Showing posts with label Oil. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oil. Show all posts

Friday, December 14, 2012

Well spews oily mist


Ill be leaving North Dakota on Monday, so this might be one of the final posts I make about the absurdity of life in the North Dakota Oil Patch.

Well spews oily mist near Parshall

PARSHALL — An oil well that began to malfunction Wednesday evening continued to spray a mist of oil into the air late Thursday but is expected to be contained this morning, an official at the scene said.
By: Amy Dalrymple, Forum Communications
  • Oil
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    Amy Dalrymple/Forum Communications A mist of oil sprays from an oil well near Parshall on Thursday, after an equipment malfunction occurred. A specialized crew flew from Texas to get control of the well.

    PARSHALL — An oil well that began to malfunction Wednesday evening continued to spray a mist of oil into the air late Thursday but is expected to be contained this morning, an official at the scene said.
    The mist of oil from the well about nine miles west of Parshall appeared to be contained shortly after 3 p.m. Thursday. Crews used the bucket of a backhoe to cover the mist and keep it from blowing up into the air, said Kris Roberts, environmental geologist with the North Dakota Department of Health.
    But the risk of a static spark that could start a fire was too high, so crews removed the equipment about 4 p.m. and the mist continued to spray to the north Thursday evening, Roberts said.
    “One spark would have been one way too many,” he said.
    About 6 p.m. Thursday, crews were closing down for the day because it was getting too dark, Roberts said.
    They will resume working this morning, he said.
    The well did not pose any danger to public health and there was no need for evacuations, Roberts said.
    Kyle Waliezer, Rockies area superintendent for Slawson Exploration Co., said a crew was working on the well between 6 and 7 p.m. Wednesday when an equipment malfunction occurred. No one was injured, he said.
    The malfunction, which is under investigation, caused the workers to lose control of the well, Waliezer said.
    A specialized team from Houston flew to North Dakota Wednesday night to get control of the well, but a brownish mist, occasionally surging higher than the top of the service rig, continued to spray into the air. They will continue their work Friday.
    Lake Sakakawea, less than one mile to the south of the well, was not in danger of being affected, Roberts said.
    The well sprayed oil, gas and water containing brine, Roberts said. The mist drifted more than 2,000 feet to the southwest of the well before the wind shifted, he said. The mist was spraying to the north and Roberts estimates it has affected an area of about 1,500 feet. The amount of oil released is unknown, Roberts said.
    Cleanup crews would not begin working until the well was contained, Roberts said.
    Slawson hired a firm to monitor gas levels in the area to ensure the safety of nearby residents, Waliezer said.
    Workers constructed dikes around the well site to contain the spill and prevent it from getting to a drainage area that could affect the lake. Waliezer said Slawson constructs its well sites so oil can be contained on site in the event of a spill.
    “They’ve done an excellent job of trying to make sure they’re safe and contained,” Roberts said.
    Prior to the incident, the well had been in production, but a workover rig, or service rig, was brought in to clean out sand and improve production, Waliezer said.
    The state Department of Mineral Resources and other agencies also were on the scene investigating.
    A safety officer from the Three Affiliated Tribes energy division also was monitoring the well, which lies within the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.
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    Location: Parshall, ND 58770, USA

    Tuesday, October 23, 2012

    oppose drilling in Killdeer Mountains


    Published October 23, 2012, 12:00 AM

    Proposed wells draw controversy: Rancher, tribal member oppose drilling in Killdeer Mountains

    Home to one historic battlefield site already, the Killdeer Mountains are the subject of a new North Dakota fight. This time, however, the battle is not between the U.S. Army and tribes of Native Americans, but rather between the oil industry and the people who live near and use the mountains, which begin about eight miles northwest of Killdeer.
    By: Bryan Horwath, The Dickinson Press

