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Enid News & Eagle
THIS YEAR IS ONE OF EXPECTATION FOR ENID AND NORTHWEST OKLAHOMA. IT IS A TIME OF CHANGE AS THE AREA EMERGES FROM RECESSION AND LOOKS TOWARD PROGRESSION. THE ECONOMIC DRIVERS THAT HAVE BUILT AND SUSTAINED OUR WAY OF LIFE ARE CHANGING, AND THE PEOPLE ARE TASKED WITH CREATING A DIVERSE, NEW ECONOMIC MODEL THAT PUTS THE AREA ON THE HORIZON TOWARD A BETTER WAY OF LIFE. TUCKED IN THESE PROGRESS EDITIONS ARE A FEW OF THE STORIES OF THOSE WHO ARE SHAPING THE FUTURE FOR 2012 AND BEYOND.
s r e v i r d
Economic Oil industry responsible for good number of job openings in northwest Oklahoma By James Neal Staff Writer
While many areas of the country still are lagging in their economic recovery, a booming oil and natural gas industry and an already low unemployment rate have local employers clamoring to attract prospective employees. According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Garfield County currently has an unemployment rate of less than four percent, compared to state and national averages of 6.1 and 8.3 percent, respectively. The low number of available workers and a still-increasing demand for labor in the oil fields have industry employers and trainers working hard to fill job openings. “We are seeing a huge demand, and a lot of it is due to the oil and natural gas industry growth,” said Teri Holle, director of business and industry services at Autry Technology Center. Across the state, Career Tech campuses are increasing their class sizes and adding classes to train new workers. Holle said Career Tech schools measure the need for professional training by polling companies across the state for number of job openings, starting salaries and skills needed to fill those positions. The surveys traditionally have been conducted annually, but recent expansion in the demand for oil field jobs has required more frequent attention. “Employment has been so volatile in the last year, we’ve started doing those surveys every quarter,” Holle said.
Fueling the job openings A survey last year of Garfield County and surrounding communities yielded more than 1,300 available jobs, most of those being in the oil and gas industry. Holle said by the next quarter that number had increased to 1,800, and by January it had increased again to 2,000. Holle said some of those openings are due to “churning in the job pool,” or people moving from one job to another within the industry. But, she added, “we estimate about three quarters of the openings are new positions.” Filling all of those job openings requires training a lot of people to move into new positions, including many workers who never before have been employed in the oil field. “There are a lot of openings out there,” Holle said. “We’re trying to determine what jobs need to be filled, we’re trying to help people get jobs and get the training they need for those jobs. The biggest openings are for skilled positions, but there’s everything available down to entry-level operators.” Holle said increased oil field activity and a resurgent manufacturing sector have boosted demand for welders and CNC machine operators. “Both of those positions pay a good
wage, and both require training,” Holle said. “We’re offering welding every chance we can, and we’re trying to add as much to our curriculum as we can to fill this need.” Holle said Autry Tech has doubled its welding enrollment in the past year and has increased enrollment for CNC machine operators, heavy equipment operators and diesel mechanics. But, the need right now for one type of worker is outstripping all others: the need for truck drivers. “Truck drivers is probably the number one need,” Holle said. “Drivers of every type you can imagine are needed, but they’re primarily for the oil and natural gas field.”
Keep on truckin’ Autry Tech has partnered with Central Tech of Drumright to offer commercial driver’s license training. Central Tech currently brings instructors and three trucks to Enid every third month for a comprehensive 23day CDL course. But, the class is limited to six students per session and is not meeting the current demand for new drivers. Travis Perrin, CDL and heavy equipment operator training coordinator at Autry Tech, said the CDL classes filled early for the February and May courses, and enrollment already is open for the July course. In hopes of better meeting the demand, Oklahoma CareerTech currently is in the process of buying six trucks and trailers to establish a permanent CDL course at Autry Tech. Perrin said a variety of students are drawn to the CDL course by good wages, ample job openings and the promise of local routes. His recent courses have included everyone from experienced drivers to “people who have never even sat in a truck before.” The one thing they all seem to have in common: They’re attracted to an industry that now, on average, is paying entry-level drivers $40,000 per year. “There’s a lot of people who are either looking for a new career or they’re retired and aren’t ready to head for the house yet, and they’re looking at the demand for CDL drivers, and the pay that goes along with it is sparking a lot of interest,” Perrin said. “And, in a lot of the oil field truck jobs around here, you’re home every night. Most of them are day runs or two-day runs.”
Experience is needed While prospective drivers may be drawn to oil field trucking by prospects of good wages, many of the open positions require years of experience and advanced qualifications. Nowhere is that more true than in the world of tanker truck driving. “Tank truck drivers aren’t born, they’re made, and not every truck driver can be a tank truck driver,” said Greg Hodgen, president and chief operating officer of Groendyke Transport.
Mobile homes are established as oil field crew housing in Alva. While areas of the country still lag in economic recovery, a booming oil and natural gas industry and an already low unemployment rate have local employers clamoring to attract employees. (Staff Photo by BILLY HEFTON)
Groendyke operates more than 1,000 tanker trucks at 31 locations spread between 12 states. Hodgen said increased activity in the oil and gas industry has increased demand for tanker truck drivers faster than they can be trained. “It’s certainly an issue that has affected us around the country,” Hodgen said. “A lot of our facilities are in areas where these plays are active, and it has affected our pool of available applicants.” He said recruiting tanker drivers “is much more difficult now, particularly in the southwest U.S. and Rocky Mountain areas.” “Finding qualified applicants is more difficult, not only in being able to find skilled drivers but also in the availability of skilled mechanics and maintenance personnel.” Hodgen said it’s difficult to meet a surging demand for tanker drivers because it takes years for a truck driver to attain the skills and certifications needed to drive tank trucks, especially hauling hazardous materials. Drivers must be at least 23 years old, be a U.S. citizen, pass a federal background check to be eligible for a hazmat certification and be able to obtain an tanker certification. “All of those things start to narrow down the field of available drivers,” Hodgen said. “The big kicker is they have to have the experience needed to pull a tanker. Pulling a tanker is a lot different than hauling a van full of dry freight, and there’s a certain level of experience required.” Hodgen said the average age of hazmat tanker drivers is in their early 50s, reflecting the time and experience required to fill the job. And, Hodgen said, demand is growing faster than new drivers can reach the threshold required to drive a tank truck. “We can’t meet the demand ... we have more opportunities than we can take advantage of,” Hodgen said. “If safety is a value, then it doesn’t change, and you view all of your applicants through that prism. And, if your applicants don’t meet your standard, which is pretty high, you can’t hire them.”
“
We can’t meet the demand ... we have more opportunities than we can take advantage of.”
