Oilfield filter socks, used to filter wastewater at drilling sites, have turned up in some odd corners of North Dakota, including a roadside, an Indian Reservation, a city garbage can, and tucked under other waste trucked to landfills. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
By The Huffington Post News Editors
VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) — Port of Vancouver commissioners voted Tuesday to approve a lease for a Columbia River terminal that would take in crude oil by train from North Dakota and ship it to West Coast refineries.
About 60 people were at the port’s office for the vote, which followed Monday night’s public hearing, The Columbian reported (http://bit.ly/11ccypC ).
The project will be reviewed by the state Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council, which will make a recommendation to Washington Gov. Jay Inslee for a final decision.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post
By Ruth Brown
A federal judge has temporarily blocked the new North Dakota law that bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected , calling it “clearly invalid and unconstitutional,” the AP reports. The law was set to go into effect at the beginning of August but the judge granted the temporary injunction after… …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Newser – Health
A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked a new North Dakota law that bans abortion when a fetal heartbeat is detected — as early as six weeks into pregnancy, calling the law “clearly invalid and unconstitutional.”
Canada’s two largest railways said Thursday they are reviewing procedures for securing stopped trains, pending new federal rules following the derailment of a runaway train in Quebec.
Canadian National (CN) told AFP it is reviewing what it described as already “robust policies” to secure its trains.
Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) meanwhile reportedly issued an internal bulletin announcing changes to its safety operations in anticipation of a Transport Canada order.
The bulletin, cited by the daily Globe and Mail, says parking trains carrying dangerous goods on main lines is now prohibited, and hand brakes must be applied whenever a train is left unsupervised for more than one hour.
“With the recent tragic incident that occurred in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, in preparation to a pending order by Transport Canada, Canadian Pacific is revising our operating instructions,” the companysaid.
In an email to AFP, a CP spokesman added that unattended locomotives outside a terminal or yard will now be locked.
“These enhanced safety and operating rules,” CP spokesman Ed Greenberg said, “are an update to (the company’s) current general operating instructions for our employees” and “were identified from what recently occurred” in Lac-Megantic.
Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway’s runaway oil tanker train derailed and exploded on July 6, flattening part of the picturesque Quebec town of Lac-Megantic and killing up to 50 people.
The railway’s chairman said last week that the disaster appeared to have been caused by an engineer’s failure to properly set hand brakes on the train.
The train was carrying crude oil from the Bakken shale fields of North Dakota in 72 tanker cars through the resort town of 6,000 near the Canada-US border.
It had been scheduled to cross Maine to an Irving Oil refinery in New Brunswick.
Canada’s transportation minister was not immediately available for comment nor to confirm the pending new train safety rules.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
Four months after he was found unconscious in a Palm Springs, Calif., motel, doctors are looking into the mystery of a Florida man who awoke with no memory of his past and speaking only Swedish.
Michael Boatwright, 61, woke up with amnesia, calling himself Johan Ek, The Desert Sun reports. Boatwright was found unconscious in a Motel 6 room in February. After police arrived, he was transported to the Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs where he woke up.
Hospital officials said Boatwright may have been in town for a tennis tournament in the Coachella Valley. He was found with a duffel bag of exercise clothes, a backpack and tennis rackets. He also carried four forms of identification — a passport, a California identification card, a veteran’s medical card and a Social Security card — all of which identified him as Michael Thomas Boatwright.
Palm Springs police have documented his information in case anyone lists Boatwright as missing or wanted, authorities said.
In March, doctors diagnosed Boatwright with Transient Global Amnesia, a condition triggered by physical or emotional trauma that can last for several months.
The rare mental disorder is characterized by memory loss, “sudden and unplanned travel,” and possible adoption of a new identity, according to the Sun.
After an extensive search, medical personnel and social workers have been unable to locate Boatwright’s next of kin. Authorities are still unsure of his birthplace, listed on his ID as Florida — photos show him in Sweden at a young age.
Boatwright doesn’t recall how to exchange money, take public transportation, or seek temporary housing like homeless shelters or hotels, the social worker assigned to his case, Lisa Hunt-Vasquez, told the Sun.
