Bakken rail terminal ships first cargo

The first train with Bakken crude oil shipments embarked on Monday from the newly completed Bakken Oil Express terminal near Dickinson, North Dakota, Lario Logistics said on Wednesday according to a report.

News wires 10 November 2011 17:38 GMT

The BNSF railway train, equipped with 103 oil tank cars, left for St. James, Louisiana, with 70,000 barrels of crude aboard, said the company, which owns the terminal, Reuters reported.

The anchor shipper was Eighty-Eight Oil.

The rail hub currently has a take-away capacity of 100,000 bpd and is the first multi-shipper facility in the Midwest state, Lario Logistics said.

Construction of the rail terminal began in fourth quarter 2010 and the company has plans to expand capacity to 250,000 bpd.

The BNSF southern line, owned by Warren Buffett, passes through 16 of the top 19 oil producing counties in central and western North Dakota. The company raised transport rates for shipments to St. James, Louisiana, by 10% in early October.

Increased output from the North Dakota plains, which reached a record high above 464,000 bpd in September because of the state's Bakken shale prospect, has aggravated a crude glut in the US Midwest.

As shippers scramble to bring new take-away capacity to carry this crude away from the Midwest and to the refinery hub in the Gulf of Mexico, rail projects have emerged as the most viable solutions while pipelines get approved.

Published: 10 November 2011 17:38 GMT | Last updated: 10 November 2011 18:13 GMT

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N. Dakota oil output hits record high

Oil production in North Dakota hit another record high in September, rising 4.5% from the previous month, the state regulator said on Tuesday.

News wires 08 November 2011 22:40 GMT

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Output in September climbed above 464,000 barrels per day, Lynn Helms, director of the state's Department of Mineral Resources, said in a note, according to a Reuters report.

Some 95% of drilling in the state targeted the Bakken and Three Forks formations, Helms added.

Daily production increased in September as companies completed hydraulic fracking work on more wells.

The rig count was flat in September but has since grown to an all-time high of 1999, according to the state regulator.

Enbridge to add Bakken capacity

Canada’s Enbridge Energy Partners said on Friday that it plans to spend about $90 million to expand its gathering capacity in the Bakken oil play by 100,000 barrels per day.

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Oasis profits gush

US player Oasis Petroleum saw its profits skyrocket in the third quarter on soaring production and improved price differentials.

Luke Johnson 07 November 2011 23:57 GMT

Oasis raked in $87.6 million for the three months to September, a jump of 166% from the $33 million the company brought in the same period a year ago.

That translated to a profit of $66.3 million, or $0.72 per share, compared to a loss of $1.7 million, or $0.02 per share share, in the third quarter of 2010.

This came as a result of a 110% on-year increase in quarterly production, which came in at an average of 11,583 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Daily production was also up 47% from the second quarter of this year, Oasis said.

Profits were bolstered by “improved” differentials in crude pricing. Oasis sold oil for an average of $83.52 per barrel in the third quarter, excluding realised derivatives. That compared to $66.42 per barrel in the same period last year.

“The average price differential compared to West Texas Intermediate crude oil index prices was 6% in the third quarter of 2011, compared to 13% in the third quarter of 2010,” Oasis said in a statement.

“The company's differentials have improved due to higher quoted prices for Bakken crude in markets such as Clearbrook, Minnesota, and Guernsey, Wyoming,” the statement added.

Oasis spent more on lease operating expenses than in previous quarters at $9.8 million, a jump of $6.6 million from a year earlier and an increase of 46% on a per-barrel basis.

“This increase was due to an increased number of producing wells, increased water production combined with increased costs associated with salt water disposal, and the continuing impact of the inclement weather experienced during the first half of 2011,” Oasis said.

Oasis also said it had added its eighth and ninth operated rigs to the Williston basin of North Dakota and Montana, where the Houston-based company conducts most of its activity.

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C&J Energy Services Q3 beats Street

C&J Energy Services posted a quarterly profit above estimates, helped in part by timely delivery and deployment of its latest hydraulic fracturing fleet, sending the oilfield services provider's shares up 7% in extended trade, a report said.

Upstream staff 10 November 2011 00:00 GMT

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Third-quarter net income rose to $46.3 million, or $0.89 per share, from $33.2 million, or $0.68 per share, a year ago, Reuters reported.

Revenue for the Corpus Christi, Texas-based company, more than doubled to $229 million.

Analysts expected adjusted earnings of $0.78 per share on revenue of $208.7 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

C&J Energy expects capital expenditure for the rest of 2011 to be about $36 million, which it will fund with a combination of cash on hand and cash flow from operations, chief executive Josh Comstock said in a statement.

