Big Sky Business Journal

Friday, May 18, 2012

Yellowstone Olive Company

A new Billings business promises to bring the very best of quality olive oils and other kinds of oils, as well as a number of other specialty food items, including flavored vinegars, for local connoisseurs. The Yellowstone Olive Company is the new business of James and Jana Pennington. It's a sister-store to Olivelle in Bozeman, which offers a similar line of products. With a wide variety of oils and vinegars, customers are welcome to taste to their hearts content. They may mix and match flavors in customizing their choices. Celebrating their Grand Opening this week and next, Pennington said that they have been happily greeted by customers who previously had to travel to other cities to get their high quality and unique products. Yellowstone Olive Company is located at 529 24th Street West, next door to Real Deal, another business that the Pennington's own. …

Stockman Bank Groundbreaking

Stockman Bank had a groundbreaking ceremony last week at the site of its fifth full-service bank in Billings, the corner of 14th and Grand Avenue. The lot has been cleared and construction crews have begun building the three-story, 18,600 square-foot facility that depicts the design of other Stockman Bank buildings, but with a six-lane drive up. The completion date is set for early 2013. "We have seen extensive activity on Grand Avenue," comments Wayne Nelson, President of Stockman Bank Billings. "With a fifth location in Billings, we will make it as convenient as possible for our customers to do their banking anywhere in town." Stockman Bank currently has five Billings area locations at 2700 King Avenue West, Shiloh and Grand, Hilltop and Main, Downtown at 4th and Broadway and in Worden. Stockman Bank specializes in commercial, development, real estate and Ag lending. Established in 1953, Stockman Bank is still Montana owned and operated. There are 24 full-service locati…

Denbury to Invest Billions in CO2 Oil Recovery in Montana

While much attention has been focused on the massive oil production in North Dakota as a result of the technology of horizontal drilling, the technology of carbon dioxide (CO2) Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) promises to bring Montana into its own. Greg Dover, Vice President of Operations excellence for Denbury Resources, told a crowd of several hundred people at the Montana Energy 2012 conference in Billings that there's going to be significant increases in the production of oil in Montana as the result of a completely different kind of technology than what is being used in North Dakota.…

Making 'Shambles' of 'Oil Peak Myth'

In his presentation to Montana Energy 2012, Michael Economides told Montanans, "You are already a superpower in oil production. You have already defied the trends and once again showed the can-do attitude of this industry, smashing the myth of the 'peak oil'" "You have redefined and defied the trends suggesting strongly the future of energy is oil and gas and not solar and wind," said Economides. Economides is professor at Cullen College of Engineering in Houston, consultant and author.…

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Business

Stillwater Mine Satisfied with Quarterly Numbers

Stillwater Mining Company reported net income for the 2012 first quarter of $2.4 million, or $0.02 per diluted share. Total revenues for the first quarter were $203.1 million. This compares to the same quarter last year of $36.2 million, or $0.34 per diluted share, on revenues of $170.1 million. The difference is attributable to first quarter exploration expenses of $10.1 million; a $2.8 million write-off for a mineral exploration property; a $2.9 million foreign currency transaction gain; lower...

Some Keystone XL Oil Could End Up in Foreign Markets

Some of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline crude oil flowing from Canada through Montana on its way down to the Texas Gulf Coast could end up in one form or another in foreign markets, a recent government report finds. An April 4 report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS), "U.S. Oil Imports and Exports" by Neelesh Nerurkar, a specialist in energy policy, reports that: "Canadian crude oil traveling through the United States via a pipeline such as Keystone XL may receive a license to be exported...

New Business Promises Energy Savings

Having retired from one career, Jose A. Bustos, Jr. of Billings has launched another. Bustos is a consultant under the auspices of America Approved Energy Services, which is based in Ft. Myers, Florida, helping businesses and organizations in the region find energy savings.

MDU Financial Results

MDU Resources Group, Inc. announced preliminary unaudited financial results for the first quarter of 2012. The company expects to report first quarter earnings of approximately 19 cents per share, at the upper end of the first quarter earnings guidance range provided in February. "We are pushing the upper range of our guidance, even with some weather and pricing challenges, which is a good indication of the strength of our operations," said Terry D. Hildestad, president and chief executive officer...

Fidelity Successful with New Wells

MDU Resources Group, Inc. has announced that its indirect wholly owned subsidiary, Fidelity Exploration & Production Company has completed a successful exploration test on its 75,000 net acres in the Paradox Basin. Following two weeks of production, the Cane Creek Unit No. 26-2H well was tested at a stabilized rate of 647 barrels of oil per day and 561 mcf of natural gas per day through a 7/64 inch choke with a flowing pressure exceeding 3400 psi. The well is flowing from a short unstimulated...

ONEOK Will Build Pipeline from Bakken

ONEOK Partners, L.P. has announced plans to invest $1.5 billion to $1.8 billion between now and 2015 to build a 1,300-mile crude-oil pipeline with the capacity to transport 200,000 barrels per day (bpd). The Bakken Crude Express Pipeline will transport light-sweet crude oil from the Bakken Shale in the Williston Basin in North Dakota to the Cushing, Okla., crude-oil market hub.