    Home to one historic battlefield site already, the Killdeer Mountains are the subject of a new North Dakota fight.
    This time, however, the battle is not between the U.S. Army and tribes of Native Americans, but rather between the oil industry and the people who live near and use the mountains, which begin about eight miles northwest of Killdeer.
    Much to the chagrin of some Dunn County residents and native tribes that use the land for ceremonial purposes, the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources Oil and Gas Division, an arm of the Industrial Commission, will host a hearing Wednesday in Bismarck regarding the addition of a number of new oil drilling sites in the county and around the state, several of which would be in the immediate area of the mountains.
    “It’s a travesty,” said Loren Jepson, a rancher who lives about 15 miles northwest of Killdeer. “People should be concerned about this. If you care about hunting, searching for native artifacts or birdwatching in the Killdeer Mountains, that’s all in jeopardy.”
    Though drilling is not allowed in certain areas in and around the mountains, Jepson said the addition of four — and possibly more — hydraulic fracturing sites in the area could exacerbate issues residents are already facing because of drilling north of Killdeer along ND Highway 22, such as heavy truck traffic, dust and noise.
    “It’s a quality of life issue,” Jepson said. “We know that there has been and will continue to be drilling here, I just wish the oil companies would have more respect for the people who have lived here their whole lives. I wish the oil companies would just work with people.”
    The proposed new wells — which are just a few of dozens that will come before ND Oil and Gas this week — would be in close proximity to the Killdeer Mountain Battlefield State Historic Site and certain areas that some Native American tribes consider to be sacred, such as Medicine Hole, a cave-like site in the mountains that has been part of Native American lore for decades.
    A member of the Three Affiliated Tribes and an instructor of Native American studies at Fort Berthold Community College in New Town, Delvin Driver Sr., said the Killdeer Mountains — especially Medicine Hole — have a lot of spiritual significance for his people.
    “This is an area where people from different tribes, from all over, come to fast and make contact with different spirits,” Driver said. “This is sacred land. The native people are spiritual people and the land is who we are. If there is a lot of interference for the people who go in those mountains, it’s not going to be a good spiritual experience for them.”
    Driver added he understands that drilling is a fact of life in North Dakota.
    “The oil industry is here and it will continue to be here,” Driver said. “But they don’t really see our views — they see money. They’ll step on anybody’s foot to get more.”
    The historic battlefield site in the Killdeer Mountains commemorates an 1864 skirmish between the Army and a gathering of Yanktonai, Dakota and Teton Indians. As legend has it, Medicine Hole is a narrow passageway leading off the mountaintop through its base used by natives to escape U.S. soldiers during the conflict more than a century ago.
    Jepson said he has retained the Dickinson law firm Mackoff Kellogg to fight the location of the proposed wells and will be in attendance at the hearing on Wednesday.
    “I don’t know what to expect,” Jepson said. “I know a lot of others in the community feel the same way I do, but it seems that nobody will do anything about it. I’m trying to do something about it.”
    Hess Corp. is listed as the proprietor of the wells on ND Oil and Gas documents. Representatives from Hess could not be reached for comment Monday.
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    Location: Killdeer, ND 58640, USA

    Monday, October 15, 2012

    massive load of fracking


    Published October 14, 2012, 12:00 AM

    Clay under Stark, Dunn counties a boon: Study reveals massive load of fracking material

    Could a certain type of clay prominent in western North Dakota make the hydraulic fracturing process easier for energy companies while simultaneously providing even more of an economic boost to the Oil Patch?
    By: Bryan Horwath, The Dickinson Press

