It’s been a year since Reese Energy Consulting shared news from producers on the hunt for oil and gas magic on the fringes of basins. Step-outs from core areas, extending shale play extensions, bringing exploration back into the mix. So, maybe the Permian inches closer to its peak now, and the Anadarko and Bakken continue to decline. Maybe the Utica oil window is barely open. Maybe there’s a whole lot more to be discovered....

A few weeks ago, Reese Energy Consulting shared news on a nonbinding open season to gauge interest in the proposed 375-mile Bakken East Pipeline project—an idea coddled for 10 years—which would flow natural gas east to near Fargo, N.D. Since our post, we’ve followed the latest from the Williston Basin, where Kinder Morgan, the deeper middle Three Forks formation, and CO2 enhanced oil recovery are making lots of noise worth a listen. ...

It’s mid-morning in Williston, N.D., and all of 2° with an expected high of 27°. In the Bakken, the nation’s third-largest oil basin, polar conditions this time of year are nothing more than life and business as usual, especially for oilfield workers used to spending Christmas on the job. Whiners need not apply. This is about as far from the Permian and its face-melting summer heat as one can get. ...

Might Texas-born Bob Simpson be looking to build back the Williston Basin powerhouse he created more than a decade ago? Back in 2010, the company Simpson founded in 1986—XTO Energy—merged with Exxon in a $41 billion all-stock deal pronounced one of the largest transactions in history for an independent oil and gas company. ...