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Douglas Grandt answerthecall@me.com

4th Follow-up to my November 4 phone call request
November 15, 2015 at 12:09 PM
Edward Hild (Sen. Murkowski) Edward_Hild@murkowski.senate.gov, David Cleary (Sen. Alexander)
David_Cleary@alexander.senate.gov, Dan Kunsman (Sen. Barrasso) Dan_Kunsman@barrasso.senate.gov,
Joel Brubaker (Sen. Capito) Joel_Brubaker@capito.senate.gov, James Quinn (Sen. Cassidy) James_Quinn@cassidy.senate.gov,
Jason Thielman (Sen. Daines) Jason_Thielman@daines.senate.gov, Chandler Morse (Sen. Flake)
Chandler_Morse@flake.senate.gov, Chris Hansen (Sen. Gardner) Chris_Hansen@gardner.senate.gov,
Ryan Bernstein (Sen. Hoeven) Ryan_Bernstein@hoeven.senate.gov, Boyd Matheson (Sen. Lee) Boyd_Matheson@lee.senate.gov
, Mark Isakowitz (Sen. Portman) Mark_Isakowitz@portman.senate.gov, John Sandy (Sen. Risch) John_Sandy@risch.senate.gov,
Travis Lumpkin (Sen. Cantwell) Travis_Lumpkin@cantwell.senate.gov, Jeff Lomonaco (Sen. Franken)
Jeff_Lomonaco@franken.senate.gov, Joe Britton (Sen. Heinrich) Joe_Britton@heinrich.senate.gov, Betsy Lin (Sen. Hirono)
Betsy_Lin@hirono.senate.gov, Patrick Hayes (Sen. Manchin) Patrick_Hayes@manchin.senate.gov,
Bill Sweeney (Sen. Stabenow) Bill_Sweeney@stabenow.senate.gov, Mindy Myers (Sen. Warren)
Mindy_Myers@warren.senate.gov, Jeff Michels (Sen. Wyden) Jeff_Michels@wyden.senate.gov,
Michaeleen Crowell (Sen. Sanders) Michaeleen_Crowell@sanders.senate.gov, Kay Rand (Sen. King) Kay_Rand@king.senate.gov
, Joe Hack (Sen. Fischer) Joe_Hack@fischer.senate.gov, Derrick Morgan (Sen. Sasse) Derrick_Morgan@sasse.senate.gov,
Karen Billups (Senate ENR Ctee) Karen_Billups@energy.senate.gov, Angela Becker-Dippmann (Senate ENR Ctee)
Angela_Becker-Dippmann@energy.senate.gov
Cc: Jordan Cox (Sen. Fischer) Jordan_Cox@fischer.senate.gov, Ginger Willson (Sen. Sasse) Ginger_Willson@sasse.senate.gov

Dear Chiefs of Staff of the Energy & Natural Resources Committee and the Nebraska
delegation,
More food for thought from Reuters on Friday.
If I were you, I would strongly encourage your Senators to suggest the Chairman of the Energy
and Natural Resources Committee to call a special meeting of the members to consider the
need for due diligence ascertaining the impacts that sustained low prices could have on the
U.S. petroleum industry and how that might impact the effectiveness of S. 2011 and S. 2012.
Sincerely,
Doug Grandt

North Dakota oil well backlog eclipses 1,000 for first time
By Ernest Scheyder | November 13, 2015 | Reuteres UK | Bit.ly/Reuters13Nov15
Nov 13 The number of oil wells in North Dakota that have been drilled but not fracked eclipsed
1,000 for the first time in September, as producers delayed turning them on in hopes crude
prices will soon recover.
The milestone, which was widely expected around the second-largest oil producing state,
highlights the immense cost pressure companies have come under in the past year as crude
prices have dropped more than 50 percent.
Fracking alone can account for nearly two-thirds of a well's cost.
Today more than 8 percent of oil wells in the state are sitting idle, storing their crude and
natural gas in rock miles underground until prices rise.
The delay harms the industry's ability to grow production, a metric closely watched by
investors. Daily output in the state fell 2 percent in September.
"That's sending a definite signal to the market that oil and gas operators are not willing to do a
lot of drilling or hydraulic fracturing or production at these low prices," said Lynn Helms,
director of the state's Department of Mineral Resources (DMR), the oil regulator.

State officials last month said they would consider, on a case-by-case basis, allowing oil
producers additional extensions to bring new wells online. The change was widely perceived
as a cost-saving favor to the energy industry and has helped fuel the jump to above 1,000.
The DMR doesn't expect that backlog to be worked off until next year at least and only if oil
prices rise, Helms said.
Helms released separate data showing the breakeven price for oil production now sits above
current prices for two of the state's four main crude-rich counties.
Producers "are shutting some wells in and producing only as much oil as they need to make
the stockholders and the bankers happy," Helms said.
OUTPUT FALLS
North Dakota produced 1,162,253 barrels of oil per day (bpd) in September, compared with
1,187,631 bpd in August, according to the DMR, which reports on a two-month lag.
The number of producing wells fell by six to 13,025, though state officials permitted one more
well in September than in August.
Helms acknowledged the state has experienced far more pain in its oil price battle with OPEC
than initially expected when the cartel decided to maintain production last year.
Many in the state had said at the time that OPEC's strategy would ultimately fail, an
expectation that, so far, has proven premature. (Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by
Meredith Mazzilli)