The Bakken Oil Worker’s and Oil Service Expo may just be one of the biggest happenings of the summer in North Dakota. Just three weeks after the North Dakota State Fair, the Expo, nicknamed the “Bakken Oil Expo” will debut on August 20 – 22 at that North Dakota State Fair Center in Minot, ND. The event features networking opportunities, seminars and workshops, privately hosted meals, a reception, job opportunities, and the ability to set up one-on-one appointments in advance with current and prospective business clients and employers. Along with these opportunities, the show has a huge indoor and outdoor exhibit show with companies and organizations coming from 36 states and Canada. Taking up over 400 booth spaces, this is this one of the largest oil industry event in the northern U.S.

Seminars will run concurrently in the mornings and afternoons all three days offering attendees the opportunity to enhance their knowledge in training sessions and hands on classes. Oil producers and other regional employers can enhance their employees’ skills and knowledge by purchasing tickets for their employees. Recent newcomers, both businesses and individuals, will also benefit from the wide range of seminars. Classes range from hands on winter defensive driving classes by the Center for Transportation and Safety, to talks on the economic boom and the resulting challenges and opportunities by the Williston and Minot Economic Development Groups, to seminars on finding the best employees and the best jobs in the industry by RTS Corporation, and a variety talks by the North Dakota State Extension Services on living, surviving, and excelling in the North Dakota boom towns. For a complete list of seminars and descriptions, visit http://www.usasymposium.com/bakken/seminars.htm.

A job board featuring oil sector jobs in the Bakken region is available to anyone who visits the Expo website at http://bakkenoilworkers.jobamatic.com/a/jobs/find-jobs. The site allows you to search by job title, company, location and job type (full time, permanent, etc.) There is no cost to search the site or apply for jobs. Employers can post jobs for a nominal fee. At the expo, companies that are hiring will be easily identifiable and you will have the opportunity to talk with employers real-time about job opportunities. Additionally, anyone who registers for the event in advance has the opportunity to set up one-on-one appointments with others attending the event. This tool which can be accessed with the purchase of a $5 expo pass, creates additional opportunities for business to business sales and marketing.

Along with the educational, sales, job, and marketing opportunities at this event, the Expo has been structured to give back directly to the community. Three local charities will be the recipients of 50% of the proceeds from the sale of Expo passes. Attendees who purchase the $5 tickets in advance will have the opportunity to choose which charity they would like to direct their donation to. Featured charities at the 2013 event include the Dakota Boys & Girls Ranch (www.dakotaranch.org), Hope Village (www.hopevillagend.org), and The Williston Salvation Army (www.salvationarmynorth.org/community/williston/).

The event has garnered a lot of momentum and support both in the region and nationally. Expo sponsors include The Associated Press, Bakken Breakout, Bakken Cable Connection, Bakken Field Guide, The Bakken Magazine, Bakken Oil Business Journal, The Bakken Post, BakkenShale.com, The Bella Dangelo Show, The Bismarck Tribune, BW Insurance Agency, Clover Global Solutions, Del Communications, The Drill, ERM Weekly Update, Gravel Products, Inc., Hyatt House Minot, KX News, Minot Area Development Corp., Montana Energy Review, North Dakota State Fair, The Oil Field Efficiency Newsletter, Oiltizer, PennEnergy, Perry Brothers Trucking, Petroleum News Bakken, ShaleMarkets.com, Visit Minot, and World Oils.

For more information on the event, or to register, visit www.usasymposium.com/bakken.

(HELENA)—Attorney General Tim Fox announced today that Montana has joined nine other western states protesting the sequestration of state funds under the Mineral Leasing Act (MLA).  In a bi-partisan letter to President Barack Obama, U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, and Office of Management and Budget Director Sylvia Mathews Burwell, members of the Conference of Western Attorneys General strongly objected to the loss of revenue, which is statutorily guaranteed to the states.

The Interior Department’s Office of Natural Resources Revenue notified states in March that it would withhold payments from March through July, and possibly August and September, saying the move was required by the 5.1% across-the-board sequestration cuts.  More than half of the  states receive mineral royalties, with western states relying heavily on this revenue because of the disproportionate amount of federal land with valuable minerals located in western states.

The MLA entitles states to 48% of all revenue collected by the federal government for mineral activity on federal lands within state boundaries.  Montana stands to lose nearly $2.4 million in revenue per year based on FY 2012 figures.  “The federal government can’t simply seize Montana’s money to cover its budget shortfalls and out-of-control spending,” said Attorney General Fox.  “Washington needs to balance the federal budget by cutting spending, not by taking money from the states that produce our mineral wealth and without regard for the principles of federalism.”