Greg Hodgen, president and chief operating officer, Groendyke Transport
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DRYING UP...
W.B. Johnston Grain finding new ways to diversify its business By Phyllis Zorn Staff Writer
The 2011 drought might have driven a different agribusiness into the red, but this Enid grain company reached into its diversified war chest and continued to stay on top of its game. W.B. Johnston Grain, 411 W. Chestnut, found a niche in the oil field market by offering a service others do not: storing and handling fracturing sand — a fine sand used in drilling to hold open a fracture in the rock so oil and gas can flow through. Oklahoma’s largest privately owned grain elevator business, Johnston Grain operates 20 elevators in Oklahoma and Texas. It also operates five ports in Louisiana, West Virginia and Oklahoma. The company provides year-round employment to 300 and seasonal employment to about 60 more. Using company assets to handle the oil field supply meant
Equipment sits next to piles of sand, being used by the oil industry, that currently are stored at W.B. Johnston Grain Co. (Staff Photo by BILLY HEFTON)
no employees had to be let go when the volume of grain flowing through the company went down because of the drought, company president Butch Meibergen said. “Last year’s drought was just devastating, so you look to use your assets somewhere else,” Meibergen said. Meibergen credits the vice president of the company — his
son Joey — with the creative thinking that resulted in the frac sand accounts. Drillers often incur additional charges for keeping a rail car loaded with frac sand longer than the railroad wants the car detained. Storing it at Johnston Grain means releasing the rail car in a timely fashion and avoiding being hit with those extra charges, Butch Meibergen explained. “Our customers’ trucks come to our facility to pick up their sand,” Joey Meibergen said. Additionally, Johnston Grain is handling drilling mud and pipe for their oil field customers. The company also is expanding by developing a new port east of Tulsa. “There’s always something different to handle, whether it’s at the river or off the rail system,” Butch Meibergen said. “We look at these industrial demands.” Handling wind turbines is another possibility Johnston Grain is exploring, Joey Meibergen said. Meanwhile, back to the company’s stock in trade, Butch Meibergen said this year’s growing crop looks excellent.
• • Do you have un-leased minerals in Alfalfa, Noble, Woods or Grant Counties?
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Enid News & Eagle
NORTHWEST OKLAHOMA
Oil companies see sustainable growth in the area By James Neal Staff Writer
Drive almost any major road or try to get a seat for lunch in almost every restaurant in north central Oklahoma, and one fact becomes readily evident: the oil and natural gas business is booming. Oil and gas activity has markedly increased throughout the past year, as evidenced — if not by the crowded businesses — by the total number of drilling rigs operating in the state. According to the Baker Hughes North American Rotary Rig Count, Oklahoma’s rig count peaked at more than 200 in 2008, then dropped to little more than 100 in 2009 and 2010. Drilling activity began picking up in 2011, and the state’s rig count now has recovered to 200.
Busy in the field Some of the largest increases in production activity have come in the Mississippi limestone formation in north central Oklahoma and southern Kansas. Chesapeake Energy began horizontal drilling in the Mississippi play in Woods County in 2007. Production spreads through Woods, Alfalfa and Grant counties. Today, according to Chesapeake’s own figures, the company is the largest producer of oil and natural gas in the Mississippi, and production is continuing to increase. Chesapeake was operating only two rigs in the Mississippi play in 2008-09. That number increased to seven in 2011 and has jumped to 22 in the first quarter of 2012. According to a transcript of Chesapeake’s 2011 fourth-quarter earnings conference call, the company’s production in that area in the last quarter of 2011 was up 31 percent compared to the previous quarter and 141 percent compared to the previous year.
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All of that increased production is evident to county officials, and even casual observers, in the state’s north central region. “The roads are busy, and it seems like there’s something going on in every quarter,” said Grant County Assessor Phillip McCoy. “There’s quite a bit of activity around here ... that’s pretty unusual for this area, but it’s getting to be pretty normal.”
goes m o bo
Busy at the office Increased oil and gas activity is even more evident at the county clerk’s office, where land-men struggle for time and space in the clerk’s records office. Grant County Clerk Debbie Kretchmar has had to limit the number of land men in the office. She has set a limit of 12 researchers in the records office at one time, and it is common for there to be a line of men waiting for their turn at the records. “Sometimes, they’re scrapping like crazy,” Kretchmar said. “We’ve had up to 45 people waiting around to get in to look at the books. It’s been crazy around here, and really busy.” Similar activity can be seen in Alfalfa County. Alfalfa County Assessor Donna Prince reported the county only assessed “one or two” rigs in 2009. That number increased to “five or six” last year and tripled again to 17 rigs in January. “There’s just a lot of activity going on, and a lot of excitement here,” Prince said. “It’s just booming and going strong.”
The busier the better And, if Chesapeake’s projections hold true, activity in the area may become stronger through the remainder of the year. The company plans to continue operating 22 rigs in Woods and Alfalfa counties through 2012, according to the fourth quarter earnings call.
Drilling rigs stand near Waukomis. Oil and gas activity has increased markedly in the past year. (Staff Photo by BILLY HEFTON)
The increase, maintenance or decline of production activity in the region will depend on economic factors driven on a global scale. “Operational activity in each play is driven by economics,” said James Roller, Chesapeake corporate development manager. “In 2012, due to low natural gas prices, it became most economical for Chesapeake to focus on liquids.
The Mississippi limestone is a liquids-rich play offering superior returns in today’s market. “Chesapeake is working aggressively in north central Oklahoma to produce this play, create local jobs and support the regional economy. The returns thus far are positive and indicate a sustainable growth pattern for production in the area.”
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A NEW Growing industry of agritourism how farmers, ranchers can sustain a traditional way of life By Cass Rains Staff Writer
Agritourism is a growing industry throughout the state, allowing farmers, ranchers and producers to stretch their bottom lines by offering a glimpse into their everyday lives. Stan Ralstin, rural development specialist with Garfield County Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension Center, said agritourism in Oklahoma encompasses many specialties the state has to offer, from wineries and vineyards to hunting and fishing venues and farmers markets. “It’s an opportunity for farmers and ranchers to utilize resources in an additional way, generate additional income and allow people to come out to farms and ranches, hunting and fishing venues,” he said. “It’s another way to use the resources they have and assets they have to share with other people and have a chance to make money.”
Fast-growing industry Agritourism in Oklahoma has more than 500 venues, and Ralstin said it’s quickly becoming an industry in the state. Twelve categories are listed on Oklahoma’s Agritourism website: vineyard and winery; hunting; guest ranch; trail riding; U-pick farms and gardens; maze; country stay; specialty crops or products; exotics; museums, farm and ranch attractions; farmers market; and birding. “There’s just tons and tons of opportunities out there.”
