june 2013 the bakken magazine

JUNE 2013

Reason toBoast

Plus:The Business of Safety

Page 26

AND: Legislation That Matters

Page 8

Buzz from the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference

4

Why Engineers Deserve Attention in Oil and Gas Country Page 18

www.THEBAKKEN.comPrinted in USA

THEBakkEn.com 5

Contents JUNE 2013 VoLUMe 1 IssUe 3

DePARtMents

MAkIng It24 Growing the Bakken Village Out of Prairie

Forget about new workforce housing outside of town, a development team from south Dakota is working to build a city from scratch, and they have the experience to do it. By ChRIs hAnson

In PLAy 26 Spotlight on Safety

safety providers have learned the intricacies of managing and creating a better workplace environment.By stAFF

ReseARCh 28 Canada’s Bakken Rock Stars

the saskatchewan Ministry of the economy oil and gas research team has proven why it is the provincial expert on the Bakken formation. By stAFF

CONSTRUCTION AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Engineering Attention

Oil production gets the attention, but the services provided by engineering

firms deserve to be recognized. By LUke geIVeR

Pg 18

4 Editor’s NoteProduction, Passion and PrideBy LUke geIVeR

8 N.D. Petroleum Council Legislative Progress Breakdown By ALexIs BRInkMAn

10 Bakken NewsBakken news & trends

14 Conference ReviewWilliston Basin Petroleum Conference 2013By stAFF

JUNE 2013

Reason toBoast

Plus:The Business of Safety

Page 26

AND: Legislation That Matters

Page 8

Buzz from the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference

Page 14

Why Engineers Deserve Attention in Oil and Gas Country Page 18

www.THEBAKKEN.comPrinted in USA

ON THE COVER: Jame Todd, principal engineer for Bartlett & West's energy division has helped lead a pipeline project and develop a Geographical Systems Information map. PHOTO: JACK GLASSER

The Bakken magazine June 20136

Production, Passion and PrideLuke GeivereditorThe Bakken [email protected]

eDItoR's note

When was the last time a complete stranger started crying in front of you within the first five minutes of conversation? For me, it was a few weeks ago at the 21st Annual Williston Basin Petroleum Conference. I was stand-ing at a booth, recorder in hand, listening to a product development team explain the merits of their technology. A polished piece of equipment was on display in the booth for interested parties to touch. The aisle behind me was crowded with passing attendees, and as the conversa-tion progressed, the person speaking about the product began shifting his glance from me to the equipment and then back to me, again and again. Eventually, his eyes stopped on the equipment piece, he raised his hand to touch its shiny exterior, he paused, and two small tears leaked down his cheeks.

I didn’t say a word, but kept recording. After a swipe across his cheeks with his shirt sleeve, he smiled, looked up at us, and started talking again. Thankfully, for my colleague and me, he assured us that it wasn’t us. His brief bout of emotion was, instead, linked to the time, effort and personal experience he had invested in designing and implementing the product into the Bakken play. Talk-ing about the history of the product reminded him of that. Believe it or not, that wasn’t the only conversation I had during the event in which a company owner broke down.

The takeaway from those conversations may be one of many things, but I would argue it is as simple as this: a lot goes into the Bakken. It’s not just about production; it’s about passion and pride, and because of that, development of the region will successfully continue for the long-term in all areas, from production to well site prep to housing construction.

For the June issue, we highlighted several companies that have put a lot into the play and are reaping the economic and career achievement benefits created by executing in the Bakken. Jame Todd, a principal engineer for a Bismarck-based engineering firm is a perfect example. Although Todd never shed any tears in front of me during our face-to-face talk about his efforts to stream-line the crude oil pipeline construction process, he did explain the approach his team has success-fully used to staff, house and more importantly, adapt to the needs of the energy industry and its time-sensitive demands. As Todd says, “With energy companies, today everything is yesterday.”

The fast pace and demand by the energy industry for services aren't only seen in the engineer-ing sector. And the engineers in the play aren’t the only service providers adapting and thriving. Fairlight Medical Center of Williston, N.D., has found a way to manage a growing business while supplying services to a market the medical staff might never be able to keep up with. A South Dakota-based development group is doing its part to meet the housing demands as well. The team intends to build a city, complete with everything a small city might have, on the site of a prairie field. The best part is, the team has already done it elsewhere. Chances are, most of us have never built a city, but I would imagine a lot goes into it, a lot to be proud of.

THEBakkEn.com 7

www.THEBAKKEN.com

VoLUMe 1 IssUe 3

eDItoRIAL

editor Luke Geiver [email protected]

senior editor Susanne Retka [email protected]

Staff Writer Chris [email protected]

Copy editor Jan [email protected]

PUBLIshIng & sALes

Chairman Mike Bryan [email protected]

Ceo Joe Bryan [email protected]

President Tom Bryan [email protected]

Vice President, sales & Marketing Matthew Spoor [email protected]

Vice President of Content Tim Portz [email protected]

Business Development Manager Bob Brown [email protected]

Circulation Manager Jessica Beaudry [email protected]

senior Marketing Manager John Nelson [email protected]

Advertising Coordinator Marla DeFoe [email protected]

ARt

Art Director Jaci Satterlund [email protected]

graphic Designer Lindsey [email protected]

Subscriptions subscriptions to The Bakken magazine are free of charge to everyone with the exception of a shipping and handling charge of $49.95 for any country outside the United states, Canada and Mexico. to subscribe, visit www.thebakken.com or you can send your mailing address and payment (checks made out to BBI International) to: the Bakken magazine/subscriptions, 308 second Ave. n., suite 304, grand Forks, nD 58203. you can also fax a subscription form to 701-746-5367. Reprints and Back Issues select back issues are available for $3.95 each, plus shipping. Article reprints are also available for a fee. For more information, contact us at 866-746-8385 or [email protected]. Advertising The Bakken magazine provides a specific topic delivered to a highly targeted audience. We are committed to editorial excellence and high-quality print production. To find out more about The Bakken magazine advertising opportunities, please contact us at 866-746-8385 or [email protected]. Letters to the Editor We welcome letters to the editor. If you write us, please include your name, address and phone number. Letters may be edited for clarity and/or space. send to The Bakken magazine/Letters, 308 second Ave. n., suite 304, grand Forks, nD 58203 or email to [email protected].

TM

Please recycle this magazine and remove inserts or samples before recycling

COPYRIGHT © 2013 by BBI International

ADVeRtIseR InDex

21 Bakken oil Workers & oil service expo

25 Bartlett & West

30 Cameron

3 Carroll's Asphalt Paving

2 MBI energy services

23 Polymer services, LLC

31 Quality Mat Company

32 targeted Job Fairs

4 The Bakken Magazine

16 Ulteig engineers


the MessAge NORTH DAKOTA PETROLEum COuNCIL

The 63rd Legislative Assembly of North Dakota will go down in history as the state’s longest legislative session. Legislation covering every aspect of the oil and gas industry was discussed throughout the course of the session and work continued for the North Dakota Petroleum Council all the way to day 80. Following is a breakdown of the results in some of our top issues:

Oil ImpactsIncreasing funding for

oil-impacted cities, counties and townships was one of the most important issues of the session and from the beginning, the bill proposed by Rep. Robert

Skarphol was the vehicle to get it done. At the end of the day, HB 1358 included $1.143 billion for fixing roads, building infrastructure, providing law enforcement and emergency medical services and more. This was one of NDPC’s biggest issues this session, as ensuring the needs of our impacted communities are met is very important to our industry. The additional funding for western North Dakota provided in this bill is only the beginning of what’s needed to build up the necessary infrastructure, but it is a great step in the right direction.

