Oil And Gas Industry Jobs: A Huge Positive

I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but the oil and gas industry is creating jobs, creating wealth, and making America more energy independent.......all without much government support......in fact, in spite of what the government does.  Compare that to the Billions of taxpayers dollars wasted on failed "green energy" projects (Solar energy boondoggles, wind turbine folly, ethanol production from food sources like corn, and on, and on).  It does make one wonder about our leadership in Washington, D.C.
Peter

Need A Job? Energy Sector Producing More Than Oil, Gas

July 24th, 2012 vaddison Posted in Uncategorized |

By Velda Addison, Associate Editor

The oil and gas industry supports more than 1.92 million jobs in the US, and it has the potential to create 1.4 million new jobs in the next 15 years.

Jamie Vazquez, president of W&T Offshore, presented the figures during the July 20 Decision Strategies’ Oilfield Breakfast Forum. Her talk was peppered with an array of statistics. There was even more informative data, left for those who attended the event, in the National Ocean Industries Association’s (NOIA) booklet that touted what the American offshore industry can do. Keeping the economy growing, putting Americans to work, and securing a reliable energy future were on the list.

Article continued here: http://blogs.epmag.com/rebecca/2012/07/24/need-a-job-energy-sector-producing-more-than-oil-gas/?spMailingID=4545580&spUserID=MTUxNzUzNDk0ODgS1&spJobID=49152564&spReportId=NDkxNTI1NjQS1

Hess Improves Production And Technique In Completing Bakken Oil Wells

For those interested in some of the finer details of operations in producing oil from the Bakken Formation, horizontal drilling, completions, and hydraulic fracturing, the following article is interesting and valuable.  Here is a link to the original article:
http://seekingalpha.com/article/722661-bakken-update-hess-has-made-a-big-change-to-its-completion-design?goback=%2Egde_156898_member_138170874

The author, Mr. Filloon does his research and seems very knowledgeable about the oil and gas industry.  I'm quite certain he obtains his information from publicly available sources.  He provides his analysis as a service to the investment community.
Peter

Bakken Update: Hess Has Made A Big Change To Its Completion Design

July 16, 2012 | by: Michael Filloon |

 

<>2011 Hess Southern Williams County Results

Name	Date	Choke	Stages	Water	Proppant	60Day IP	120Day IP
En-Weyrauch 154-93-1918H-3	10/11	30/64	N/A	N/A	N/A	488	369
En-Frandson 154-93-2116H-3	8/11	28/64	38	84203	3986800	939	780
En-Weyrauch 154-93-1918H-2	6/11	22/64	22	48161	1931448	501	367
En-Weyrauch 154-93-1918H-1	4/11	22/64	22	40421	1097939	504	435
En-Weyrauch 154-93-2932H-1	12/11	38/64	N/A	N/A	N/A	1101	825
En-Weyrauch A-154-93-2017H-1	11/11	42/64	38	61305	3995800	653	479
En-Weyrauch 154-93-3031H-2	12/11	34/64	38	71049	3991720	1003	787
En-Weyrauch 154-93-3031H-1	12/11	30/64	38	41472	1741722	1148	837

Hess Corporation (HES) is a very large and well-run oil producer. In 1957, it discovered oil in North Dakota and has become one of its biggest players. I had previously discussed Hess and its very conservative completion methods early in 2011. At this time, Hess was using 20 to 22 stage fracs with lower amounts of water and proppant. This was also consistent with Continental Resources, Inc.'s (CLR) well design, which I covered in this article.
The table to the top of this article shows a change from these lower number of stages to 38. This is consistent with Brigham (STO), which I covered in this article. Not only was this a big move, it has improved results significantly, and in some cases doubled old IP rates. One issue I had in researching Hess' results, was its lack of documentation with respect to well design. For those specific wells, I place N/A in the appropriate space.
In the second half of 2011, it used varying amounts of water and proppant. This variance has not always produced better results with increased water and proppant, which I found somewhat puzzling. Well orientation and lateral length are different for each well, sometimes by 1,000 feet. Another finding is Hess' move to a more moderate choke, which is consistent with Newfield Exploration Co.'s (NFX) well design, which I covered here. This has also been consistent with other Bakken operators.
In the table below, we see even more changes to design as Hess has used more than 100,000 barrels of water. It has also moved to above 3.2 million pounds of proppant. This move is consistent of Brigham, Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp (KOG) and Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM).