    • Material
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      This material, pictured next to a penny to show its size, is a proppant used in the hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, process that has allowed oil drillers to retrieve oil stuck deep within the Bakken. A large mass of clay material that’s good for use as a proppant has been located in Stark and Dunn counties.
      Could a certain type of clay prominent in western North Dakota make the hydraulic fracturing process easier for energy companies while simultaneously providing even more of an economic boost to the Oil Patch?
      The foremost geologist in the state thinks both scenarios could become reality.
      “We’ve estimated that there are 1.7 billion tons of economically mineable kaolin in western North Dakota,” said state geologist Edward Murphy. “This is something that could potentially be a boon for energy companies and for the state of North Dakota.”
      After some extensive study by the North Dakota Geological Survey and North Dakota State University, two things are clear: the state has plenty of clay and most of it is buried in Stark County and Dunn County.
      Commonly referred to as kaolin, these rock-like clay formations are full of kaolinite, a stable mineral that tends to be high in aluminum oxide content.
      Common ingredients used in the fracking process are proppants — substances used to prop open cracks in the shale formation to allow oil to seep out — and can come in the form of sand-based mixtures and ceramic beads.
      Much of the ceramic proppant materials currently used in the fracking process in the Bakken come from as far away as China, but that could soon change, Murphy said.
      “On average, a Bakken well uses 3 (million) to 5 million pounds of proppant,” Murphy said. “In 2012, companies will drill and complete around 2,400 oil wells in North Dakota and use roughly 5 million tons of proppant. A big cost of drilling a Bakken or Three Forks well is tied directly to proppants.”
      The GS has mapped two major deposits of this special type of clay: the Bear Den portion of the Golden Valley Formation, mostly in Dunn County, and the Rhame Bed of the Slope Formation, which is located primarily in the western half of Stark County.
      A total of 232 rock samples were submitted to the Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering at NDSU with a final report due in late 2012 or early next year, according to the GS website.
      When contacted Thursday, representatives from energy contracting giants Halliburton and Baker Hughes — both of which are active in the Bakken — said they couldn’t enter into specifics about the potential for the mining of North Dakota kaolin.
      “Our global supply chain acquires many commodities around the world on a daily basis,” said Baker Hughes spokesperson Pam Easton. “Based on this activity level, and for competitive reasons, we are not able to discuss just one ingredient or source for a particular commodity.”
      Murphy said the decision on the use of a sand and chemical mixture or the use ceramic beads as proppant in the fracking process comes down to whichever a particular company prefers. A move to proppant which would be mined near the Bakken, however, could significantly cut down on shipping costs and efforts to bring sand in, often from places like Wisconsin.
      “We’ve kind of done phase I of the process already,” Murphy said. “It’s now going to be a matter of companies and the state looking into the potential of mining these minerals. We could see that process move along in the next couple of years.”
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      Location: Stark, ND, USA

      Thursday, October 11, 2012

      Gubernatorial campaign for the badlands


      Taylor brings gubernatorial campaign to Dickinson

      During a campaign stop in Dickinson on Wednesday, gubernatorial candidate Sen. Ryan Taylor, D-Towner, promoted the preservation of 40,000-plus acres of Badlands as wilderness, essentially keeping oil development off the land.
      By: Katherine Grandstrand, The Dickinson Press

      • Taylor
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        Sen. Ryan Taylor, D-Towner, speaks to supporters at the Dickinson Public Library on Wednesday morning at a stop for his gubernatorial campaign. Before Dickinson, he had been in New Town, and after he was headed to Bowman and Regent.

        During a campaign stop in Dickinson on Wednesday, gubernatorial candidate Sen. Ryan Taylor, D-Towner, promoted the preservation of 40,000-plus acres of Badlands as wilderness, essentially keeping oil development off the land.
        “It just means that there’s going to be 40,000 acres, possibly, that would remind us of what this place looked like before all this occurred,” he said at the Dickinson Public Library.
        The Bakken, which extends into Canada and eastern Montana, is an area of 9.6 million acres in North Dakota. The proposed wilderness area, when combined with the acreage of the protected lands of Theodore Roosevelt National Park (just more than 70,000 acres in three units), is 1.1 percent of the North Dakota Bakken.
        “We’re still going to get a tremendous amount of oil out of North Dakota,” said Taylor, the Democrat challenger to Gov. Jack Dalrymple. “We’re still supportive of that and have been in a number of our policies.”
        The wilderness area would also give a buffer to the park, helping to preserve the soundscape and views of the 16th smallest national park, said Wade Schafer, Dacotah Chapter of the Sierra Club conservation organizer.
        “It just makes sense to set aside just a real small percentage of that land and try and keep it the way it was when Theodore Roosevelt was here,” he said.
        Hunting and grazing is not allowed in the park, but would be in a wilderness area. According to the Wilderness Act of 1964, development, including the oil industry, is not permitted on designated wilderness lands.
        “There’s a lot of people that will come out and like to hunt in the Badlands, but we also got to make sure that they have something to shoot at too,” Taylor said.
        The wilderness area will provide extra space to recreate, Schafer said.
        “Oil development and recreation are mutually exclusive,” he said. “No one wants to go recreate in an oil field.”
        The decision is up to federal government to turn the land into wilderness, but if it should do so, the state would evaluate and try to work with it, said Amanda Godfread, communications director for Dalrymple for Governor.
        “It’s really in their hands entirely,” she said of the U.S. Forest Service.
        The governor, who hunts pheasant in western North Dakota, is focused on making sure there’s balance between conservation and development, Godfread said.
        “Just making sure that we don’t really skew the balance is the most important thing in his perspective,” she said.
        There is already some oil development visible and audible in the park, especially the Elkhorn Ranch Unit, Friends of TRNP President David Nix said.
        FTRNP supports creating that buffer between the developed land and protected lands of the park, he said.
        “Let’s keep a little bit — let’s just keep a little bit for the people of North Dakota,” Taylor said.
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        Location: 101-199 W 3rd St, Dickinson, ND 58601, USA

