Follow this week's energy trail with Renée Jean
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ENERGY IN THE AIR
: Are you going to the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference? Look me up if you are, because I'm planning to be there! The Conference I hear is very close to a sold-out show, with just a few booths left, and upwards of 1,800 people signed up to participate. I've heard several people talking about the conference, and there seems to be a lot of pent-up pandemic energy just waiting to let loose at the event. That's understandable. The COVID-19 pandemic has drug on for more than a year now, preventing so many gatherings, including this one, from taking place. There's a lot of good stuff listed on the agenda, and they've tapped quite a few of the industry's rock stars.
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Among these is Harold Hamm, executive chairman of America's Energy Champion, Continental Resources. His topic is Oil and Gas Industry for the 22nd Century. A complete agenda for the event is online here, along with registration details.

RIGGING UP:
Continental, as you are probably well aware, is the Bakken's top producer, and they were among companies reporting first quarter earnings this past week. What I'm hearing from industry so far is that they all expect a busier and better second half of 2021 — and they are gearing up for it where ever they are. Continental is among those with more aggressive plans in The Bakken for the rest of 2021. They will run at least one more rig, and complete 65 wells, 54 of them in Long Creek, where CEO Bill Berry said IP stats are boosting the company's type curves for the Bakken. Continental officials also talked about their ESG plans, as well as
Image contingencies for Dakota Access. You can read more about Continental's plans for the second half of 2021 here. We'll also have reports on what other companies plan for the rest of 2021 in coming days. Stay tuned.

CORPS CONFESSION: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will stand by its previous opposition to shutting down the Dakota Access Pipeline, it told the D.C. Circuit Court on Monday. That's after Judge James Boasberg forced the issue by ordering the federal agency to weigh in a second time at a status conference May 3. Dakota Access has become an increasingly hot potato for the Biden Administration, especially after the MHA Nation weighed in for DAPL's continued operation.

EVERY DAY SOMETHING NEW: Meanwhile, industry is continuing to innovate in The Bakken. Among the new developments, underground
Imagesalt storage caverns could help ease perennial propane shortages for the agriculture sector, and drought is prompting innovations when it comes to well completions. That could mean less fresh water tied up in hydraulic fracturing long-term, as well as better energy economics.

THAT'S ALL FOR NOW: That's this week's rundown of energy matters. Please do forward this email to anyone you think would like to join us in the Energy Chaser lounge. The newsletter subscription is 100 percent free, and includes all the linked articles — thanks to Basin Safety Consulting.

ImageAs always, reach out if you've got more story ideas for me or you have feedback for me on this newsletter. I can be reached at rjean@willistonherald.com. I look forward to hearing from you!



 
 

 


Safety Stinks — An honest look at safety strategies


Solving the Data Debacle - The Eternal Slope

by Jonathon Greiner • Basin Safety Consulting

ImageFirst off let me clarify - safety does not stink. Still, many in our industry operate under the assumption that safety leaders are either working against them, or at best, are “just doing their job” to keep them safe. Our intentions aside, we have a long way to go until the majority of our workers see safety people as coaches and partners who are helping, not hindering their work. In my last editorial I talked about the data debacle. This week, I’d like to discuss how to solve it.

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Our team took to the mountains for some much needed fresh air, reflection and strategic planning. What I thought would be a time of sharing internal struggles (i.e. how to better serve customers or the changing market or supply chain) turned into something very different. The main topic of discussion? Our documentation system. I’ve spent years building it, incorporating mountains of information and safety data, and spent weeks on implementation. I was proud of our advances and capabilities, but unbeknownst to me my team had been struggling with our redundant and complicated system for some time. I was blindsided.

If it was good enough for our customers, why wasn’t it good enough for us? After I dusted myself (and my pride) off, I could evaluate our system more objectively. If I was being honest, my employees were right. We could do better. Just because our system had been functional for many years didn’t mean it could not be further improved.


Read the rest of this excellent editorial online
here.
 

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