American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2014 - 18

IndustryDigest
* Information on chemical
additives must be posted on the
FracFocus.org website within 30 days
of the fracture. The posting must
include each additive's specific trade
name and supplier, and the maximum
concentration of each chemical
constituent listed.
"These new rules add changes to
improve transparency and give some
assurance that there is adequate
monitoring of hydraulic fracturing,"
says Harold Fitch, chief of the Michigan
Office of Oil, Gas and Minerals. r

Judge Dismisses All
But One Flaring Lawsuit
BISMARCK, N.D.-A federal judge
has dismissed 13 of 14 lawsuits that
were filed against North Dakota oil

companies for flaring-instead of
capturing-natural gas at well sites,
published reports confirm.
Several North Dakota mineral
owners filed lawsuits last autumn as
they sought damages from producers for
gas lost when it was burned instead of
captured (AOGR, December 2013, pg.
143).
The dismissals' basis was
procedural, U.S. District Court Judge
Daniel Hovland says, clarifying that the
mineral rights owners must first pursue
the state's administrative solutions. The
plaintiffs did not "exhaust
administrative remedies" with the North
Dakota Industrial Commission for their
claims that they were owed royalty
payments on flared natural gas,
Hovland's ruling states.
The 14th case, which is against
Marathon Oil Corp., is still pending in

Operators spudded 8,853 wells in the first quarter 2014, 230 fewer
than in the fourth quarter of 2013, Baker Hughes reports. The most
significant decreases occurred in the Eagle Ford (down 61 wells
or 5 percent), Marcellus (down 52 wells or 9 percent), Barnett
(down 47 wells or 13 percent) and Williston (down 30 wells or 4
percent) regions. These decreases were offset by an increase in
the Permian Basin (up 23 wells or 1 percent), Baker Hughes says.

18 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

state court, industry reports confirm.
According to published reports,
Derrick Braaten, a Bismarck lawyer
representing mineral rights owners, says
the royalty losses exceed $200 million
to clients seeking damages. Braaten
remarks that his clients may appeal the
ruling.
Ron Ness, president of the North
Dakota Petroleum Council, states the
ruling is positive news for the industry,
"but it does not change (NDPC's)
objective to reduce flaring
substantially."
According to NDPC, its flaring task
force says the industry already has
invested more than $6 billion in six
years on the infrastructure necessary to
capture natural gas; North Dakota's
producers say they plan to spend
another $1.7 billion over the next two
years to build gas pipelines and related

Compared with first quarter 2013, the well count was up 319 wells
or 4 percent. The active rig count was up as well, averaging 1,724
rigs, 27 more than fourth quarter 2013 and 18 more than in the first
quarter of 2013. On average, Baker Hughes adds, the U.S. onshore
rig fleet produced 5.14 wells per rig during the quarter, a 3 percent
improvement in drilling efficiency, compared with the same quarter
of last year.
American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2014

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