Abraxas To Focus On The Bakken -- Very, Very Interesting; Speaks Volumes -- February 10, 2015; USS North Dakota Ready For Deployment; Cholesterol Isn't As Bad As Once Thought; But CO2 Is Still Dangerous

Some weeks ago I had a lot of fun with this post on IRRs. But there were some significant data points in that post taken from other sources (and credited to those sources).

Look again at that post to see where the Bakken, the Eagle Ford, the Permian are relative to each other and then look at this story from Bakken.com:

Abraxas Petroleum has announced that it will be increasing oil production in 2015 despite the current low prices.

For the upcoming year, the San Antonio-based company will focus entirely on its assets in the Bakken formation and will suspend its drilling operations in the Eagle Ford and Permian Basin formations.

The company has approximately 5,000 net acres in the Bakken, the majority of which are centered on the formation’s core in McKenzie County.

Last week at a Florida industry conference, Abraxas CEO Robert Watson said, “We are fortunate to be in the core of the core. We have a very good inventory of wells to drill when conditions warrant and that would be when crude oil prices go back up or service costs go down.” Until that happens though, the Abraxas team of around 100 expects to produce around 7,300 barrels of oil per day this year.

Very, very interesting. Right now, everything's relative.

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Shakedown Cruise In Devils Lake Apparently Went Well 

For those in North Dakota who are unfamiliar with nautical terms -- which would be about 99.99% of us -- a shakedown cruise is a nautical term in which the performance of a ship is tested. Generally, shakedown cruises are performed before a ship enters service or after major changes such as a crew change, repair or overhaul. The shakedown cruise simulates working conditions for the vessel, for various reasons.

From Bakken.com:

A Navy attack submarine named for North Dakota could be deployed within two months, its senior enlisted sailor says.

Construction of the $2.6 billion USS North Dakota began in March 2009. It was commissioned in late October at a Navy base in Connecticut.

According to Senator John McCain the biggest problem right now is how to get the 150-foot boat from central North Dakota to the East Coast. He says he has Sarah Palin working on the issue since she used to watch Russian submarines off her back porch for many years.  There's no correlation, of course, but for a politician that hardly matters.

Speaking of correlations that seem not to matter any more, a reader sent me this story. When I saw it, I almost fell off my bar stool scattering my steak and egg breakfast over Denny's counter. Did you all see this. The government is ready to say, "hey, we were wrong. Cholesterol isn't bad for your health. It's the other stuff."

The Washington Post is reporting:

The nation’s top nutrition advisory panel has decided to drop its caution about eating cholesterol-laden food, a move that could undo almost 40 years of government warnings about its consumption.

The group’s finding that cholesterol in the diet need no longer be considered a “nutrient of concern” stands in contrast to the committee’s findings five years ago, the last time it convened. During those proceedings, as in previous years, the panel deemed the issue of excess cholesterol in the American diet a public health concern.

The finding follows an evolution of thinking among many nutritionists who now believe that, for healthy adults, eating foods high in cholesterol may not significantly affect the level of cholesterol in the blood or increase the risk of heart disease.

The rumor is that President Obama had finally "had it up to here" (as he pointed to his chin) with Michelle's lectures on healthy eating.

Just in time for the $35,000-plate campaign dinners. 

The next thing too be announced is that the science on global warming is no longer "closed." We can only hope.