December 13, 2019 -- Making Political History
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Congressman Kelly Armstrong makes a point during impeachment proceedings this week before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. (
C-SPAN video
, Armstrong remarks at 7:49:45)
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Oil Production Tops 1.5 Million Barrels Per Day
Production Numbers Rebound From Soggy September
North Dakota oil producers set yet another production record in October, pumping an average of more than 1.5 million barrels of crude per day. Natural gas production also set a new record, averaging 3.07 billion cubic feet per day.
The official preliminary production figure was 1,517,796 bbl/day, an increase of nearly 75,000 bbl/day over the September number, which was reduced due to abnormally rainy conditions during the month.
The natural gas capture rate held steady at 82% during the month, according to Lynn Helms, director of the Department of Mineral Resources. But that still amounted to a new gas capture record, topping 2.5 BCF/ day for the first time. Helms said he expects the gas capture number to improve significantly in December with the announcement that the Elk Creek natural gas liquids pipeline has started moving NGLs out of the state (see story below).
Click
here to read or download Lynn Helms' director's cut.
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Elk Creek NGL Pipeline Now Operational
Takeaway Capacity Will Help Reduce Flaring
ONEOK, Inc. announced yesterday that it had put into operation its Elk Creek Pipeline, which has the capacity to move up to 240,000 barrels per day of natural gas liquids to a fractionation complex in Kansas.
The much-anticipated 900-mile, $1.4 billion project will have an immediate impact on the ability of North Dakota producers to capture and process more natural gas.
"The completion of Elk Creek provides critical NGL transportation to producers in the Williston, Powder River and Denver-Julesburg basins," said Terry K. Spencer, ONEOK President and CEO. "Elk Creek, combined with ONEOK's investments in additional natural gas processing infrastructure in the region, will help producers significantly reduce natural gas currently flaring in North Dakota."
Lynn Helms, director of the Department of Mineral Resources, said the pipeline will allow several other processing plants that had been constrained by lack of takeaway capacity to operate at full capacity.
Click
here to listen to Helms' comments.
Elk Creek has the capability to be expanded to 400,000 bpd with additional pump facilities. ONEOK officials expect total Rocky Mountain NGL volume transported on the Elk Creek and Bakken NGL pipelines to reach more than 240,000 bpd by the end of the first quarter 2020.
Click
here to read more from Renée Jean in the Williston Herald.
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Roads Roundtable Registration Tops 100
TENORM Info Session to Follow Trucking Issues
More than 100 individuals representing western North Dakota counties and oil industry producers and trucking interests are registered for a Western Roads Roundtable to be jointly hosted by WDEA and the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute/NDLTAP next week in Watford City.
The event is intended to bring county road managers and oilfield trucking interests together to discuss common issues and concerns. The event will begin Wednesday, Dec. 18 at 9:00 a.m. in the new McKenzie County Public Works Facility, 1300 12th St SE, in Watford City.
County representatives will share presentations on best practices in using the correct materials and road building techniques. Industry reps will explain the work associated with building a well pad and the steps it takes to bring a well into production. Both county and industry reps will describe ways to plan ahead to minimize traffic disruption associated with rain and snow events.
The roads discussion will conclude at 2:00 p.m., to be followed by an informational session regarding the recent TENORM (technically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material) disposal operation proposed in Williams County. The county denied a permit for the facility last week, and will share with those attending its questions and concerns about disposal operations.
There is still time to register for the gathering.
There is NO fee to attend, but registration is required to get an accurate count for lunch which will be provided compliments of the McKenzie County Job Development Authority. Click
here for the final agenda. Click
here to register.
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iPIPE Wants More Industry Partners
Leak Prevention Research Achieving Results
Industry and academic partners working on research aimed at identifying and preventing pipeline leaks want more oil and gas companies engaged in the project.
The Intelligent Pipeline Integrity Program, better known as iPIPE, began last year as a joint effort between the Energy and Environmental Research Center and six industry partners. It has since grown to 10 industry participants, and they want to get even more players involved.
