Sunday, September 27, 2015

How Well Is Saudi Arabia's Oil Strategy Working? -- September 27, 2015

How's that strategy to flood the market with oil working out for Saudi Arabia? Financial Times is reporting:
Saudi Arabia has withdrawn tens of billions of dollars from global asset managers as the oil-rich kingdom seeks to cut its widening deficit and reduce exposure to volatile equities markets amid the sustained slump in oil prices.
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency’s foreign reserves have slumped by nearly $73bn since oil prices started to decline last year as the kingdom keeps spending to sustain the economy and fund its military campaign in Yemen.
The central bank is also turning to domestic banks to finance a bond programme to offset the rapid decline in reserves.
Of course, under Sharia borrowing / lending money is not allowed. Whatever. I assume if one buys a Saudi bond one will not be paid interest; rather one will get a pre-arranged "installment payment" at regular intervals.

Reminder (no links -- with one exception; previously reported):
  • Saudi is losing about 10% of their cash reserves annually by giving away oil for $50/bbl (but the article above suggests it could be significantly more)
  • Saudi apparently had an unsuccessful 5-year, $35 billion program to significantly hike crude oil production
  • Saudi recently completed two new refineries
  • Saudi has huge desalinization electricity demands -- and growing annually; oil used to produce electricity
  • Saudi recently canceled huge solar energy projects
  • Saudi put on hold all new capital-intensive projects in addition to aforementioned solar energy projects
  • Saudi has been told explicitly by President Obama that the US has no responsibility to guarantee Saudi Arabia' security
  • Saudi has major terrorist threat in Yemen
  • Saudi has embarked on major weapons acquisition program to defend itself against regional neighbors
  • sanctions on Iran recently lifted resulting in a) Mideast nuclear arms race; and, b) $100 billion in "new" money for Iran to pursue military objectives (I thought it was $156 billion but this article says $100 billion)
Disclaimer: I often make factual and typographical errors. It is hard to separate opinion from fact in this blog. If something does not seem right and/or is important to you, go to the source. 

Earthquake in Oregon Probably Unrelated To Drilling In Idaho -- September 27, 2015

A couple of days ago it was announced that Badlands LNG was going to build a $4 billion petrochemical plant in North Dakota with feedstock (ethane) to be supplied by CLR. The company will need a workforce and proximity to CLR's natural gas supply unless it wants to go through the arduous process of building yet another natural gas gathering, processing, and transmission pipeline. With that in mind, where do you think Badlands NGLs will site their ethane plant, nearer which city?
  • Williston
  • Watford City
  • Tioga
  • Minot
  • Other 

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Today's Headline Story In The Dickinson Press

Baker Hughes to lay off 117 employees at the Dickinson facility.  
Falling oil prices and the resulting oil drilling slowdown in the Bakken Oil Patch has led one of the world’s largest oilfield services companies to make major cutbacks at its Dickinson office.
Baker Hughes sent a letter of notice to Dickinson Mayor Dennis Johnson on Wednesday, stating it was permanently terminating 117 employees here — most of them field operators and specialists.aker Hughes wasn’t even the first North Dakota oilfield company to mass terminate employees this month.
In Minot, Pumpco Energy Services closed its office on Sept. 5 and laid off 70 people. Pumpco simply stated in its WARN notice that it was closing the office because of “the economic conditions caused by falling oil prices.”
I assume The Atlantic Monthly will report this story as soon as possible since they were the first to declare the end of the Bakken boom some years ago.
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Fracking In Oregon?

On September 22, 2015, it was reported that Idaho had a natural gas industry.

Late last night it was reported that there was an earthquake centered in Lakeview, Oregon.

I don't know if the two are related but Lakeview, Oregon, is only about 200 miles west of Idaho. 

QEP To Report Five High-IP Wells; Whiting To Report Two Nice Wells; CLR And HRC To Each Report One Nice Well; Nine More DUCS Monday? -- September 27, 2015

Monday, September 28, 2015
  • 30370, SI/NC, XTO, Lisa Federal 14X-34F, Hofflund, no production data,
  • 30576, 1,139, Hess, CA-Ferguson Smith-LW-155-95-3031H-1, Capa, Three Forks, vertical hole, 39 drilling hours; lateral 83 drilling hours (total drilling days, 5.08 days), gas as high as 2,814 units; flare 1 - 7 feet, 10-foot target zone established; within the ideal geologic window for roughly 70% of the well, t8/15; cum --
Sunday, September 27, 2015
  • 28909, 1,770, Whiting, P Thomas 154-98-15W-33-28-2H, Truax, middle Bakken, 24 stages, 3.1 million lbs, t3/15; cum 52K 7/15;
  • 28910, 1,702, Whiting, P Thomas 154-98-15W-33-28-2H3, Truax, Three Forks, 24 stages, 3.1 million lbs, t3/15; cum 51K 7/15;
  • 29193, 657, CLR, Rennerfeldt 6-30H1, Brooklyn, Three Forks, 30 stages, 5.93 million lbs sand and ceramic, t5/15; cum 36K 7/15;
  • 29239, 1,803, HRC, Borrud 156-101-2B-11-4H, Tyrone, 34 stages, 4.1 million lbs, t3/15; cum 54K 7/15;
  • 29827, 2,191, QEP, Thompson 7-29-32BHD, Grail, 49 stages, 9.5 million lbs, t4/15; cum 124K 7/15;
  • 29828, 1,657, QEP, Thompson 4-29-32THD, Grail, t4/15, Three Forks, 47 stages, 9.2 million lbs; cum 88K 7/15;
  • 29829, 1,358, QEP, Thompson 6-29-32BHD, Grail, middle Bakken, 49 stages, 9.6 million lbs, t4/15; cum 87K 7/15;
  • 29830, 807, QEP, Thompson 5-29-32BHD, Grail, middle Bakken, 49 stages, 9.6 million lbs, t4/15; cum 35K 7/15;
  • 29831, 1,824, QEP, Thompson 1-29-32T2HD, Grail, Three Forks, 49 stages, 9.6 million lbs, t41/5; cum 95K 7/15;
  • 30371, SI/NC, XTO, Lisa 14X-34E, Hofflund, no production data,
  • 30703, drl, SM Energy, Hagen 3-28HN, Burg, no production data,
Saturday, September 26, 2015
  • 29507, SI/NC, Zavanna, Shepherd 3-11 1H,  Stony Creek, no production data,
  • 30356, SI/NC, Hess, BL-Kerbaugh-156-96-3427H-5, Beaver Lodge, no production data,
  • 30372, SI/NC, XTO, Lisa 14X-34A, Hofflund, no production data,
  • 30700, SI/NC, Statoil, Irgens 27-34 7TFH, East Fork, no production data,
  • 30702, SI/NC, SM Energy, Hagen 3-28HS, Burg, no production data,
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29831, see above, QEP, Thompson 1-29-32T2HD, Grail:

