The Million Dollar Way (The Bakken Oil Blog)

Wednesday, January 14, 2026

Oasis With Five New Permits -- January 14, 2026

Net migration, link here:

TSMC:

Nvidia, you're up:

Lithium: Elon Musk has brought the largest lithium refinery in the US online. Wow. How does one man accomplish so much. What has Chuck Schumer accomplished in 20 years? By the way, Elon Musk's engineers are working 24/7 to overcome the Iranians jamming of Starlink.

Oil: this won't last forever, but for now, what a welcome relief. WTI is trading at $60.55 and companies like CVX are doing quite well in the market. BRK-B continues to fall, down half a percent today, while CVX continues to climb, up 2% today. And, of course, CVX pays a nice dividend; BRK-B has never paid a dividend.

Peak oil? I don't think so. LOL. President Trump is to strategic thinking that Elon Musk is to manufacturing.

Silver: whoo-hoo! Surging to new highs.

One day, this is insane:

One year:

Vs BRK-B, the goat:

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Back to the Bakken

WTI: $60.55. It had been above $61 earlier today.

Active rigs:

Five new permits, #42645 - #42649, inclusive, reminder, at one time MDU owned Cottonwood oil field (in fact, I think MDU discovered that oil field, through its Fidelity subsidiary; sold it in 2016):

The permits: Oasis has permits for five Grove / Grove Federal wells in NWSW 33-158-92; to be sited 2133 / 2134 FSL and 677 / 809 FWL.

42645, loc, Oasis, Grove Federal 5892 31-33 2B, Cottonwood,
42646, loc, Oasis, Grove Federal 5892 31-33 3B, Cottonwood,
42647, loc, Oasis, Grove 5892 31-33 4B, Cottonwood,
42648, loc, Oasis, Grove 5892 31-33 5B, Cottonwood,
42649, loc, Oasis, Grove 5892 31-33 6BX, Cottonwood,

Field: Cottonwood (Williams County)
Comments: see above.

Permits renewed: pending.

This Is Theft, Pure And Simple -- January 14, 2026

Locator: 49917THEFT.
Locator: 49756THEFT.

Updates

January 14, 2026: at one time I was sympathetic for those who were caught in the "student debt" morass. But then I saw the data. And then the Minnesota Medicare scam. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

January 14, 2026: and, of course, CNBC chooses to show a Somali student (needs to be fact-checked) --

Original Post

AI prompt: what percent of student loans that have not yet been paid off are more than 20 years old?

The number of seniors still paying off this debt is mind-boggling.

One must assume that third generation Somalians living in Minnesota have also figured out this scam. The goal would be, of course, to die before paying off the loan, and apparently after 20 to 25 years, the loan is written off regardless.

This was not a minor bookkeeping issue. CNBC says more than 42 million Americans have student debt -- that's more than 10% of the US population -- totaling $1.6 trillion.

That amount of student debt -- $1.6 trillion -- divided among 42 million Americans averages less than $40,000, the cost of a brand new automobile which generally are bought with a loan for six years or less.

One can assume Judge Boasberg will issue a "cease and desist" order with regard to Trump's executive order.

If so, the Department of Education simply needs to enforce existing rules and regulations, something that has not been done for decades.

I wonder if the IRS has similar loan programs?

The Chart Of The Day -- January 14, 2026

Locator: 49916COPPER.

SCCO: currently pays 1.7%. BRK pays no dividend. SCCO pays a very, very nice dividend:

The ticker:

Comparing with BRK-B, the GOAT

One month:

Six months:

One year:

Five years:

Max:

The Year Of Ultra-Ultraportable Windows Laptop -- January 14, 2025

Locator: 49915LAPTOPS.

I don't follow non-Apple PCs or Intel or Microsoft to much extent (it's a long, long story), but this appears to be a very useful summary.

My hunch: if these new non-Apple PCs make the Apple MacBook Air feel "chonky," these 2026 computers are going to feel "Chinese-cheap." It's all about the keyboard.