Most operations began as farmers and ranchers attempting to make more when traditional incomes fell short, Ralstin said. “There are some people that invested in a farm or a ranch just strictly for tourism,” he said. “Some are actually investing just for the opportunity, for the tourists.”
selves on the fact when people come our for the holidays or a vacation we don’t rush them. We absolutely want to provide a fantastic vacation on whatever level you want.” Guests from around the world visit the ranch, located on an island in the Cimarron River between Oklahoma highways 8 and 132.
She said visitors are taken to museums and other sites across the state. “They get a really good feel for Oklahoma by the time they are finished with their vacation,” White said. For those not on extended stays or vacations, other services are available.
its Farm Family of the Year, the same year the couple opened Plymouth Valley Cellars. The Flamings have raised livestock, wheat and alfalfa since they married in 1966. “It’s a turn-key job. We produce the wine there,” she said. “Whatever we grow we produce into wine.”
Old West outside Ames From April through October each year, the Island Guest Ranch opens its gates and welcomes visitors seeking a taste of the Old West. The ranch in Ames is run by Carl L. White and his family. They are a fourth-generation ranching family spanning more than 100 years of Oklahoma history. They’ve been in the tourism business about a third of that time. “We opened the guest ranch almost 30 years ago,” said Jordy White, Carl’s daughter. She said guests to the ranch can take part in whatever activities and become as involved in the operation as they please. White said the ranch offers horseback riding, fishing, swimming, hiking, trap shooting, western dancing and trolley rides. “Guests can really get in the thick of working on a ranch, or they can sit by the pool if they prefer,” she said. The ranch offers all of the amenities of home, Jordy said, and doesn’t force anyone to rough it as the old cowboys once did. “It allows guests to experience the West and western lifestyle without leaving the comforts of home,” she said. “We’ve always prided our-
Daze in a Maze (top), near Covington, and Island Guest Ranch (above), near Ames, are two agritourism destinations. (Staff File Photo / Photo provided)
White said the family heavily advertises the ranch overseas and has hosted guests from as far away as southwest Asia and the Middle East. “People who come in and really want to get into the cattle work, building fences, roping and really get into the thick of it, can,” she said. “We take basically everyone at any skill level from all over the world.” Those at the ranch for an extended stay are just limited to the amenities the Whites can offer. “When they do come to the ranch, they don’t have to stay just here,” White said. “We take them basically all over the state.”
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“We’re not only for the guest ranch,” she said. “We offer weddings, as well, conventions and meetings for groups or family.” Island Guest ranch can be reached by calling (800) 928-4574 or at www.islandguestranch.com.
Wine country in Fairview Dennis and Elaine Flaming own and operate Plymouth Valley Cellars in Fairview. “We have a four-and-a-half-acre vineyard,” Elaine Flaming said. “We grow our own grapes, nine varieties. We hand-process, pick, prune and harvest.” In 2006, Oklahoma Farm Bureau named Dennis and Elaine Flaming
Elaine Flaming said they offers country stays and other events. “We host weddings, receptions, reunions, proms, family gatherings,” she said. “We have an events center, sales room, gift room, tasting room and tours of the vineyard and winery.” She said there also are RV hookups available at the winery and a cabin available for rent. “This is just like going to a bed and breakfast. If you want to stay one day, a week or a couple of nights, whatever you want.” Plymouth Valley Cellars can be reached by calling (580) 227-3279 or at www.plymouthvalleycellars .com.
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OSU Extension Center has
expansive roots
By Cass Rains
“Largely, about everything we do in the community is for rural development,” Bedwell said. “We’ve offered programs for wind energy and of that nature for folks in the community. We cut a pretty broad swath when it comes to programming topics and agendas.” Bedwell said those within the
Staff Writer
Garfield County Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension Center doesn’t just provide research and services for area farmers and ranchers. “I’d say 70, 75 to 80 percent of our clientele are urban or home-owner clientele,” said Jeff Bedwell, extension educator for agriculture and 4-H. “The array of topics we help people with cover agriculture to horticulture to home-energy conservation. We work with a lot of things.” He said the extension office fields questions about lawn and gardens, how to keep pests out of homes and yard to water quality issues. The center also offers a Master Gardener Training Program, and soil testing for lawns and gardens is available. “We focus a lot of our programming to agriculture because agriculture is such an important part of the econom- Educator Jeff Bedwell poses in front of Garfield County Oklahoma ic scheme of Garfield State University Extension Center. (Staff Photo by BILLY HEFTON) County,” Bedwell said. “There’s just an awful lot of questions extension office use planning comand support we provide the communi- mittees to help identify what warrants ty outside the realm of agriculture.” immediate attention and what topics The center also focuses heavily on educators can focus on to meet comarea youths and families. The exten- munity needs. He said educators attend various sion office has an educator who works with schools and clubs and community events and use any opporconducts outreach and another whose tunity to educate the community. “We try to be highly visible, as focus is family and consumer finance much as possible.” education.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
New technology yielding liquid gold from old formation By Robert Barron Staff Writer
Oil and natural gas drilling are seeing a strong resurgence in the United States, and, as it always has been, northwest Oklahoma is in the thick of it. A Mississippi lime formation stretching north and west of Enid and into Kansas is the big play in the area now, according to Mike Terry, president of Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association. The formation — or play — is large, he said, and the oil it is suspected of containing should bring Enid prosperity for many years to come. “The Mississippi is very exciting and great news,” Terry said. “There is still a lot of oil in place, it reaches into Kansas.” He said the combination of new technology and economic conditions have made the time ripe for oil exploration Oklahoma has been in the forefront of the oil industry for years, and, fortunately for the state, there still is some life left in the old plays. “The viability of the area has always been an area that’s done well for oil,” Terry said. “That’s what they’re drilling for now.” The good news is old fields are being revitalized because of new technology, he said. Horizontal drilling and fracturing have been very successful. “The Mississippi was nearly depleted by vertical drilling, and horizontals are
producing a lot more oil now. reach pockets of oil, which Oil production in Oklahoma has fed the success of drilling is at its highest level since through Mississippi lime for1989,” said Cody Bannister mations abundant north and west of Enid. of OIPA. The lime is very thick and Next to the Mississippi formation, probably the sec- when reached must be drilled ond-busiest oil play in the horizontally. Terry said he area is the Cana-Woodford expects drilling to go as much near Watonga. The Woodford as 5,000 to 10,000 feet horishale stretches across most of Oklahoma, Bannister said. It is a shift The Mississippi was nearly from the natdepleted by vertical drilling, ural gas inand horizontals are producdustry that ing a lot more oil now.” fed the state Cody Bannister, while oil Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association played out in the latter years of the 20th Century, Terry said. Drilling has zontally, but in some areas it shifted, and its not economi- has gone further. “It’s been developed and cal to work gas wells now, he it’s very dependable,” Terry said. “There is an oversupply of said. “Many companies have natural gas because of the expertise now.” Horizontal drilling is a success in Oklahoma and around the country,” Terry great thing for Oklahoma, Terry said, because it means said. That would have meant the current boom will last for even worse news for the state quite a while. He predicts it if new discovery of new tech- will open up a number of old nology has not led an oil fields and rejuvenate old production. upswing in the oil industry. “It’s driven first by techHorizontal drilling has been developed to the point of nology and now by price, as where it is everyday technolo- well. As long as those two gy for oil exploration compa- things are the way they are, nies, which are coming back we will see a lot of economic to certain oil-rich places like boom,” Terry said. The benefits of increase Oklahoma to rework what activity for the state as a previously was out of reach. Using horizontal drilling whole are greater revenue methods, companies now can from production tax and go through rock formations to increased employment.
