Bismarck

How to space wells in the Bakken Shale remains the “question of the day” for exploration production (E&P) operators working in the play, according to the CEO of Bismarck, ND-based MDU Resources Group Inc.

As part of its proposed joint venture diesel refinery slated to process 20,000 b/d of Bakken crude oil by next year, Bismarck, ND-based MDU Resources Group has a strategy aimed at its exploration and production (E&P) and midstream infrastructure businesses sharing in the continuing boom in its home state.

Bismarck, ND-based MDU Resources Group is aligning its utility, construction, midstream infrastructure and exploration/production (E&P) businesses so each one profits and grows with the continuing hydrocarbon boom in the Bakken, the MDU senior executives emphasized in a half-day financial analysts meeting Thursday in New York City.

WBI Energy Transmission Inc. is seeking FERC authorization to expand the northern portion of its natural gas pipeline system to meet increased demand in western North Dakota.

CHS Inc., the nation’s largest farmer-owned cooperative, launched a proposal Wednesday to build a $1.1-1.4 billion nitrogen fertilizer manufacturing plant in North Dakota that would take advantage of natural gas feedstock to provide U.S. and Canadian farmers with enhanced supplies of crop nutrients.

Setting aside low natural gas prices and unseasonably warm weather in the first quarter, Bismarck, ND-based MDU Resources Group Inc. is riding the continuing Bakken Shale boom in its home state, growing its oil production 19% for the first three months of this year and increasing its working rig count from two to 10 for its exploration and production (E&P) unit over the most recent quarter-over-quarter period.

Bismarck, ND-based MDU Resources Group Inc. senior executives on Thursday reiterated that they intend to exploit their home field advantage in all lines of their business by digging deeply into the Bakken Shale play’s continuing robust growth. And they talked bullishly about prospects this year despite reporting earnings that were down slightly quarter over quarter and year over year in 2011.

Although all of its businesses were affected by historic flooding in the second quarter, Bismarck, ND-based MDU Resources Group Inc. saw its production in the Bakken Shale play in its home state jump 10% as part of quarter-over-quarter results that were down slightly.

Although all of its businesses were affected by historic flooding in the second quarter, Bismarck, ND-based MDU Resources Group Inc. saw its production in the Bakken Shale play in its home state jump 10% as part of quarter-over-quarter results that were down slightly.