E-News 2012
March 2012 E-News
Posted 3/27/12 (Tue)
New members – Thank you to new Petroleum Council members Agcelerator, LLC • Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. • Bakken Environmental Services, LLC • Chase Merritt Residential, LLC • FleetMatics • FlexSteel Pipeline Technologies, Inc. • InterTech Environmental and Engineering • MTI • Prairie Housing Services • Raintree Partners • The Village Family Service Center • Waters Edge Distributers, LLC
ND oil activity – Preliminary production numbers for January 2012 are 546,000 BOPD from 6,600 wells (both all-time highs) and 571,500 MCFD (all-time high) of natural gas. There are currently 205 rigs active in the state.
2012 WBPC – The 2012 WBPC will be held May 22-24 in Bismarck, ND. We are still seeking sponsorships at the platinum, silver and bronze levels. Attendee and sponsor registration is open online at www.wbpcnd.org.
Registration: $500 (Feb 1 – Apr. 15)
$600 (Apr. 16 – May 15)
$750 (after May 16)
Booths: SOLD OUT
Sponsorships: All sponsors will be included in all marketing materials, including on-site signage and the conference booklet and website. See website for details on the sponsor packages.
• Platinum – US$5,000
• Silver – US$2,500
• Bronze – US$1,000
Lodging: A list of hotels with rooms still available is online. When reserving rooms, please reference the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference block. Please make your hotel reservations and rental car reservations as soon as possible. Prairie Knights Casino & Lodge has 140 rooms available..
If your company has large room blocks reserved, we would appreciate it if you released any extra rooms you don’t intend to use. If you are going to use your room block but have not registered all the participants from your company, please do so as soon as possible as it will help us prepare for this great event in a timely fashion. We anticipate hotel rooms opening up as blocks are released. For the most up-to-date room availability, please contact Lori Yantzer at 701-222-4308.
Dorms on local campuses are also available. There will be a shuttle service from the campuses.
University of Mary – The University of Mary has 50 college suites available. Each suite has two rooms with two beds in each room and one bathroom to accommodate the suite. The cost is $160.00 per suite (flat rate). Participants are responsible for finding roommates, if they so choose. Rooms can be booked with a credit card only. The University of Mary is a smoke free campus located approximately 7 miles from the Bismarck Civic Center on Highway 1804. For reservations or questions, contact Toni Reinbold at areinbold@umary.edu or via phone at 1-800-408-6279 ext. 8348.
Bismarck State College – Bismarck State College has 35 rooms available in a suite-style setting. Each suite has two rooms and a shared bathroom space. The cost is $100.00 per room per night. Rooms can be booked with a credit card only. Bismarck State College is a tobacco and alcohol free campus conveniently located off of I-94 via Exit 157. For reservations or questions, visit the BSC .
Frontier Airlines adds flights to Bismarck Airport – Frontier airlines will begin flights out of the Bismarck Airport on May 17. Flights will go between Bismarck and Denver International Airport five days a week: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Flights will leave Denver at 10:40 a.m. and arrive in Bismarck at 1:10 p.m. The return flight to Denver will leave at 1:45 p.m. and arrive at 2:26 p.m. The planes will have 99 seats. Flights are available during WBPC.
2011 Economic Impact Study – The Petroleum Council is funding a 2011 Economic Impact Study. North Dakota State University is conducting the study, which was previous conducted in 2005, 2007 and 2009. The 2009 study revealed that the petroleum industry in North Dakota had a $12.7 billion economic impact. This is very valuable information for our industry and we need your support. A sampling of oil operators and service companies will be surveyed soon. All information is confidential and will be reported in aggregate only. Thank you in advance for your timely participation.
NDPC Spring Social – The Petroleum Council hosted a social at the Brown Palace in Denver, CO, on March 14. Over 250 people attended, and it was a great success. Thank you to the 40 companies who sponsored the event. The next Denver Social is being planned for June 2013.
South Dakota posts drilling, geological records online to promote oil and gas drilling – South Dakota is making great strides in putting drilling and geological records on the Internet as part of an effort to expand exploration for oil and gas and join in the production boom that has hit North Dakota and other nearby states, State Geologist Derric Iles said March 21.