He doesn’t remember his son and two ex-wives, either.
He has no income or insurance, further complicating his treatment at Desert Regional. And he has little money he can access — only $180. He also has a few Chinese bank accounts, but can only access one account, which holds $7, according to the newspaper.
Doctors don’t know how much longer he will be able to stay at the center — aside from his amnesia, Boatwright is in good health. The hospital is currently looking for alternatives that would keep him off the streets. For now, Boatwright is unsure of both his past and his future.
“Sometimes it makes me really sad and sometimes it just makes me furious about the whole situation and the fact that I don’t know anybody, I don’t recognize anybody,” Boatwright told the newspaper.
Last year, a North Dakota college student who went missing for nearly a week before turning up in Arizona said she had a bout of amnesia and didn’t know who she was.
Amber Glatt, a 22-year-old Valley City State University student, vanished on the Fourth of July, prompting aerial searches. She contacted her mother five days later from the Grand Canyon. Her mother said Glatt has had recurring amnesia since suffering a head injury years ago.
Glatt told WDAY-TV (http://bit.ly/NmbSnR ) that after she lost her memory she met a man in a …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News
A North Dakota newscaster who uttered a profanity to begin is debut as anchor has been suspended, but online support for the young newsman is growing as the clip goes viral.
A.J. Clemente made his debut as co-anchor for Bismarck NBC affiliate KFYR on Sunday, but the University of West Virginia graduate was seemingly unaware his microphone was on as colleague Van Tieu began the newscast.
“F—— s—,” Clemente said seconds after Tieu kicked off the broadcast and mumbled incoherently. He later stammered through introducing himself at the station.
“Ummm, thanks Van, I’m very excited,” he said. “I graduated from West Virginia University and I’m used to, um, you know, from being, from in the East Coast.”
Clemente then reports on a fatal ATV crash in Williams County. He later summarized his performance on Twitter.
“That couldn’t have gone any worse!” he wrote.
Clemente did not join Tieu for the following newscast and has been suspended, according to a post on the station’s Facebook page.
“He did not realize his microphone was on, but still, that’s no excuse,” said KFYR-TV news director Monica Hannan. “We train our reporters to always assume that any microphone is live at any time. Unfortunately, that was not enough in this case. We can’t take back what was said. The person involved has been suspended until we resolve the situation. All we can do at this point is ask for your forgiveness, and I can offer my personal assurance that I will do my best to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again under my watch.”
Clemente, who briefly erased his Twitter account late Sunday, later thanked viewers for supporting him through the “tough” debut.
“I’ll try my hardest to come back better and learn from this,” he wrote.
Many fans on the station’s Facebook page, meanwhile, have asked management not to fire the young newscaster.
“While this is definitely spreading across the country, please consider not firing him,” one posting read. “The kid screwed up big time, but he shouldn’t have to have his early career ruined because of it, especially after moving all the way to North Dakota from West Virginia.”
Another user wrote: “I really don’t think suspension is going to help anything. The kid is super green, and he needs practice more than anything. If you yank him off the air immediately, that’s going to create a huge obstacle for him to climb. You hired him. He needs to know he has the support of his station when he makes a mistake. Not to have the carpet pulled out beneath him. Get him back on the air, so he can learn from this and get better.”
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/national/~3/FLYwhQG09uQ/
State House
Annapolis, Maryland
1:55 P.M. EDT
MRS. OBAMA: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you so much. Good afternoon. It is truly a pleasure to be here in Maryland today.
But before we get started, I want to take a moment to say that our thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Boston. My husband continues to monitor the situation, and he has directed the full resources of the federal government to assist state and local authorities as they investigate this horrific act.
And what happened on Monday was a reminder that in times of crisis, here in America we respond with courage, and grit, and selflessness. That’s exactly what we saw from the people of Boston, and from all those who rushed to aid the victims, especially the police officers and firefighters, the first responders, and our men and women in uniform.
And that is the spirit of Boston, but it is also the spirit of this country. And in many ways, that’s the spirit of service and sacrifice that we are here to honor today.
