Bakken Shale

ConocoPhillips posted better-than-expected results in the first quarter, aided by its “biggest contributor” today, the Eagle Ford Shale.

North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple has rejected a request by state house minority Democrats for a special legislative session to address possible funding problems tied to keeping up with the Williston Basin oil boom. Dalrymple expressed confidence that the state could provide the financial assistance needed to help communities affected until lawmakers reconvene in January.

Oil production on North Dakota’s Fort Berthold Indian Reservation has become a significant part of the nation’s second largest oil-producing state, and tribal leaders are touting the reservation’s output as among the top 10 oil producing states in the nation.

Industry representatives in North Dakota on Tuesday told the state’s Industrial Commission that flaring can be reduced without production restrictions or a “one-size-fits-all” regulatory scheme. They urged state officials to adopt an industry task force’s recommended approach submitted earlier this year (see Shale Daily, Jan. 30).

Triangle Petroleum Corp. reported reduced completion costs and is considering a shift to infill what is rapidly being considered its core acreage in the Bakken Shale, as business from its oilfield services subsidiary and a midstream joint venture (JV) in the play also pick up steam.

A Wyoming-based trucking company is facing potential fines of more than $1 million, and criminal charges against the driver of the truck for allegedly dumping saltwater from oil and gas operations in North Dakota’s Bakken Shale, according to the state Department of Mineral Resources (DMR).

After winter declines due to unusually harsh weather conditions, oil production growth is back, and the forecast for the next two years calls for steep increases in the Bakken Shale, Permian Basin and Gulf of Mexico (GOM), according to the latest tracking by Genscape Inc., a Louisville, KY-based energy research and consulting firm.

Robust crude oil production driven by the shale revolution has produced significant increases in the railroad shipment of oil, and in the next few years that means an almost quantum leap in shipments to California’s major West Coast refineries, according to state energy projections. In two years, more than a quarter of the oil processed is expected to come via rail.

Continued production growth in oil and natural gas is forecast, but the rate of growth will be slowed somewhat by upcoming state and federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) regulations, North Dakota’s top oil/gas regulator said Friday while reporting a production slowdown due to harsh winter weather.