<>2012 Hess Southern Williams County Results

Name	Date	Choke	Stages	Water	Proppant	IP Rate
En-Weyrauch C-154-93-2932H-2	3/12	22/64	38	34396	1995429	60Day=911
En-Madisyn 154-94-0607H-1	5/12	27/64	38	93122	3137554	41Day=892
En-Thompson Trust 154-94-1930H-1	4/12	36/64	N/A	N/A	N/A	54Day=1548
En-Weyrauch A154-93-2017H-2	1/12	33/64	N/A	N/A	N/A	60Day=801
Ca-Halvorson 154-95-0409H-1	5/12	34/64	38	101929	3203698	32Day=1610

In summary, Hess is moving forward at a quick pace to increase IP rates and EURs. It is not surprising as many operators are spending more per well in the hopes of increasing profits in the short and long term. The surprise isn't the change, but the amount of change. Hess' move has been much quicker than others in the Williston Basin, so it is my guess that Hess believes it is important enough to make a bigger move. These results could be different in other areas such as Mountrail or McKenzie counties, but this will take more research.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.
Additional disclosure: IP Rates are measured in barrels of oil per day. Water volumes are measured in barrels. Proppant amounts are measured in pounds. N/A is used on any well without sufficient information. This is not a buy recommendation.

Sierra Club Speaks With Forked Tongue

So the Sierra Club is confused and promoting nonsense?  That is nothing new, they've been doing it for years (like pushing the myth of man-caused global warming down our throats).

Peter

 

Key Democrats To Sierra Club: You’re Wrong About Natural Gas

July 24th, 2012 sweeden Posted in Uncategorized |

By Julia Bell, Researcher, Energy in Depth
As a fuel source, natural gas represents a rare combination of benefits: affordable, abundant, and clean. The White House has acknowledged this on several occasions, touting also the enormous job creation potential that responsible natural gas development can deliver.

But for some, denying the facts about natural gas has become a profitable enterprise. The most notable example? The Sierra Club, which recently launched its “Beyond Natural Gas” campaign to stop development of this important source of energy.

 Ironically, it was also the Sierra Club that was touting the environmental benefits of natural gas just a few short years ago, back when natural gas was expensive and considered in short supply – we’ll let our readers extrapolate the meaning of that.

Nonetheless, the facts are still the facts, and it’s telling that the Sierra Club’s new efforts against natural gas not only butt heads with well-established scientific facts about the processes used to extract it, but also with folks that they used to consider their allies – including President Barack Obama, whom the Sierra Club has cheerfully endorsed for reelection.

The United Nations has even pointed out that expanded natural gas use can help the world’s poor and foster a cleaner global environment.

And just this week, the Sierra Club received even more pushback for its activism against natural gas, this time from US Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and US Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
Discussing specifically the Sierra Club’s anti-natural gas campaign, Rep. Markey delivered a fairly clear rebuke: “I think environmentalists should want natural gas on the table as an option,” Markey said, adding later that he thinks it would “be wise for us to not take natural gas off the table.”
When Sen. Wyden was asked about the Sierra Club’s “Beyond Natural Gas” campaign, he issued a similarly unequivocal rejection: “This is what I tell environmental folks: natural gas is really important to a lot of renewables, solar and wind, ensuring that option is out there.”

In describing the environmental benefits, Wyden added, “Natural gas is the cleanest of the fossil fuels, so you start with that as your basic proposition.”

So for those keeping score at home, those acknowledging the safety and benefits of natural gas development include President Obama, the US Environmental Protection Agency, the US Department of Energy, state regulators from across the country, independent experts from respected universities, and now even prominent members of Congress who are widely recognized for their work on environmental issues. Heck, even a study funded by the Sierra Club found natural gas to be a comparatively clean source of energy.

On the other side? Hollywood, Josh Fox, and the Sierra Club.

Gee, I wonder who we should believe?

http://blogs.epmag.com/guests/2012/07/24/key-democrats-to-sierra-club-you%e2%80%99re-wrong-about-natural-gas/?spMailingID=4545580&spUserID=MTUxNzUzNDk0ODgS1&spJobID=49152564&spReportId=NDkxNTI1NjQS1

Shale......The Game Changer?

Shale Could Become Game-Changing Catalyst For US

http://www.epmag.com/Exploration/Shale-B...

 

If the US proves successful in unearthing natural gas from shale formations, the geopolitical structure with the world’s top energy producers could shift in the nation’s favor.

an excerpt:

One slide in his presentation showed a map of the world that highlighted areas with high energy usage. Another slide showed the location of major shale developments near those areas. “[Shale gas] basically sits right in our backyard,” he said. “It’s not just about where the resources are located. It’s also about regulatory infrastructure that’s in place that promotes the development of this resource.”