Oil Booms in North Dakota

[GeauxSioux]

To be a leader, 1 builder has had to sacrifice

“There’s no better place in our business that you could go to make money,” said Heisick, who grew up on a farm near Upsala. “I’m surprised more of the major generals (contractors) out of Minneapolis haven’t relocated out here.”

Before long, they might. Williston is the fastest-growing city in America. The success in fracking for oil, a technology not available when the formation was first explored more than 30 years ago, was a magnet for building, transportation, education, health care and retail industries — among others.

Heisick has been in charge of building projects all over the western United States and even started his career in North Dakota. But he wasn’t prepared for Williston.

“In some ways, it’s like building on the moon,” he said. “Whatever you need here, you better bring it with you.”

That’s because a town of fewer than 20,000 people as of the most recent census has as many as 60,000 living in its vicinity, by some estimates. That puts a strain not only on housing but also transportation, supply chains, hardware stores, lumber yards, mechanical repair shops and heavy equipment operators.

[ScottM]

Interesting perspectives on the current shale oil/gas boom (read: bubble?).

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443589304577635783532976456.html?mod=WSJ_hps_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsThird

[darell1976]

http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/246739/group/homepage/

NEW TOWN, N.D. -- Plans for an oil refinery on the Fort Berthold Reservation, the first major refinery to be built in the United States in more than 30 years, cleared a milestone today.

More money for ND...always a good thing for us Nodaks!!

[ScottM]

More costs of economic success.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/28/us/boom-in-north-dakota-weighs-heavily-on-health-care.html?hpw&_r=0&pagewanted=all

[ScottM]

And now some of the real-life downsides of the Boom have taken root ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/01/us/as-oil-floods-plains-towns-crime-pours-in.html?hp&_r=0&pagewanted=all

[SiouxVolley]

And now some of the real-life downsides of the Boom have taken root ...

http://www.nytimes.c...&pagewanted=all

The crime rate is the same, but the # of people has increased by three times.

[SiouxVolley]

OneOk announces largest gas plant yet. Five others have been announced in the past five years.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/energy/oneok-partners-plans-bakken-projects-worth-million/article_c1fe26c4-fe70-5369-bbb2-051a046705e5.html

[Hayduke]

Wyoming has about $14 billion in our permanent mineral trust fund. Wyoming also is granting scholies to most instate students that choose to attend Wyoming higher ed institutions. It is called the Hathaway Scholarship. Here is a link on it..... Hathaway Scholarship

Also, if you qualify for the highest level of Hathaway, the U of WYO kicks in a minimum of another $2000 per year so it really is a decent amount of cash. My daughter is able to get though undergrad school with out borrowing a dime in student loans.

All this has been funded with the budget surplus we have had because of the high energy prices. North Dakota ought to look at doing something like this for the kids.

As a UW graduate school guy, even though as a Colorado resident I did not get a cent of grants or scholarships for my master's, I am grateful to the state of Wyoming and UW for keeping costs down, even for out of stater's like myself.

This *IS* something that North Dakota should do. Absolutely.

[darell1976]

And now some of the real-life downsides of the Boom have taken root ...

http://www.nytimes.c...&pagewanted=all

I wonder if more of these crimes are starting to trickle towards the eastern part of the state with all the armed robberies in the region. I heard Williston is a place you do NOT want to go to.

[ScottM]

Radioactive waste as a byproduct of oil production, who knew?

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304026304579453992970960368?mod=WSJ_hps_sections_business&mg=reno64-wsj

[werewolfoflondon]

Radioactive waste as a byproduct of oil production, who knew?

http://online.wsj.co...s&mg=reno64-wsj

I didn't until they found all the illegally dumped waste.

[SiouxVolley]

I didn't until they found all the illegally dumped waste.

North Dakota basements often have high levels of radon. Well drilling of any kind can have radon (gas), but also solids in the form of radium or their decay products.

[SiouxVolley]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2014/04/16/harold-hamm-billionaire-fueling-americas-recovery/

UND's new benefactor on the cover of Forbes

Hamm is predicting 2 mill barrels a day from the Bakken. almost twice what others are predicting and where we are today.

[SiouxVolley]

North Dakota may end up with six metro areas with more than 50,000 people. I guess Fargo won't take over the state as NDSU people have been spouting about.

Watford City and Stanley-Tioga would be the old Dickinson's and Williston's.

http://www.thedickin...00m-development

[SiouxVolley]

Finally, regulators talk about stripping NLGs from the oil. What I discussed month ago. The oil shipped would have a major decrease in flammability (increase the sparks necessary to start a fire), but it would cost the producers to build the strippering columns necessary to process the oil before its put in railcars. The loading platforms could end up selling the propane stripped out.

http://www.grandfork...e-it-hits-rails

[SiouxVolley]

A billion dollar residential and commeric development is starting in Williston:

http://northstarwilliston.com/overview/

[mg2009]

North Dakota may end up with six metro areas with more than 50,000 people. I guess Fargo won't take over the state as NDSU people have been spouting about.