NDPC also worked in support of additional staffing for various state agencies, including 15 new highway

patrolmen for western North Dakota, nine new Department of Health staff members to deal with oil-related issues, and 22 new positions at the N.D. Industrial Commission to help meet the increasing demand in oil-impacted areas.

Landowner and Surface Rights

A multitude of legislative measures addressing various landowner and surface rights issues were passed. Prior to the session, we spent time working with the Dunn County Landowner’s Association to put together HB 1333. This bill includes many tools to address concerns from landowners who have multiple easements crossing their land and others

who are hesitant to grant easements across their property. It includes an expanded mediation program and an abandoned well fund. Among other legislation addressing surface rights is a bill that allows flares, tanks and treaters to be placed at a greater distance from occupied dwellings at the request of the landowner for wells located within 1,000 feet of that dwelling.

TaxesOil and gas development

has brought about tremendous changes on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. The tribal tax agreement was one of

Bills Bringing Change:taxes (hB 1198)-Reduced tax rate of 2 percent for wells drilled 10 miles or more outside of non-Bakken and Three Forks fields for first 75,000 barrels produced.

-All stripper-well properties now eliminated. New wells completed after July 1, must qualify for stripper status individually.

-Stripper-well threshold increased to 35 bopd.

-Splits production and extraction tax collections on trust lands 50/50 between Three Affiliated Tribes and N.D.

-Splits production and extraction tax collections on fee lands 50/50 between TAT and N.D.

-Five-year tax holiday for new wells on fee lands eliminated after July.

-Annual report on infrastructure expenditures, fees and costs imposed on oil and gas industry required by TAT.

-10 percent must be spent on infrastructure.

-(Formal agreement still in development between Gov. Jack Dalrymple and TAT).

Legislative Progress BreakdownBy ALexIs BRInkMAn

Images by The Bakken magazine staff

SASKATCHEWAN

SOUTH DAKOTA

MANITOBA

Williston Basin

Williston$52.4 MBakken

Formation

NORTH DAKOTA

Minot$7.6 M

Dickinson$26.4 M

MONTANA 94

Total of $1.143 billionto oil-impacted cities, counties, townships,roads & highways

THEBakkEn.com 9

the most important issues of the session for NDPC. After countless meetings with industry, legislative leadership and the tribal council and multiple attempts to pass an agreement, a deal was made during the final afternoon of the session. That agreement was put into HB 1198, which will split production and extraction tax collections 50/50 between the Three Affiliated Tribes and the state. Needs for increased funding within the reservation are the same as those across the oil patch, and the new agreement will provide the funds necessary for the Three Affiliated Tribes, the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, to meet the growing demand for infrastructure, housing and social services. HB 1198 also made some major changes to the oil and gas tax structure, including:

•Requires the oil operator to withhold income taxes from nonresident royalty owners after Dec. 31. This requirement applies only to producers with production exceeding 350,000 barrels per year.

•Provides a non-Bakken/Three Forks new-well incentive. This incentive subjects the first 75,000 barrels produced during the first 18 months from the time a well has been drilled and completed to a reduced tax rate of 2 percent. The well must be outside of the Bakken/Three

Forks formations and 10 miles or more outside an established field.

• Eliminates all stripper-well properties and requires every new well completed after July 1, 2013, to qualify for stripper status individually.

• Raises the stripper-well threshold on Bakken/Three Forks to 35 barrels of oil per day from 30.

• Extends the $55 one-month triggered incentive on horizontal wells for two years.

Many, many other issues were addressed throughout the

course of the session, from flaring and pipelines to water, trucking and workforce issues. All in all, it was a long and difficult session, but in the end the oil and gas industry fared very well, and great progress was made in addressing the impacts and challenges faced in western North Dakota.

Author: Alexis Brinkman North Dakota Petroleum Council701-223-6380 [email protected]

the MessAge

Funding HighlightsOil and Gas Impact fund increased to $240 million

Airport grants$60 million

$7 millionEMS services

$4 millionHigher education grants

$3.5 MillionFire protection districts

Departmentof Heathwill hire

9 newstaff

Counties with new oil impact $5 million

Highway patrol will hire new patrolmen

15

$7 millionSheriff departments

DOT to hire 16 new staff

$14 million

Hub cities

Industrial Commission will hire new staff

22

Dust controlpilot project$4 million

Department of Mineral Resources hiring

23

Water (sB 2233) -Transfers responsibility for all existing Western Area Water Supply Authority debt to state.

-Prohibits WAWSA from preventing others from developing state’s water resources.

-Allows WAWSA and independent water providers to construct lateral pipelines to connect to oil and gas industry.

-Requires WAWSA to receive approval from State Water Commission.

-Fine for water appropriation violation increased from $5,000 to $25,000 per day.

Flaring (hB 1134) -Allows gas collection for compression to liquid for value-added products.

-Tax exempts collected gas for first two years after production.

(hg 1410) -Exempts materials used in liquefying gas from sales and use tax.

-Exempts fuel used by BNSF for LNG construction facility from use tax.

Pipelines: -Penalty for pipeline safetystandards increased from $10,000 to $200,000.

-Permit requirements for pipelines sited in previously permited areas or corridors lessened.

-Underground gathering pipelines must include location files available to landowners.

-Increased penalty for failure to call before digging.

Failed Bills-Required tax and royalty payments after one year following initial production if flaring occurs.

-Property tax exemption for new natural gas gathering and collection systems.

-N.D. Pipeline Authority’s ability to lend for refineries.

-Major changes to oil and gas taxation.

-Tax on industrial water use.

-Additional $50 million for more Hub Cities, including Watford City, N.D..


BAKKEN NEWS BAKKEN NEWS & TRENDS

Twice as BigThe U.S. Geological Survey’s 2008 assessment of the Bakken For-

mation's recoverable oil potential has become one of the most down-loaded publications ever issued by the USGS. That may soon change. In 2008, the USGS estimated the Bakken Formation held roughly 3.65 billion barrels of oil. Equipped with new geologic and produc-tion information not available five years ago, the USGS has reissued its assessment of the Bakken (and added the Three Forks Formation) for 2013. The new estimates, 7.4 billion barrels of oil in the combined formations, are unmatched, and double what they were in 2008. “This is the largest unconventional oil resource that the USGS has ever as-sessed,” said Brenda Pierce, energy resources program coordinator.

The assessment provides a mean undiscovered volume estimation for both the Three Forks and Bakken formations. For oil, the mean average is 7.4 billion barrels of oil, 6.7 trillion cubic feet of associated gas created during oil extraction and 0.53 billion barrels of natural gas liquids. The 7.4 billion barrels of oil number is the average of a high and low estimate created by the USGS, which estimates the two formations may contain 4.4 billion barrels to 11.4 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil. “However, there is no way to know how much oil is in the Bakken Formation or any formation until the area is actually drilled and produced,” according to the USGS.

The 2013 assessment is similar to the previous version, said Stephanie Gaswirth, Bakken assessment team lead, except for one difference. “The difference this time is that there is a substantial amount of new geologic information,” she said. Since 2008, roughly 4,000 wells have been drilled, giving the USGS a large volume of new information.

“We assess basins all the time,” said Pierce, “but the timing of reassessment depends on the availability of new data. The Bakken has gone through a revolution with new technological applications.” Because of the technological advances, the assessment team realized new data was available, Pierce said.

