Author: Matt Wandel

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Michigan Oil & Gas Monthly – April 2015

2014 Hydrocarbon production results for Michigan have all been updated into the Michigan database.   Merit Energy’s Norwich Unit located just west of Higgins Lake was the #1 oil producer in 2014 at 119,187 barrels.   This unit, made up of 288 wells, is referred to as a water flooding unit which means it is in secondary recovery.  The per well production for this unit is actually very low at just over 1.1 BOPD.   Take a minute to click here to view our interactive map of the 288 wells that make up this PRU (a static image of our interactive map is shown below).  Zoom in on our Google map a little and you’ll see black oil markers mixed in with blue water injection markers.   Water, which is heavier than oil, is injected in the oil reservoir through wells at the blue colored markers which pushes oil up to the surface at wells located at the black colored markers where there are pumpjacks.

Merit Energy's Norwich Unit, made up of 288 wells, was the #1 oil producing unit in Michigan in 2014. Check out the interactive map @ http://www.respectmyplanet.org/public_html/site/pru_number/?pru=20020
Merit Energy’s Norwich Unit, made up of the 288 wells in the picture above, was the #1 oil producing unit in Michigan in 2014. Check out the interactive map @ http://www.respectmyplanet.org/public_html/site/pru_number/?pru=20020

Even though this PRU is the #1 oil producing unit in Michigan for 2014, on a per well basis, it wouldn’t even Continue reading “Michigan Oil & Gas Monthly – April 2015”

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Michigan Oil & Gas Monthly – March 2015

Michigan Oil & Gas Monthly March 2015

Welcome to Volume 3 of the Michigan Oil & Gas Monthly for March 2015.   In the featured image above is a March 2015 photo of the Dettore Et al 1-9 well in Lyon Township, Michigan.  This Oakland County well is at the crossroads of Grand River, Milford Road, and Pontiac Trail in downtown New Hudson.  The well is just south of the only runway at the Oakland Southwest Airport which was formerly called the New Hudson Airport.   Surveillance cameras and No Trespassing signs surround this well pad that runs right along side the Huron Valley Trail.  The flare stack burns 24/7 and most likely attracts kids like a porch light attracts moths as it looks to be heavily damaged by mischievous behavior over the last 20 years.

The Dettore Et al 1-9 well was completed May 29, 1985 into the Niagaran Gray formation.  It has reported production of 423k barrels of oil over 17 years and 1 month.  Although it looks active, as evidenced by the flare stack burning 24/7, the well does not have reported production since December of 2011.  Although there is a oil & water separator and a waste water tank on the well site that can be seen from the Huron Valley trail, the well has not reported any waste water production in its 17 year exisistence.   This well was listed on the 1993 SAP list for contaminated soil.

Continue reading “Michigan Oil & Gas Monthly – March 2015”

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Analysis of Michigan Department of Environmental Quality High Volume Hydraulically Fractured Well Completions and Applications

High Volume Hydraulic Fracturing in Michigan

Please read this paper to learn more about High Volume Hydraulic Fracturing in Michigan.  This document is hosted by Friends of the Au Gres-Rifle Watershed.

ANALYSIS OF MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY HIGH VOLUME HYDRAULICALLY FRACTURED WELL COMPLETIONS AND APPLICATIONS

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Responsibly Migrating Away from Crude Oil

Toyota Mirai Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle

Crude oil and internal combustion engines are a part of our lives.   Crude oil refines into the primary energy that gets our vehicles around today.   It’s what powers our cars and trucks on freeways across America every day.   Crude oil is responsible for many jobs and products across our country and around the world.   RMP takes those jobs, especially the jobs in America, very seriously. We feel a great responsibility to make sure it is well understood that we care  about jobs provided by the oil & gas industry to Americans and people around the world.  RMP advocates, however, for an immediate and responsible migration away from crude oil as a fuel source.  By ramping up the displacement of internal combustion engines with fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), like the Toyota Mirai pictured above, America’s economy and national security will improve.  Mirai is the Japanese word for future.

Continue reading “Responsibly Migrating Away from Crude Oil”

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Michigan Oil & Gas Monthly – February 2015

Welcome to Volume 2 of the Michigan Oil & Gas Monthly.   In the featured image above, a GasFrac Energy Services truck rolls westbound down I-96 in Novi Michigan on February 6, 2015.  GasFrac uses a proprietary waterless fracing process to fracture rock with a mixture of liquid petroleum gases.   The main ingredient in their frac fluid is gelled propane (C3H8).

We have seen a poor success rate recently in the A1 Carbonate in Michigan for operators targeting the A1.  Many recent A1 attempts in Michigan have made the HVHF list calling for millions of gallons of water for completion in the application.   Operators have changed their completion techniques on the fly and have moved away from such high volumes of water and hydraulic fracturing altogether; but still have had no success.   One theory is that the water is damaging the formation and it therefore will not produce.  Since gelled propane is a hydrocarbon (C3H8), it is soluble in the A1 formation fluids unlike water an perhaps may not Continue reading “Michigan Oil & Gas Monthly – February 2015”

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Michigan Oil & Gas Monthly – January 2015

Welcome to the first ever edition of the Michigan Oil & Gas Monthly by RMP.   We will be publishing this monthly magazine / newsletter to keep you up to date on activity in the Michigan oil patch.  We will be taking a  look at Michigan hydrocarbon production and fresh water management.  This magazine, like everything else published at RMP, is free and will always be free.  The format will be an article like this one you’re reading with an accompanying video (like the one above) that showcases the same information.