So I want to thank Governor O’Malley for hosting us, but also for his tremendous leadership for the state of Maryland and for all of his efforts on behalf of our troops, veterans, and military families.
I also want to thank Lieutenant Governor Brown; the Secretary of the Navy, Secretary Mabus; and all of the servicemembers from Fort Meade and the United States Naval Academy who are here with us today.
And I’d like to recognize all of the Maryland state legislators: Attorney General Gansler, Mayor Cohen, the representatives we have here from veterans service organizations and the University of Maryland, and to all of the military family members who are joining us today. Welcome, and thank you for being here.
And, finally, I want to thank Senior Chief Hite and his wonderful family who I got to meet — Mom and Dad are here, and his handsome son, who I will embarrass — (laughter) — but we are proud of you all. But I want to thank you all for your service to this country, because the truth is, is that every family member serves, and every time I meet a servicemember, a veteran, I don’t just thank him or her, I think children and parents and grandparents and brothers and sisters, because everyone in some way is part of that service. And thank you for sharing your story with us today.
Two years ago, Jill Biden and I launched Joining Forces in large part because we’d heard too many stories like that of Senior Chief Hite’s. We had heard the stories of military spouses like Janelle Gray, whose husband serves in the Air Force at Fort Meade.
Janelle was a professional counselor for seven years in Minnesota and North Dakota. But when she and her husband were transferred here to Maryland, she found out that she’d either have to wait three
Republican Gov. Jack Dalrymple has signed into law a measure that outlaws abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, based on the disputed premise that a fetus can feel pain at that point. The law signed yesterday is the latest among a raft of measures passed in North Dakota this session…
From: http://www.newser.com/story/166369/north-dakota-bans-abortions-after-20-weeks.html
Republican Gov. Jack Dalrymple signed into law a measure that outlaws abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy based on the disputed premise that at that point a fetus can feel pain.
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/politics/~3/8zyYnywFpV8/
By Kelly Phillips Erb, Contributor
Ugh. There’s more snow in the forecast for parts of the country today. This, following reports of accumulations of more than a foot in parts of Minnesota and North Dakota with a particularly painful “up to 23 inches of snow reported in the Bismarck area.” In mid-April.
By Arjun Sreekumar, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
The number of rigs drilling for oil and natural gas has long served as one of the most important metrics for gauging the health of the energy industry.
But recently, the usefulness of rig count data has been called into question. Specifically, commentators have noted a sizable disconnect between the number of active rigs in a play and production from that play. Let’s take a closer look at why this is and whether or not rig counts are as important as they used to be.
Improvements in drilling efficiency
The disconnect between rig counts and production can largely be explained by one major factor — drastic improvements in drilling efficiencies.
Since hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling methods gained widespread commercial acceptance several years ago, oil and gas producers have continued to report efficiency improvements as they optimize their techniques even further.
Pad drilling methods have become especially popular, since they allow operators to more efficiently drill multiple wells from the same pad. This has enabled numerous companies to dramatically reduce the number of days taken to drill and complete a well.
Sharp decline in drilling days
For instance, in the Bakken shale of North Dakota, Kodiak Oil & Gas reported that fourth-quarter spud to rig release days were down to the low 20s for a typical 10,000-foot lateral well — a sharp reduction from nearly 35 days a year earlier. In fact, a recent Kodiak well completed in the fourth quarter was drilled in just 18 days — a company record.
Pad drilling methods have also allowed operators to use fewer rigs to drill the same number of wells. For instance, Whiting Petroleum , another major Bakken operator, reported a substantial decline in drilling expenses over the past year because of a successful transition toward multi-pad drilling, allowing the company to drill the same number of wells with fewer rigs.
Similar improvements can be seen in Texas’ Eagle Ford shale. In June 2012, operators in the play averaged just around 19 days to drill a horizontal well, down from an average of 23 days a year earlier. Chesapeake Energy , whose operations have focused intensely on the liquids-rich play, said it averaged just 18 days to move between Eagle Ford wells in the fourth quarter, down from 26 days two years ago. It also reported drilling a recent well in just under eight days — a company best.
