read the Forbes article. 

Back in 2013, the cost of production in Bakken, Eagle Ford, Niobrara, Permian Delaware, and Permian Midland were respectively $98, $85, $81, $73, and $66 per barrel. As of latest data, these numbers have declined to $39, $38, $34, $33, and $29 respectively.

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