Forbes Names Trustworthy Firms

First Interstate Bank and Glacier Bancorp were among two financial businesses which were recognized as "America's Most Trustworthy", an analysis from Forbes Magazine of what businesses don't have problems. Other business, on the list of 100, which would be readily recognizable in Montana, who also made the list, include, La-Z-Boy, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Whole Food Market, and Buffalo Wild Wings.

Government & Politics

Tax Protesting CHS?Loses First Round in District Court

On Friday, April 20, District Court Judge Susan P. Watters rendered her judgment of the CHS complaint and tax protest that has the Laurel School District holding its financial breath. In essence, CHS lost this round when Watters dismissed the complaint.

State FWP?Launches Effort For Free-roaming Buffalo

A long-debated idea of establishing a "huntable population of free-ranging bison some where in Montana," will get a kick start by the Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks Department this spring with a series of public meetings required as part of a "scoping process." The first meeting will be held in Missoula on May 14, with others to follow in seven other Montana cities. One will be held in Billings on May 21, at the Holiday Inn Grand, Convention Center, 6 to 9 p.m.

PSC Commissioners Should Check Their Biases at the Door

Clean coal, mined within our borders, generates over 45 percent of Montana's electricity, at a demonstrably lower cost than the 6.7 percent the wind farms provide – given their hidden costs of federal favors and taxpayer subsidies. So why is a Public Service Commissioner, charged with the responsibility of looking out for Montana's energy consumers, bashing our state's coal industry and encouraging the obstruction of further development?

NPRC Request on Coal Rejected By County Commissioners

Yellowstone County Commissioners unanimously rejected a request by the Northern Plains Resource Council for the county to send a letter to Washington state officials asking to be included as part of that state's environmental impact study on the building of ports to ship coal. Instead, the commissioners approved sending a letter, which conveyed their support for building the ports. The export of coal they emphasized is important to Montana's economy and to the creation of jobs.

MSU Researchers Develop Improved Protein Content in Oilseed Crops

Researchers at Montana State University have developed a protein that can be expressed in oilseed crops to increase the oil yield by as much as 40 percent, a development that could have an impact on the biodiesel industry. Patents on this technology have been issued and research is ongoing.

Montanan Recognized as US SBA Woman in Business Champion

In addition to being selected as Montana's 2012 Women in Business Champion, Sarah Calhoun, owner of Red Ants Pants in White Sulphur Springs was selected as the National Women in Business Champion. The national winner is selected based on their efforts to promote women in business, volunteer time and services to small business interest groups, advocate for the cause of small business. Calhoun and other SBA award winners will be feted at a luncheon in recognition of National Small Business Week on...

MetraPark Still Faces Considerable Infrastructure Needs

After having spent some $30 million on infrastructure improvements at MetraPark, over the past couple of years, some people are startled to learn there is need for more – much more, in improvements. Despite the huge investments in capital improvements, Yellowstone County Commissioners are insisting upon the need to build the capital improvement fund, as they bid for high school events, prompting questions about what else needs to be done.

Community

Laurie Kelly to Speak at the Women's Run Pasta Night

Laurie Kelly, head volleyball coach at Rocky Mountain College, will be the Pasta Night guest speaker for the Montana Women's Run, Friday, May 11, sponsored by The Olive Garden. Join other runners, walkers and volunteers the night before the big run at 4:30 p.m. for a Health Expo, followed by a pasta...

MacKenzie River to Remodel, Expand

For the month of March, MacKenzie River Pizza, in Billings Heights, will temporarily close to undergo remodeling and changes to accommodate an expanding menu. A larger kitchen is needed to expand MacKenzie River's popular pizza and sandwich menu to into a full menu, offering steaks, salmon, burgers,...

Energy 2012

The Montana Contractors' Association (MCA) in conjunction with Big Sky Economic Development, Montana Petroleum Association and Kadrmas, Lee & Jackson (KL&J) announce six renowned energy experts as keynote speakers for Montana Energy 2012 on April 3 and 4 at the MetraPark in Billings. "The speaker...

Back Country Horsemen Plan Convention in Billings

With a theme of "Back Country Horsemen in the 21st Century", the Beartooth Chapter of the Back Country Horsemen of Montana (BCH) will host the 2012 Statewide Convention in Billings, beginning March 30 through April 1. The Billings Hotel and Convention Center will be the site for the event, which...

Editorials

Gathering the Reins of Power

Does anyone else notice how the President, one man alone, is dictating policies and imposing mandates on private citizens? This is not even democratic, were we even supposed to be governed by a Democracy. We are supposed to be a nation, in which the individual citizen reigns, supreme, over even a majority....

Another Tragedy, Equal to the Sinking of the Titanic

In reading this past week about the anniversary of the disaster of the Titanic, I couldn't help but take note of the losses suffered the century since the disaster – losses to the American citizen. A pearl necklace lost by a passenger on the Titanic was valued at $750,000. To make clear the significance...

When Opportunity Bangs At the Door, Open it.

It's been five years now since the first reports about the Bakken, and still one wonders if people "get" the significance of it all. What it means to everyone in Yellowstone County. What it means for our country. The Bakken spells "opportunity" unlike anything in recent memory, as far as Montana is...

Using Regs to Leverage Agendas

The reasons that the regulatory process stands as a serious problem to growth and economic development may seem almost overwhelming in the mesh-mash of their sheer volume, but what stands as the real problem is really quite simple — the misuse of the process for political purposes. The process of...