Things might be good in Valley County, Mt, but---

[Faster horses]

Montana coal mine's future uncertain as layoffs loom:

BILLINGS (AP)-With dozens of workers to be laid off early next year, a southeastern Montana coal mine faces an uncertain future that leaves roughly 90 more jobs hanging in the balance.
The managers of the Decker Coal Mine near the Wyoming border won't say how long they intend to keep operating after announcing up to 75 layoffs in January.
The answer could hinge on the outcome of an internal legal dispute
between the mine's co-owners, subsidiaries of Ambre Energy of Australia and Wyoming based Cloud Peak Energy.
Decker's contract with its major customer, Detroit Edison Company, expires next year. Cloud Peak says in court documents that any remaining
workers could be shifted into mine reclamation work. Ambre hs signaled it wants to keep mining at Decker and ship the coal to Asia.

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This is a Big Deal as Decker is a major employer in that area. Many people from Buffalo and Sheridan, Wy travel there to work. They have received good wages and benefits for years.

 

[Anonymous]

This is the daily picture up here....Train after train made up of new tankers going to and from the Bakken fields....This was taken 2 days ago just west of town.. A westbound of all new tanker cars....

A portion of the coal the railroad was hauling east has been replaced by much cheaper natural gas- but the oil is picking up the slack...

 

[hopalong]

How do we know that pictures was taken 2 days ago oldtimer do not see a date stamp on it....and we all know hou you have a tendancy to lie.....for aqll we know that pic might have been taken in NEW JERSEY nine years ago :roll: :wink:

 

[Hereford76]

is it headed to china?

ya noticed the new oil cars go by here too. seen a brand new set of grain cars by here lately too - had to be the longest stretch i've ever seen. sure don't see the new car loads or lumber much anymore - seems like thats all it used to be. lots of coal loaded down by great falls last time i was by. they finally got the tracks back in order by here - some outfit over east bought up all the railroad ties - can't buy any number ones of the guy bundling them.

 

[Anonymous]

is it headed to china?

ya noticed the new oil cars go by here too. seen a brand new set of grain cars by here lately too - had to be the longest stretch i've ever seen. sure don't see the new car loads or lumber much anymore - seems like thats all it used to be. lots of coal loaded down by great falls last time i was by. they finally got the tracks back in order by here - some outfit over east bought up all the railroad ties - can't buy any number ones of the guy bundling them.

Yep the railroads are investing lots in fixing track and new cars...And they are reopening old rail lines up here too... BNSF is taking back the line up to Plentywood... Not sure where its headed- a lot more goes east/south out of the Williston area...

Thats what they did here too the last time they did a major track overhaul-- put the ties out for bids... Worked out great that I went to college with the broker that bought the ties and he offered local folks a great deal if you loaded and hauled your own.... But I'm down to only a couple of ties left now...Wish I would have got more...

 

[Hereford76]

faster horses

seems like a few years ago the state was trying to dip into county oil/gas/coal revenues. did they ever accomplish that?

 

[hypocritexposer]

Montana Oil and Gas Production Down in 2011
From May 11, 2012, edition of Rocky Mountain Oil Journal.

Data points:

2011 oil production: 24,089,901 bbls; down 1,234,901 bbls from year before
2010 oil production: 25,323,802 bbls

Natural gas production was down substantially, down 15 percent

Elm Coulee Field, Richland County: largest producing reservoir in Montana
production from the Bakken pool declined about 3 percent
Elm Coulee, 2011 production; 11,572,720 bbls

Elm Coulee accounted for almost 50% of Montana's total crude output

the decline may be reversed in 2012 as Bakken developers in North Dakota move west, including into Montana
Heath formation is developing in central Montana

http://www.milliondollarwayblog.com/2012/05/montana-oil-and-gas-production-down-in.html

 

[TexasBred]

This is the daily picture up here....Train after train made up of new tankers going to and from the Bakken fields....This was taken 2 days ago just west of town.. A westbound of all new tanker cars....

A portion of the coal the railroad was hauling east has been replaced by much cheaper natural gas- but the oil is picking up the slack...

Every tank car does not carry oil. You'd have to check the haz/mat warning on the side to know exactly what is inside. Might just be sailboat fuel.

 

[hopalong]

Now come on!!!oldtimer has not a clue what was on thoise supposed tanks....might have even been pasturized milk......he only used the pic to try and make him look good

eh OLDTIIMER?????

 

[Steve]

Coal Industry Losing Steam
U.S. Firms Face Double Threat of Cheap Natural Gas, Weak European Demand

Chinese Slowdown Idles U.S. Coal Mines

Slowing growth in China is taking a brutal toll on Appalachian coal mines and coal towns.

While many have blamed the downturn in the U.S. coal industry on cheap natural gas supplanting coal and tougher environmental regulations, the slide in metallurgical coal demand has been equally devastating. Coal companies were caught flat-footed after ramping up production last year with the expectation that steep prices would cover their rising costs, despite coal's past cyclicality. Instead, demand in China began to falter just as Australian metallurgical coal production—interrupted by floods last year—surged back into the market.