DateOil RunsMCF Sold
7-20152641121559
6-20151522723721
5-20152756745800
4-20152538215545

29830, see above, QEP, Thompson 5-29-32BHD, Grail:

DateOil RunsMCF Sold
7-201516471331
6-201522572492
5-20151637026160
4-2015142918971

29829, see below, QEP, Thompson 6-29-32BHD, Grail:

DateOil RunsMCF Sold
7-20152893726035
6-20153692749417
5-20151096116358
4-201595105941

29828, see below, QEP, Thompson 4-29-32THD, Grail:

DateOil RunsMCF Sold
7-20151783913096
6-20151801019757
5-20152373634437
4-20152798718337

29827, see above, QEP, Thompson 7-29-32BHD, Grail:

DateOil RunsMCF Sold
7-20152323318589
6-20152370427661
5-20153755041388
4-20153920199378

29239, see above, HRC, Borrud 156-101-2B-11-4H, Tyrone:

DateOil RunsMCF Sold
7-201548662698
6-201576815265
5-2015131817709
4-20152333214904
3-201550462292

29193, see above, CLR, Rennerfeldt 6-30H1, Brooklyn:

DateOil RunsMCF Sold
7-20151267820884
6-2015843210610
5-20151365421797
3-20157060

28910, see above, Whiting, P Thomas 154-98-15W-33-28-2H3, Truax:

DateOil RunsMCF Sold
7-2015658912603
6-2015780311109
5-2015141015932
4-2015173320
3-201546200

28909, see above, Whiting, P Thomas 154-98-15W-33-28-2H, Truax:

DateOil RunsMCF Sold
7-201533135264
6-20151061712636
5-2015146894381
4-2015176520
3-201558710

Iran Increases Amount Of Oil Exported To Turkey -- Due To Security Issues In Iraq -- September 27, 2015

Tweeting now:
Iran Q2 crude oil exports to Turkey at 0.489 mil b/d, up 72,100 b/d on year; sees volume rising due to security issues in Iraq.
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ETE Closes In On $34 Billion Acquistion

If link blocked, google energy transfer closes in on $34 billion.

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Learning To Drink From A Cup

I'm proud to say that I've taught our youngest granddaughter to drink from a cup.

 Don't worry, it's decaf. 

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Muscle Shoals Again

I can't find any information where Roy Orbison recorded The Only One, but it was either recorded in Muscle Shoals or scored/performed by a Muscle Shoals background group. The closest I can come to putting this together is the opening paragraph from this wikipedia site
Laminar Flow is an album by Roy Orbison recorded at Wishbone Recording Studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and released in 1979 on the Asylum Records label. 
It was the last album of new material Orbison would release in his lifetime - his next studio effort, In Dreams, featured re-recordings of old Orbison hits whilst Mystery Girl and King Of Hearts, his final collections of all-new material, were released posthumously. 
The Only One was on his Mystery Girl album.

The Only One, Roy Orbison

Item; Catching Up With Some Bookkeeping; An EOG Van Hook Probably Back On Line -- September 27, 2015

It looks like this well should be back on line. Production data lags about two months so we may not see new numbers for a couple of months. It looks like this well was taken off-line in July, 2015, to change production method from flowing to pump with the installation of an ESP on July 31, 2015.
  • 24667, 1,179, EOG, Van Hook 19-2523H, Parshall, t7/13, cum 504K 1/16; only one day production in July, 2015; since then, full up; 50 stages, 10 million lbs;
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Emily West Sings Patsy Cline?

I don't care for reality shows and I don't care for karaoke singers. My wife bought me the Emily West CD because she thought Emily West sounded like my favorite singer. I was pleasantly surprised. Emily West does not sound like my "current" favorite singer, but her album was quite amazing: three great covers including the one below.

While listening to this one, I thought Emily West sounded a bit like Patsy Cline, and lo and behold, Emily West has covered Patsy Cline's Crazy.

I assume many have covered Sea of Love and I prefer the studio version (on the CD) but this one is about as good as it gets. Surprisingly, she channels Patsy Cline, especially at the end.

Sea of Love, Emily Love

Or something a bit more earthy: Tom Waits.