In addition to a new assessment of the Bakken, the team added the Three Forks, something it didn’t do in 2008. “The Three Forks was generally considered nonproductive, there was no production data during the last assessment,” said Galwirth. Credit the North Dakota Geological Survey, the North Dakota Industrial Commission, the Montana Board of Oil and Gas and several other industry groups or producers for the new supply of information, according to the USGS.

The USGS has not issued an official estimation on the time period it will take to recover the oil resources, but judges “it is likely to be many decades.”

The long-term prominence of the play has one decision maker in North Dakota committed to the development of the infrastructure needed to transport the resource from the well site to refineries across the U.S. “This assessment is yet another reminder that increased oil and gas development in North America requires critical infrastruc-ture, like the Keystone XL pipeline,” said U.S. Sen. Heidi Hietkamp, D-N.D., adding that among many issues, “we need to ensure that there are adequate roads, housing units and schools in the Bakken commu-nities to support long-term growth.”

U.S. Department of the InteriorU.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2013–3013 April 2013

National Assessment of Oil and Gas Fact Sheet

Assessment of Undiscovered Oil Resources in the Bakken and Three Forks Formations, Williston Basin Province, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota, 2013

Printed on recycled paper

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered volumes of 7.4 billion barrels of oil, 6.7 trillion cubic feet of associated/dissolved natural gas, and 0.53 billion barrels of natural gas liquids in the Bakken and Three Forks Formations in the Williston Basin Province of Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

ithin the Bakken

and Three Forks Formations. The Devonian and Mississippian Bakken Formation

consists of four members in ascending order: (1) the Pronghorn Member (formerly

known as “Sanish sand”) (LeFever and others, 2011), (2) lower shale member,

(3) middle member, and (4) upper shale member. The sandstones and siltstones

f the Bakken

Formation and are limited in extent. The maximum thickness of the Pronghorn is

58 feet (LeFever and others, 2011). The upper and lower shale members are the

primary source rocks for the Bakken TPS, with present-day total organic carbon

(TOC) values from <1 weight percent to 35 weight percent (Lillis, 2013). The shale

members are present in parts of Montana and North Dakota and extend into the

Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, though the Canadian provinces

were not assessed. The lower shale member reaches a maximum thickness of 56 feet

Figure 1. Map showing the Williston Basin Province, Bakken Total Petroleum System (TPS), and the Bakken Formation Assessment Units (AUs). Major structural features are also shown. Inset map shows location of the Bakken TPS (pink).

IntroductionThe U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

recently completed a geology-based assessment of

conventional and continuous oil and gas resources

of the Devonian Three Forks Formation and

Devonian and Mississippian Bakken Formation

in the Williston Basin Province of North Dakota,

2008 USGS assessment of the Bakken Formation

(Pollastro and others, 2008), more than 4,000

additional wells have been drilled, providing sig-

Forks Formations. Furthermore, the Three Forks

Formation was not assessed in 2008 by the USGS

and accordingly warranted assessment based on

in this formation. Oil is being produced from the

Bakken and Three Forks Formations using both

horizontal drilling technology, which exposes a

larger amount of reservoir to the wellbore than

vertical wells, and hydraulic fracturing, which

stimulates movement of hydrocarbons in tight-oil

reservoirs. Approximately 450 million bar-

rels of oil (MMBO) have been produced from

the Bakken and Three Forks Formations in the

United States since the 2008 assessment of the

Bakken Formation.

Geologic Summary of the Bakken and Three Forks Formations

The Bakken Total Petroleum System (TPS)

encompasses strata from the Devonian Three

Forks Formation, Bakken Formation, and lower

part of the Mississippian Lodgepole Formation

that may contain Bakken-sourced oil. The TPS

MT

CANADA

WYSD

ND

97°98°99°100°101°102°103°104°105°106°107°108°

49°

48°

47°

46°

45°

44°

CANADA

NORTH DAKOTA

MONTANA

SOUTH DAKOTA

NORTH DAKOTA

MONTANA

SOUTH DAKOTAWYOMINGWYOMING

Poplardome

Cedar Creek

anticline

BillingsNose

anticline

Little Knifeanticline

BROCKTON-FROID FAULT

Nessonanticline

Antelopeanticline

EXPLANATION

Elm Coulee-Billings Nose Continuous Oil AU

Williston Basin Province boundary

Bakken TPS

Middle Bakken Conventional AU

Nesson-Little Knife Continuous Oil AU

Central Basin Continuous Oil AU

Northwest Transitional Continuous Oil AU

Eastern Transitional Continuous Oil AU

50 MILES

0

0

50 KILOMETERS

2008

3.6

2013

7.4

2018

map showing the Williston Basin Province, Bakken Total Petroleum System (TPS), and the Bakken Formation Assessment units (Aus). major structural features are also shown. Inset map shows location of the Bakken TPS (pink).

THEBakkEn.com 11

BAkken neWs

By 2017, electricity demand in North Dakota will increase by 88 percent, according to the N.D. Industrial Commission, in each electricity category: industrial, commercial and residential. The enormous jump in power usage stems from oil and gas production and the need for power in the industrial sector, in-cluding the addition of new wells, building and operating the infrastructure necessary to sup-port production of pipelines, water treatment facilities, gas processing plants and refineries. In 2012, the U.S. Energy Information Administra-tion reported that sales of electricity in both the commercial and industrial sector accounted for 35 percent of total sales, with the remain-ing 30 percent used by residential customers. The rise in industrial electricity has, however, created an increase in both the commercial and residential categories.

Basin Electric Power Cooperative has already applied for a new transmission line with the N.D. Public Service Commission. The 345-kilovolt line would stretch for 200 miles from the company’s Antelope Valley Station near Beulah, N.D., to substations in the N.D. communities of Grassy Butte, Williston and

Tioga. The company says the state’s current system is reaching its limits.

A 2012 study by Bismarck-based Kadrmas, Lee & Jackson Inc. titled, “Williston Basin Oil and Gas Related Electrical Load Growth Forecast,” revealed the power needs of the oil and gas industry. Monthly meter data of oilfield-related electric loads showed an average usage of 22 kW per oilfield site, the report said. Most well sites are run by onsite

generators during drilling and completion phases, but during long-term production, each site is connected to an electrical grid.

The increase in electricity demand doesn’t just highlight what the state needs. Accord-ing to the U.S. EIA, between 2007 and 2011, the increase in electricity coincided with a 41 percent increase in the state’s gross domestic product.

Power Demands

Jan-07 Jan-08 Jan-09 Jan-10 Jan-11 Jan-12 Jan-13

1.6

1.4

1.2

1.0

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0

January 2007-February 2013indexed to January 2007

North Dakota electricity sales by sector, rolling 12-month average

Industrial Commercial ResidentialSOURCE: u.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power monthly.NOTE: ROLLING 12-mONTH AvERAGES ARE THE AvERAGE OF THE PRECEDING 12 mONTHS OF DATA, TO ADJuST FOR SEASONALITy IN THE vOLumE OF ELECTRICITy SALES.

The movement of Bakken-crude out of the region is beginning to happen in a big way. Two major oil refining firms, Tesoro Corp. and Phillips 66 have signed agreements to ship Bakken crude to refineries on the east and west coasts. And, PBF Energy Inc., an independent refiner operating on the East Coast, has signed with Continental Resources Inc. to move a portion of CRI’s crude to a Delaware refinery.

