The Crude Life

Interview: Jason Luithle, Ross Myran and Bryan Lange

Building the Bakken Radio Episode 3 Segment 3:  Bakken Community

The Blue Ribbon Band has been performing at saloons, community events and other venues across the oil patch, including performing as live entertainment during the Mixed Martial Arts .

The members of Blue Ribbon Band that were interviewed for the segment were Jason Luithle, Ross Myran and Bryan Lange.  All are natives of western North Dakota.

Luithle, was born and raised in Richardton.  He said after he was married, he and his wife moved to Dickinson “til the Fall of 08′.”  Luithle commented on the increase activity in around Dickinson, ND.  Luithle also added that the oil activity doesn’t impact his day to day life as he farms and ranches far enough away from the action.

Lange, a Dickinson native, has worked in the oil and gas industry for the about a decade.  The one thing that has impacted Lange the most in the increased traffic.  Growing up in western North Dakota, Lange said the drive from Dickinson to Watford City used to be desolate and now it is a regular thing to see trucks and accidents.  Lange said the other change he has noticed over the past five to ten years is an increase of general greed.

When asked if he had any oil patch “myth busters” or “facts,”  Lange said the myth is that you can come to the oil patch and live a dream.  He said if you come you will work hard just like anywhere else.  He said you might get paid more, but things cost more.

Myran was born and raised in Taylor.  He said people underestimate the amount of entertainment and night life available in the oil patch.  Also that some industries are doing well, but there are some others being strained right now.

Myran said the oil patch “certainly hasn’t hurt” the attendance at events and bar owners seem more apt to hire a band these days.

Segment 3:  Bakken Profiles

Kevin Holten, Editor of The Drill, spoke about the purpose of the publication and since it is monthly, he tries to “bring that behinds the scenes, a little more in-depth.”  Holten said the publication has about 15-20 writers producing original columns and stories and has statewide distribution, bleeding into the eastern side of Montana.

Holten believes there is a great deal of interest in the Bakken and Western North Dakota.  He said after stories have their initial run in The Drill, many of the stories will be picked up by newspapers within Forum Communications and even other media outlets.

To visit see a PDF of publication The Drill, click here, or visit their website at www.bakkentoday.com

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Interview:  Joe Diamico, Brooklyn native, Dr. Nancy Hodur, NDSU

Building the Bakken Radio Episode 3 Segment 2:  Bakken Housing

Brooklyn native Joe Diamico moved to the western North Dakota ten years to get away from all the people and the activity.  He said the way the people keep coming in to the state, he may have to relocate.

Diamico compared housing prices of the oil patch with what his family is paying in New York.  He said his cousin rents a 2-bedroom apartment in Long Island for $1300 a month compared to $1800 to $2000 he and his friends pay out in the patch.

When asked what does he love or enjoy about North Dakota living, Diamico said the people are “certainly more friendly, that’s for sure.  It’s not so much high pace go-go-go, it more laid back.”

Nancy Hodur, NDSU, interviewed by Jason Spiess at the Bakken Investors Summit. Photo by Kevin Tobosa.

Dr. Nancy Hodur, assistant research scientist has been collecting and examining data on how the oil and gas industry has been impacting the North Dakota’s economy, employment, population and housing for they past two years.

Hodur said the oil and gas industry has some unique workers, in terms to traditional models.  The oil and gas industry has workers that will work in one place and live in another.  Traditional models will not count these people.

Hodur said that is for a variety of reasons right now in the Bakken, but even if those issues were fixed, there are still transient workers like welders and others who “follow the pipe.”

Hodur said a new population metric had to be created and broken into several categories.  She said Service Population are normal residents who are working, voting and using the schools of the community.  Temporary Population are shift workers or live elsewhere and work in ND.

The study was conducted for the city of Dickinson and Williston.  In addition to using Census data, building permits and other recorded information, Hodur said their staff worked with local officials and leaders to find out “how many you have living behind the shop at the diesel garage, how many peole in crew camps,how many people living in RVs,  hotels, all that non traditional housing.”

The study then added the future projections.  She said the process is relatively simple in principal, but the work is in the gathering the details from multiple sources and locations.  Hodur continued by saying ” but at the end of the day you’ve got a very reliable estimate of how many noses are on the ground within a jurisdiction.”

Hodur believes the information is necessary for professionals looking into the Bakken and is good data for a dynamic situation.

