Indigo Resources Building Bakken Rail To Barge Facility in Osceola, AR

Rail to Crude Barge Facility Osceola AR
Rail to Crude Barge Facility Osceola AR

Indigo Resources Ltd plans to build a rail to barge facility in Osceola, Arkansas, to improve movement of Bakken and Canadian crude to Gulf Coast markets.

A 610-acre site at mile marker 784.5 on the Mississippi River will have 3,000 ft of river frontage, three sets of manifolds, five rail loops, and 16 miles of track with room for 100+ car unit trains. The site has direct rail access to Minot and Tioga, with shipments moving as much as three times faster than long rail hauls to the Gulf Coast. Increased speeds lead to higher tank car utilization or to put it another way - cost savings. Deliveries are expected to take less than 10 days and savings is estimated at $1-2 per barrel compared to rail alone.

Tomas Fuentes, project manager, stated "Unit trains will be able to come directly from Minot or Tioga without hitting any rail yards or switching stations."

A total of 15 refineries with 3.4 million barrels per day of demand is downstream of the site on the Mississippi River.

The terminal will have the capacity to unload two unit trains of light crude per day and three to four manifest trains of bitumen per week.

"Combining rail and barge will lower the overall cost to the market" explains John Park, Director of Indigo Resources Ltd. "Plus due to our location, Indigo will be able to turn around the unit trains faster and in today`s high cost of rolling stock, this is an added bonus."

The terminal will allow for crude movement to the lower Mississippi at cheaper rates than rail. The terminal will have a total of two million barrels of storage capacity:

  • 4 x 250,000 bbl tanks
  • 10 x 100,000 bbl tanks

The facility will be flexible enough to handle multiple crude types and Indigo Resources expects deliveries from Canada, Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming.

Construction is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2013 and the facility should be in service in late 2014.

Read more at indigoresourcesltd.com

South Dakota Frack Sand Coming To The Bakken?

South Dakota Frack Sand Mines
South Dakota Frack Sand Mines

Cambrian Enterprises has registered mining claims near Deadwood, Rapid City, and Custer in South Dakota. While much of the frack sand used around the country comes from Wisconsin, we might begin to see supply coming from our neighbor, South Dakota, before long.

"This is the closest known claim to the Bakken. I think this is an excellent idea for participating in the economic event called the Bakken," Ganje said.

Sand is the proppant of choice across much of the Bakken and that isn't expected to change. It is estimated that more than 2 million tons of sand were consumed completing wells in the Bakken in 2012.

Read more at the bismarktribune.com

While sand will stay in high demand, there are areas where the play is deeper and parts of the Three Forks where operators prefer to use a blend of ceramic proppant. Ceramic proppant is more expensive, but holds up under high pressure and high temperature better than sand.

Will Bakken Oil Production Boost North Dakota Past Texas?

Bakken production surpassed 700,000 b/d in December 2012 and some analyst believe it is pumping closer to 800,000 b/d now. Production has surged over the past two years from just ~275,000 b/d in January 2011. On analyst stated that drilling in the Bakken -

"is like printing money. Capital is coming from all around the world, even Europe and Asia," said Fadel Gheit, an energy analyst at Oppenheimer. "It has single-handedly changed the outlook for oil production."

With an inventory of 30,000 plus wells, many are beginning to ask if the Bakken is the biggest oil play and oil producing region in the US. Texas produces a little more than 2 million b/d of oil and it's impossible to think the Bakken could eventually reach that level. If multiple benches of the Bakken and Three Forks prove commercial, I won't be the one saying it won't happen.

Read more at cnbc.com

Heath Shale Still Looking Up at the Bakken

Heath Shale Well Map
Heath Shale Well Map

After several years of leasing and exploration, the Heath Shale still hasn't been proven as a viable play.

The formation is targeted in Garfield, Musselshell, Petroleum, and Rosebud counties in Montana. First the proclaimed "king" of oil shale plays, EOG Resources, backed away from the play. Then Cirque Resources , True Oil, and Fidelity Exploration followed suit.

Approximately 30 wells have produced oil and just a dozen wells are still producing today. Even the best Heath wells have only yielded between 15-20 b/d. Wells coming on at rates that low become stripper wells very quickly. Very expensive stripper wells to boot ($4-6 million).

Read more about failed exploration in Montana from the bismarktribune.com

Rocky Mountains Oil & Gas Awards Winners Announced

Oil & Gas Awards
Oil & Gas Awards

The inaugural winners of the Rocky Mountains Oil & Gas Awards were announced this past week.

The award winners for 2012 included:

  • E&P Company - QEP Resources
  • Drilling & Services Company - Marquis Alliance Energy Group
  • Health & Safety Initiative - FTS International
  • Industry Supplier - Frank Henry Equipment
  • Law Firm - Burleson LLP
  • Midstream Co - High Sierra Energy
  • Trucking Co - Brady Trucking

There were several others divisions and winners. You can find the full list of winners at oilandgasawards.com