Before we get started: the average weight of a non-Apple PC varies significantly by form factor:

Laptops: The average weight is around 3 to 4 pounds (1.4 to 1.8 kg). Ultraportable models can be under 3 pounds, while larger, high-performance, or gaming laptops often weigh 5 to 8 pounds or more.

With the very, very significant decrease in weight, it's my hunch that this will really, really please those who don't use Apple laptops, but won't mean a thing to Apple users. For all intents and purposes, non-Apple laptops have simply matched what Apple has been doing for some time.

I doubt folks will switch from Apple to PC (or vice versa) based on weight. The "aha" moment for these non-Apple PCs was the comparison not to Apple but to the older non-Apple PCs.

I don't think it even comes down to price any more.

Bottom line: with regard to laptops, folks fall into two groups and they aren't going to switch (if they do, the switch will be in Apple's favor). Nor will folks choose their next laptop based on the processor (or processors).

Non-Apple PC users will buy new non-Apple PCs based on two things:

memory, and
cost.

Apple laptops users will buy new Apple laptops based on two things:

memory, and
cost.

Having said that, let's look at the technology inside.

Link here.

The lede:

Soon, the Zenbook A14 won't be an outlier: Almost every PC maker had an exceptionally thin and light model in tow at CES 2026. Like the Zenbook A14, which got a subtle next-gen update (and a sibling), the new laptops have premium magnesium alloy chassis, OLED displays, and builds that hover around 2.2 pounds.

They make the 2.7-pound Apple MacBook Air feel chonky. [We'll see.]

Weight:
a difference of 8 ounces (0.5 pounds = 8 ounces);
2.2 pounds = 35.2 ounces
2.7 pounds = 43.2 ounces
35.2 ounces is about 81% of 43.2 ounces.
the lightest below: 2.15 pounds = 34.4 ounces

If 2025 was the year of the ultra-thin phone, then 2026 is shaping up to be the year of the ultra-ultraportable Windows laptop.

Most of these super-svelte Windows laptops run on new Intel Ultra Core Series 3 chips, which offer broader app compatibility than ARM-based Qualcomm models and promise up to 27 hours of battery life.

The refreshed Zenbook A14 and the new HP OmniBook Ultra 14 will come with Qualcomm's new Snapdragon X2 chips, and the former is rated for up to 35 hours of stamina.

(The 2025 model held out for about 22 hours in our testing.)

The OmniBook's spec sheet just lists "multi-day" battery life for now.

Stay tuned for final pricing and availability info for most of these CES laptops — and brace for impact, as the ongoing RAM shortage is expected to jack up costs.

I'm not sure if I have this correct, but it comes down to processors from two companies:

Intel
Qualcomm

Computers made by the following companies:

Acer: Taiwanese
Asus: multinational based in Taiwan
HP: American, I assume
Lenovo: Chinese
Dell: American

The non-Apple PCs highlighted at CES 2026:

Acer Swift Edge 14 AI

Intel Core Ultra 9 386H processor

Asus ExpertBok Ultra

Intel Core Ultra X9 Series 3 processor, Intel's new high-end chip;
requires large fans: "minimal noise"

Asus Zenbok A14 (and A16)

Snapdragon X2 Elite chip
Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme (for the A16): Qualcomm's most powerful processor yet

HP EliteBook X G2i

Intel Core Ultar 7 or 7 processor (sic)

HP OmniBook Ultra 14

thinnest laptop at CES 2026
maybe the thinnest laptop ever
10.7 mm in the back; 7.4 mm in the front
Intel Core Ultra 3 chip, or
Snapdragon X2 Plus or Elite chip

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Ultra Aura Edition

at 2.15 pounds, the lightest laptop at CES 2026

Honorable mention (the death knell of reviews): Dell XPS 13

XPS is back from the dead;
this new Dell, not yet available for hands-on review, may look very much like the MacBook Air.

AI prompt: laptop market share of these non-Apple laptops: Acer: Taiwanese Asus: multinational based in Taiwan HP: American, I assume Lenovo: Chinese Dell: American.