Shares of C&J Energy, valued at about $1.05 billion, rose to $20.75 in extended trading. The company's shares closed at $20.19 on Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange.

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Kodiak fortunes on the rise

Kodiak Oil & Gas has completed five wells with encouraging production results in September and early October alone, the Denver independent said Tuesday.

Kathrine Schmidt and news wires

Kodiak fortunes on the rise

Kodiak Oil & Gas has completed five wells with encouraging production results in September and early October alone, the Denver independent said Tuesday.

Kathrine Schmidt and news wires

Whiting inks Bakken water-recycle deal

US independent Whiting Oil & Gas has signed up water recycler Purestream Technology to treat flowback from shale wells in the Bakken play in North Dakota.

Luke Johnson 04 November 2011 22:13 GMT

The deal comes as onshore operators face greater scrutiny for the resource-intensive extraction method of hydraulic fracturing.

Under the agreement, Salt Lake City-based Purestream will treat water produced from Whiting’s operations in the Williston basin so the operator can reuse it in other frac jobs.

Purestream’s Avara system has the capacity to treat 2000 barrels of flowback per day and “can reduce the cost of water disposal by recycling produced and flowback water at or near the well site”.

"Water produced from the Bakken is known for its high salt and solids content,” Purestream said. “Our Avara process is able to cost-effectively treat this water and use it again for fracking."

Purestream says its recycling technique renders flowback cleaner than drinking water.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Spokeswoman Andrea Metil said in an email that savings for operators vary "but can be substantial".

She said recycling helps cut down on costs associated with transporting flowback for disposal at off-site injection ponds.

"An additional consideration is that fresh water can be scarce or difficult to transport," she added.

This is Purestream's first contract in the Bakken and plans to expand its presence there, Metil said. The company also operates in the Marcellus shale in Pennsylvania, in the Colorado River basin and in Texas, she said.

Purestream also plans to expand into the Eagle Ford play in Texas and into Arkansas.

ater recycler OK'd for Eagle Ford

State regulators have granted a five-year permit to water-recycling company Fountain Quail Water Management to operate in the booming Eagle Ford Shale play in south Texas.

Bakken rail terminal ships first cargo

The first train with Bakken crude oil shipments embarked on Monday from the newly completed Bakken Oil Express terminal near Dickinson, North Dakota, Lario Logistics said on Wednesday according to a report.

News wires 10 November 2011 17:38 GMT

The BNSF railway train, equipped with 103 oil tank cars, left for St. James, Louisiana, with 70,000 barrels of crude aboard, said the company, which owns the terminal, Reuters reported.

The anchor shipper was Eighty-Eight Oil.

The rail hub currently has a take-away capacity of 100,000 bpd and is the first multi-shipper facility in the Midwest state, Lario Logistics said.

Construction of the rail terminal began in fourth quarter 2010 and the company has plans to expand capacity to 250,000 bpd.

The BNSF southern line, owned by Warren Buffett, passes through 16 of the top 19 oil producing counties in central and western North Dakota. The company raised transport rates for shipments to St. James, Louisiana, by 10% in early October.

Increased output from the North Dakota plains, which reached a record high above 464,000 bpd in September because of the state's Bakken shale prospect, has aggravated a crude glut in the US Midwest.

As shippers scramble to bring new take-away capacity to carry this crude away from the Midwest and to the refinery hub in the Gulf of Mexico, rail projects have emerged as the most viable solutions while pipelines get approved.

Victory spuds delayed Texas well

US junior Victory Energy said it has spudded a well in Texas that had been delayed due to rig constraints.

Luke Johnson 09 November 2011 22:02 GMT

Victory and its partner Aurora Energy had drilled about 1200 feet of Rosenquist No 1 well’s 4700-foot planned depth as of Monday, California-based Victory said in a statement.

The well, part of a multi-well programme, is located in Jones County in north-central Texas, and is targeting oil, spokesman Ben Burnham told Upstream.

It was originally set for spudding on 11 October but had been put off due to a 90-day rig delay, Victory chief operating officer Kenny Hill said in a statement.

The Ringo 8 rig moved onto the site and began drilling on Saturday.

“We're happy to have finally put a bit in the ground on this one,” Hill said.

“Based on current rig availability we should be able to spud the next well toward the end of November and then quickly follow with another. The prospect locations are already selected."

Published: 09 November 2011 22:02 GMT | Last updated: 09 November 2011 22:04 GMT

SHALE REVOLUTION 'just beginning'

8 November 2011

The vast spectrum of potential of global shale is only beginning to be realised, a panel of speakers told a conference in Houston on Tuesday.

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That's it for now..