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Area is taking advantage of the mighty Mississippi
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y l f o t ready
L EAVING THE NEST, Continental Resources is realizing its goal of growth with its move to Oklahoma City By Jeff Mullin Senior Writer
These are heady days for Continental Resources. The independent oil and natural gas exploration company, formed in Enid in 1967 by wildcatter Harold Hamm as Shelly Dean Oil., is growing, both in terms of production and reserve as well as in numbers of employees. And the company is in the midst of moving its headquarters and some 250 employees from Enid to the firm’s new home in downtown Oklahoma City, a move announced just more than a year ago. All of which is making life interesting for John Hart, Continental’s senior vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer. “It’s exciting,” Hart said. “It has a number of opportunities and challenges that go with it. We’re continually working to manage growth, put in the proper systems, hire the proper people. What fits a company of a smaller nature doesn’t necessarily fit a company of a larger nature.”
Hart said. “We needed to have access to a larger employee base and closer access to airports and government officials.” Continental’s strong growth rate, Hart said, is expected to continue this year. “Our expectation is that we’ll grow (production) 37 to 40 percent in 2012 in relation to what we grew in 2011,” Hart said. “In 2011 we grew 43 percent over 2010.”
Reason for growth The company’s production growth is being driven by two reservoirs, or plays: the Bakken and Anadarko Woodford. The Bakken, Hamm said recently during a speech in Montana, is the largest oil field discovered in the world in the last 40 years. At present, some 2,100 wells are being drilled in the Bakken every year. The Bakken, which also includes the Three Forks reservoir, covers 14,700 square miles spanning northeastern Mon-tana and northwestern North Dakota. The Anadarko Woodford is in Grady and Blaine counties in western Oklahoma. “The Bakken is a world-class oil play,” said Hart. “We’ve got a decade-plus drilling in that play.” Continental was one of the first companies to explore the Bakken and is currently the largest acreage holder in the area, some 915,863 acres as of the end of 2011. “The Bakken has had production for 50 years,” Hart said. “We were on the forefront of the usage of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing in the play. Technology really unlocked that play.”
John Hart
Moving for growth At the end of 2009, Hamm — Continental’s founder, board chairman and chief executive officer — set a goal of tripling the company’s production and reserve growth by 2014. “We’re well on track to do that,” Hart said. “At the end of 2011 we had approximately doubled the size of the company in a two-year period. I think it’s safe to say we’re on track or ahead of schedule in that plan.” That rate of growth, Hart said, is the chief reason the company is moving its base of operations to Oklahoma City. “The principle reason we had to relocate is we have a significant amount of hiring that we needed to do in a very short period of time,”
History and future of growth Continental’s first move into the northern U.S. came in the late 1980s when the company began drilling in the Cedar Hills play in the northern Rockies in North Dakota. “We’ve been up there for a long time and had some very good results, obviously,” Hart said. “Currently we’re the largest acreage
holder in the Bakken, and we’re expanding that, and we also have the largest number of drilling rigs operating.” Continental expects to be operating in the Bakken and Three Forks region for a long time, Hart said. “There are decades of production in the Bakken,” he said. “We’ve got thousands of wells left to drill.”
Technology of growth Continental’s website compares horizontal drilling to “sinking a jump shot four miles away.” Continental can drill two miles down, then two miles sideways, to reach an oil reservoir the size of a basketball hoop. Fracturing, or fracking, is the somewhat controversial practice of using high pressure water and sand to crack a formation deep underground, fracturing the rock and allowing oil and natural gas to flow through pipes up to the surface. Another bit of new technology, ECO-Pad, allows Continental to drill four wells from a single drilling pad. The benefits not only are economic but environmental. “That’s sensitive to the land in that we’re only having to build one road, we’re only having to set up one pad location,” Hart said. “We get in and we develop that area quickly and move down the highway a few miles and do it again. “It limits truck traffic and limits disturbance to the land. It’s costeffective for the company.” ECO-Pad wells are about 10 percent less expensive to drill and complete than single wells, Hart said. “It’s just a good, efficient way to develop,” he said.
Looking for growth All the while Continental is drilling in established reservoirs, it is searching for the next big opportunity. “We have a very active exploration group, with a number of longterm, seasoned geologists,” Hart said. “We’re always looking for the next play. We’re not by nature an acquisition company, we’re an exploration company. We’re always looking for opportunities to expand what we have.” Continental has offices across the
U.S., Hart said, but having its headquarters currently divided between Enid and Oklahoma City is challenging. “We’re used to managing multiple locations,” he said, “but from a headquarters staffing perspective it’s always better if you’re in one location. “It’s certainly easier when you can walk down the hall and see somebody. We’re a very personal, connected company. Face time between individuals is something that’s important to us.” Continental has moved a portion
A Continental Resources drilling rig (top) rises above a pasture in North Dakota. Continental is the largest acreage holder in the Bakken region and has more rigs operating in the area than any other company. A Continental Resources pumping unit (middle) operates in Bakken region. Four “rocking horse” pumping units (above) owned by Continental Resources operate in North Dakota’s reservoir. (Photos provided)
of its information technology department into its new home in downtown Oklahoma City, a building still being vacated by former owner Devon Energy. The company was scheduled to take over two additional floors of its new building in late March. The finance department is scheduled to move to Oklahoma City in late May, while the remaining departments will be moving throughout the summer, Hart said. “Devon will be fully out by the end of June, or thereabouts,” Hart said. “We should fully occupy (the new building) by late-July or midAugust.” Continental’s new home, which will be called Continental Oil Tower, is a 19-story, 307,000-square foot building. More than 80 percent of Continental’s employees in Enid
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elected to make the move. Continental is expected to employ 400 people at its new headquarters, with that number expected to grow to 450 by the end of the year. The move, Hart said, “has gone fairly seamlessly, so far. I expect it will continue to be done in an orderly and systematic fashion as we move forward.” Continental’s future will be projected later this year when the company’s new five-year plan is released. “We’ve got a long-term, sustainable growth profile in front of us,” Hart said. “We expect to be a very large, self-sustaining, cash flow generating, world class oil and gas company. We’re well on track for that. I expect us to be a significantly larger company.”