"We hope for many more partners this year," said Jay Almlie, Principal Engineer at EERC, who has been engaged in the project from its outset. "We're in discussions with at least a dozen pipeline operators and the state of Texas."
Ron Ness, President of the ND Petroleum Council, said he's a strong supporter of the program but "we're only as good as everybody out there with every pipe we have out there."
"How do we grow that group of participants in the program, do we lower the entry fee?" Ness asked. "We've got to get that number up substantially in order to really have a world-class program that's not just impacting five or 10 operators."
Brent Lohnes, Director of North Dakota operations for Hess Corporation, one of the founding iPIPE participants, said the partners are working in that direction.
"What we're working on is an affordable pricing scheme, if you will, so that all operators whether they're big or small can afford to do this," Lohnes said.
Lohnes presented an update on iPIPE to the North Dakota Oil & Gas Research Council this week, describing technologies that analyze satellite data to detect pipeline leaks, and a golf-ball size sensor that can be put in a pipeline to identify potential problems. The council voted to recommend putting an additional $1 million in state resources into the research project.
Click
here to see Lohnes' presentation.
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Flood Storage to be Ready for Spring
Saturated Ground Still Cause for Concern
Despite Upper Missouri River Basin runoff that is approaching the all-time record set during the flood year of 2011, the US Army Corps of Engineers expects to have its full volume of flood storage capacity ready for spring runoff in 2020.
The legislature's interim Water Topics Committee received an update this week from State Engineer Garland Erbele, who shared the latest details provided by the Corps. North Dakota experienced its wettest ever September-November period, and neighboring states were in the top ten wettest.
Erbele said high water releases from the mainstem dams have been backed down, but will remain above normal throughout the winter months to get the reservoirs ready for spring runoff.
Click
here to listen to Erbele's comments
The Corps' target level to provide adequate flood storage capacity in Lake Sakakawea is elevation 1837.5 feet. The lake is currently at 1839.2.The Corps plans to draw Fort Peck Reservoir down to elevation 2,234 feet, and Lake Oahe's target level by March 1 is elevation 1607.5 feet.
Erbele said the extraordinarily wet fall has produced saturated ground across the Upper Missouri Basin, leaving the state of North Dakota vulnerable to flooding.
Click
here to listen to Erbele's comments.
Click
here to see Erbele's slide presentation. Click
here to see the Corps' daily river bulletin.
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Need Help With Planning and Zoning?
Vision West Offering Workshops in 2020
New planning and zoning workshops are being scheduled for early 2020, and community leaders and planning and zoning board members are encouraged to attend.
The training sessions are sponsored by Vision West ND and the ND Planning Association.
Workshop topics will include new legislation, ethics and enforcement, land stewardship concerns like frac sand mining, weed control, clean water, etc. In addition, the workshops will provide updates to the Vision West ND Planning and Zoning handbook. Click
here to view the full workshop agenda.
Two workshops will be held:
- January 28 – 9:30 to 2:30 pm MST; Dunn County Courthouse; Manning, ND
- January 30 – 9:30 to 2:30 pm CST; Mountrail County South Complex; Stanley, ND
Lunch will be served. Registration fee is $45 for Vision West members; $55 for non-members.
Payment may be made in one of two ways:
- Send a check made out to Vision West ND/Dunn County to 2493 4th Avenue West, Ste G, Dickinson, ND 58601.
- Bring a check made out to Vision West ND/Dunn County to the workshop.
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Hearing Held on First Responder Rules
The ND Department of Public Instruction held a hearing this week to gather public comments on proposed rules to implement the state's Armed First Responder program.
The rules have been developed in response to
HB 1332 enacted by the 2019 Legislature, which allows a qualified individual to carry a concealed firearm on school property.
The proposed rules require armed first responder applicants to undergo a criminal background check and receive approval from local law enforcement agencies as well as the school board. The applicant must also undergo a mental health evaluation. Under the proposed rules, an armed first responder may be anyone present at a school who does not directly supervise children. The individual must complete a training course similar to what law enforcement would undergo, or must be a law enforcement officer retired within the previous three years.