One-quarter of the sequestered funds were to be paid to the counties in which they were raised; three-quarters of the revenue would go to the State’s general fund.  “Counties typically rely on MLA-generated dollars to help meet their infrastructure needs,” said Harold Blattie, Executive Director of the Montana Association of Counties.  “The funds being sequestered represent over $600,000 that counties use to fund essential services like roads, bridges, building improvements, equipment and vehicles.  This is money Montana counties can ill-afford to lose.”

The ten Attorneys General point out that MLA payments are not subject to sequester for a number of reasons:  First, while mineral royalty payments make a stop in the federal treasury before being returned to the states, that does not convert the royalties into federal money or give the federal government any discretion to decide whether or how much money to return to the states under the MLA.

Second, because the only payments going to the states under the MLA come directly from mineral development in those states, it is an entirely self-sustaining revenue source.  Thus, it is not possible that such payments could be subject to sequestration.

Finally, if payments under the MLA can be deemed an appropriation or expenditure, the Attorneys General argue that the Office of Management and Budget should exempt them from sequestration like many other programs important to economic recovery.

Read the letter here: https://doj.mt.gov/2013/08/montana-protests-federal-withholding-of-mineral-leasing-act-revenue/

“There is a place I like to visit as often as time allows. A place where you can see as far as humanly

possible. A place where golden eagles soar over the snow capped mountains while looking down at

the treetops. A place where herds of deer and elk graze on the wild flowers growing in the mountain

meadows. A place where moose and bear walk without the intrusion of daily hikers and motorized

vehicles.

This one hundred and fifty-five acre parcel adjoins eight other one hundred and thirty plus acre

parcels, and three eighty acre parcels that was set aside to become the future home sites of the

most fortunate. These people will experience what most people could only dream of, a place of such

beauty they will want to share it with family and friends for generations to come.”

-Terry L. Covin

North Pass Area Info

North Pass is home to awe-inspiring views, lush meadows, and utterly pure mountain air, just 15 minutes from Bozeman, described by many as Montana’s most dynamic community. In total, 9 sites average just under 150 acres each and the 3 remaining sites averaging just under 80 acres each. With tracts this size, your neighbor is only as close as you want him to be, and thoughtful covenants ensure that homes and new construction are carefully screened and site appropriate.

At the same time, if you would like to sample the superb restaurants, art galleries, upper-end shops, and services found in Bozeman, all are just 15 minutes down the road, 365 days a year. Bozeman is home to Montana State University and offers a classic ranching atmosphere combined with the culture and appeal of a smaller college town. You can find superb sushi down the block and sawdust dance floors and folks enjoying both on any given night. Bozeman is truly unique in that way.

The outdoor-recreational opportunities surrounding Bozeman are simply unparalleled. Just 25 minutes away is the cold-smoke powder of Bridger Bowl, nationally-respected, yet never crowded. If fly fishing is your passion, Bozeman is at the center of the fly fishing universe, offering world-class wild trout fishing on the Yellowstone, Gallatin, and Madison rivers, not to mention endless feeder streams and spring creeks that course through nearby valleys.

Everyone should see Yellowstone National Park at least once in his or her life, and for residents of North Pass, that’s not a problem – The Park is only an hour’s drive. Should they choose a weekend getaway instead, Glacier National Park is only about 4 hours to the north, offering an entirely different yet equally impressive ecosystem.

Back at the ranch, hiking, horseback riding, and cross-country skiing are available right outside your back door – and watchable wildlife like elk, mule deer, eagles, sandhill cranes, ruffed grouse and moose may be found in your backyard on any given morning.

The Owners and Developers of North Pass have selected Terry L. Covin to be the Preferred Designer and Builder for this wonderful area. If you would like to be one of the ‘fortunate few’ to own a home at North Pass, please contact him at 406.586.9432.

Click to hear about the Bakken Beat Down

Montana vs. North Dakota, 2012

Number of drilling rigs
Montana: 10
North Dakota: 183
Producing wells
Montana: 4,712
North Dakota: 7,997
Average barrels per day
Montana: 72,600
North Dakota: 768,977
Barrels of oil yearly
Montana: 26.5 million
North Dakota: 242.5 million

Oil production increased 9.5 percent in Montana in 2012, the first time the state’s seen an increase since 2006, with oil activity drove up the state’s payroll by more than $300 million in the the past year.