Dennis Nuss, spokesperson for Phillips 66, says the company plans to use Bakken crude in its Bayway, N.J., refinery and in its Ferndale, Wash., refinery. And, Nuss refers to Bakken crude as advantaged crude, or oil that sells at a discount to the global benchmark, North Sea Brent crude. For Phillips 66, the main challenges of working with Bakken pro-ducers is the long supply chain between N.D. and coastal refineries, a situation that makes scheduling and tracking railcars difficult. But,

he says, “We are confi-dent we can overcome this challenge.”

So are other com-panies. Tesoro Corp. and Savage Companies, have formed a joint venture to bring Bak-ken crude to the Port of Vancouver where product will end up at a new 120,000-barrel-per-day crude rail-unloading and marine-load-ing facility. Savage will design, construct and operate the facility, which could be operational in 2014. Tesoro is already planning an expan-sion to 280,000 bpd. The Port of Vancouver team looks forward to diversifying its cargo handling capabilities, according to Todd Cole-man, CEO.

PBF also has a lot to look forward to. Through its agreement with CRI, the company will use its double-loop track to receive Bakken crude. Tom Nimbley, PBF CEO, said of the agreement, the company has made significant investments in acquiring rail cars and develop-ing its East Coast rail delivery infrastructure, which “positions PBF to benefit from these cost-advantaged crudes.”

Moving to New Markets

NECESSARY PURCHASE: Phillips 66 recently purchased these rail cars to move Bakken-crude to the west and east coasts. PHOTO: PHILLIPS 66


BAkken neWs

The Name to Know in Natural GasThere is a new household

name associated with the reduc-tion of natural gas flaring in the Bakken: ONEOK. The Tulsa, Okla.-based natural gas process-ing and transportation company, has not only invested heavily in the play, it has completed three major projects to move or process associated gas produced during oil or gas retrieval. With more than 5,000 miles of natural gas gathering infrastructure and overall acreage dedications in the region of roughly 3.1 million acres, ONEOK Partners LP is the largest independent operator in the Williston Basin.

The company recently com-pleted the Bakken NGL Pipeline, a 600-mile pipeline with the capacity to move 60,000 barrels per day of unfractionated natural gas liquids from ONEOK’s facilities and third-party facilities. The pipeline cost roughly $550 million and NGL’s transported from the Williston Basin eventu-ally arrive at the company’s NGL

fractionation and storage facility in central Kansas. The pipeline is the first NGL-capable transport infrastructure to move product to the Mid-Continent and the Texas Gulf Coast. By third quarter 2014, a $100 million invest-ment announced in 2012 will increase the capacity of the pipeline from 60,000 to 135,000 bpd. According to the North Dakota Pipeline Authority, the state produced roughly 850 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of associated gas for the month of February.

In western Williams County, the company has also started operating Stateline II, a 100 MMcf/d processing facility, the third of its kind to be completed by ONEOK in the Wil-liston Basin since 2011. The company now has processing capacity of 390 MMcf/d. “The completion of Stateline II, along with our other two

plants and associated infrastruc-ture that are operational, will reduce the flaring of natural gas in the region,” according to Terry Spencer, president of ONEOK

Partners. By 2015, the company will have invested between $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion in the Wil-liston Basin.

Montana

Wyoming

North Dakota

South Dakota

Nebraska

KansasColorado

Utah

Bakken Pipeline Overland Pass Pipeline NGL Factionator

Bakken Pipeline

FIRST OF MANY: As oil production continues, so does the need for gas transport lines and processing centers like the ONEOK Stateline I facility in Williams County, N.D.. PHOTO: ONEOK

THEBakkEn.com 13

BAkken neWs

Northern Plains Nitrogen, a startup fer-tilizer production company, epitomizes why challenges in the Bakken are often opportu-nities in disguise. The company, created by farmers in the Northern Plains region with a little help from North Dakota State Univer-sity, has announced it will build a nitrogen fertilizer production plant using natural gas sourced from western North Dakota as the main feedstock for its fertilizer. The facility, which could come online in 2017, will be built northwest of Grand Forks, N.D., near an existing wastewater treatment facility. In total, the plant will cost roughly $1.5 billion.

Gov. Jack Dalrymple called the plans an exciting opportunity for the city, the state and the company, noting that the increasing supplies of natural gas can provide the plant with feedstock and help regional farmers re-

duce their consumption of product typically sourced from places such as Eygpt, China or Saudi Arabia. Don Pottinger, NPN CEO, said the facility will be “among the safest, most efficient and environmentally compliant ever constructed.”

The company is currently working on the engineering, design and infrastructure need assessment of the facility. If completed, the plant would have a 2,200 ton-per-day nitrogen fertilizer production capacity, or roughly 600,000 tons of nitrogen per year. At the peak of construction, the plant could employ more than 2,000, and during opera-tions, NPN believes the plant would employ 135 full-time workers.

North Dakota currently ranks as the No. 12 producer of ammonia fertilizer in the U.S. at 400,000 tons per year. According to a

study conducted by NPN and NDSU on the feasibility of using natural gas sourced from western N.D. to produce fertilizer, the cost of natural gas accounts for roughly 50 percent of the production costs.

Opportunity Epitomized

Unconventional oil or gas produced from shale formations like the Bakken, are helping and hindering Canada’s economy. Oil production in the Saskatchewan portion of the Bakken will create roughly 7,000 new jobs in Regina by 2016, according to a report by the Bank of Montreal. Because of invest-ment by local businesses and new operations to purchase new equipment, expand or hire,

John MacAulay, senior vice president of BMO, says, “The best is yet to come,” for the southern Saskatchewan cities of Regina and Saskatoon. The 170,000 barrels of oil produced per day in the region is also helping to increase construction activity. According to the report, the value of nonresidential per-mits in the two cities was $836 million in the 12-month period through January, near the

highest on record. A report issued

from CIBC World Markets Inc., paints a different picture of the impact of shale-based oil on the Cana-dian economy and energy industry. Avery Shenfeld, chief economist for CIBC, said growth in U.S. shale output has put America’s net import require-ments on a collision course with Cana-

dian plans to ramp up its output of oil. More production in the U.S. is coming at a time when Canada hopes to export more product into the U.S.

Product from plays like the Bakken is also putting a strain on infrastructure typically used for Canadian-based crude. Because of that, Shenfeld says it is increasingly important that Canada move on one or more of the alternative pipelines that would help trans-port Canadian-based crude to Asia. And the rising prowess of China as the world’s No. 1 importer of crude helps to illustrate this.According to the CIBC report, China will overtake the U.S. this year as the world’s larg-est net importer of oil.

In addition to it’s ability to shift part of its crude supply focus to China, Shenfeld also says building and leveraging the use of the Keystone XL pipeline will help attract invest-ment to the country. “Three key trends—ris-ing shale oil prospects stateside, the shift in consumption growth to Asia, and a growing list of oil producing countries open to foreign participation—all pose challenges if Canada is to maximize the value of its resource base,” he says.

Canada’s Love/Hate with Shale

Source: NBS, DOE, CIBC

China's Oil Imports Poised to Surpass US (L); Asia Has Accounted for Two-thirds of New Demand (R)

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% of Total Growth in World Oil Demand, 2002-12

Baseline Assumptions Used in Estimating Ammonia CostNatural Gas Cost ($/mmBtu) 5Plant Efficiency Rate (%) 100Electricity Cost ($/kWh) 0.06Electricity Requirement for Small Plant (kWh/ton) 950Electricity Requirement for Large Plant (kWh/ton) 100O&m Cost for Small Plant ($/ton) 40O&m Cost for Large Plant ($/ton) 30Natural Gas Requirement (mmBtu/ton) 33Real Discount Rate (i) (%) 8Lifetime Financing (n) (years) 20Number of Operating Days 340ImAGE: NORTHERN PLAINS NITROGEN


ConFeRenCe ReVIeW

FIRE SAFETY: The flameless heater treater system can help to separate oil from water while increasing well site safety.