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Interviews:  Richard Gardner, PHD Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, Patrick Hart, President Meyer Real Estate Group, Ken DeCubellis, CEO, Black Ridge Oil & Gas, Nancy Hodur, Research Professor NDSU, Shawn Kessel, Dickinson City Administrator, Peter Elzi, Principal Partner THK Associates

Building the Bakken Radio Episode 2 Segment 1: How long will the Bakken “boom” last? Part 1

How long will the Bakken Boom last? This is the billion dollar question we posed to industry experts Ken DeCubellis, Nancy Hodur, Dr. Peter Elzi, Patrick Hart, Dr. Richard Gardner and Shawn Kessel.

Dr. Richard Gardner, Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, says population growths of 1-3% are normal, 3-5% starts to stretch the ability of small towns to deal with the growth. Gardner says their projects show the city of Williston projecting an 8% growth increase per year until 2020. Gardner says those numbers “boggle the mind and there is no way you can plan well enough to be building water systems, sewer systems, roads, parks, schools fast enough to meet that demand.”

Patrick Hart, president of Meyer Real Estate Group, says their company is poised for 5-10 years of “hyper-growth.” Meyer said their company is participating in the hyper-growth in a variety of industries in the oil patch. He added the Bakken play will span over 20-50 years and will change the way of life for “the Western edge.” Things will level off after 5-10 years of hyper-growth, but Hart believes it will be up to 10 years of a “frenzy.”

Ken DeCubellis, CEO, Black Ridge Oil & Gas, said there will be two phases in the boom.  First, the oil production.  Once the wells are in place, they will produce for 20-30 years.  DeCubellis added the level of investment in drilling will be moderated by the access to the pipeline needed to move oil to the refinery. He said western ND lacks that infrastructure right now, and until that investment occurs, it will moderate the pace of activity. He added that in the end there will be a 5-10 year span of frenzy-like activity before leveling off.  DeCubellis said the “big wild card” is if they find more productive formations. He added Continental Resources recently began talking about a third bench of the Bakken in northern McKenzie County. He also pointed out the Three Forks Layer, which has yet to be “fully understood,” in his opinion, and if those layers become productive, the Bakken Boom could continue even longer.

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Tech billionaire Rob Ryan (left) answers a question for Building the Bakken host Jason Spiess. Photo by Kevin Tobosa

Interview:  Rob Ryan, Roaring Lions Ranch, MT

Building the Bakken Radio Episode 1 Segment 4: Bakken Events: 5th Annual Rocky Mountain Economic Summit

The 5th Annual Rocky Mountain Economic Summit is an event where the top entrepreneurs and economist converge to share information and network in the beautiful town of Jackson Hole, WY.

During the conference, Rob Ryan was in attendance and is doing business in the Bakken. He currently runs the Roaring Lions Ranch, which is a ranch that “raises entrepreneurs.”

Rob Ryan is the founder of Ascend Communications and Entrepreneur America. Ryan earned national attention when he grew his 1989 start-up company, Ascend Communications, Inc., to more than $500 million in sales by 1995. Lucent Technologies acquired Ascend in 1999 for $23 billion, in what was termed the “largest technology merger ever.” Ryan has since started and sold three more billion dollar companies.

Ryan talked about HERO leadership characteristics and core competencies. What are you good at? What are you unique at? Ryan focuses more on the person rather than the product.

Ryan also discusses starting with the core and then how to add employees. Ryan believes it is best to support yourself with others who compliment your core competence.

Ryan also talked about the importance of a good marriage and the foundation at home. Being a CEO is a lonely position and your partner has to be able to be someone you can bounce ideas off. Ryan stated if you look at successful entrepreneurs and world leaders the one thing they all have in common is a long term marriage.

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Bill Dunkelberg (right) responds to Jason Spiess (left)

Interview: Tony Clark, Chairman F.E.R.C.; Public Service Brian Kalk , Ken DeCubellis, CEO, of Black Ridge Oil and Gas, Dr. Bill Dunkelberg, chief economist, National Federation Independent Business. 

Building the Bakken Radio Episode 1 Segment 3: Bakken Energy: Is There a Natural Gas Boom in the Bakken?

Former North Dakota Public Service Commissioner Tony Clark called natural gas in the Bakken a “real wild card.” Current Public Service Brian Kalk agrees. Ken DeCubellis, CEO, of Black Ridge Oil and Gas gives his views on whether natural gas is a boom or not.

