What's Going On With Whiting? -- December 9, 2019

What's going on with Whiting? Whiting has canceled three Periot wells in Dollar Joe oil field (Williams County) out of eight Periot permits, and has not done anything with two very old Periot permits. [December 10, 2019: update here.]

See also: Whiting cancels seventeen permits.

I count four active rigs for Whiting, two in Mountrail County, and two in McKenzie County.

I don't have the denominator for the following years, the denominator being the number of permits Whiting was issued for that year. It should be remembered that Saudi Arabia "flooded" the world with oil in an attempt to destroy the US shale industry from about 2014 - 2016.

By the year issued, these are the number of permits canceled by Whiting. Obviously permits issued in past years were canceled this year, so this is not the number of permits canceled per year -- if that makes sense.

So far in 2019, it appears Whiting has canceled 64 permits (updated December 9, 2019). This compares with previous years:

• 2018: 7
• 2017: 9
• 2016, Saudi's actions impacting US shale: 36
• 2015, Saudi's actions impacting US shale: 44
• 2014, by mid-year, Saudi's actions impacted US shale: 21
• 2013: 21
• 2012: 19
• 2011: 8
• 2010: 7
• 2009: 5
• 2008: 5
• 2007, the year of the "discovery well" in the Bakken: 2
• 2006: 5
• 2005: 1
• 2004: 1
• 2003: no North Dakota Whiting permits canceled in 2003 or prior

Permits canceled starting December:

• December 9, 2019;
• December 5, 2019;

Disclaimer: the usual disclaimers pertain.

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Politics

What are the pollsters afraid of?

The last national poll, a week ago, 12/1 - 12/3.

The last Iowa poll, a month ago, 11/15 - 11/19.

The last New Hampshire poll, a couple of weeks ago, 11/22 - 11/26.

Daily tracking poll, approval:

• Trump: 51%
• Obama (same point in office): 45%

Later, just an hour later after posting the above, a new poll was released:

Harvard-Harris poll released today: Hillary Clinton at top of list among Democrat voters. At 21% she is statistically tied with Biden, 20%. Others, Sanders, 12%; Pocahontas, 9%; and Bloomberg, 7%. Pocahontas has truly imploded; she will stick it out through Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire, but then after that, it's all over but the screech and "here's the thing." I was surprised to see Sanders drop below 15%; his support is fairly committed and unlikely to change. Or are they? Have some of Sanders' supporters moved to Hillary? 

The top five poll only 69% which means these five will split 31% as the others withdraw over the next few months.