MORE THAN A TRAILER: General Irrigation & Dewatering, an Oakes, N.D.-based company, displayed its customized genset and pumping trailer.

MAT MODEL: To provide a visual representation of its products, Quality mat had a model made for the show.

SHINY AND CLEAN: Polished equipment was showcased in the parking lot exhibit area.

THEBakkEn.com 15

ConFeRenCe ReVIeW

Highlights from the event of the yearBy The Bakken magazine staffPhotos by Luke Geiver

Parking spots near the entrance of Evraz Place, the site for the 2013 Williston Basin Petroleum Conference in Regina, Saskatchewan, were all taken during the event, held April 30 through may 2. Oc-cupying the premium spaces were drilling rig equipment, flameless heaters and demonstrations of a handful of other sparkling-clean devices. In its 21st year, the WBPC also showcased impressive equipment and 300-plus ven-dors in the exhibit hall and provided expert perspective on the intricacies of the geological formations within the Williston Basin through numerous speaker presentations, updates from the play’s leading voices and incentive to attend the 22nd version of the event.

Williston Basin Petroleum Conference 2013

A SECOND LOOK: Pumping systems and similar equipment were on display at the show.

BIG TALK: The 2013 event brought together researchers, businesses, and the general public for discussions on the basics and the need-to-knows.


ConFeRenCe ReVIeW

The SettingThe combination of high-end appetiz-

ers, an open bar and casually dressed indus-try representatives made the opening night event in the exhibit hall a difficult place to hold a quiet conversation. Registration lines for the first hour stretched past the hall entrance, with 30-plus attendees in five or more lines. A handful of next-day speakers visited in the VIP lounge, and a jazz band strolled the exhibit floor, providing back-ground music for company representatives. Innovation was in evidence everywhere, seen in every aisle.

Videos of innovative new drill bit tech-nology played, accompanied by a physical display of the bit that the viewer could touch while seeing it in action. Attendees could stand within inches of a massive oil storage tank equipped with the latest monitoring technology. Vendors showcased products ranging from the basic and rugged: well site protective matting and fireproof clothing, to the precise and pricey: geographical imagery systems and consult-ing services.

The ChatterAfter spending more than three hours

the first night discussing industry issues and learning about new technology from several of the event’s vendors and representatives, our magazine team left in agreement on one thing: attendees at the show were there to do business. Joe Pendland Jr. and his team from Quality Mat Co., a Texas-based well site protective mat provider, offered per-spective that seemed to speak for many at the show. “We have made a substantial in-vestment in the Bakken because it is a long-term deal,” he said.

Alison Ritter, public information of-ficer for the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources, speaking in place of Lynn Helms, DMR director, helped ex-plain why the play presents companies like Penland and others with long-term security. During her second-day presentation to the

THE VOICE: In addition to introducing several speakers, Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, gave an update on the story of the Bakken.

THE SECRET TO STORAGE: Based on industry request, General Watering & Irrigation created a valve storage system that helps reduce wear and tear to pump valves. The system uses lockable bars to hold the valves in place during travel.

THEBakkEn.com 17

ConFeRenCe ReVIeW

UP CLOSE: Tremcar's innovative new oil transport tanker was close enough to touch.

massive crowd in the general assembly hall, Ritter told the crowd that in 2013, the DMR has permitted 6,000 new Bakken wells, more than what has been drilled in the region to date.

The DMR is adding 23 new staff mem-bers, which is important to its efforts in tracking the state of the Bakken, she said. “We want to develop this play in the most organized way. If we give a really good es-timate of all that goes on in the Bakken, we can really help communities plan.”

The DMR booth displayed a large well-site location map of the Bakken, which Ritter coined the “Shades of Grey,” map. “It tells where exciting areas are and where produc-tion is going,” she said.

Ritter wasn’t the only industry voice tasked with updating attendees on the state of the Bakken. Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, spoke about the challenges and opportunities for everyone involved with the Bakken. Al-though daycare services, road infrastructure, electrical power supply and landowner fa-tigue related to easement paperwork are all challenges in the play, the biggest challenge is flaring, he said. “No matter who comes to North Dakota,” from National Geographic to Time Magazine, he explained, “images on the cover are always the flare, and that is really not the story of the Bakken.”

The story is instead about the effects of the long-term activity created by oil and gas retrieval. Activity in the Bakken is creat-ing jobs and aiding in the resurgence of rural communities. “Investors and people com-ing to the Bakken know it,” he said. Ness

reminded the crowd of new diesel refineries planned for N.D., a natural gas-based ammo-nia plant planned in eastern N.D. and other major infrastructure projects, all of which will help to diversify and expand the Bakken economy.

The Big NewsNess highlighted a handful of bills that

will impact the Bakken, and Ritter confirmed that the number of drilling rigs in the Bak-ken will level off at 180 to 185 rigs in the next year. In total, the conference featured roughly 40 informative and technical presen-tations. But, for all of the buzz created by companies at the show doing business or the perspective from Ness, Ritter and mem-bers from the Saskatchewan Ministry of the Economy, nothing could’ve matched the U.S. Geological Survey’s release during the event. The Bakken and Three Forks formations are more than double the size thought in 2008, the USGS announced during the show. Con-sidering that booth space for this show sold out in roughly 30 minutes, and the news and buzz, the 2014 conference should be another event of the year. It will be held May 20-22, in Bismarck.

DRILLING ON DISPLAY: Portable units drew attention from attendees entering or leaving the show.


ConstRUCtIon AnD InFRAstRUCtURe

SERIOUS WORK: When Jame Todd, principal engineer for Bartlett & West's energy division isn't working on his own projects, he's looking to add staff and housing for his team. PHOTO: JACK GLASSER

THEBakkEn.com 19


Drilling and production may get the glory, but engineering teams have reason to boast By Luke Geiver

Engineering

ATTENTIONEngineers don’t get the credit they deserve. In a region where lateral lengths and initial production rates bring both bragging rights and an economic indication element to the long-term viability of oil and gas retrieval, little focus or praise is given to a road construction project or pipeline facility com-pleted in difficult operating conditions. There are no monthly press conferences to highlight the status of construction, gas gathering stations or wastewater ponds.

All most know is that something gets done, not how. When there’s a major announcement regarding the Bakken, it’s most likely about the latest oil resource assessment or some kind of funding issue. Rarely does the story of an engineering crew’s approach to workforce sup-ply, harsh operating conditions or innovative tactics to streamline its


ability to get a project done receive attention. Jame Todd, principal engineer at Bismarck-based Bartlett & West, offers one of many examples as to how, and why, engineering firms of every sort have a reason to boast about their work in the Bakken.

Conquering the Learning CurveBartlett & West is an engineering firm

that for roughly 30 years has been providing the state with rural water access and other re-lated construction services. Then the energy industry came to town. “For us the energy sector has been great, we have new service offerings because of it,” Todd says. Stand-ing with Todd at his booth during this year’s Williston Basin Petroleum Conference, and listening to him explain the evolution of his company while holding an iPad lit up with a western N.D. map featuring colored lines, it was easy to understand exactly how the energy industry has been good for his team. When asked about any changes or new ap-proaches the company had to make to the way it did business, Todd said frankly, “I’ve got a good example for you.”

