Saudi Announces Ready To Start On World's Largest Solar Power Project -- WSJ -- March 28, 2018

Final 4Q17 GDP: almost hit the 3% threshold we were "promised." Final reading: 2.9% vs 2.7% expected. And the 2.9% is up from the previously reported 2.5%.

Later today: EIA crude oil inventory data and gasoline demand.

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Solar

Saudis, SoftBank Group announce world's largest solar power project. Development to start this year with a $1 billion investment from Saudi-SoftBank Vision Fund. From The WSJ.

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign-wealth fund and Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. announced plans to launch the world’s biggest solar-power-generation project, providing another ambitious goal for two of the world’s richest investors.

The development would start this year with a $1 billion investment from the joint Saudi-SoftBank Vision Fund, said Masayoshi Son, chief executive of SoftBank. It is expected to grow into a $200 billion behemoth that provides about 200 gigawatts of power by 2030, he added—more power than Saudi Arabia would need to light up the entire country by then.

The first stage of the project will cost around $5 billion and begin this year, Mr. Son said, with the installation of solar panels that will produce around 7.2 gigawatts of power in 2019. Most of it will be financed with debt.

We've talked about Saudi's solar energy program on many occasions. The numbers are "all over the place." Not long ago, the Saudi's goal was 3.45 GW by 2020, so increasing to 7.2 GW is significant. But announcing a $1 billion-downpayment for a $200 billion-project speaks volumes.

Everyone agrees that this is an existential issue for Saudi Arabia. If the kingdom does not quit burning oil to produce electricity for summer air conditioning, Saudi Arabia will be a net importer of crude oil in less than ten years.

This is the other problem:

And this is the other, other problem (note that crude oil prices have improved, and yet Saudi's cash reserves decreased month-over-month, after an improvement in recent months), link here:

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Back to the Bakken

Active rigs:

$64.70↓	3/28/2018	03/28/2017	03/28/2016	03/28/2015	03/28/2014
Active Rigs	60	49	31	97	194

RBN Energy: rebounding E&Ps curb CAPEX growth, use capital to reward shareholders.

Another MLP bites the dust, but that's a good thing -- Motley Fool. A familiar name: Tallgrass Energy Partners. Others mentioned.