New members – Thank you to new Petroleum Council members: Baker Consulting • McKenzie Energy Partners, LLC • Hillstone Environmental • Welker & Fevold PR • Research Tax Consultants

ND oil activity – Preliminary production numbers for July 2016 are 1,029,507 (all-time high was December 2014) from 13,255 (NEW all-time high) wells and 1,698,647 MCFD (all-time high was March 2016) of natural gas. Bakken natural gas captured rate was 89 percent. There are currently 33 rigs active in the state.

Join us next week at the NDPC Annual Meeting– Registration for the 2016 North Dakota Petroleum Council Annual Meeting is still open. The meeting will be held September 19-21 at the Holiday Inn Riverside in Minot, ND, and will cost $250 (members) or $500 (non-members) to attend. Sponsorships are still available by calling 701.223.6380 for $500-2,000. For more information, please visit https://annualmeeting.risprojects.org for more information or to register. Thank you to our current sponsors!

Wilson M. Laird Core and Sample Library dedication – The Wilson M. Laird Core and Sample Library will be dedicated on Monday, September 26, 2016, and you’re invited. The program will be held from 2-3 p.m. Central time, with tours of the facility offered from 3-5 p.m. Refreshments will be served. Confirmed speakers include Governor Dalrymple, Attorney General Stenehjem, Agriculture Commissioner Goehring, UND President Mark Kennedy, and North Dakota State Senator Ray Holmberg. Visit https://www.dmr.nd.gov/ndgs/ for updates.

Oilfield worker earns scholarship to continue education – Chad Schoch thought he’d work in the North Dakota oilfields for two years, at most. He wanted to roughneck, make and save money, pay off his bills, and then be out by the time he was 30. Six years later, the 34-year-old New England man is one of the state’s two Bakken U scholarship recipients and is slowly building a career as a petroleum industry professional.

Schoch, a process plant technology student at Bismarck State College, was awarded one of this year’s two $5,000 Bakken U scholarships Tuesday by the North Dakota University System and the NDUS Foundation. Schoch is a health and environmental safety coordinator for Whiting Petroleum Corp. in Dickinson and said his boss convinced him to go back to school to finish up his bachelor’s degree. He graduated with a broadcast communications degree from Minot State University and then turned his sights on the oil industry. Last December, he earned a petroleum production technology associate’s degree from BSC online is now in the process of earning his process plant technology associate’s degree.

The oil bust hit western North Dakota when Schoch was working for Whiting near New Town. Schoch said when oil prices dropped and jobs started being cut, he was certain he’d eventually end up back in the radio broadcasting world where he’d worked before joining the oil industry. He said he knew that if he wanted to continue working in oil, he’d have to become a valuable asset to it. Schoch praised his employer for allowing him to work while also furthering his education, and said he wants to stay with Whiting long term.

Schoch was one of two people to receive scholarships out of around 40 applicants, Rostad added. Briley Crissler, a business management student at Minot State University from Belcourt, was also awarded a $5,000 Bakken U scholarship. Crissler began his education at Dickinson State University.

Free Oil and Gas Training for Law Enforcement, Firefighters, and Emergency Responders – Registration is now open for the 2016 Southwest Region EMS Conference being held Sept. 24 and 25 in Medora. This year’s event features a special track of courses on Saturday, sponsored by Hess Corporation and the North Dakota Safety Council (NDSC), designed to prepare companies, communities, and emergency personnel to safely and confidently respond to oil and gas emergencies. Training topics will include incident command for oil and gas emergencies, drilling rig safety, response protocols for workplace violence and active shooter situations, landing zone safety and communications, responding to pipeline emergencies, and toxic gasses.

A reimbursement grant is available to those involved in law enforcement, fire rescue, or emergency management, making it free to attend Saturday’s oil & gas track.

For more course details, or to register, go to www.ndemsa.org. For questions on the reimbursement grant, call the NDSC at (800) 932-8890.

Register today for the 2016 Great Plains & EmPower ND Energy Conference – registration is now open for the 2016 Great Plains & EmPower ND Energy Conference. The event will be held at Bismarck State College’s National Energy Center of Excellence on Tuesday, October 11, 2016 from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CT. Registration and more information are available at energynd.com/events. Registration will be $95 through Thursday, October 6. On-site registration will be available the morning of the event for $115.

Pipeline Safety Compliance Training – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (US DOT) Transportation Safety Institute conducts Pipeline Safety Compliance Training specially designed for the energy industry.  This course will familiarize participants with US DOT pipeline safety regulations and acute, critical, and serious safety violations.  This course is designed to assist pipeline safety personnel with fewer than 10 years industry experience.  If you are responsible for oversight of pipeline safety and regulatory compliance, this course will be invaluable to your success.  Upcoming trainings are listed below:

2016 Pipeline Safety Compliance Training – Gas (3.5 days) $1895

November 15-18, 2016          Oklahoma City, OK

Click here to register.
2017 Pipeline Safety Compliance Training – Liquid (3.5 days) $1895

January 10-13, 2017            Oklahoma City, OK

Click here to register.

Contact Information: Email at PipelineSafetyCompliance@dot.gov or call (405) 954-5898.

Mark your calendar – The 2016 schedule of events has been released. Please add the following NDPC event to your calendar:

• September 19-21 – Annual Meeting, Holiday Inn Riverside, Minot

More information will be available on each event as the date approaches at www.ndoil.org and www.northdakotaoilcan.com.

Receive OGRP Quarterly – OGRP Quarterly is produced by the Oil and Gas Research Program to provide periodic information and updates on Program activities to the citizens of North Dakota. This quarter, we decided to put a special focus on select, current Oil & Gas Research Program (OGRP) projects to give the reader a flavor of the advancements being made to more effectively produce North Dakota’s oil and gas resources.

If you would like to be added to the newsletter distribution list, provide your email address to: brentbrannan@gmail.com with the subject line “Distribution List” or visit oilresearch.nd/gov. A link to the newsletter can be found at https://www.dmr.nd.gov/ogr/News.aspx

NDPA Monthly Update – View the North Dakota Pipeline Authority’s monthly update here.