The Crude Life

Building the Bakken Episode 27 Segment 2:  Importing and Exporting Bakken Natural Resources

Interviews:  ONEOK CEO John Gibson, BlackRidge Oil & Gas CEO Ken DeCubellis, NDPC’s Ron Ness, US Senator John Hoeven, ND Rep Vicky Steiner & Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg

Music:  Bump “Out of Reach”

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John Gibson, CEO, ONEOK and Chairman of the Board ONEOK Partners

Interviews:  ONEOK CEO John Gibson, BlackRidge Oil & Gas CEO Ken DeCubellis, NDPC’s Ron Ness, US Senator John Hoeven, ND Rep Vicky Steiner & Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg

Building the Bakken Episode 27 Segment 2:  Importing and Exporting Bakken Natural Resources

Bill Dunkelberg (right) responds to Jason Spiess (left). Photo by Kevin Tobosa

Music:  Bump “Out of Reach”

The post Building the Bakken Radio Episode 27: Importing and Exporting appeared first on The Crude Life.

Building the Bakken host Jason Spiess (left) and US Senator John Hoeven (right)

Interview:  US Senator John Hoeven

Building the Bakken Radio Episode 27 Segment 1:  State Regulator’s Role & Music Montage

Music:  Blind Joe “It Ain’t Country Enough”

The post Building the Bakken Radio Episode 27: Senator Hoeven on Energy appeared first on The Crude Life.

Building the Bakken Episode 27

Segment 1:  State Regulator’s Role & Music Montage

Interview:  US Senator John Hoeven

Music:  Blind Joe “It Ain’t Country Enough”

The post Building the Bakken Radio Episode 27: Segment 1 appeared first on The Crude Life.

Interview: Casselton Mayor Ed McConnell

Building the Bakken Episode 26 Segment 2: Bakken Transportation – Casselton Derailment

Mayor McConnell gives a recap and first hand account of the events during Casselton’s train derailment and explosion.

The post Building the Bakken Radio Episode 26: Casselton Derailment appeared first on The Crude Life.

Interview: ND Rep Ben Hanson and ND Public Service Commissioner Randy Christmann

Randy Christmann, North Dakota Public Service Commissioner. Photo by Jason Spiess

Building the Bakken Radio Episode 27 Segment 4:  Bakken Government

This segment is about the role of a regulator. Interviews with ND Rep Ben Hanson and ND Public Service Commissioner Randy Christmann

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Interviews:  Press conference with Alliance Pipeline chief executive officer Terrance Kutryk, Steve McNally, Hess Corp, general manager for North Dakota, North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple, and Ron Ness, president, North Dakota Petroleum Council

Industry officials joined with Gov. Jack Dalrymple to announce the recent completion of an 80-mile gathering line built by Alliance Pipeline.

Construction on the 12-inch pipeline began in October of 2012 and was completed in early September at a cost of approximately $170 million.

The post Bakken Events: Alliance/Hess Press Conference appeared first on The Crude Life.

Interviews:  Steve Fifita, Annabelle Holdings and Vern Whitten, Whitten Arial Photography, Fargo

Vern Whitten aerial photograph

Building the Bakken Radio Episode 4 Segment 1:  Aviation in the Bakken

Steve Fifita, Annabelle ADG Holdings, says their group looks at the Bakken as an emerging market.  Fifita said their holding company has an operating piece, which are a land, a real estate development company and a property management company currently doing business in the western North Dakota. Fifita’s involvement is on the venture capital side, figuring out which technologies are needed in the Bakken – “much like you would apply in Latin America or Eastern Europe.”

Fifita lives in Eden Prairie and flies to the Bakken.  When asked how important the aviation industry has been to the development of the Bakken, Fifita said “massive.”  He explained how the “talent” is needed from time to time and due to a lack of housing, flying them in is an option or “an aviation solution.”  Dickinson is added flights, Houston created a direct flight to Rapid City and smaller airports like Tioga, Watford City and Bowman are making upgrades to accommodate the increased aviation interest.

Fifita continued by stating, “If the talent itself is solving the problems by flying in, as opposed to driving, that’s a time saving exercise.  They are making that over a financial decision, so that tells me there is a huge need.  There is a premium they are paying because they want to save time.”