Previously, the process of moving a drilling rig between two locations was rather cumbersome. A rig needed to be disassembled at one well site and then reassembled at the new one, even if the new site was just a few yards away. But now, using hydraulic walking or skidding systems, a rig can be lifted and transported a short distance to the new drilling location.
In fact, improved rig mobility and the introduction of pad drilling techniques have even allowed operators to transport rigs between locations that are much further apart. For
From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/14/do-rig-counts-even-matter-anymore/
By Arjun Sreekumar, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, describes itself as “a permanent intergovernmental organization of 12 oil-exporting developing nations that coordinates and unifies the petroleum policies of its Member Countries.”
Historically, the organization has exerted considerable influence on the world oil market, with many even characterizing it as a cartel. Over the past three decades or so, it has produced a little less than half of the world’s oil, with its Gulf State members still controlling most of the world’s crude oil spare capacity. By lowering their collective output, OPEC members can push global oil prices higher, or so the logic goes.
But now, there is convincing evidence that OPEC’s sway in the oil market is waning. Let’s take a closer look at some of the major recent developments that may be keeping OPEC members up at night.
OPEC’s glory days
In previous decades, OPEC‘s influence on the global oil market was almost undeniable. The surge in oil prices during 1973, for instance, can be attributed largely to OPEC actions, which included a dramatic increase in “posted prices” for their oil, as well as a wave of nationalizations among OPEC member nations and the organization’s temporary embargo against the U.S. and others.
But a lot has changed since those days. Since 2008, non-OPEC oil supplies have increased dramatically, fueled by growing production from U.S. shale, Canada‘s oil sands, and deepwater discoveries off the coasts of Brazil, Africa and other parts of the globe.
This year, non-OPEC supplies are projected to grow by almost 1 million barrels a day, largely because of advances in drilling technologies that have allowed energy companies to extract massive quantities of oil from leading U.S. shale plays such as North Dakota‘s Bakken and Texas’ Eagle Ford.
In the Bakken, for instance, Kodiak Oil & Gas roughly tripled its average production between 2011 and 2012 and is projecting to double this year’s production from last year’s levels. And in the Eagle Ford, Chesapeake Energy reported fourth-quarter daily net production of 62,500 barrels per day, representing a whopping 266% year-over-year increase.
Not surprisingly, North Dakota‘s field production of crude oil has increased more than fivefold over the past five years, going from 45.1 million in 2007 to 242.5 million barrels last year, while Texas’ crude oil production has almost doubled over the same period, from 391.1 million barrels to 721.4 million.
OPEC lowers its forecast
Though senior OPEC officials initially downplayed the threat of rising North American oil supplies, it looks as though the organization has now started to seriously consider the shale boom as a major threat.
Last month, it reduced its forecast of demand for its crude oil this year by 100,000 barrels per day to 29.7 million barrels a day, citing growth in U.S. shale production as a major factor underlying the downward revision. If the new forecast turns out to be accurate, demand for OPEC crude would be 350,000 barrels a day
From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/14/is-this-the-biggest-threat-to-opec/
By Travis Hoium, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Over the past decade, no state has grown faster than North Dakota. It leads in GDP growth and personal income growth, and it has a wide lead in oil production growth. So how did one of the coldest, flattest, least populated states in the country become an economic hot spot?
The bang that led to a boom
Oil was discovered in western North Dakota in the Bakken formation in 1951, and for a long time there’s been a limited amount of drilling in that part of the state. Until recently, the technology didn’t yet exist to extract most of the oil trapped between rocks — shale oil — at an economical cost.
In the early to mid 2000s, companies such as Halliburton developed the technology to extract both oil and gas from shale plays economically, unlocking energy plays across the country. One of the largest plays in oil was the Bakken Shale in western North Dakota and eastern Montana, and companies flooded in to pick up as much land as possible.
Today, Continental Resources , Whiting Petroleum , Statoil , and Kodiak Oil & Gas have access to nearly 2 million combined acres ,equivalent to 1,280 square miles. They’re dotting the plains of western North Dakota with drilling rigs and production wells. All of this drilling has led to massive growth in oil production, which brings economic development and jobs to this once forgotten state. For a visual showing how fast oil production grew, click here to see a 25-year EIA time lapse of energy production in the Bakken.