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Pipeline inspection business’ goal: Take care of its existing customers By Phyllis Zorn Staff Writer
DOVER — Audie Price set out after high school to run a farm and hire himself out as a welder. Little did he know back then he’d end up running a pipeline inspection company doing business in several states. “When I got out of high school, I got into welding,” Price said. He contracted himself out for welding jobs and, during that time, met a lot of engineers. One thing led to another, and in 1995, Price was asked to do inspection work. “I wasn’t really thrilled about it,” Price said. “I figured I’d do the one job and go back to my welding.” But what he had gotten himself into to help out ended up growing. Oil and natural gas companies kept calling him to do more inspection work. Eventually he hired employees to help with the demand and then took on welder testing and certification tasks. Audie Price Inspections incorporated in 1999 but remains in family hands. Audie is president; his wife, Brenda, is vice president; his daughter, Julie Walker, is office manager; and Julie’s husband, Charles, oversees welder testing and certification. Work comes primarily from Oklahoma and Texas, but the company also sees jobs from Kansas, Arkansas and states farther out.
Audie Price
Oil and gas pipelines fall under the governance of the Department of Transportation’s pipeline safety division. Inspection jobs require copious documentation, Price said. “You do a little old job, and you’ve got binders and binders of documentation,” Price said. The inspectors have to make sure all is in compliance and completed safely. They set the welding procedure for the work and maintain documentation. For a single job, the company can send a chief inspector, assistant chief inspector, certified welding inspector and perhaps two more under him, material inspector and six to eight utility inspectors. The company had a peak year in 2003, when it doubled its revenue. Business peaked again in 2011, with revenue doubling yet again. It currently has 200 employees. Natural gas pipelines make up a bigger share of the customer base than do oil pipelines. Company revenues were about $25 million in 2011. Nevertheless, the business still operates out of an office behind the Price family home in a pristine setting in rural Kingfisher County. Surrounding the home and office is the land where Price and his family operate a cow and calf operation with a herd of more than 200. Price said his plan for the future is to continue taking care of his existing customers. “It’s just about as big as I’d care for it to be,” he said.
Audie Price (top) poses inside his office in Dover. Welders (middle) work at Audie Price Inspections. Brenda Price, vice president of the business, (above) fields a call from an employee. (Staff Photos by BONNIE VCULEK)
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Past year one of growth for midstream Hiland Co. Senior Writer
When Continental Resources completes its move to Oklahoma City later this year, Enid will lose one energy company with roots deep in the Bakken field of North Dakota and Montana.
Another, however, is staying right here. Enid-based Hiland Partners, wholly owned by Continental founder Harold Hamm and his family, is a completely separate company. “We are not a subsidiary,” said Derek Gipson, Hiland Partners executive vice president and chief financial officer. “All of our transactions with Continental are done at an arm’s length. They are a great customer of ours; we enjoy working with them.” Continental is far from Hiland’s only customer, however. “We’re privileged to have them as a customer, but we’ve done a good job, too, of adding other key customers to our portfolio who are very active in that area,” Gipson said. That includes larger independents like Continental, some smaller private and public companies as well as some major oil companies, he added.
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Enid News & Eagle
in the By Jeff Mullin
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Sunday, April 8, 2012
middle
natural gas liquids, separates the NGLs and then sells the gas and its byproducts. Likewise, on the crude oil side, Hiland takes oil, blends, stores and markets it. Hiland currently has 201 employees — 55 at its Enid headquarters, 32 in the field elsewhere in Oklahoma and
114 in North Dakota and Montana. “As our asset base has grown, we’ve had to add folks,” said Gipson, “more so out in the field.”
Difficult but fulfilling year The past year has been one of growth for Hiland. “2011 for us was a big construction year,” Gipson said. Last year the company
built both a new natural gas plant and a compressor station in North Dakota, as well as a crude oil gathering system. “The Bakken is a crude oil play,” said Gipson, “and we saw an opportunity to get in that line of business in a more meaningful way.” 2011 proved a difficult year for construction in North Dakota because of a record-setting winter. “We’re really proud of our operating team,” he said. “2011 was, from a weather standpoint in North Dakota, of historic proportions. There was a record amount of snowfall in the winter and then we rolled into a record amount of flooding in the second quarter. Our guys did a great job of battling through those adverse conditions and getting our new facilities online.” From his post on the financial side of the Hiland operation, Gipson said he and his team have been kept busy by the company’s expansion. “We’re right in the middle of our Bakken capital projects,” he said. “We cur-
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of it
Derek Gipson (left) is Hiland Partners executive vice president and chief financial officer. (Staff Photo by BILLY HEFTON) Hiland Partners’ Bakken Gathering System in Richland County, Montana, features 375 miles of natural gas gathering pipelines. Enid-based Hiland is a midstream petroleum company that gathers, processes, stores and markets natural gas and crude oil. (Photo provided)
rently have budgeted about $600 million for capital projects that will take us through the end of 2013. We have been busy.”
Going with ‘guns blazing’ In the near term, Hiland plans to continue to expand its natural gas and crude oil gathering systems in North Dakota, Gipson said. “As the play expands out amongst these 15,000 square miles and the play gets more productive, we’re successful working with other producers to grow our asset base and provide services they need in this new area with little existing infrastructure,” he said. Beyond the near term, Gipson said, he foresees Hiland not only continuing to expand its Bakken operations but also branching out into other oil and gas plays. “I would hope that you would see us active in another basin outside our existing
territories here in Oklahoma, North Dakota and Montana,” he said. “I think that’s probably a good goal for us, to continue to diversify geographically and keep growing. That’s our mandate.” Hiland presently operates 13 natural gas gathering systems with approximately 1,704 miles of gas gathering pipelines; five natural gas processing plants; seven natural gas treating facilities; and three facilities that separate, or fractionalize, natural gas liquids into propanes, butanes and natural gasolines. In terms of crude oil, Hiland operates four oil gathering systems with some 338 miles of pipelines, storage for 210,000 barrels of crude and 11 oil truck unloading stations. The majority of Hiland’s assets are located in the North Dakota-Montana Bakken play. “It’s been guns blazing up there,” said Gipson, “building
infrastructure as quickly as we can to accommodate our producers.” Recently, Hamm called the Bakken “the largest field ever found in America,” saying it is bigger than the Prudhoe Bay oil field in Alaska. In January, according to the North Dakota Petroleum Council, the state’s portion of the Bakken play produced 546,047 barrels of oil and 571,539 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. And Hiland is right in the middle of it. “We’re blessed to be in up there and providing midstream services to producers up there,” said Gipson. Safety is at the top of Hiland’s list of core values. “That is the biggest emphasis here at Hiland, operating in a safe and efficient manner,” said Gipson, “and keeping our employees safe. It’s not a line around here, it’s the real deal.”