Mr. DeCubellis posses over 20 years of executive experience in a broad range of energy industries including 10 years at Exxon Mobil Corp and most recently as President and CEO of Altra Inc, a venture capital backed biofuels company. Mr. DeCubellis also previously served as Chairman of KD Global Energy, Belize Ltd, a firm that provides upstream technical and geological services to petroleum lease holders in Belize. Mr. DeCubellis received an MBA from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University in 1996 and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1990.

Tony Clark, chariman of F.E.R.C. (left). Photo by Jason Spiess

Mr. DeCubellis said there is a natural gas play in the Bakken, but he would not call it a boom. The reason the gas coming out of the Bakken is so attractive is because it is a wet gas. Wet gas sells at a premium. DeCubellis said Dow and Exxon want ethane, which is a precursor for plastics and other petroleum products. The petrochemical industry is projected to invest $30 billion of capacity expansion to get access to the natural gas.

DeCubellis said flaring is an issue, but technology is being developed to capture that gas and reduce flaring.

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Photo by Kevin Tobosa

Interviews:  Heidi LaBree, American Cancer Society, Terry Keithley, president Light Tower Rentals and World champion auctioneer Kyle Shobe

Building the Bakken Radio Episode 1 Segment 2:  Community in the Bakken Segment

The MBI Relay for Life BBQ Fundraiser And Cook Off took place in Dickinson, ND. In addition to the BBQ, RoughRider Days was happening so the town was hopping. Click here to see photos of the MBI BBQ and RoughRider Days.

Heidi LaBree, American Cancer Society, talks about MBI’s leadership on the Relay for Life project. She comments about how they were able to bring other companies together for the BBQ and pull off a top notch event. She also shared her observations of giving in the Bakken. LaBree believes there is a community within the Bakken and her observations have been that the giving has far exceeded her expectations.

In addition to raising funds for the American Cancer Society, MBI awarded a trophy to Light Tower Rentals for Top Cooker. Terry Keithley, president Light Tower Rentals, commented on the quality of life in the Bakken. Keithley said communities are always going to be stressed as they grow, but overall it is more good than bad.

World champion auctioneer Kyle Shobe at RoughRider Days in Dickinson, ND. Photo by Kevin Tobosa

World champion auctioneer Kyle Shobe has been traveling through the oil patch for about a decade and has observed the crowds and traffic. Shobe said the rodeos have not seen sell out crowds, but has seen some slow growth with more and more families moving in. He said it isn’t just guys driving in from all over two weeks on and two weeks off, there are families starting roots in Western North Dakota.

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Interviews: Ed Schafer, former ND Governor and sitting member of Continental Resources Board of Directors; Steve Fifita, venture capitalist; Jeff Zarling, president, DAWA; and Joseph Mahan, economist, Minneapolis Federal Reservere

Jeff Zarling, DAWA Solutions, being interviewed by Building the Bakken host Jason Spiess. Photo by Kevin Tobosa.

Building the Bakken Radio Show Part 1: Bakken Energy

Is the Bakken a technology boom or an oil boom?

Host Jason Spiess interviews former North Dakota governor and current Continental Resources board member Ed Schafer about how important technology is in the Bakken oil boom. His answer prompted us to ask other industry experts whether the Bakken was a tech boom. Schafer said the current technology is only getting about 5% of the oil out of the ground, and as the technology improves, more oil can be extracted from the ground.

Venture capitalist Steve Fifita agreed with Schafer. Fifita’s background is in technology emerging markets and sees many of the same inflection points. Fifita said a theology disruption is what opened the market.

Jeff Zarling, Williston native and founder of Dawa Solutions Group, said this oil boom is different. He said it isn’t “a bunch of roughnecks out there slinging chain and hitting the bars at night.”. Zarling said Richard Finley changed the world when he applied horizontal drilling and hydraulic fraking in the Elm Coulee Field. Zarling added it is all about tweaking and changing the technology within the Bakken to reach the 413 billion barrels below the earth’s surface.

Joseph Mahan, economist, Minneapolis Federal Reserve, answers a question from Jason Spiess, host of Building the Bakken. Photo by Kevin Tobosa

Joseph Mahan, economist Minneapolis Federal Reserve, said the technology boom was an interesting angle, but the Bakken is clearly an oil boom. He went on to say that what the grain of truth in Schafer’s comments were that it is technology that is clearly driving the access to the oil to create the boom. He also added a relatively favorable price of oil for the past decade has contributed to the Bakken success.

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