In 2012, 26.5 million barrels of oil were produced in Big Sky County, compared to 24.2 million in 2011, said Tom Richmond, administrator of the Montana Board of Oil and Gas.

Accounting for the increase were new wells in eastern Roosevelt County and successful “infill” wells drilled in the existing Elm Coulee field near Sidney in Richland County, Richmond said. Elm Coulee is the area where the original successful horizontal wells were drilled in the Bakken formation.

“Production in Roosevelt County is what’s adding a nice increment,” Richmond said.

Sidney Mayor Bret Smelser said the first well drilled in the Bakken in Montana in 2000 was in the Elm Coulee field with 400 wells eventually drilled in western Richland County before moving to North Dakota. Operators there were the first to tap the Bakken formation with what Smelser calls a one-stage, or a “hail Mary” frack, in which hydraulic fracturing was used on the entire length of the lateral section of the well. The first lateral drilled was 400 yards. Today laterals can be up to two miles.

Hydraulic fracturing is method whereby high volumes of water and sand and a chemical mix is pumped into the wells to break up rock and release oil.

Now operators are returning to Elm Coulee to drill new wells and using better technology to do multi-staged “fracks” in the lateral sections, he said.

When a single frack is used, the mix goes to only the weakest rock, Richmond said. In staged fracks, shorter sections of the lateral line are targeted one at a time.

“It is a more efficient way to contact a reservoir with your frack fluid, and it’s a little more controlled,” Richmond said.

Today, Elm Coulee has 840 horizontal wells and 230 vertical wells are producing in the county.

“There’s millionaires out this way,” said Smelser one day earlier this month as he drove through Elm Coulee outside of Sidney, where pump jacks could be seen in every direction.

The city of Sidney even has a piece of the action, owning the mineral rights under city parkland abutting one well that’s recently been drilled near town. If it flows, it’s expected to produce roughly 200 barrels a day, which will generate about $16,000 for the city annually, Smelser said.

Production in Roosevelt, Richland and Fallon counties still accounts for the bulk of oil production in the state, Richmond said.

There were 4,712 producing wells in 2012, up from 4,520 in 2011.

Currently, the state has 10 drill rigs working on the ground. That isn’t particularly high, Richmond said, but good wells are being drilled.

Oil production peaked in the state at about 34 million barrels a year in 2006, Richmond said.

While oil activity is robust in eastern Montana, it’s not an oil “boom” akin to what’s occurring in North Dakota, said Patrick Barkey, director of the University of Montana’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research.

On average, Montana produced 72,600 barrels a day in 2012 compared to 768,977 in North Dakota.

Montana production is now leveling off but that indicates that new wells are coming on line to replace declining wells, Barkey said.

Oil activity continues to drive up wages in all sectors and the footprint extends beyond the oil field, creating a tremendous amount of service work in communities such as Billings and Glendive, ranging from legal to survey to repair and maintenance, Barkey said.

“What’s really putting the zip into the economy clearly is oil and gas particularly oil and it’s on both sides of the border,” Barkey said.

In the past year, payroll in Montana increased by $300 million, more than Wyoming, South Dakota and even Colorado. The primary engine for that growth was oil activity, Barkey said.

Five smaller eastern Montana counties bordering North Dakota outpaced most of the rest of the state in wage growth including larger counties such as Yellowstone, Gallatin, Missoula and Cascade, according to the University of Montana’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research.

Roosevelt County, for instance, saw a payroll increase of 6.7 percent in the past year, and Richland County, 9.4 percent. Cascade County’s total payroll declined by 0.9 percent in the past year.

The oil field work also has driven up wages in other sectors, Barkey said.

In Richland County, inflation-corrected wages per worker in all fields increased from $28,400 in 2002 to $44,330 in 2011. Salaries of food service workers in Richland County jumped from $8,900 in 2002, which was 75 percent of the state average, to $13,200 in 2011, which is just more than 100 percent of the state average.

Wage growth is even more amazing in North Dakota, where the state’s payroll increased by $2 billion in the last year.

“It’s becoming pretty clear to me that this Bakken oil development, we’re not likely to see another event like this in our lifetime,” Barkey says.

In April, the U.S. Geological Survey released a report updating a previous assessment of the Bakken Formation and providing the first governmental assessment of the Three Forks Formation.