A midstream company In the parlance of the petroleum business, Hiland is a midstream company, which means it purchases, gathers and markets natural gas, natural gas liquids and crude oil. Upstream firms locate and drill for petroleum, while downstream companies are involved in refining. “We’re purely a midstream company,” said Gipson, a St. Louis native who has been with Hiland since mid-2008. “We’re closer to the wellhead rather than when you think of long haul, interstate pipelines. We’re not in that business right now.” Hiland takes natural gas from the wellhead, treats it to remove impurities, removes
www.wardpetroleum.com
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Enid News & Eagle
NORTHWEST OKLAHOMA IS RIPE FOR
Diversification Farmers turning to other crops to keep wheat, yields healthy By James Neal Staff Writer
For the better part of a century Oklahoma agriculture almost could be summed up in one word: wheat. Of course, Oklahoma farmers have been producing other crops since the first ground was broken, but crop diversification and the shift away from mono-culture wheat farming have accelerated in recent years as more growers have pursued opportunities to capitalize on management options and attractive market prices.
Down on the farm Recent studies of the state’s wheat yields reflect the shift away from exclusively farming the familiar grain. The 2011 U.S. Department of Agriculture Annual Wheat Review shows Oklahoma at a 30-year low for wheat production, both in acres planted and bushels harvested. Oklahoma wheat farmers planted more than 7.5 million acres of wheat in 1980, with 6.5 million acres harvested for grain, yielding 195 million bushels of wheat. Those figures have declined steadily throughout the ensuing 30 years. In the 2010-11 growing season, the state had 5.1 million acres planted in wheat, with 3.2 million acres harvested for a yield of 70.4 million bushels. That represents a 32 percent reduction in acres planted in wheat and a 64 percent reduction in bushel yield from 1980 to 2011. Higher prices and an easing drought boosted wheat planting for the current season. National Agricultural Statistics Service reported in January planted acres in Oklahoma were up 8 percent to 5.5 million acres. However, in north central Oklahoma, planted acres were down to 1.34 million acres, compared to 1.45 million acres last year.
Crop diversification and the shift away from mono-culture wheat farming (top) have accelerated in recent years as more growers have pursued opportunities to capitalize on management
options and attractive market prices in others areas, such as canola (above), which is evident currently in fields across northwest Oklahoma. (Staff File Photo / Staff Photo by BILLY HEFTON)
profit margins through rotation, based on market prices; and minimize risk based on current crop insurance products. “Our ag producers have some flexibility in being able to make decisions based on the market, based on their need for diversification for weed control, and based on which crops will provide the best profitability,” Bedwell said. He said many producers continue
“Oftentimes, what I find is people like the synergism between the two crops, and they’ll see a bump in yield as wheat follows canola, or vice versa,” Bedwell said. James Wuerflein has benefitted from that “bump” in yields that comes with crop rotation. Wuerflein, who farms in Garfield County with his brother Richard, has made the move from mono-culture wheat to a continuous rotation of wheat and summer crops. “Up until 15 years ago we were predominantly wheat, but in the last 15 to 16 years we started rotating our crops and no-till farming,” Wuerflein said. He said he and his brother turned to crop rotation because they were having problems with grassy weeds and fungal diseases in their wheat fields. “Continuously farming wheat was not working so well, and we were seeing more disease problems all the time,” Wuerflein said. After listening to a presentation about crop rotation in the Panhandle, the Wuerfleins decided to try crop diversification in their operation. “We experimented with crop rotation and no-till farming for the first few years, and it was working really well,” Wuerflein said. By the third year they had implemented a full no-till rotation on all their fields. Wuerflein said they now farm in a rotation with half their fields in wheat, the other half in corn, soybeans, grain sorghum or milo. The fields planted in
gained popularity as a rotation crop because it helps replenish nitrogen in the soil.
No cheating
One of the dominant factors in the growth of crop rotation is an increased demand to remove infestations of cheat, rye grass and feral rye from growers’ fields. The problem of dealing with intruding grasses is not new to wheat farmers, but many elevators now require much cleaner wheat. The answer, for many producers, has been to rotate out of wheat and into crops that will tolerate It gives a longer window to plant, herbicides that can “clean and a longer window to harup” the fields. vest. And, hopefully somewhere “It’s become more and in there we get good enough more well-accepted by weather for something to grow.” producers; we can manage James Wuerflein, local farmer those grassy weed issues by rotating into other crops,” Bedwell said. He said many producthe practice of “double-cropping” ers have gone beyond two-year winter wheat with summer crops rotations, implementing three- to like corn, soybeans, sesame, sun- five- or even six-year crop rotaflowers and grain sorghum. tions. “However a producer rotates “We usually have adequate moisture to get a summer crop start- crops, it’s not going to be a oneed in this region of Oklahoma, and stop fix,” Bedwell said. “Those that gives producers some flexibili- grassy weeds leave seeds in the ty in whether or not they double- soil for multiple years, and it takes multiple years of rotation crop behind wheat,” Bedwell said. Last summer’s extreme heat and to get the weed and rye seed drought conditions weren’t con- bank worn out.” ducive to agriculture of any sort, but Side benefits of rotation the ensuing hay shortage may make alfalfa an attractive crop this fall. Bedwell said many producers “Alfalfa has become very popu- who turned to a wheat-canola lar as of late because of the high rotation to control grassy weeds now are finding other advanvalue of forage crops,” he said. Bedwell said alfalfa also has tages.