Vern Whitten has been flying over North Dakota for over three decades.  In addition to being a pilot, Whitten is an aerial photographer.  Over the past decade or so, interest in Whitten’s photography has increased to where when he takes aerial photos, he hires a pilot so “both his hands and eyes can be freed up.”  This has allowed Whitten to be a top notch eagle eye witness to the expansion of the development in western North Dakota as well understanding the trends within the aviation industry.

Whitten said he believes he has had the best seat in the state to see the changes in the state.  He said it has been a privilege and North Dakota has some beautiful scenery and different terrain.  “The pothole country near Kenmare, the Badlands, farmland around Dickinson, the lake environment, it is all just gorgeous.”

Whether it was the oil boom from the 80′s that changed the landscape or the floods on the eastern side of North Dakota, Whitten has photographed it from above.  Whitten said one of the more remarkable photograph series over time is Devils Lake.  To see the water levels rising for a decade or more engulfing farm land and even structures is amazing.

Whitten addressed changes in the landscape due to development.  Whitten said he has seen changes in the landscape happen over the past 30 years because of agriculture, coal, renewable energies and real estate development, not just oil development.   Whitten said it seems the oil companies get positioned as the bad guys all the time and wishes they would do a better job of promoting some of the good things they are doing.

Whitten gave an example of the time last month when he “came into Tioga from the north.”  Whitten continued by reflecting  back to the 80′s when Tioga was a very active area for oil, and they did vertical drilling resulting in a “honeycomb” of oil wells.  Now the wells “spaced out on section lines and on each particular well pad, they can drill four or more different wells down two miles and over two miles, covering a much larger area so your footprint is much less.”

Whitten said the one thing that has really stood out is the number of people working out in western North Dakota.  He continued by saying the amount of housing under construction is massive in Minot, Tioga, Williston, Killdeer and Watford City.  Whitten said Watford City just saw a Cashwise grocery store open up, a number of “really nice” hotels are close to being done and that Watford City is like “Boomtown USA.”

Whitten reset the conversation with the blanket statement of “yes there are issues in western North Dakota, but there good things too.”  Whitten shared an anecdotal example of a woman who grew up in Stark County.  Whitten said she said because of the oil activity she doesn’t have to leave North Dakota and has a good job that pays well.  He said there are just as many of those positive stories happening as the negative.

To for more information on Vern Whitten or to see any aerial photography slideshows, click here.

The post Building the Bakken Radio Episode 4: Aviation Aiding the Bakken? appeared first on The Crude Life.

Interviews:  Gustavo Zentner, Canadian Manufactures and Exports

Gastavo Zentner,Canadian Manufactures and Exports. Photo by Jason Spiess

Building the Bakken Episode 41 Segment 4: Bakken Importing & Exporting

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Interview: Dean Bangsund, research scientist, North Dakota State University

Dean Bangsund, NDSU, being interviewed by Building the Bakken host Jason Spiess. Photo by Kevin Tobosa

Building the Bakken Radio Episode 3 Segment 4:  Bakken Economy

Dean Bangsund, research scientist, North Dakota State University said one of the big issues in the Bakken is projecting long term employment.  They have been collecting data to understand the employment trends and what to project into the future.  Bangsund said their study has created a model to be dynamic with the oil and gas industry which produces non traditional workers.

He then said once they figure out those workers, they have to layer in the secondary jobs or service jobs.  Bangsund added, oil and gas are  not the only industries in the state and the third layer was to add in the other industries.

Bangsund worked with private companies and public organizations to acquire financial data, spending and other information needed for the study.  Bangsund said the results were “staggering.”

When asked for an example or to define “staggering,”  he said the development associated with the Shale drilling is up 1000% percent and the industry as a whole has increase 500% from 2005 -2011.

Bangsund said from his research the oil and gas industry is one of the top industries in the state is not going to slow down anytime soon.

When asked about comparing historical data, Bangsund said the oil boom and bust from the 80′s is historical by today’s standards.  He said the boom and bust of the 80′s was driven by a completely different economic factors.

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