In 2008, Todd and his team began work-

ing with a company assessing the feasibility of developing a synthetic natural gas plant by South Heart, N.D. The plans for the plant required water, and Todd’s team performed a study examining the options. The same com-pany tasked Bartlett & West to determine the viability for CO2 pipelines at the proposed facility. “They needed to sell that CO2 to make it economical,” he says. The team was required to create a permit matrix, or a map that would illustrate the type of land and cost of land for various pipeline routing options to move the product from South Heart to places in and out of the state.

The result of that work was a geograph-ical information system (GIS) application that Todd says, could produce a hypothetical pipeline on a map and then produce the in-formation of every road crossed, every fed-eral land used, any special land attribute and the type of land (wetland, forest, etc.). Using the GIS application, “We could estimate the cost it would be to cross any type of land,” Todd says. “That was about the same time the Bakken sort of took off,” he adds.

Armed with a cost-estimating tool fit for an iPad and capable of providing develop-

ers with real-time informa-tion regarding the status of a tract of land sited for a pipeline, Todd and his team were ready for the next re-quest from the company. Following the breakout of the Bakken during that time, “they shifted from the CO2 pipeline to an oil pipeline,” and the Bartlett & West team was able to use the in-formation gleaned from the CO2 exercise.

In doing so, the team had officially joined the list of engineering teams who have/and are transforming the play from a desk. “We had this big learning curve,” he says, in part, because of the speed required to ser-vice the oil and gas industry. “With energy companies, today everything is yester-

day. Efficiency is a huge challenge.” And the steep curve was also due in part to the economic and political atmosphere difference between water and oil. With the firm’s water work, landowners had been donating land easements because the farmers would gain

free water in return. “All of a sudden, we had to pay the landowners,” Todd says of the team's oil pipeline efforts. At first, landown-ers were requesting reimbursement by the acre affected, and then it was by each indi-vidual section of pipe. “On initial easements, we were paying $25 per rod and in a year’s time we were paying anywhere from $75 to $250 per rod.”

The efforts by Todd and his team that started in 2008 will pay off in June. The 132-mile pipeline that the team has been work-ing on, otherwise known as the BakkenLink Pipeline, will use a combination of 8-inch and 12-inch steel pipeline to transport crude from several N.D. and eastern Montana loca-tions.

But, although the Bartlett & West team may soon be finished with the project, they’ve earned a place as a go-to firm for in-novative GIS use. The GIS system helps in many areas, including the management of land ownership. The team used the system on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation as a means to track easements on the reserva-tion where, Todd says, there could be more than 200 names linked to 1 acre of land, and a minimum of 51 percent of those names must approve the selling or donation of that land easement. Because the GIS software tracks all information related to project man-agement, the team can use its technology in frack water supply lines, saltwater disposal lines and additional pipelines to provide cost estimates to developers and names to lawyers and accountants dealing with land acquisition or use issues.

Work on the BakkenLink has bolstered the company’s record-breaking success over the past three years, Todd says. The success


PROJECT VET: Gabe maliscke is using experience on Bakken-based projects to make current projects more safe.

DIGGING IN: Wenck Associates and team have expanded from environmental engineering and are now developing everything from car washes to industrial complexes. PHOTO: WENCK ASSOCIATES

THEBakkEn.com 21

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can be attributed to their ability to adapt their skill sets to a new area, to instill the trust of energy companies "because now we know the local landowners.”

Navigating the PlayThe Bartlett & West team is just one engineering firm that

has overcome adversity and found success in the Bakken. Gabe Maliscke, technical manager for the Fargo-affiliated branch of Ul-teig Engineers, has figured out how to manage several employees, projects and issues. The firm is currently working on a safety project for the 17 oil-producing counties in the state. The N.D. Department of Transportation has asked those counties to identify hazardous curves or road sections in their respective counties. The Ulteig team is now assessing those curves and sections, and outfitting each with the appropriate signage. “Out of the 17 counties, 15 responded and we have almost 800 sites to look at,” Maliscke says. “That is unique for us because typically we don’t handle that much information.”

To help his team manage the informational overload, he has used a similar approach as Todd’s team. Maliscke and crew are utiliz-ing a GIS-based app to track which sites have been addressed, with what type of signage and which still need work.


WORKING TOGETHER: The demand for engineering services in the Bakken means most firms are willing to collaborate or pass off work. PHOTO: WENCK ASSOCIATES INC.


The company is also heavily focused on addressing road conditions on a 20-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 2. After partaking in a similar project last year, Maliscke has adapt-ed to the traffic intricacies created by com-mercial trucks and a bursting population. “We got some good ideas on how to handle traffic and how to keep the public safe,” he says of his previous projects. His team now places a premium on limiting side road ac-cess to the highway during construction. In addition to a few minor traffic incidents on previous projects, there were a few incidents when a driver drove over fresh concrete.

On an overall project perspective, Maliscke says the No. 1 thing his team has overcome and is now thriving at, is time management. In the past, most engineering firms would work in the summer and design and plan in the winter. “Now there are proj-ects being bid year-round and projects being built all year-round. We have a team that just does bidding now,” he says.

Because the team is constantly work-ing and most projects are bid based in part on a timeline for completion, Maliscke says managing contractors and manpower has become crucial. The Ulteig team even uses its GIS system to monitor manpower. The system allows Maliscke to constantly check the progress of each small team at a road construction site, and if necessary, move in more workers or move off workers to an-other section based on each team’s progress. “With technology,” he says, “you can get a lot of work done when you are in the middle of nowhere. Even though nowhere doesn’t really apply to the Bakken now.”

Engineered BondsAs Maliscke im-

plies, there is practi-cally no more no-where in the Bakken, and it even applies to engineering circles. Paul Wallick, principal engineer for Wenck Associates Inc., an en-vironmental engineer-ing firm, can attest.

The firms are able to accomplish so much behind the scenes, in part because of the amount of work needed in the region. “I’ve noticed out here that engineering firms, al-though we are competitors, work together a lot more because we are all busy and we aren’t afraid to trade off services,” Wallick says.

Before working at Wenck, Wallick spent time as an engineer in the Minneapolis area. “It was much more cutthroat in the Cit-ies,” he says. “You knew every-body and it is a small world. You didn’t want to give away who you were working with.” In the Bak-ken, engineers frequently trade services or hold back from bid-ding on projects that aren’t within a team’s specialty area, a facet of the play that Maliscke agrees with.

Wallick also believes that to find success in the Bakken, whether is it designing a waste-water pond for a well site, an in-dustrial complex or an apartment building, engineers are learning the importance of showing up. “Being here is important. Establishing relationships with the city and county people is too,” he says. “You still have to make contacts and go out there. It is starting to get a little more satu-rated, it is getting more competitive.”

Engineers are not like oilfield workers who can thrive without ever entering a city. Engineers need to be known by city or coun-ty engineers who issue information so that they stay up-to-date about the constant zon-ing and regulation alterations happening in cities such as Minot, Williston or Dickinson.

The time and effort needed to remain in the loop on policies and rule changes is now a major reality for Todd, Maliscke and Wal-lick. Each one says that along with finding housing for staff members, staying abreast of regulatory decisions is a monster time- consumer. But, for most, if not all engineer-ing firms in the region, the efforts put forth outside of designing are worth it.

Todd’s team is always hiring, he says, and

has opened new offices across the state be-cause of activity in the oil and gas industry. Maliscke’s Fargo-based team is so busy it has begun to combine work with Ulteig's Bis-marck branch. Wallick is working on several projects ranging from industrial complexes to car washes. Each project means learning new rules, assessing and delegating man-power, and utilizing any new technology that expediates the process, because as each says, there is always more work. “This is going to be a long-term thing,” Wallick says.