“
Area is able to diversify Jeff Bedwell, Garfield County Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension Center ag educator, said the decline in wheat production doesn’t represent a decline in agriculture planting but rather an increase in crop diversification. Bedwell said producers increasingly are turning to crop rotation because of three factors: the need to rotate crops to control unwanted grasses in wheat fields; increased
wheat are double-cropped with soybeans or grain sorghum. “By rotating those crops you break the disease cycle,” Wuerflein said. “You hear a lot of people talk about planting canola to clean up their fields. To me, and I raise canola also, it’s not the canola that makes our wheat grow better, it’s breaking that disease cycle. Just getting away from that one crop for a year or two gives another mixture to your soil.” Wuerflein said there’s no single-crop fix for diseases or weed problems. “If you farm mono-culture of any crop over a multitude of years, you’re going to run into problems,” he said. By rotating crops, Wuerflein said he has seen not only cleaner, healthier fields but increases in yield. “Instead of getting the same crop every year, we’re getting three crops every two years,” he said. The rotation also helps mitigate risks posed by weather. “We’re spreading our risk out,” Wuerflein said. “We might have a bad wheat crop and a good milo crop, or vice versa.” In a state where it is not uncommon for catastrophic weather events to destroy entire crops, spreading out the risk may be the greatest benefit of crop diversification. “It gives a longer window to plant, and a longer window to harvest,” Wuerflein said. “And, hopefully somewhere in there we get good enough weather for something to grow.”
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Enid News & Eagle
R I C H
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H I S TO RY
hc ickens?
Wheat, oil and ... Agriculture, energy have large roles in Enid’s past Oil and agriculture have played major roles in the development of Enid and northwest Oklahoma since land opened in 1893.
Agriculture When farmers first settled in the Enid area and its surroundings, they planted a variety of crops such as corn, grain and sorghum. Soon they found wheat, particularly winter wheat, grew best. By 1900, seven years before statehood, northwest Oklahoma produced more than 10 million bushels of wheat. In 1914, Garfield County farms produced more than 6 million bushels of wheat and were setting records by 1919, when wheat rose to $2.19 per bushel. Enid’s terminal elevators were constructed between 1925 and 1955 and had the capacity to hold half of the entire state’s wheat production. From 1926 to 1930, Enid’s grain storage capacity grew from 248,000
bushels to eight million. In the early 1910s, Enid also boomed in poultry production. Companies such as Swift & Co. and Enid Poultry Co. were large suppliers. Money earned from distribution of chickens, turkeys and eggs was substantially more in northwest Oklahoma than other parts of the state. A 1930 pamphlet published by Enid Chamber of Commerce said: “Enid is the largest poultry market in the United States.”
Crude beginnings Oil production undoubtedly has been an important part of history in northwest Oklahoma, almost as long as Oklahoma has been a state. In 1916, Garber Oil Field was discovered, with its prime years from 1916 to 1930. The field’s production peaked in 1926 with 10,920,000 barrels of crude. By 1919, the city of Enid had four refineries, with H.H. Champlin building the
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city’s first in 1917. Just two years later, oil prices set records at $2.01 per barrel. By the time H.H. Champlin died in 1944, his oil company employed more than 800 people in Enid. According to a 1930 Chamber of Commerce publication, the Tonkawa District had produced a million barrels of oil by 1930, and the Billings Field, 30 miles from Enid, was showing steady growth. Lew Ward, founder of Enid-based Ward Petroleum, drilled his first well in the Sooner Trend, near Enid in 1963. Since that year, Ward Petroleum has drilled or participated in the production of more than 1,000 wells. As of 2007, Oklahoma’s oil and gas firms employed more than 76,000 workers with an income of $8.9 billion. Each job in the industry supports 3.2 jobs in the wider economy.
Lew Ward, founder of Ward Petroleum, stands amid the oil and gas exhibits (top) in Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center. The museum renovation features Dave Donaldson Oil & Gas Gallery (above) that provides a timeline for and information about the involvement of Enid and northwest Oklahoma in the energy industry. A portrait of the discovery of the Garber-Covington field (left), which happened in 1916, is on display at the Heritage Center. (Staff Photos by BONNIE VCULEK)
Information provided by Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center in Enid.
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Declaring independence By Robert Barron Staff Writer One of the oldest oil production companies in Enid is Ward Petroleum, which drilled its first well near Enid in 1963. President Lew Ward said the company has most of its activities centered in the Washita the Anadarko basin and Arkoma areas. Since the company’s beginning, it has drilled more than 800 wells, some as deep at 22,000 feet. Ward Petroleum has nearly 350 wells in Oklahoma. The company focuses on geologically complex areas with multi-pay and multi-well potential and uses 3D seismic technology to reduce risk. Ward Petroleum started researching 3D seismic 10 years ago and partnered with Marathon to expand on its success. The Anadarko Basin is a multipay zone, with opportunities for deeper potential due to passed over shallow zones, increased density drilling and low-risk back-up zones for higher risk exploratory tests, according to the company’s website. Ward said the company currently is working in Roger Mills and Ellis counties, drilling horizontal wells in the Tonkawa and Granite Washita formations. The company also is interested in Mississippi Limestone formations in its area. “We’re watching what’s happening in the Mississippi play in our backyard,” Ward said. “We’re seeing some very good resources in some and interesting in others.” Ward said he is uncertain the Mississippi play is as attractive in this area as it is in others, but it has caught a lot of oil men’s attentions. “We’re very fortunate what’s
going on in the Grant, Alfalfa, Woods County and into Kansas. It’s very beneficial,” he said. But the action is never far from home. As example of activity currently in the Enid area, Ward suggested traveling
Ward: Technology means more oil, ability to kick foreign fuel habit doesn’t mean he is not favorable for developing gas potential, but prices for gas are not as good currently, although he said they will be better in the future. Ward said since he started his business he has seen many trends in
say we had 100 years supply of gas and oil, but you can say it now with a great deal of confidence.” Ward is a firm believer in the free market system and believes it will take care of problems. If there is a shortage, technology will find a way
Ward said oil pumped in the United States will help the nation become independent of foreign sources. Ward called that oil pool an “awesome amount” that will start coming to market when the pipelines get in place.
Lew Ward
In 1963 Lew Ward, founder of Ward Petroleum in Enid, drilled his first well. The local company has drilled or assisted in hundreds of wells. (Staff Photo by BILLY HEFTON / Staff Photo by BONNIE VCULEK) south on U.S. 81 to Waukomis and observe the number of cars at motels near the highway. “There is no place to stay in Enid ...” he said. “Bank deposits are up, and lots of good things are happening.” In his operation, Ward said he tries to favor a prospect that has more oil than gas potential. That
the oil business. He said he has stayed optimistic about the oil business and is as enthusiastic today as ever. Horizontal drilling, a relatively new technology, will be valuable in the industry. “It has changed completely in the last three or four years,” he said. “It’s not the same industry we had three or four years ago. Then you couldn’t
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to fill it, and if there is a surplus, the market will find a way to avert those problems, Ward said. “Oil prices are a great driver, and they will drive the deliverability of primarily crude oil, to where it will soon become a surplus. That will happen sometime in the future, in the foreseeable future 12-18 months. So many are dependent on it,” he said.