Each month in this report we will be recapping basic activity & statistics from the prior month.  We have already published this post and this post to bring you up to speed on the basics of Michigan petroleum geology and Michigan hydrocarbon production.  As stated in the aforementioned posts, activity in Michigan is at its lowest level in recorded history since records started being kept in 1927.  So, there is not a ton of new activity to report in Michigan as most of the reservoirs we are aware of in the state are conventionally depleted and most new reservoirs found are modest producers as compared to other oil & gas plays in America.  The activity that is going on in Kalkaska, however, is different than anything that’s ever been done in Michigan.  So, even though permit numbers and activity Continue reading “Michigan Oil & Gas Monthly – January 2015”

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Michigan Petroleum Production 101

Understanding petroleum production in Michigan can be difficult if you’re new to it. It can also be confusing even after you’ve studied it.   My 9 year old son just started the 2014-15 basketball season.   The kids just had their first two practices last week and the coach warned the first few practices would be pretty boring. Coach said the first few practices would be dedicated to the fundamentals of dribbling, passing, and shooting exercises.   Sometimes kids just want to play games. But, they’re never going to achieve success unless time is set aside at the beginning for learning the fundamentals. My point with that anecdote is the first steps toward understanding petroleum production in Michigan are much the same. The key elements of petroleum production to know first are: history, units of measure, production resource units, and pricing.  Respectmyplanet has access to the same production data that everyone else does. What’s different is that we use exclusive software written for communicating this data in a way that’s interactive with our map.   We intend in this article to give you a primer course on production basics so in future articles we can Continue reading “Michigan Petroleum Production 101”

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The Keystone XL Pipeline

keystone xl

The recent mid-term election in America has brought the Keystone XL pipeline to the forefront of American politics again. Washington DC has enthusiasm and momentum to push through legislation that will approve the final phase of the Keystone Pipeline System: the Keystone XL. But how did America get involved between the National Energy Board’s ambition to get bitumen to China and other foreign markets? The answer is simple: Alberta is landlocked and a pipeline across America is one route to economically get the bitumen to China or other foreign markets.

Chinese flag

China needs energy. China faces many challenges to get enough energy to keep their economy moving and producing for over 1.3 billion people.   China has made some remarkable moves toward making clean energy recently when they endeavored to start building more IGCC plants for electricity production from syngas.  IGCC technology with Continue reading “The Keystone XL Pipeline”

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Michigan Petroleum Geology 101

marathon beaver creek

Let’s examine the high level 101 basics of hydrocarbons, stratigraphy, and lithology nomenclature in the Michigan Basin.   In Michigan, like everywhere else, we have different layers of rock beneath our feet.   Trapped inside the rocks beneath our feet are hydrocarbons like oil, gas, and coal.   Most of the energy produced in our history and in the world today comes from these subsurface hydrocarbons.

Hydrocarbon recovery is dictated by the geologic formation and subsurface structures where it has accumulated.  Petroleum geologists look for areas where they think hydrocarbons might be trapped in a reservoir.  The rock in the reservoir must have enough permeability and pressure to get those hydrocarbons to the surface through a well bore whence they can be sold for a profit.  In Michigan, oil has been produced since the late 1800’s and gas has been produced commercially since the early 1900’s.   Michigan had significant oil activity in the 1930’s and 40’s and then a lull through the 50’s.   Activity again picked up in the late 1960’s in the Niagaran reef by the big boys like Amoco, Shell Western, and ExxonMobil because of production capacity discovered while drilling Antrim wells.   Amoco, Shell, and ExxonMobil were successful in the Niagaran reef trend in the northern part of the Lower Peninsula and activity intensified heavily in the 1980’s.  As the economy stagnated and oil prices Continue reading “Michigan Petroleum Geology 101”

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Meet Duke, RMP’s Official Mascot

duke rmp mascot

This is Duke.   Duke is the official mascot of respectmyplanet.org.   If you checked his legal name on veterinary records, it would say Huckleberry, but everyone that knows him just calls him Duke.

Duke visiting the well head stake for the State Tuscurora 1-34HD1 well in the Gaylord State Forest Area. In 2011, the MDEQ received an application for a permit to drill a well into the Utica-Collingwood from here. The true vertical depth of this well would have been 4,522 feet but it was never drilled.
Duke visiting the location staked for the State Tuscarora 1-34HD1 well pad in the Gaylord State Forest Area. The MDEQ received an application for a permit to drill a well into the Utica-Collingwood from here in 2011. The true vertical depth of this well would have been 4,522 feet but it was never drilled.

Duke has visited a ton of places in Michigan.   He’s been to the Gaylord State Forest Area to see Robert’s Lake just west of the Pigeon River. He’s been to Grand Rapids, Hillsdale, Farmington, Alpena, Kalamazoo, Kalkaska, and everywhere in between.   Duke has been Continue reading “Meet Duke, RMP’s Official Mascot”