North Dakota Oil News

New Members – Thanks to the new Petroleum Council members Ebeltoft Sickler Law Firm, Saddle Butte Pipeline, Baranko Bros, Inc., and Wood Energy, Inc.

Big Crowd in Regina for the 2009 Williston Basin Petroleum Conference – To date, there are nearly 550 people registered for the 17th Williston Basin Petroleum Conference and Prospect Expo in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, April 26-28, 2009. Early registration for the event ends March 30, 2009. Booths are sold out, but there are sponsorship opportunities and limited space remaining for the workshops. Registration and information for the Conference is available at http://www.wbpc.ca/.

Oppose Obama Tax Increases – The Petroleum Council is developing a program specific to North Dakota to allow you to contact the North Dakota delegation and urge them to oppose any tax increases on the oil and gas industry. The industry has brought great prosperity to North Dakota and had an $8.2 billion economic impact on the state in 2007 while adding thousands of high-wage jobs, creating great wealth in the state, and is one of the primary reasons for the state’s $1.2 billion budget surplus. The proposed tax increases could reduce exploration budgets by up to 50% in North Dakota, potentially resulting in the loss of thousands of jobs and creating a down-turn in our state’s economy. The site will be available by April 1, 2009 at www.ndoil.org.

Petroleum Council Education Scholarships Available - The Petroleum Council will provide four $500 scholarships for students attending a North Dakota college who are pursuing a degree in a field related to engineering or geology in the oil and gas industry. The scholarship applications must be submitted to the Petroleum Council by April 1, 2009. http://www.ndoil.org/?id=98

Air Emissions Surveys for the Williston Basin - The Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States (IPAMS), along with the Western Regional Air Partnership (WRAP), is sponsoring a regional oil and gas emissions inventory for the Intermountain West. The result will be an accurate, comprehensive criteria pollutant emissions inventory for all sources associated with the exploration and production of oil and gas in the major basins throughout the six-state (CO, MT, ND, NM, UT, WY) study region for baseline year 2006, as well as future projection years. The inventory has been completed for the D-J, Piceance, and Uinta Basins, and data collection has recently begun for the San Juan, four basins in Wyoming, and the Williston Basin.

Data collection involves surveying operators in each basin for data on a variety of emission sources. The Petroleum Council is working with IPAMS on this project and would very much appreciate your help with this project by filling out the surveys (available on the IPAMS web site at http://www.ipams.org/advocacy/) for your operations in the Williston Basin. The web site includes more details, instructions, and the survey form. Completed surveys are due by May 1, 2009, if possible. All information will be held in strict confidence and only aggregated data at the county level will be released, not company-specific data. Please contact Kathleen Sgamma at (303) 623-0987 for more information. Thank you very much for your help.

Research Council Grant Application Deadline is June 1 – The next grant round for the ND Oil & Gas Research Council deadline is June 1, 2009. For more information on submitting a grant for this round, see http://www.nd.gov/ndic/ogrp/info/ogrcsubgrant-app.pdf.

SPCC Rules Workshop -- The EPA will conduct a Spill Prevention, Control and Containment outreach workshop in Fargo, ND April 8, 2009 from 8:00 am-12:00 pm at the Cass Fargo Emergency Management facility. Facilities engaged in drilling, producing, gathering, storing, processing, refining, transferring, distributing, using or consuming oil and oil products are encouraged to attend. Pre-registration is not necessary, but if you plan to attend, email Melissa Payan (payan.melissa@epa.gov) with the number of participants attending. If you have any questions, contact Melissa at 303-312-6568. For details, see http://www.epa.gov/region8/opa