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That will indicate there is a surplus, he said. When America has a surplus of oil and gas there no longer will be a need to purchase it from foreign countries, some of which are not friendly and undependable. “In addition,” he said, “when you buy gas and oil from one of those countries you are sponsoring state terrorism.”
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beef
Where’s the
?
Area cattlemen still trying to recover from effects of drought By Bridget Nash Staff Writer Consumers still see high beef prices as a result of last year’s cattle production, but contributing factors to the low production may change soon. “Standard data says we do have record-high beef prices at the current time,” said Greg Highfill, area livestock specialist at Garfield County Oklahoma State University Extension Office. “From the demand side, consumers are wanting beef, so cattle producers are encouraged by that.” While remembering last year’s drought in Oklahoma, many people only consider the negative effect the lack of rain had on crops, but cattle producers also were affected. “They were hurt by the drought,” Highfill said. “Cattle had been moved to areas with grass or sold, so we don’t have as many beef cows in northwest Oklahoma as we did a few years ago.” In fact, northwest Oklahoma is see-
ing low beef cow numbers and the lowest number of production cows in decades. “From a cattle production standpoint, we are at a record low beef cow numbers,” Highfill said. “We have the fewest number of production cows that we’ve had since the 1950s.” Even though the numbers are low, the quality of cattle is very high, Highfill said, and the cattle that are being produced are yielding more pounds of beef per cow than in previous years. “We’ve kept the total pounds of beef that reaches the consumer at excellent levels,” Highfill said. He said those high numbers are good, but they will be difficult to maintain, statewide and nationally. “For the next couple of years, we are not going to be able to maintain that production. Pounds of product produced in the United States will decline,” Highfill said. “We’ve got a tight supply of beef and a good
demand, so that is going to yield higher prices.” Because the number of cows is not the only factor in beef pricing for consumers, the recent state of the economy lends to the high beef prices. Things such as the cost of fuel also increase the cost of production. The good news is this year’s fair weather and rainfall may allow more cattle producers to bring cattle back to northwest Oklahoma and raise the number of cattle in the area. “Obviously, they were hurt by the drought (last year),” said Highfill. “With the value of these calves and the ability to capture some of the increase value ... I would expect a fair number of producers to restock those pastures fairly quickly.” For producers, it is a good time to sell cattle, said Highfill. Between good prices for selling producers and better weather this year, more cattle are expect to graze the pastures of northwest Oklahoma.
Cattle stand in nearby fields. Northwest Oklahoma is seeing low beef cow numbers and the lowest number of production cows in decades. (Staff Photos by BILLY HEFTON)
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Enid News & Eagle
Good times and bad ... Area oil company uses experience, keeps on flowing
“
We’ve had ups and downs throughout the 33 years. When we shut our first drilling company down we lived on through production. We are hoping this boom lasts a while.”
By Austin Prickett Staff Writer
Lexy Pierce, secretary and treasurer, Dan D Drilling Corporation
LAMONT — The Darling name has become synonymous with oil and gas drilling in and around the area. The family is involved in nine companies, covering several facets of the oil and gas drilling business, that are operated out of the Dan D Drilling Corporation’s office in Lamont. Lexy Pierce, secretary and treasurer for the corporation, said the original company began around 1978. “Dan Darling and his dad Clyde had a water hauling business and decided to start drilling for themselves,” Pierce said. They began as Darling Drilling Co. and operated one drilling rig. The company, which now is owned by the son, blossomed and branched Darling Drilling Co. started out with one drilling rig and has blossomed and branched out to involve nine areas of production under the corporation umbrella. (Staff Photo by BILLY HEFTON) out to involve nine areas of production under the corporation 270 employees that are working on proj- gone as far south as Pauls Valley and as supply store, bought a new yard in umbrella. ects. far north as McPherson, Kan. Woodward for its casing crew and purThe businesses range from the family Pierce said the drilling company has The company has been able to survive chased five new drilling rigs. farm operation to oil supply, production been very busy due to the current oil through several oil booms and busts that Pierce, along with drilling superinand service companies and stretch across boom. have occurred throughout the years, tendent Dale Hobbs, have been mainstays the north central part of the state, specif“We are running 10 drilling rigs right mainly due to the different businesses it with the area company throughout the ically including presences in Lamont and now,” Pierce said. “Finding someone to operates. years. Tonkawa. drill for is not a problem ... we don’t “We’ve had ups and downs throughout She said she has been with the compa“Through Darling Oil Corporation we hardly drill for ourselves anymore.” the 33 years. When we shut our first ny for 33 years. operate around 100 wells. We pump The drilling company performs both drilling company down we lived on “When I started, it was just a big cardthem, repair them and operate them.” horizontal and vertical well drilling. through production,” Pierce said. “We are board box of receipts and bills. Then I set Pierce said. Pierce said the drilling company tends to hoping this boom lasts a while.” the books up and have been going ever The overall corporation has more than stay within 100 miles of Lamont but has The company recently has doubled its since,” Pierce said.
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Enid News & Eagle
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Sunday, April 8, 2012
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By Robert Barron Staff Writer
EGP North America has begun the process of building about 145 wind turbines north of the Enid area that will be similar to a wind farm near Woodward (above and top) when the project is finished. Construction crews also are working on road upgrades in the area. (Staff Photo by BILLY HEFTON / AP Photo)
A general contractor has begun the process of building about 145 wind turbines north of the Enid area, said Brent Kisling, president of Enid Regional Development Alliance. “They will be working on the gravel areas first, the did the preliminary work in April,” Kisling said. The wind farm represents a $400 million investment, plus an expected 125 construction workers will be in the area during construction. Longterm workers will number 15 to 20, he said. EGP North America is the owner of the project. TradeWind Energy was the developer and got the program going. EGP has a temporary office in James W. Strate Center for Business Development and is working with subcontractors. The project started about three years ago when measuring towers, called MET towers, were put up to determine the wind speed at 300 feet. The research began and the project happened faster than most do. The lease sales and development usually is about a six-year process, and this project was about a four- to five-year process, Kisling said. “The big part was the power purchase (agreements) with Alabama,” he said. “They are scheduled for completion by the end of the calendar year.” The pads on which the wind towers sit are 10 feet deep and 50 feet in diameter, and the towers are about 300 feet tall at their highest point. Kisling said as long as they are beneath 400 feet, there is no problem with violating Vance Air Force Base airspace. Construction crews also are working on road upgrades. Kisling said some roads in the Hunter area had to be improved and bridges strengthened to move equipment. “The locals are getting nicer roads and bridges,” Kisling said. “I think one of the companies also gave a substantial amount to Hunter to upgrade the community center,” Kisling said.
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