        Friday, October 5, 2012

        A win for History in ND


        Roosevelt's ranch on nat'l historic register

        The U.S. Forest Service announced Thursday that the Elkhorn Ranch and Greater Elkhorn Ranchlands in Theodore Roosevelt National Park have been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
        By: Bryan Horwath, The Dickinson Press
        • Trek
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          Visitors take a trek in Theodore Roosevelt National Park’s Elkhorn Ranch on July 14. The hike has been added to the National Register of Historic Places.
          The U.S. Forest Service announced Thursday that the Elkhorn Ranch and Greater Elkhorn Ranchlands in Theodore Roosevelt National Park have been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
          Serving as Theodore Roosevelt’s home for a time between 1884 and 1887 — before he was elected as the country’s 26th president — the Elkhorn Ranch consists of 216 acres of undevelopable land in the TRNP.
          Referred to by the Forest Service as a “largely honorific” designation, the adding of the 4,402 acres of public and private ranchlands to the register does not provide any legal protection of development in the area, but it does put the Elkhorn Ranch in some prestigious company.
          “The oil boom will inevitably encroach on the Elkhorn Ranch,” Jenkinson said. “This distinction is a move in the right direction, but with the mix of state, private and federal land, there is still a lot uncertainty as to what will happen around the ranch. Hopefully, this place and the land surrounding it will be maintained and kept just the way it is for future generations of North Dakotans and visitors from around the country and around the world.”
          The head of the Forest Service also hailed the move as an important step.
          “Teddy Roosevelt would be very pleased today,” said Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell in a statement. “This designation officially puts Elkhorn Ranch on the map as a destination for Americans who want to visit and learn more about one of the ‘cradles of conservation.’”
          Often referred to as the “Cradle of Conservation” by environmentalists and conservation organizations, the site, about 35 miles north of Medora, becomes one of more than 4,000 historic sites on the registry, according to the release.
          “This is one of the most sacred places in the history of American conservation,” said author, lecturer and Theodore Roosevelt historian Clay Jenkinson from Bismarck. “But it’s also important to remember that this designation doesn’t provide any actual protection. What it does provide is awareness of this amazing place.”
          While the approximate 200 acres of land at the heart of the Elkhorn Ranchlands cannot be touched, the rest of the area — a mixture of public and private lands — has no such restrictions.
          Conservationalists have been against a proposed Billings County bridge that would span the Little Missouri River between Watford City and Medora, hobby ranches in the Badlands, and the ever-expanding reach of oil and gas industry mining.
          Jenkinson went on to cite the importance of ranchers, oil industry leaders and lawmakers working together to make sure certain lands in North Dakota are protected.
          The process to apply for a spot on the list of historic places was started in 2007, just five years before the distinction became official, a time frame that surprised TRNP Ranger John Heiser.
          “I’ll be darned,” Heiser said Thursday. “It is a shock to anyone in the conservation field. Things don’t happen very quickly on the conservation front and good news is scarce.”
          The Forest Service purchased the Greater Elkhorn Ranchlands in 2007 with the support of multiple partners, including Friends of Elkhorn Ranch, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and Ducks Unlimited.
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          Location: Unnamed Rd, Little Missouri National Grassland, Sentinel Butte, ND 58654, USA

          Wednesday, September 26, 2012

          Wast Water Near Housing Development


          I realize I have not been doing many personal posts over the last few weeks, I guess my life has become fairly unexciting but the fracking news just keeps coming ...


          ND approves frack water disposal well near Killdeer

          The North Dakota Industrial Commission on Monday approved the creation of a saltwater disposal well outside of Killdeer that some think is too close to a future subdivision.
          By: By Bryan Horwath, The Dickinson Press
          1. The North Dakota Industrial Commission on Monday approved the creation of a saltwater disposal well outside of Killdeer that some think is too close to a future subdivision.
          During a meeting in Bismarck, the IC ruled that Waterworks Killdeer LLC would be allowed to dispose of saltwater and other fluids used in the hydraulic fracturing process in an area where lots are for sale.