All of this oil production has been fabulous for the economy and the residents of North Dakota. Over the past decade, North Dakota‘s GDP has grown at an annual rate of 4.04%, which compares with 0.54% nationally. Only Oregon can compare, with 3.36% growth. Every other state in the country has grown at a compound rate of less than 2% over that time.
More jobs than the prairie can handle
The explosion in GDP growth hasn’t been enjoyed just among the oil big wigs: There’s been huge growth in personal incomes as well. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, since 2005 per capita personal income has grown at a compound rate of 7.25% in North Dakota, which is more than a 50% increase in salary over six years. That compares with just 2.69% in the U.S. and 4.19% in second-place Louisiana, which also benefits from the growth in oil production. Here’s a look at the top five states for personal income growth since 2005.
Amazingly, there are 11 counties in North Dakota that have seen per capita personal income grow 11.48% or more per year over that time, nearly doubling salaries.
If you’re interested in one of these high-paying jobs, you might have to find a home on
From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/14/how-north-dakota-quietly-became-an-economic-powerh/
By Aimee Duffy, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
You can’t read the news lately without some mention of the current domestic energy boom. The U.S. is producing more oil than it has in a long time, and as a result we are importing less oil than we have in decades. Today, I’m going to take a closer look at five charts to show what it is exactly we are importing, where it comes from, where it goes, and what our energy import future really looks like.
1. Imports by type
Unless explicitly referred to as crude oil, when we read about “oil imports” the number tossed about often includes refined petroleum products such as diesel, jet fuel, and gasoline. Though the overwhelming majority of our oil imports are in fact comprised of crude oil, we do import significant quantities of refined products. In March, crude oil imports were about 7.6 million barrels per day, while products imports came to about 1.8 million barrels per day. The chart below shows the types of products and relative quantities that made up the bulk of our petroleum imports last year, not including crude oil.
Source: EIA
2. Imports from world regions
Many politicians tout “North American” energy independence as an achievable goal in the coming years, and the chart below indicates why. As recently as March of this year, Mexico and Canada were two of our three top sources for oil imports. In fact, in January Mexico actually sent us more oil than Saudi Arabia did, the difference between imports from the two countries often comes down to volumes as small as 100 barrels per day.
Source: EIA
You’ll notice that imports from Nigeria and Angola are among the smallest slivers in this pie chart. Light sweet crude from West Africa has almost completely been replaced by light sweet crude produced domestically in places like North Dakota and South Texas.
3. Imports to U.S. regions
Our changing import story has different effects on different regions of the country. For example, the major refining center on the Gulf Coast has drastically cut imports, as evidenced by the chart below. That move makes sense: Domestic oil is cheaper, so refiners are buying that instead.
Source: EIA
The Midwest region is increasing imports, which sounds perplexing; after all, the Midwest is home to the Bakken Shale, the source of much of U.S. production growth right now. But the Midwest also serves as a hub for Canadian crude imports, and that line on our chart will probably continue to tick upward in the future.
4. Watch out for falling imports
Last month, the EIA released a report that indicated that if everything goes according to plan, next year the U.S. will produce more oil than it imports for the first time since 1995.
Source: EIA
5. Surging domestic production
As the chart above shows, increasing production is a big part of
From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/13/the-us-oil-import-story-in-5-charts/
By The Huffington Post News Editors
BISMARCK, N.D. — North Dakota‘s House approved a measure Friday that would outlaw abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy based on the disputed premise that at that point a fetus can feel pain.
It’s another in a list of North Dakota bills passed this session meant to challenge the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion up until viability, usually at 22 to 24 weeks.
Read More…
More on North Dakota
From: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/12/north-dakota-fetal-pain_n_3071760.html
By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Airgas Announces West Division and Intermountain Region Leadership Changes
RADNOR, Pa.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Airgas, Inc. (NYS: ARG) today announced that Douglas L. Jones has been named Airgas Division President – West Division, replacing Max D. Hooper who has resigned after 17 years of dedicated service to Airgas and its West Division. Effective immediately, Jones reports to Michael Molinini, Airgas President and CEO, and is responsible for managing the West Division‘s three regions — Nor Pac, NCN, and West — which encompass California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and north western Idaho.