Regardless of whether Wallick’s car wash project, Maliscke’s 20-mile stretch of concrete work on Highway 2 or any of the new pipeline work that Todd’s team is able to complete in this long-term play is recog-nized, it is clear that engineers are proving that any attention they get is earned.

Author: Luke Geivermanaging Editor, The Bakken [email protected]


ON LOCATION: Paul Wallick drives to or meets clients every week to ensure each party is up-to-date on planning.

THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT: The iPad application created by Todd and his team can provide information on land type, ownership status and cost estimates for proposed pipeline routes. PHOTO: JACK GLASSER


MAkIng It

Growing the Bakken village out of prairie By Chris Hanson

Photos by FourFront Designs Inc.

PRETTY TO PRACTICAL: The future site of the Bakken village will be a small-scale river town, situated near the Little muddy River.

Thirty-six years after the in-corporation of North Dakota’s youngest town, Lincoln, Wil-liams County could witness the organization of the newest municipality, Bakken village. Sitting along the banks of the Little Muddy River and bustling U.S. High-way 2, north of Williston, the village will be the location for single-family residences, medium-density housing, a downtown district, light industrial zones and general commercial areas.

South Dakota’s FourFront De-sign Inc., a company of engineers, architects and surveyors, success-fully created, planned and incorpo-rated the town of Summerset, S.D., in 2005. Bryan Vulcan, president, says the two projects, while similar in many ways, have one major differ-

ence. Summerset’s location between Rapid City and Sturgis required more public meetings to establish a consensus among the people already living there. With fewer people, no prior significant development and harmony among the existing neigh-bors, Bakken Village is a “clean slate” for developers, planners and land owners, Vulcan says.

“If you go back to how towns and cities were created throughout the western United States,” Vulcan explains, “there were very few peo-ple that would incorporate and more people would move in there over time.” He adds Bakken Village will follow that model, instead of wait-ing for development and then trying to foster unity with a higher popula-tion. “Starting out with a clean slate from day one with a small group of people that have built that consensus is much easier.”

Vulcan explains the incorpora-tion process requires thorough re-search and legislative work, includ-ing engineering and market studies, a financial analysis, sustainability planning, draft incorporation plans and other information needed by the county com-missioners who must approve the project. The incorpora-tion plan details how the city will handle streets, roads, utilities, law enforce-ment and city governance in accordance with North Dakota stat-utes. Sustainability planning refers to drafting recommended ordinances, Vulcan explains, so the city has be-ginning set of rules, plus matching utility and street access. If the city is not successful, tax revenues would

CITY BUILDER: Bryan vulcan, president of FourFront Design Inc., has helped to incorporate other cities in multiple states.

THEBakkEn.com 25

MAkIng It

still go to the county for infra-structure maintenance costs.

If Bakken Village’s incor-poration plan is approved by the county, Vulcan expects the results will be similar to those seen at Summerset. “Watching the city government form—the mayor getting elected for the

first time, the councilmen going through initial council meetings and establishing ordinances and how they want to run their city—was a beautiful example of democracy at work,” Vulcan says. He expects community leaders will first hire a finance officer or clerk, and then make

plans to employ a maintenance expert, police officers and oth-er officials as Bakken Village grows.

“The overall vision for the city is a place where people can purchase single-family homes that are affordable, that are sustainable such that people are going to stay there and ride out the ups and downs of the oil economy,” Vulcan explains. “We think creating lots of apartments is not the way to go. Single family homes, where people invest and can afford them in good and bad econo-mies, are going to keep the city populated.”

“We have a vision for a downtown area with a main street, mixed use retail and commercial activities going on and some residential,” he adds.

Plans include some light indus-trial and commercial areas, but mostly family-friendly areas. “There’s green space, parks, trails, areas set aside for schools, and areas set aside for specific niches, such as senior living and veteran neighborhood.”

Vulcan hopes that in 20 years the Bakken village will become “a vibrant, well-run, well-maintained clean commu-nity that people can be safe and comfortable in.” The Williams County Commission was ex-pected to consider Bakken Vil-lage’s incorporation application in early June 2013.

Author: Chris Hanson Staff Writer, The Bakken [email protected]

CATTLE CROSSING TO CROSSWALK: The Bakken village will take the place of ground formerly used for raising cattle.


Leszek Jaszczak and his team at Fairlight medi-cal Center in Williston, N.D., perform the type of work that most in the region will never see. As safety testing and medical ser-vice providers for hundreds of oilfield drivers, the team doesn’t want it any other way. “For ev-ery guy that had a problem that we sent to get appropriate care after initial tests,” says Jaszczak, “it is another potential accident that you don’t read about.” After starting a radiology clinic in 2002 with a staff of three, the medical center has grown tremendously, says Lauren Fur-long, corporate health coordina-tor for the center. The clinic has added several employees and several services, ranging from occupational health to agil-ity testing and Department of Transportation physical exami-nations. “Williston is a quickly growing environment and com-munity, either you grow or you quickly become irrelevant, you either keep up with the compe-tition or you don’t,” says Jaszc-zak, a board certified radiolo-gist.

To remain relevant, the Fairlight team has had to battle the ongoing challenge of staff-ing, and according to Furlong, work with a sense of compas-sion. “That is a big key when you are working with these guys who pick up and leave

home with no place to live and they’ve been driving all night,” she says. “They don’t necessar-ily pass their tests on their first try.” Rachel Whittier, R.N., says heavy usage of energy drinks is part of the problem for failed first tests.

Whittier and her team of nurses are working at 120 percent, she says, and in some cases, travel to drilling sites to perform yearly testing proce-dures for crews who are unable to make time for an in-clinic visit. To increase service effi-ciencies, Jaszczak hopes to add new technology that will replace

free weights and extension lad-ders used to perform basic agil-ity and skills tests each potential oilfield employee must undergo before being hired.

Job-travel, patience with multiple-test recipients or new technology implementation aren't the only aspects the team has had to deal with on a dai-ly basis. The oil world can be small, Furlong says, and because of that, many in the industry change jobs frequently. The turnover and constant change makes it difficult for the clinic to maintain successful working relationships with other compa-

nies, but the team always finds a way. “There have been a lot of good times and a lot of hard times,” Jaszczak says, “but it has been a good ride.”

Paul Wolf, founder of Wolf Technologies LLC, knows all about the proverbial ride in the Bakken and why the issue of safety will always be impor-tant. In 2009, Wolf was recog-nized by Inc. Magazine as a lead-ing entrepreneur for his trailer light safety check system. The system allows trailer operators, including commercial and over-the-road users, to verify the sta-tus of all trailer lights by plug-

In PLAy

Spotlight on Safety By The Bakken magazine staff

PROOF OF SAFETY: mBI Energy Services has 33 years of experience in the trucking industry and provides a comprehensive safety plan that includes classroom sessions, on-the-job training and job-compatibility testing.PHOTO: mBI ENERGy SERvICES

THEBakkEn.com 27

ging into a device he originally made out of Radio Shack parts and a plastic box. The system performs a diagnostic check to verify all turn signals work and open or short circuited wires don’t exist. The system saves on labor costs related to time-consuming testing, reduces highway inspections related to faulty lights and provides a level of safety in bumpy and muddy working conditions. “The de-vice is extremely important for the oil industry for that very reason. They are driving on bumpy gravel roads and muddy roads. Those are all things that cause an increase in trailer light failures due to wire chaffing or bouncing inside the frames,” he says.

