North Dakota Petroleum News

New Members – Thanks to the new Petroleum Council members Barr Engineering, Intervention Energy, and Yellowfield Biological Surveys.

Register Now for the Petroleum Council Annual Meeting – The Petroleum Council’s Annual Meeting will be held in Medora, North Dakota Sept 1–3, 2009. We have a great line-up of speakers. Medora will still be in full swing with all the activities including the Musical, trail rides, tourist sites, and, of course, golfing. http://www.medora.com/ Get your hotel rooms now. The deadline for the room blocks is August 1 and rooms may be difficult to find after that date. Be sure to register soon for the Oil PAC Golf Event, as we expect the 144 slots to fill fast. Registration, agenda, golf, and sponsorship information is available at www.ndoil.org.

Navigating Oil Development of Tribal Lands – Immediately following the Annual Meeting on September 3, there will be a meeting of tribal, industry, state and federal leaders to discuss oil and gas development on the Three Affiliated Tribal Lands. An agenda for this meeting will be available on our web site at a later date.

Join Us For The Oil Can! Bakken Rocks Cookfest July 29 in Killdeer & July 30 near Stanley – Plans are set for the Petroleum Council’s Oil Can! Program to hold community barbecues in Killdeer at the Lions Park on July 29 from 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. MDT and in the Stanley area at the Doug Kinnoin farmstead (12 miles south of Stanley on Highway 8 and 1 mile east on the Belden Road (51st St. NW) from 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. CDT on July 30. We are anticipating big crowds at each location.

The Bakken Rocks Cookfests are part of the Oil Can! Program in which industry is working to educate and improve communications with landowners, policy-makers, and the public. Killdeer and Stanley will each have nine locally active oil operators partnered with service companies competing for the “Best Experience” at their Cooker. Plenty of food along with local entertainment will be on hand, as well as educational booths. This is a community and industry event -- everyone is welcome. We hope to see you there. Attendees are asked to RSVP so we can be prepared for the crowd. Click here for Cookfest information: http://www.ndoil.org/?id=125&page=2009+Bakken+Rocks+Cookfest

Petroleum Council Facts & Figures Ready – The Petroleum Council’s annual collection of agency data related to the oil and gas industry in North Dakota is complete. Copies of the Facts & Figures are available for distribution, as well as posted at www.ndoil.org. North Dakota’s oil production grew by 74% in 2008 to nearly 63 million barrels. Oil tax collections increased to $527 million, up 139% from 2007. The average drilling rig count was 75, and the average price of oil in 2008 was $89.63 representing a $24.77 increase from 2007.

According to API’s Monthly Statistical Report, year-to-date domestic crude oil production averaged 4.4% above the January-May period of 2008. Output is nearly 50% above year-ago levels in North Dakota where technological advancements like hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling have led to higher production. North Dakota is now the fifth largest oil-producing state in the nation behind Louisiana, Texas, Alaska and California. “It’s been a dramatic increase for that state - and one that accounts for nearly a third of the entire increase in U.S. crude oil production so far this year,” said API Statistics Manager Ron Planting.


Gas Tax Rate for Fiscal Year 2010 Available – The Tax Commissioner has determined that the natural gas tax rate for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2010 will be $.1831 per mcf. The tax rate the previous year was $.1476 per mcf. For information regarding the three-step process involved in establishing this rate, check out http://www.nd.gov/tax/oilgas/pubs/gasrate.pdf.

2009 Teacher Education Seminar -- The Best Yet – 43 teachers and new industry members gathered for the 16th annual Teacher Education Seminar in Bismarck, June 8-11. This year’s teachers were engaged and ready to learn about the industry from the start. The media attention industry has received over the past year had definitely increased their awareness of the industry as well as their interest. The glowing evaluations of the Seminar from teachers who attended are due to generous efforts made by many industry individuals and companies. Click here for a group photo.

Seminar Reviews:
“The geology and rock strata information and how horizontal drilling works will make it much easier to explain to my earth science classes why this information is useful. Being on an oil rig was amazing!” Gail Ringey, Sullivan Middle School, Fargo, North Dakota.

“The tours were great, the lectures were very informative, and all was wonderful. There is so much to comment on from the dinosaurs to the oil rig, it was excellent! What a great opportunity to learn more about North Dakota. Thank you for making this available.” Sister Nicolette Karcher, St. Bernard Mission School, Ft. Yates, North Dakota.

The Petroleum Council would like to thank all those involved in making the Teacher Education Seminar a success! The day in the field touring a drilling rig, producing well, and visiting with industry members was once again the highlight of the week. A special thank you to Larry Dokken, Lynn Helms, and Kent Ellis for their extra efforts in coordinating and teaching at the Seminar. We also want to thank the following companies who provided prizes and sponsored the oil field lunch: Enbridge Pipelines; Tesoro Refinery; Keitu Engineers & Consultants; Bob’s Oilfield Service; Marathon Oil Company; Hess Corporation; High Plains; Missouri Basin Well Service; Nabors Drilling; Red Iron Pump & Supply; Wyoming Casing; Nabors Well Service; Stallion Rockies; Frear Consulting Inc.; Oillind Safety; Weatherford ALS; Steier Oil Field Services; Baker Hughes; and, Halliburton Energy Services. The Seminar is funded by the Petroleum Council and a grant from the Oil & Gas Research Council. Click here for a group photo of some of the industry volunteers.

Hydraulic Fracturing Under Attack in Washington – The environmental lobby in Washington is pushing its weight around as they attempt to attack fossil fuels in every manner possible. The latest maneuver is bills in both the U.S. House and Senate that would attempt to regulate hydraulic fracturing under the Safe Water Drinking Act. We know this is merely an attempt to delay and add unnecessary expense to oil and gas development across the nation. State regulators, including Lynn Helms from North Dakota, have informed Congress that states already regulate hydraulic fracturing and no federal oversight is necessary. This type of federal oversight could be extremely detrimental to the Bakken development, as advanced hydraulic fracturing has made Bakken development possible. We urge you to contact your Congressman and urge them to oppose this attack on domestic oil and gas. http://www.ndoil.org/?id=99&page=Legislative+Issues

Blaze Culliton Joins Petroleum Council Staff – Blaze Culliton joins the Petroleum Council as the Communications/Membership Coordinator. He is a recent graduate of the University of Mary in Bismarck with a degree in Business Communication. He is a native of Great Falls, Montana and was active in student government and athletics at U-Mary. He worked as an Intern with Agency MABU this spring and assisted with the Petroleum Council’s communications programs at Agency MABU. http://www.ndoil.org/?id=24





For more information on any of these issues or to be removed from the mailing list, contact the North Dakota Petroleum Council at
(701) 223-6380, ndpc@ndoil.org, or see www.ndoil.org.