One natural gas rig and six oil rigs were added across the United States on Friday from a week earlier, with North Dakota’s Williston Basin gaining three and two rigs each raised in Alaska, Colorado and New Mexico, Baker Hughes Inc. reported.
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Dakota Access Will Put Williston, Permian Basins on More Level Cost Basis, Helms Says
While reporting a return to 1 million b/d oil production, North Dakota’s top oil/natural gas official also said Thursday the much maligned Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) should help “level the playing field” for Williston Basin supplies relative to the red hot Permian Basin where most of the U.S. exploration/production is focused currently.
Dakota Access Changed Tribes’ Outlook on Energy Companies, Denver Attorney Says
Native American protests over the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) have had a profound impact on young leaders in tribes nationwide, and there are likely to be other confrontations going forward, a Denver-based energy attorney and former U.S. Attorney in the George W. Bush administration told a tribal energy conference in Albuquerque, NM, Monday.
Dakota Access Pipeline Holds Open Season for Expansion
The principal backer of the controversial $3.68 billion Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) that only recently began flowing Bakken crude oil, Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) last Friday launched a binding supplemental open season aimed at expanding the capacity of the four-state, nearly 1,200-mile pipeline that terminates at a marketing hub in south-central Illinois.
SEC Charges Bakken Company Co-Founder, Others in Fraudulent Stock Scheme
The co-founder of a Bakken Shale midstream operator has been charged with allegedly operating a stock scheme that allowed him to collect millions in bonus payments.
Brief — Dakota Access
The main protest campsite, Oceti Sakowin, along the route for the final link to be constructed in Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) project in south-central North Dakota was cleared on Wednesday and Thursday following an emergency executive order from North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum setting Wednesday afternoon as the deadline. It was mostly peaceful, although a few protesters were arrested. The head of the Indigenous Environmental Network, Tom Goldtooth, criticized the move as an “unnecessary infringement on the constitutional right of water protectors,” but leaders of the nearby Standing Rock Sioux Tribe had been urging protesters to disperse for weeks. Opponents said three other campsites for protesters remain in the larger area: Sacred Stone, Cheyenne River and Four Bands.
Briefs — Railroad Commission of Texas
The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) is adding quarterly oil and gas enforcement data to its website. Beginning with the first quarter fiscal 2017 report, new enforcement information will include the numbers of oil and gas facility inspections with no violation; statewide oil and gas rule violations; major statewide oil and gas rule violations; and district-initiated severance/seal orders. RRC also is updating its definition of “major” oil and gas violations. A major violation now is defined as “a safety or pollution-related violation that causes a significant impact to public safety or the environment, is accompanied by conditions that indicate a significant impact to public safety or the environment is imminent, or is the result of deliberate disregard of commission rules and regulations related to public safety or environmental protection.” Also, major violations are now being reported at the time of discovery in the field rather than at the time of referral for penalty action, as recommended by the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission. Enforcement data can be found on the commission website.
Dakota Access Final Construction Resumes; May 1 In-Service Planned
Since gaining its federal easement Feb. 8, builders of the $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) have been drilling the tunnel to traverse 90 feet below the bottom of a dammed portion of the Missouri River in south-central North Dakota, a spokesperson for the project backers told NGI’s Shale Daily.
Sioux Tribes Ask Federal Court to Overturn Dakota Access Approval
The Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes on Tuesday filed a motion in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to set aside the Trump administration’s approval to allow the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) to be completed at a Missouri River crossing in south-central North Dakota.
Done Deal: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Grants Easement to Dakota Access Pipeline
Late Wednesday the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers granted the on-again, off-again easement needed to complete the $3.8 billion, nearly 1,200-mile Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) oil pipeline project. More court challenges and demonstrations against the project are expected.