Today, the system is used

by rental equipment companies across the country, he says, and more operators including con-tractors hauling equipment and over-the-road fleets in the Bak-ken are purchasing his testing unit. The commercial users rep-resent the largest possible mar-ket for his Mandan, N.D.-based company. “I think that there is an awareness of that,” he says, for both his company and by fleet operators looking to add another element of safety to their own teams.

Recent work from the American Trucking Association helps to illustrate Wolf ’s point. The ATA teamed up with the oil industry to compile a list of recommendations for roadway safety and driving practices ear-lier this year. “Trucks are essen-

tial workhorses of our country’s ability to take advantage of our shale gas and oil resources,” according to John Conley, co-chair for the National Tank Truck Carriers. But, the indus-try also has a responsibility to be safe, he added. Safety pro-

viders like Wolf or the team at Fairlight Medical Center are do-ing their part. “I think it really shows that what people are ca-pable of is impressive,” Furlong says of safety service providers in the Bakken.

In PLAy

NOT TO BE OVERSHADOWED: After starting with a team of three, the Fairlight medical Center group has grown in size and experience in what it takes to operate in Williston. PHOTO: STEPH SLABODNIK

GROWING SAFELY: Leszek Jaszczak, works 10-hour days to provide medical test-ing and other services. He also finds time to help hire staff and maintain the clinic. PHOTO: STEPH SLABODNIK

SMALL DEVICE, BIG GAINS: The Trailerlight Check system helps monitor trailer light systems after jarring road trips. PHOTO: WOLF TECHNOLOGIES LLC


ReseARCh

Canada’s Bakken Rock Stars

PROVINCIAL EXPERTS: Dan Kohlruss has earned a PhD. working on oil and gas plays from the Canadian portion of the Bakken to the oil sands of western Saskatchewan.

melinda yurkowski and her team at the Saskatchewan Geological Survey’s ministry of the Economy are all just a bunch of rock stars. Not only did the team spearhead this year’s agenda for the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference, putting together a comprehensive look at the geology of the Williston Basin and what developers of

all sorts need to know, the team has one of the most complete core collections in the Canadian portion of the Bakken play. “If there is a core of a well, we can say with 99 percent certainty that we have it and we can show it to you,” Erik Nickel, petroleum re-search geologist says. Although the team is tasked with cover-ing every geological formation in the entire province, according to Yurkowski, a task that also in-cludes work on the oil sands, he-lium deposits and tracking one of the world’s largest deposits of potash, Yurkowski says the team has proven itself as the provin-cial experts in geology.

“We’ve been working on the Bakken for a number of years,” says Dan Kohlruss. “We are try-ing to promote the development of it and trying to look for areas outside of it that we can point people too or tell people about.” Doing so means explaining the challenges or pitfalls of a certain area, Kohlruss says, and what the differences are between the U.S. Bakken and the Canadian Bak-ken. Like the U.S. play, the Cana-dian play gained interest around 2006, and although the Canadian play offers a huge resource that

Photos by Saskatchewan ministry of the Economy

By The Bakken magazine staff

THEBakkEn.com 29

ReseARCheRs

VISIONARY: melinda yurkowski, assistant chief geologist, leads a team of eight oil and gas-based geologists in explaining hot plays, and finding future plays.

continues to produce at high volumes, the play is smaller than the U.S. version.

Holding the title of expert means the team tracks devel-opment on both sides of the border, however. “We try and find a balance between being proactive and reactive,” Nickel says. In some cases, the team works to churn out research on a hot formation so those af-fected can understand how to steward the resource in the best possible way. In other cases, the team tries to take a proactive ap-proach to oil and gas develop-ment by looking at areas where industry isn’t, Nickel adds.

Early in the Bakken’s Cana-dian activity, the team was taking a proactive approach, Kohlruss says. Certain geologists were on the cutting edge of helping to promote Bakken drilling and exploration. “You could see the writing on the wall,” he says.

“As the drilling and the wells on production came up, there were a lot of calls ask-ing what was going on,” Nickel says. “We were able to provide a lot of geologic research to help with that.” The team is current-ly mapping water usage in the Canadian portion of the play while also looking at decline graphs. “That is pointing to some interesting things on how to best manage a Bakken well,” he says, including a movement into secondary recovery using water flooding.

The team’s ability to moni-tor both proven and emerging resource formations also helps other organizations in the prov-

ince. Yurkowski and others have been able to work with and indi-cate to other research-based or privately run institutions which technologies or approaches to resource development are already, or will be, in high de-mand.

Providing a light to the darkness, as Nickel says, is only one part of holding the expert title. The team also must deci-pher if a play, the Bakken in-cluded, needs any additional information. “We need to guide companies on how to work on the Bakken the best, but we also

need to look at areas that are a little quieter and point them in those directions so we are en-couraging more than just the hot play,” Kohlruss says. For now, maintaining their rock star status means focusing a majority of their efforts on the Bakken, because according to Nickel, “The play is by no means com-pletely mature now or finished.”

WELL SITE SANCTUARY: Core samples from nearly every well drilled in the province is kept by the ministry of the Economy team.

RAISING PERFORMANCE. TOGETHER™

The Cameron’s Measurement Systems division seminar will focus on information for producers, midstream plants and pipelines to ensure accuracy for their required measurement processes.

Bakken FluidMeasurement Seminar

Our agenda has been designedto include the following topics:

Definition of terms Various metering technologies LACT and meter station

design Flow computers Proving devices Proving reports and

calculations Concerns for the meter proving witness Sampling

AGENDA

LODGING: Cameron’s Measurement Systems division has reserved a limited block of rooms at the Grand International Hotel for our attendees at a special rate of $119.95 per night. Please mention Cameron Measurement when reserving your room. Reserve your hotel room by June 10, 2013, in order to receive the Cameron rate.

Lunch is provided each day. Transportation and lodging are not included.

Grand International Hotel 1505 North Broadway

Minot, ND 58703 PHONE: 1 800 735 4493

$300PER PERSON

JUNE

18-198am - 5pm

DAILY

*PDH Credit Available*

OIL&GASCAREER FAIRMinot, North Dakota

June 26 • 11AM to 3PMThe Grand International Hotel

1505 North Broadway • Minot, ND 58702

When you’re looking to meet andhire the best-qualified oil and gasprofessionals, go right to the trustedsource: Targeted Job Fairs. We’rewith the interests, goals, and othermotivating factors driving these talented job seekers, and the oil andgas career fair we’ve organized oneof the easiest, most cost-effectiveways to gain face-to-face access tothem. You’ll have the opportunity tointeract with hundreds of the finestcandidates with expertise in the following areas:• Drilling• Production

• Specialty Services• Petroleum Engineers• Design & Production Engineers• Maintenance Engineers• General Engineers• Geosciences• Health, Safety, and Support

Engineering (HSE)• Management/Support • Maritime• Pipeline and Transportation• Downstream• Trades• others

This is your chance to discover hundreds of

specialized, highly qualified, and experienced oil and

gas candidates you need to hire.

For information please call: Chris Hazlewood at: 1.515.313. 2284 or email: [email protected]

Produced by:

www.rigzone.comNews / Jobs / Data / Events

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TARGETED JOB FAIRS AD # 13-011 - THE BAKKEN MAGAZINE - JUNE 2103 ISSUE - FULL PAGE COLOR - COST COST $1639.20 NET

june 2013 the bakken magazine

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