Click
here to read the proposed rules. Click
here to read more in the Bismarck Tribune.
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Census to Determine Where Billions are Spent
The next time you’re driving on a congested highway in western North Dakota, or fighting traffic on your morning commute to the office, give some thought to the 2020 Census.
The population count, which includes every person living in the United States, will help decide when and where roads and bridges will be built in your community.
Many states rely on population numbers from the census to allocate revenue from gasoline taxes, one of the primary sources of funding for local roads. More than $675 billion in federal funds are spent annually on critical transportation services in communities across the country, including maintenance and construction of roads and bridges. The census count will guide spending decisions for the next decade.
Among the federal programs tied to census statistics are the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Highway Planning and Construction program and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development Block Grants. The impact of just these two programs is staggering.
In 2015 alone, the DOT distributed more than $38 billion through the Highway Planning and Construction program, the fourth largest amount of federal assistance determined by census statistics that year. The annual HUD grants also provide billions in discretionary funding that local governments can choose to use to improve their infrastructure. Both programs support construction and maintenance of the country’s 4.1 million miles of public roads, which the American Society of Civil Engineers has said are in such poor shape that they earned a “D” in its 2017 nationwide Infrastructure Report Card.
Click
here to learn more about Census 2020 from the ND Department of Commerce.
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Quick Connect
- Continental Resources founder Harold Hamm to step down as CEO -- Reuters
- Census will be critically important for oil producing counties -- Tioga Tribune
- North Dakota ranks 3rd in all 50 states with the best economic outlook -- Fox Business
- North Dakota will benefit agriculturally from USMCA with market certainty -- KFYR-TV
- Changes for 2020 ND tax returns to include military and social security benefits -- KFYR-TV
- Tioga bank and economic development group award $10,000 through event -- Minot Daily News
- Minot City Hall out of room, may relocate to former Wells Fargo building -- Minot Daily News
- Dickinson School Board asked to drop 'Midgets' team name, ask for input -- Dickinson Press
- Dickinson State adds a welding program as part of a vocational education trend -- KXMB-TV
- How the District 8 recall election results could affect Williams Co. taxpayers -- KFYR-TV
- District 1 asked for tuition to keep District 8 students at Williston High School -- Williston Herald
- Roosevelt Elementary students get an introduction to computer coding -- Dickinson Press
- EIA Report: U.S. to become net petroleum exporter in 2020; first time on annual basis -- Reuters
- America blows past the world in projected oil and natural gas production; 2020-2024 -- Axios
- How Enbridge plans to grow amid pipeline opposition and connect to markets -- Financial Post
- Ban fracking? Good luck with that, Mr. or Ms. President; turns out they can't -- E&E News
- Enviro group lies to reporters in Colorado, sends out fake news release -- Energy In Depth
- U.S. working natural gas in storage forecast to fall above five-year average -- S&P Global
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Factoid of the Week
North Dakota’s five ethanol plants employ more than 230 workers in positions such as chemists, engineers, accountants and support staff. The industry indirectly supports more than 1,000 jobs across other sectors of the economy. Each plant is located in a community with fewer than 2,500 people, with an average of 46 jobs and an annual payroll of $3.3 million to the community.
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December 17
Bismarck
December 17
Bismarck
December 18
Bismarck
December 18
Watford City
December 18
Bismarck
December 18
Watford City
January 7
Bismarck
January 8
Bismarck
January 15
Bismarck
January 15
Minot
January 29 - 31
Fargo
February 24 - 27
Bismarck
May 19 - 21
Bismarck
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Oil prices and rig count
December 13, 2019
WTI Crude: $60.07
Brent Crude: $65.22
Natural Gas: $2.30
North Dakota Active Rigs: 53 (dn 2)
12/13/2018
-- 67 rigs
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Geoff Simon
Editor/Executive Director
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