The latest teaser promo I received in my inbox: Anybody care to join in?
With an increasing interest in the Bakken formation, oil production from both North Dakota and Montana will inevitably increase over the next few years, creating a substantial opportunity for investors. The Bakken formation extends into Canada also and many Canadian companies are drilling for big oil here.
Well, we have the Bakken formation to thank for that.
The Bakken play stretches across Montana, North Dakota and into Southeastern Saskatchewan. We're talking about some potentially massive reserves of oil, too. The amount of oil in place has been estimated between 271 billion and 503 billion barrels of oil. A recent U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) sets the amount of original oil in place at 413 billion barrels.
Okay, so how much of an oil boom are we talking about?
Even if we take the lower estimates, that's still a huge amount of oil, far more than the 36 billion barrels of oil believed to be in Alaska's North Slope.
Let's just say that North Dakota oil production has been growing significantly. Crude oil production has been strong, up to about 40 million barrels in 2006. That's roughly a 20% increase since 2004.
Although I wanted to keep the topic on the U.S. side of the Bakken play, it wouldn't feel right if I didn't briefly mention the Canadian part of the formation.
As you may have known, I feel the oil sands in Alberta are going to play a significant role in future Canadian oil production. But having said that, remember that the Alberta oil sands are highly viscous and must be heated in order to extract the oil. The process can become quite energy intensive.
Trust me, there's a world of a difference between the heavy oil in Alberta and the light sweet crude underneath the Bakken play in Southeastern Saskatchewan. Now that the Alberta government are implementing oil royalties, trying to dip into oil companies' pockets, Saskatchewan property is starting to look more attractive.
Don't be surprised to see an exodus of smaller oil companies looking to exploit the rich oil resources in the neighboring province.
Investing in Peak Oil
So the question for investors is hoping to get into the action, "What do we do next?"
With an increasing interest in the Bakken formation, oil production from both North Dakota and Montana will inevitably increase over the next few years, creating a substantial opportunity for investors.
Now, I'm not trying to suggest that these plays will reverse peak oil in the U.S. After viewing the EIA's figures, there are too many areas in decline to save our oil production.
However, that doesn't mean you need to throw in the towel just yet...
If you're interested in learning about more exciting plays involved in the Bakken formation, please feel free to check out the $20 Trillion Report here.
Until next time,
Keith Kohl
Some companies I come up with are as follows:
NOGS.OB
PTEN
CPG-UN.TOcrescent point - one of top three players in the Bakken in Saskatchewan
GRAND BANKS ENERGY CORPORATION (GBE.V) 1.65
SECOND WAVE PETROLEUM LTD CL A (SCS-A.V) .31
Ryland Oil-RYD.V - 1.15
PBG.TO
BEXP Brigham Exploration
CWEI Clayton Williams Energy
AIX.V
With an increasing interest in the Bakken formation, oil production from both North Dakota and Montana will inevitably increase over the next few years, creating a substantial opportunity for investors. The Bakken formation extends into Canada also and many Canadian companies are drilling for big oil here.
Well, we have the Bakken formation to thank for that.
The Bakken play stretches across Montana, North Dakota and into Southeastern Saskatchewan. We're talking about some potentially massive reserves of oil, too. The amount of oil in place has been estimated between 271 billion and 503 billion barrels of oil. A recent U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) sets the amount of original oil in place at 413 billion barrels.
Okay, so how much of an oil boom are we talking about?
Even if we take the lower estimates, that's still a huge amount of oil, far more than the 36 billion barrels of oil believed to be in Alaska's North Slope.
Let's just say that North Dakota oil production has been growing significantly. Crude oil production has been strong, up to about 40 million barrels in 2006. That's roughly a 20% increase since 2004.
Although I wanted to keep the topic on the U.S. side of the Bakken play, it wouldn't feel right if I didn't briefly mention the Canadian part of the formation.
As you may have known, I feel the oil sands in Alberta are going to play a significant role in future Canadian oil production. But having said that, remember that the Alberta oil sands are highly viscous and must be heated in order to extract the oil. The process can become quite energy intensive.
Trust me, there's a world of a difference between the heavy oil in Alberta and the light sweet crude underneath the Bakken play in Southeastern Saskatchewan. Now that the Alberta government are implementing oil royalties, trying to dip into oil companies' pockets, Saskatchewan property is starting to look more attractive.
Don't be surprised to see an exodus of smaller oil companies looking to exploit the rich oil resources in the neighboring province.
Investing in Peak Oil
So the question for investors is hoping to get into the action, "What do we do next?"
With an increasing interest in the Bakken formation, oil production from both North Dakota and Montana will inevitably increase over the next few years, creating a substantial opportunity for investors.
Now, I'm not trying to suggest that these plays will reverse peak oil in the U.S. After viewing the EIA's figures, there are too many areas in decline to save our oil production.
However, that doesn't mean you need to throw in the towel just yet...
If you're interested in learning about more exciting plays involved in the Bakken formation, please feel free to check out the $20 Trillion Report here.
Until next time,
Keith Kohl
Some companies I come up with are as follows:
NOGS.OB
PTEN
CPG-UN.TOcrescent point - one of top three players in the Bakken in Saskatchewan
GRAND BANKS ENERGY CORPORATION (GBE.V) 1.65
SECOND WAVE PETROLEUM LTD CL A (SCS-A.V) .31
Ryland Oil-RYD.V - 1.15
PBG.TO
BEXP Brigham Exploration
CWEI Clayton Williams Energy
AIX.V