Doug Jones (Photo: Airgas, Inc.)
“Max Hooper has had a very successful career at Airgas, beginning in 1996 when he joined as President of our Airgas West regional company,” Molinini said. “He served as our Division President for the West Division since 2005 and we all wish him the very best for success in the next chapter of his career.”
Jones most recently served as President – Intermountain Region. The Intermountain region includes Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, as well as the western areas of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska, and the majority of Idaho.
“Doug has been with Airgas for more than 24 years,” Molinini continued. “In fact, he has spent his entire career in the packaged gas industry, starting as a medical gas driver while still in college at the University of Utah. Doug’s management of the Intermountain region has led to the significant success the region has experienced over the past several years. We look forward to his continued success as President of our Western Division.”
Jones joined Airgas in 1989 with the acquisition of Utah Welders Supply and went on to manage medical and industrial gas sales before becoming Airgas Intermountain’s Director of Marketing in 1998. He became the region’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing in 2001 and then President of Intermountain in 2006. Jones is a graduate of the University of Utah with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and business.
Mike Eatmon replaces Jones as President – Intermountain Region. Eatmon is a 14-year Airgas veteran and most recently served as an Area Vice President for the Intermountain region. Eatmon was recognized last year with the Airgas Area Vice President of the Year Award for the Airgas Central Division for leading his area in outperforming sales, earnings, and safety goals. Eatmon began his career in the industrial gas industry in 1994 when he joined Scott Specialty
From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/11/airgas-announces-west-division-and-intermountain-r/
By Rich Duprey, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Oil and gas exploration has the power to unleash a powerful job-creating force. California, with the worst unemployment rates in the country at 9.6% (tied with Mississippi and Nevada), could join in the jobs boom that would have it rival best-in-the-nation North Dakota, which boasts a 3.3% unemployment rate. But unfortunately for those looking for work in the state, a recent court victory shows the state has no chance of participating in that job-creating machine anytime soon.
Turning a blind eye
A federal judge ruled that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management ignored its responsibility in assessing the environmental impact hydraulic fracturing would cause when the agency doled out leases in California’s Monterey Shale Formation, which is estimated to hold some 15 billion barrels of oil. That’s akin to 64% of all the estimated shale oil reserves in the U.S. and is double the combined reserves of North Dakota‘s Bakken Shale and Texas’ Eagle Ford Shale.
Occidental Petroleum was one of the biggest winners of leases when they were handed out, but analysts at Raymond James have identified privately held Venoco and Plains Exploration & Production as among those also highly exposed to the Monterey formation.
Rockin’ the Bakken
It was of course the Bakken boom that ignited North Dakota‘s economy and sent its unemployment rate to the lowest level of any state (Texas is 17th on the list at 6.4% unemployment). It also happens to be one of the few states with a budget surplus. An oil and gas boom in California would go a long way to shoring up its chronic fiscal problems and pension woes, let alone leading the U.S. in surpassing Saudi Arabia as the top oil producer in the world.
The court decision, however, effectively bars any drilling on the contested 2,500 acres leased for oil and gas development until the fracking question is resolved.
A fractured future
In the fracking process, water, chemicals, and fluids are pumped into wells under high pressure to fracture rock formations. Proppants are injected to prop open the fissures and allow the oil and gas to flow more freely. Environmentalists charge that the process opens up the entire ecosystem to contamination, and in the past it has been blamed for everything from groundwater contamination to earthquakes. Considering California‘s history with quakes, its nervousness is perhaps understandable.
Heckmann is a leading player in the fluids-management area, and with its recent acquisition of Power Fuels — centered almost solely in the Bakken oil play — it seeks to become a one-stop shop for environmental services. It noted declining levels of activity in the Bakken last quarter, though a lot of that has to do with greater efficiencies realized. That suggests California might have been able to capitalize on the opportunity if a slowdown did manifest itself.