The estimate in the newly released report doubled the estimated resource from a 2008 USGS assessment. The new report maintained the estimate of 3.65 billion barrels of recoverable oil and added an addition 3.73 barrels of recoverable oil from the underlying Three Forks Formation. The Bakken Formation includes western North Dakota and eastern Montana.

Of the total estimate of 7.3 billion barrels, 5.7 billion barrels are believed to be in North Dakota and 1.6 in Montana.

“That says from a resource point of view, production and for that matter drilling could go on for quite a while if the economics support it,” Barkey said.

By:  Bob van der Valk

Bakken crude oil production in North Dakota was up back up in February to a record 779,000 barrels a day. “The record likely will be shattered repeatedly this summer”, said Lynn Helms, director of the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources, ” A dozen more rigs have been added to the arsenal drilling in the state” .

Helms forecasted, during his press briefing in Bismarck, ND on April 16, 2013, these numbers to go even higher in the summer and said: “Those middle five months of the year will see a big surge in production,” Crude oil production took a hit in the months of November 2012 thru January 2013 due to the extreme harsh weather conditions during those months shutting down most new drilling activity.

The Tale of the Tape:

New all-time high for production: 778,176 barrels per day — compared to February 2012: 737,787 barrels per day. That’s a five percent increase.

The number of producing wells is also at a new all-time high: 8,492

Permitting:

• March:     218
• February: 185
• January:   218

Comments:

The number of completions is well above the threshold needed to maintain production so oil production rate rose sharply, up 5.6%. The number of well completions doubled in February, over January, to 170.

The NDIC estimates that at the end of January there were about 375 wells waiting on completion.

Link: the Director’s Cut at the NDIC home page

With the soon-to-hit-the-streets April issue of the Bakken Oil Business Journal, reports on oil and gas exploration from Fairfield Sun Times’ Publisher Darryl L. Flowers will occasionally appear in the magazine, which is based in Livingston, Montana.

“We’re pleased to have Darryl joining our list of contributors,” said Journal Publisher Mary Edwards. “Darryl’s way of presenting the complexities of oil and gas exploration in an easy to read manner will be a welcome addition.”

“It’s quite an honor to be published in such a prestigious publication,” said Flowers, who has owned the Sun Times since 2008. “Moving forward, I hope to not only contribute stories from the Sun Times, but to develop stories specifically for the Bakken Oil Business Journal.”

The Bakken Oil Business Journal, a bi-monthly magazine, is distributed by direct mail to companies and businesses operating in the Bakken region and is hand-delivered at top energy shows related to the Bakken Oil Play.

The Sun Times, celebrating a century of reporting in NW Montana, actually has a long history of oil and gas reporting under its belt. “Our oldest copy on file, from the early twenties, tells the story of some Fairfield residents who travelled to Bynum to witness the drilling, by bucket, of an oil well,” said Flowers.

Since 2011, the Sun Times has been reporting permitting activity as well as reports from the “oil patch.” It was the first Montana newspaper to report on the permitting status of all oil and gas wells in the state. Recently, the Sun Times was the first to report that Anschutz Exploration was ceasing exploration operations on the Blackfeet Reservation in Glacier County.

More information on the  Bakken Oil Business Journal can be found at bakkenoilbiz.com. You can catch current and past issues of the Journal online, optimized for mobile and tablet, at https://bakkenoilbiz.com/digital-journal/.

Retrieved 4-25-2013. Fairfield Sun Times.

Consultancy of the Year – Antea Group

Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative of the Year – Aon Corporation

Drilling & Well Services Company of the Year – Marquis Alliance Energy Group

E&P Company of the Year, sponsored by TEEMCO – QEP Resources, Inc.

Engineering Company of the Year, sponsored by Cosential – Spartan Engineering Inc.

Environmental Initiative of the Year, sponsored by Austin Exploration – TEEMCO, LLC

Future Industry Leader – Megan Starr

Health & Safety Initiative of the Year – FTS International

Industry Leader – Mark C. Peterson

Industry Supplier of the Year – Frank Henry Equipment USA, LLC

Insurance Provider of the Year – IMA, Inc.

Law Firm of the Year – Burleson LLP

Manufacturer of the Year – Cobra Manufacturing & Sales LLC

Midstream Company of the Year, sponsored by Spartan Engineering – High Sierra Energy, LP

Recruitment Agency of the Year – Precision Placement Services, Inc.