Watford City and Stanley-Tioga would be the old Dickinson's and Williston's.

http://www.thedickin...00m-development

Fargo is growing proportionally with the state (about 2.4% annually vs 2.5% for the state) and it's growth isn't based on a commodity that will eventually run out and facing a rapidly rising competitor. Agree with your main point though. Dickinson might fall a little short.

[homer]

Fargo is growing proportionally with the state (about 2.4% annually vs 2.5% for the state) and it's growth isn't based on a commodity that will eventually run out and facing a rapidly rising competitor. Agree with your main point though. Dickinson might fall a little short.

With no diversion Fargo will run out of room. I wouldn't buy any further south than they are currently building. I'm by Osgood and that's pushing the limits.

[mg2009]

With no diversion Fargo will run out of room. I wouldn't buy any further south than they are currently building. I'm by Osgood and that's pushing the limits.

By Fargo, I meant to entire metro. Fargo the incorporated entity might be hemmed in at some point in the future, but that's a long way off.

[SiouxVolley]

This could really be huge for North Dakota:

The expanded gas plant now produces ethane, a new product for North Dakota. The ethane is transported by pipeline to a plastics plant in Alberta, Canada.

The production of ethane is significant for North Dakota, with several companies looking at petrochemical manufacturing opportunities in the state, said Director of Mineral Resources Lynn Helms.

“It really starts a whole new era for North Dakota,” said Helms, one of several state officials who attended the event. “With the growth in gas production in North Dakota, petrochemical manufacturing out of ethane is right on the doorstep.”

- See more at: http://www.prairiebi...h.Rlfsgf2v.dpuf

There are probably 200,000 bpd of ethane in natural gas plants in this state. Most of that is rejected with the methane and send to consumers to be burned. A cracker plant might consume half of that ethane to make ethylene, and then a polyethene plant could consume the ethylene, which then could be used in a tire plant. Conversely, the ethylene can be used to make a whole myriad of chemicals. A cracker plant is often considered as the holy grail of economic development. Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia have been fighting over a proposed Shell cracker, which was won by Pittsburgh. Pittburgh sees it as a economic savior (see Motley Fool). The Williston area along the Missouri River could be a logical location near the gas plant and as chemical plants need cooling water. Williston's growth could actually see a sharp upturn. If a cracker in Williston happens, it will become the largest city in ND because the demand for workers will be even more than now. Numerous other industries would want to be there, like Houston and Edmonton.

http://www.fool.com/...-a-cracker.aspx

http://www.timeslead...s.html?nav=5415

[SiouxVolley]

http://seekingalpha....ly-a-lot-bigger

Interesting talk about the Bakken getting bigger. The Three Forks is Divide and Burke Counties, as well as in Saskatchewan (called Torquay there) may be gaining a lot of attention. The middle Bakken in Divide and Burke is rather marginal economically, but the Three Forks may be huge there. The middle Bakken in Saskatchewan is productive only because it is cheaper to drill at only about 3000 ft rather than 10,000 ft around Williston. The Three Forks can change to whole equation in northern counties, NE Montana, and SE Saskatchewan.

A couple months ago, saw figures that predicted 140,000 wells and Williston with 150,000 people. Those could easily be larger if this is proven out. Crosby could be like Watford City, growing to 20,000 people.

[Bulk Truck]

North Dakota reaching and sustaining a 1 million or thereabouts population level is a reasonable and achievable expectation. IMO!

[SiouxVolley]

Watford City is getting a new high school, along with a new rec center. The Rec Center has two hockey rinks along with a 3000 person venue and pool. It may not be too long before Watford City has HS varsity hockey: it Jr Gold level now.

http://www.startribune.com/blogs/264037101.html

[SiouxVolley]

Here's a Business Week article on Williston's Rec Center. They are comparing it to Opera Houses in Oslo or Reykjavik.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-06-18/a-70-million-rec-center-brings-indoor-surfing-golf-to-north-dakota

[puck]

Valley News Live tweet:

UND Gets A Major Gift

Posted: Jun 26, 2014 1:31 PM CDT

<em class="wnDate">Thursday, June 26, 2014 2:31 PM EDT</em>Updated: Jun 26, 2014 1:31 PM CDT

<em class="wnDate">Thursday, June 26, 2014 2:31 PM EDT</em>

The Hess Corporation has pledged 5 million dollars to UND's College of Engineering and Mines, plus the North Dakota Higher Education Challenge Fund has pledged another 2.5 million dollars.

The 7.5 million dollar donations will help fund UND's new collaborative energy complex.