          In a compromise of sorts, Waterworks Killdeer agreed to position its new injection well further away from the planned 20-lot subdivision, but not the 2,500 feet further away engineer and contracting owner Cory Ravnaas had requested for the site, which is about nine miles west of Killdeer.

          In a letter sent to the IC in August, Ravnaas argued it would be “inappropriate to site a commercial saltwater disposal well immediately adjacent to a platted residential neighborhood,” according to the IC.

          In a separate letter to the IC, Dahl Homestead Development owners Tim and Fayleen Fischer also requested the disposal well be moved away from the subdivision site, citing concerns about added truck traffic, noise and dust.

          “We don’t have an issue with the well itself,” Fayleen Fischer said Tuesday. “We would just prefer it wasn’t so close to the site.”

          Ravnaas went a step further in his letter, saying he thought it would be “disastrous to the success of the new rural residential community.”

          Testifying on behalf of Waterworks Killdeer at an earlier hearing before the IC, Brent Lansberg stated the company was willing to move the surface facilities of the operation away from the subdivision site, though he said they would not move the requested 2,500 feet.

          In its finding, the IC did not list a specific distance for surface operations to be moved. At the hearing, Lansberg had noted Waterworks Killdeer still needed to obtain an approach permit from the North Dakota Department of Transportation for access to the site and added the company would attempt to receive permission to gain access directly from Highway 200 to limit truck traffic.

          Also in the finding, the IC noted that “the proposed injection well will be constructed in such a manner as to prevent the movement of fluids into or between underground sources of drinking water,” something the IC doesn’t take lightly, said Department of Mineral Resources Public Information Officer Alison Ritter.

          “The construction of injection wells is something that is taken very seriously,” Ritter said. “All wells are tested monthly to make sure they are in full working order.”

          Another subdivision, owned by a different company, is planned for an 80-acre site east of Killdeer. Work is expected to begin on that site later this year.

          Ravnaas declined to comment to The Dickinson Press about the decision by the IC.
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          Location: Killdeer, ND 58640, USA

          Thursday, September 20, 2012

          Oil exec in Stark County Court for frack water disposal practices


          Oil exec in Stark County Court for frack water disposal practices

          Oil executive Nathan Garber made an initial appearance at the Stark County Courthouse in Dickinson on Wednesday on charges that he illegally threatened area drinking water with his company’s hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” waste disposal practices.
          By: Bryan Horwath, The Dickinson Press
          • In court
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            Flanked by his attorneys Monte Rogneby, left, and Mandy Maxon, oil executive Nathan Garber listens to Judge Zane Anderson during an initial appearance at the Stark County Courthouse Wednesday morning.

            Oil executive Nathan Garber made an initial appearance at the Stark County Courthouse in Dickinson on Wednesday on charges that he illegally threatened area drinking water with his company’s hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” waste disposal practices.
            Garber faces a felony charge for allegedly knowingly attempting to deceive Industrial Commission inspectors.
            Garber is set to return for a preliminary hearing over the charge, though no date had been set.
            The North Dakota Attorney General’s Office is charging Garber with a violation of the rules and regulations of the IC in a case that represents the state’s first criminal charge against an oil and gas operator.
            Stark County Judge Zane Anderson began the approximate 10-minute hearing by inquiring if Garber had read the charge against him. After answering softly that he had, Anderson told Garber that it was “important that you speak up so we can get your answer on the record.”
            Anderson agreed to release Garber, listed in court records as a resident of Kalispell, Mont., on his own recognizance, as requested by Garber’s lead attorney, Mandy Maxon. Garber’s council pointed out that he has no criminal history and that he made the initial appearance voluntarily.
            The state alleges that Garber, president of Executive Drilling LLC, knowingly violated IC rules by directing employees of another company to modify their fracking waste water dump site practices. The state alleges that Garber’s action could have led the drinking water near the Lodgepole formation to be contaminated with salt water.
            The Class C felony charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a $5,000 fine or both.
            The IC has control of the site in question and officials continue to run tests for possible contamination. Any findings related to groundwater testing would not be released until a trial, North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources spokesperson Alison Ritter said.
            Garber and his attorneys would not respond to questions on their way out of court.
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            Location: Stark County Courthouse Maintenance, 51 3rd St E, Dickinson, ND 58601, USA
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