Terminal of the Year – Savage

Transaction of the Year, sponsored by mergermarket – Encana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc.

Trucking Company of the Year – Brady Trucking, Inc.

Water Management Company of the Year – BeneTerra

Congratulations to all of the 2012 Rocky Mountain Oil & Gas Awards winners. Thanks to all of the sponsors and partners.

For full information on the awards please visit: http://www.oilandgasawards.com/?page_id=12

If you would like to arrange interviews, or review video and photo assets and for anything else please contact: Marc Bridgen on +1 (210) 591 8475 or email marc@oilandgasawards.com.

About the Awards:

The Oil & Gas Awards recognize the outstanding achievements made within the Upstream and Midstream sectors of the North American Oil & Gas Industry. The Awards are a platform for the Industry to demonstrate and celebrate the advances made in the key areas of the environment, efficiency, innovation, corporate social responsibility and health & safety. The Awards show the Industry’s motivation to develop by recognizing and rewarding the efforts of corporations and individuals.

The Oil & Gas Industry is of upmost importance to the U.S. National Economy and instrumental to both National and Energy Security. In its areas of operation the Oil & Gas Industry also plays a key role for local communities and their economies. Through innovation the Industry has driven forward technological developments, which have created a renaissance in the energy sector, enabling the U.S. to tap into one of the worlds largest natural gas reserves. In spite of its significance, the Industry still has its critics and gets more than its fair share of negative press. The Oil & Gas Industry has made great gains in meeting its responsibilities to the environment, to corporate social responsibility and the health & safety of staff and the public alike.

The awards take place in the six main onshore Oil and Gas producing regions of North America, including; Gulf Coast, Mid Continent, Northeast, Rocky Mountain, Southwest and West Coast. The Awards are designed to focus on specific regions of North America to allow geographically relevant organizations the ability to network at the gala dinner, and to ensure successful companies can utilize and benefit from their ‘winners status’ within their business community. In combining the Midstream and Upstream sectors, the awards bring together partners, and enable these co-dependent markets to acknowledge one another’s achievements. A number of the Award categories recognize service providers to the Industry, who play a vital role in its success and contribute to its reputation. The Awards welcome entries from organizations of every size and each entry is judged on its individual merits, and on a level playing field with its competition.

The Awards and the Organizations involved will be publicized in local, national and international trade publications and general press, in the run up to and after each ceremony. The core aim of the Oil & Gas Awards is to advertise and promote the Industry’s drive to improve and develop by rewarding organization’s achievements.

The Oil & Gas Awards mission is to become the most prestigious and sought after Awards in the Industry. The reputation of the Awards is paralleled to those of its judges and the Organizations they represent. To this end, appropriate candidates for the judging panels have been carefully researched and recommendations sought to find Industry thought leaders. Each judging panel consists of a mix of highly respected individuals from market leading E&P and Midstream companies.

For additional information, or to arrange interviews with staff, judges or partners please contact Marc Bridgen, Chief Marketing Officer on +1 210 591 8475 or marc@oilandgasawards.com.

Bob van der Valk recently joined the Bakken Oil Business Journal as their Managing Editor of the bi-monthly print and digital journal editions, connecting business and resources for the greater Bakken area. Bob has collaborated & contributed to the editorial voice of the Bakken Oil Business Journal since its inaugural issue in May of 2012. He has been the source of information on the petroleum industry, as a whole, in addition to paying specific attention to the booming growth of Oil & Gas industry in the Bakken Oil Shale Region. Bob is quoted regularly in the national media for his expertise on petroleum industry matters and fluctuations in the prices of petroleum products.

Bob has over 50 years of experience in the downstream refining and marketing sector of the petroleum industry with particular expertise on the U.S. western region. He is also a regular guest on Tom Egelhoff’s “Open for Business” radio program on KMMS-AM 1450 from Bozeman discussing current events in the petroleum industry for the region.

Mary Edwards is the Publisher of the every other month edition of the Journal teeming with petroleum industry articles about the current news, technology advancements, and information pertaining to the businesses and services operating in the Bakken Oil Shale Region. In addition to the glossy color print edtionof the Journal, a corresponding digital version is available via the Internet designed for today’s popular computer tablets & smart phone mobile devices. Up to 4,000 of the Journal’s print editions are mailed direct to a demographic of businesses & companies active in the regional petroleum industry. They are also being made available to individuals attending the top Bakken Oil Regional Conferences & Energy Trade Shows.