The information has been put online so companies interested in exploring for oil and gas can quickly search scanned images of paper permits, drilling records and maps of underground rock formations, Iles said. People can use an interactive map to search a particular area and get information on specific wells drilled in the past, Iles told scientists and engineers at the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources' annual conference on the environment and groundwater.
Iles said the state is working to update the Internet site by adding production information on each oil and gas well in South Dakota. Information showing what School and Public Land sites have been leased and what is still available for lease also will be added, he said. View the full news release here
API Workshop on Hydraulic Fracturing Recommended Practices – API will be hosting a complimentary workshop on hydraulic fracturing recommended practices on March 27, 2012. This in-depth discussion will provide an opportunity for attendees to learn about the standards and guidance documents developed by industry experts, and hear about the latest activities in North Dakota. The workshop will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Radisson Hotel in Bismarck. Continental breakfast and lunch will be provided. For more information, call 202-682-8388. Register here.
Nabors recognized for OSHA VPP Merit status – Nabors Well Services' Belfield facility received recognition from the North Dakota Safety Council for their OSHA VPP Merit status. A plaque was presented to Glenn Hanson, Area Manager, and Bob Matthews, Sr. Safety/Training Specialist, at the Annual North Dakota Safety Council Conference in Bismarck on February 8. Special emphasis was given on Belfield's mobile workforce status, as well as the fact that their business is unique to the OSHA VPP award holders. Congratulations to the Belfield facility!
Housing Incentive Fund Needs Continued Taxpayer Support – The North Dakota Housing Finance Agency (NDHFA) is encouraging state taxpayers to continue supporting the North Dakota Housing Incentive Fund (HIF) with a contribution.
NDHFA has allocated $4.3 million in flexible financing for the development of 306 new rental units. Nine housing development projects received conditional commitments for $3.9 million during a funding round that ended Dec. 31, 2011. The projects in Beach, Belfield, Crosby, Grand Forks, Kenmare and Williston join two projects in Crosby and Minot that previously received allocations worth $440,000.
Taxpayers making a contribution into the fund receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit against their state income or financial institution taxes. For taxpayers making quarterly estimated tax payments, a contribution to HIF may be used to offset their estimated payments. The agency will continue to issue tax credits to contributors on a first-come, first-served basis until HIF’s $15 million maximum authority is reached.
Contributors to the fund can target their dollars to a specific project or ask that their contribution be designated for use in a specific community.
More information on HIF is available at www.ndhousingincentivefund.org or by contacting Jolene Kline or Bill Hourigan at info@ndhfa.org, (701) 328-8080, (800) 292-8621, or (800) 366-6888 (TTY).
Petroleum Council Scholarships Available – The Petroleum Council will provide three $1,000 scholarships to students attending a North Dakota college who are pursuing a degree in petroleum engineering, geology or a related field, or who have work/internship experience in the oil and gas industry. Scholarship applications must be postmarked to the Petroleum Council by April 1, 2012. Scholarship information is available on the Petroleum Council website.
Wald joins ND Department of Agriculture – Kelly Jo Wald, Communications Manager for the Petroleum Council, recently joined North Dakota Department of Agriculture as Policy Analyst. Wald began working at the Petroleum Council in 2009. She will be greatly missed by staff and members. Best wishes, Kelly Jo!
Daily ND oil and gas news updates – The Petroleum Council provides a news subscription service to our members. If you are interested in receiving daily news updates on important industry issues, please e-mail ndpc@ndoil.org.
Mark your calendars!
March 27 API Standards Briefing – Radisson Hotel, Bismarck, ND
May 22-24 Williston Basin Petroleum Conference – Bismarck, ND
June 11-14 Teacher Seminar – Bismarck, ND
July 24 & 26 Bakken Rocks CookFest – Ray and Belfield, ND
September 19-20 NDPC Annual Meeting – Medora, ND
Oil & Gas Hearing Schedule
March 28-29 September 26-27
April 25-26 October 24-25
May 30-31 November 28-29
June 27-28 December 19-20
July 25-26 January 16-17
August 22-23
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.
