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Environment and Natural Resources
For Immediate Release: Friday, August 6, 2004
Contact: Fred Steece or Mack McGillivray, (605) 394-2229
DENR Board to meet in Buffalo to Celebrate 50 Years of Oil and Gas Production; Grand Electric Invites Board and Public to a Free Barbeque
PIERRE – The state Board of Minerals and Environment will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the discovery of crude oil in South Dakota by holding its meeting in Buffalo on August 19 and 20. The public is invited to join them for some planned free activities.
Activities include conducting the board’s August meeting in the heart of the state’s oil and gas region of northwestern South Dakota, tours of oil and gas operations in the Buffalo area, and informational displays during a free barbecue sponsored by Grand Electric at the Recreation Center in Buffalo.
“Landowners and oil and gas operators in South Dakota have developed long-term working relationships over the years,” said Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Steve Pirner. “We want to celebrate those relationships that have allowed the state to be a continuous producer of oil and gas during the past 50 years, and hopefully build upon them to expand exploration and development activities into other areas of the state as part of Governor Rounds’ 2010 Initiative.”
The board’s agenda (attached below) includes two hearings on oil and gas issues during the morning of August 19 in the Harding County Courthouse. The hearings are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. with Luff Exploration Company of Denver, Colorado, requesting an expansion of the North Buffalo Red River Unit. That hearing will be followed by a request from Continental Resources, Inc. of Enid, Oklahoma, for the board to establish a 320-acre spacing unit adjacent to the North Buffalo Red River Unit. If necessary, the hearings will continue on August 20.
Tours are scheduled of Continental’s air injection facilities during the afternoon of August 19 from 1 to 3 p.m., followed by a tour of Luff’s operations in northern Harding County from 3 to 5 p.m.
Oil and gas related information and memorabilia will be on display at the Recreation Center in Buffalo during the afternoon on August 19 and during the evening barbecue. The free barbecue dinner will begin at 6 p.m. at the Recreation Center in Buffalo and is being sponsored by Grand Electric.
Displays will include photos, news clippings, maps, drilling equipment, rock cuttings, and cores. Representatives from Continental, Luff, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources plan short presentations commemorating the 50th anniversary.
Commercial oil was discovered in South Dakota in 1954 by Shell Oil Company. About 85 percent of the oil and gas wells in the state are in Harding County, though over the past 50 years the industry has expanded to include Custer, Dewey and Fall River counties. In 2003 oil production totaled 1,237,098 barrels from 147 wells in 19 fields in three counties. Natural gas production amounted to 11,054,550 Mcf (thousand cubic feet), but only 550,098 Mcf was high quality marketed gas. All of the natural gas is produced from 12 fields as associated gas, except for the marketed gas that comes from two fields in Harding County. The market values during 2003 for these natural resource products were over $30 million for oil and over $2.5 million for gas. Revenues to the state from severance taxes and School and Public Land royalties and lease bonuses totaled approximately $2.75 million last year.
50th Anniversary of Oil and Gas in South Dakota Activities
AGENDA
Meeting of the
Board of Minerals and Environment
Harding County Courthouse
410 Ramsland Street
Buffalo, South Dakota
August 19 and 20, 2004
Thursday, August 19, 2004 – 10:00 a.m. MDT
1. Call to order and roll call
2. Approval of minutes from June 16 and 17, 2004 meeting
3. 10:00 a.m. – Surface mining issues (bond releases, transfer of surety, etc.)
4. 10:05 a.m. – Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Order in the matter of the Petition for an Order to Show Cause and Declaratory Judgment – Broin and Associates
5. 10:10 a.m. – Oil and gas hearings –
a. Case No. 8-2004 – Request by Luff Exploration, Denver, CO, for the enlargement of the North Buffalo Red River Unit, provide for ratification by 60 percent of interest owners, and provide for risk compensation of nonparticipating owners
b. Case No. 10-2004 – Request by Continental Resources, Enid, OK, for approval to reenter an existing vertical well to drill horizontal laterals, or approve a new horizontal well, in the Red River “B” zone for oil and gas
6. Noon – Lunch break
7. 1:00 p.m. – Tour Continental Resources air injection operations
8. 3:00 p.m. – Tour Luff Exploration’s field operations in northern Harding County
9. 5:00 p.m. – Break
10. 6:00 p.m. – Free barbecue at the new Recreation Center in Buffalo sponsored by Grand Electric
11. 6:55 p.m. – Welcome – RC Sweetman, Board of Minerals and Environment
12. 7:00 p.m. – History of oil and gas drilling and production in South Dakota – Fred Steece, DENR
13. 7:15 p.m. – Oil and gas production from a rancher’s point of view – Bill Johnson
14. 7:30 p.m. – Remarks by Continental Resources – Ron Miller
15. 7:45 p.m. – Remarks by Luff Exploration – Mark Sippel
16. 8:00 p.m. – DENR oil and gas initiative – Derric Iles, DENR
17. 8:15 p.m. – View displays of oil and gas related memorabilia
18. 9:00 p.m. – Adjourn meeting for the day
Friday, August 20, 2004 – 9:00 a.m. MDT
1. 9:00 a.m. – Continuation of oil and gas hearings, if needed
2. 10:30 a.m. – Adjourn meeting
Note: Scheduled times are estimates only. Agenda items may be delayed due to prior scheduled items or may be moved up on the agenda.
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