This year's outlook is grim for the U.S coal industry, which after two years of rising profits has begun closing mines, signaling a new wave of production cutbacks and, possibly, another round of industry consolidation.

The two biggest threats facing U.S. coal companies are the low price of domestic natural gas, which is making thermal coal a less-attractive fuel for their utility-customers, and the shaky economic picture in Europe, which is damping exports of metallurgical coal.

Demand among European steelmakers has fallen off, pushing down the benchmark price for the highest grades of coal by nearly 30% over the past year. Also damping prices is tougher federal emissions rules for U.S. utilities, resulting in more planned closures of coal-fired generating plants and eroding the market for thermal coal.

it many seem bad, but I found an article with a current picture of a train full of coal .. so things must be getting better..

Coal's Rapid Decline and Pending Demise

Coal was the only long term secure fuel source that allowed you to lock in costs years ahead. Natural gas was always far better but impossible to source long term. That has now changed thanks to the fracking revolution and there is a flood of gas available decades into the future.

gee,... I guess a picture of a train full of coal isn't an indicator of great times.. :?

 

[Faster horses]

Our daughter said that people in Gillette, Wyoming are concerned that Gillette will become a ghost-town.

 

[Mike]

.he only used the pic to try and make him look good

Take more than a pic to make him look good. Would take a makeover miracle.

 

[I Luv Herfrds]

Saw a train with Canadian Pacific locomotives with both full and empty coal cars outsidr of Broadview over a week ago.
Just this Tuesday I saw BNSF parking a bunch of cargo cars, empty ones, between Big Sandy and Havre.

 

[Anonymous]

Just this Tuesday I saw BNSF parking a bunch of cargo cars, empty ones, between Big Sandy and Havre.

Those may be coming from the spur between Glendive and Circle... It had been a parking place for thousands of unneeded cars- but as I understand it they are now planning on reopening that track- and building a large onloading site east of Circle....

 

[hypocritexposer]

1000s of "unneeded cars"


did they just park them here and there, so people could take pictures of them and think they were loaded with money?

 

[Silver]

Montana Oil and Gas Production Down in 2011
From May 11, 2012, edition of Rocky Mountain Oil Journal.

Data points:

2011 oil production: 24,089,901 bbls; down 1,234,901 bbls from year before
2010 oil production: 25,323,802 bbls

Natural gas production was down substantially, down 15 percent

Elm Coulee Field, Richland County: largest producing reservoir in Montana
production from the Bakken pool declined about 3 percent
Elm Coulee, 2011 production; 11,572,720 bbls

Elm Coulee accounted for almost 50% of Montana's total crude output

the decline may be reversed in 2012 as Bakken developers in North Dakota move west, including into Montana
Heath formation is developing in central Montana

http://www.milliondollarwayblog.com/2012/05/montana-oil-and-gas-production-down-in.html

Of course, it must be undersood that oil production has zero to do with oilpatch activity at any given time. Something to keep in mind.

 

[Lonecowboy]

Just this Tuesday I saw BNSF parking a bunch of cargo cars, empty ones, between Big Sandy and Havre.

Those may be coming from the spur between Glendive and Circle... It had been a parking place for thousands of unneeded cars- but as I understand it they are now planning on reopening that track- and building a large onloading site east of Circle....

onloading what oldtimer?

 

[Anonymous]

Just this Tuesday I saw BNSF parking a bunch of cargo cars, empty ones, between Big Sandy and Havre.

Those may be coming from the spur between Glendive and Circle... It had been a parking place for thousands of unneeded cars- but as I understand it they are now planning on reopening that track- and building a large onloading site east of Circle....

onloading what oldtimer?

Good question... I took it that they were talking oil- as that (all the recent oil leases in McCone and Garfield county) is what was being discussed when the subject came up... A firm out of Sidney is supposed to be supplying much of the materials and labor....

I know there are several that are being built or have been built in ND...The railroad guys say that it takes weeks for the oil to get to the refineries by pipeline- but only days to do so by rail...

 

[Mike]

Those may be coming from the spur between Glendive and Circle... It had been a parking place for thousands of unneeded cars- but as I understand it they are now planning on reopening that track- and building a large onloading site east of Circle....

onloading what oldtimer?

Good question... I took it that they were talking oil- as that (all the recent oil leases in McCone and Garfield county) is what was being discussed when the subject came up... A firm out of Sidney is supposed to be supplying much of the materials and labor....

I know there are several that are being built or have been built in ND...The railroad guys say that it takes weeks for the oil to get to the refineries by pipeline- but only days to do so by rail...

Oil travels about 5-7 MPH in a pipeline but there's no loading or unloading wait time as it is by rail. Once oil is loaded on a tanker car it can be there faster than by pipeline, but it still has to be unloaded.

I HOPE you don't think that moving oil is more efficient by rail? :roll:

 

[TexasBred]

I HOPE you don't think that moving oil is more efficient by rail? :roll:

I hope he doesn't think all that oil comes from the wellhead to the load out area via pipeline. Many wells store the oil onsight and it is picked up and hauled by tankers to any processing point.