California dreamin’
There are still more lawsuits in the pipeline on other acreage because leases were granted by BLM under the same “flawed analysis,” according to one
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Huntington Bank Named Winner of the 2013 TNS Choice Award for Consumer Banking in Central Region
Bank recognized for outperforming competitors in acquiring, retaining and developing customers
COLUMBUS, Ohio–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Huntington (NASDAQ: HBAN; www.huntington.com) has been named the winner of the 2013 TNS Choice Award for Consumer Banking in the Central Region. TNS, the largest custom research firm in the world, presented the award to Huntington for outperforming its competitors in acquiring, retaining and developing customers.
Huntington was selected based on an analysis of more than 7,900 consumer interviews conducted in the Central Region in 2012, as part of TNS‘s Retail Banking Monitor research program, which evaluates the competitive momentum of individual financial services firms.
“At Huntington, our customers are our top priority. They have told us they want banking solutions that matter and easier ways to do business with us, and we have responded with continued investments in service and convenience,” said Mary Navarro, Huntington’s retail and business banking director. “It is this foundation of service and dedication to caring about our customers, in addition to making banking easy, that has allowed Huntington to differentiate itself from its competitors.”
Over the past two years, Huntington has developed 24-Hour Grace®, a unique service that provides Huntington consumer checking customers until the next business day to cover overdrafts without any fees. Additionally, the bank has introduced an innovative checking account called Asterisk-Free Checking®, developed mobile applications for the iPhone and Android operating systems, strengthened its commitment to small business by lending $4 billion in the last three years, extended Saturday hours, and opened 107 new branches in Giant Eagle and Meijer grocery stores.
The 20-state Central Region includes: Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin.
The TNS Retail Banking Monitor research program is developed to identify strong achievement on both the national and regional level. TNS measured customer acquisition, retention, satisfaction, and share of wallet, across a comprehensive set of competing firms, to identify top performers.
“Customers of Huntington are among the most satisfied bank customers in the country. Among consumers in the 20-state Central Region, Huntington is achieving faster organic growth than any significant competitor,” said James Meyer, executive vice president for TNS. “Huntington is winning new ‘primary bank’ relationships at an exceptional rate, and client loyalty scores are among
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
CBL Completes Acquisition of Remaining Interest in Kirkwood Mall in Bismarck, ND
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. (NYS: CBL) , today announced that it has completed the acquisition of the remaining 51% interest in Kirkwood Mall in Bismarck, ND.
In December 2012, CBL acquired a 49% non-controlling interest in Kirkwood Mall. In conjunction with the acquisition of the remaining interest, CBL assumed the $40.4 million non-recourse loan secured by the property, which bears a fixed interest rate of 5.75% and matures in April 2018.
“We are pleased to complete the acquisition of the remaining 51% interest in Kirkwood Mall,” commented Stephen Lebovitz, president and CEO of CBL. “The mall is a terrific addition to our portfolio and is experiencing positive trends, including double-digit increases in sales to over $400 per square foot in 2012. The center also provides meaningful opportunities to grow the income stream through rent gains from rollovers, occupancy improvements and ancillary income.”
Kirkwood Mall is located in North Dakota‘s state capital of Bismarck. The local economy has grown tremendously in recent years as a result of its proximity to the Bakken Formation. The state of North Dakota has the lowest unemployment rate in the country and is one of only a few states with a budget surplus. Bismarck’s unemployment rate is estimated to be less than 4%.
The mall is situated on 68 acres and serves a broad trade area with the nearest competition located more than 100 miles away. The 850,000-square-foot mall was originally developed in 1971 and was last renovated in 2002. The mall is anchored by Herberger’s, Keating Furniture, JCPenney, Scheel’s All Sport and Target and features a strong line-up of mall retailers and restaurants such as The Buckle, Chico’s, Justice, The Children’s Place and Victoria’s Secret. The mall was 88% occupied at December 31, 2012. Sales per square foot at the center have increased more than 15% to over $409 per square foot for 2012. The mall offers both near- and long-term growth potential with low in-place occupancy cost as well as lease-up opportunities.
About CBL & Associates Properties, Inc.
CBL is one of the largest and most active owners and developers of malls and shopping centers in the United States. CBL owns, holds interests in or manages …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
