Bakken Shale

A 20,600 bbl Bakken crude oil spill in North Dakota from a leak sprung in a Tesoro Logistics LP pipeline in a wheat field northeast of Tioga, ND, on Friday was fully contained, under control and in the process of being remediated, according to state and company officials. The leak had originally been detected Sept. 29 and was mistakenly thought to be much smaller.

Crestwood Midstream Partners LP is buying privately-held Arrow Midstream Holdings LLC for $750 million, expanding its focus in the Bakken Shale and building on its just-completed merger with Inergy Midstream.

A 20,600 bbl Bakken crude oil spill in North Dakota from a leak sprung in a Tesoro Logistics LP pipeline in a wheat field northeast of Tioga, ND, on Friday was fully contained, under control and in the process of being remediated, according to state and company officials. The leak had originally been detected Sept. 29 and was mistakenly thought to be much smaller.

The Marcellus Shale and other shale plays may continue to lead the U.S. natural gas renaissance in the near term, but the Rockies are primed for a resurgence later in this decade, a WPX Energy Inc. executive said Tuesday.

Production from the eastern United States, including the powerhouse Marcellus Shale, will help make the country the world’s top producer of natural gas this year, ahead of Saudi Arabia, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Friday.

Continued drilling efficiency improvements are driving record production growth in the Williston Basin’s Bakken Shale and helping to push down costs, according to top Oasis Petroleum executive.

The Bakken has the potential to fill all of the current added demand for sweet crude, but the Eagle Ford Shale and the Permian Basin will have something to say about that, a North Dakota official said.

North Dakota’s robust oil production is racing toward the 900,000 b/d level and could hit 1.6 million b/d by 2017, but with that growth the state will face stiffer challenges in terms of the growth of infrastructure.

Following an upswing in the percentage of associated gas being flared in the most recent monthly oil/natural statistics, albeit due to gas processing and electric grid breakdowns, North Dakota state officials are stepping up their efforts to speed up the reduction of flaring, which again hangs at 30%. The state wants new programs or rules in place early next year.