Three New Permits; Six Permits Renewed; One Permit Canceled -- October 23, 2026

Locator: 52022B. 

October 23, 2026: 

• Earnings -- sixfold -- say what!!

********************************
Back to the Bakken 

WTI: $103.30.

Active rigs: 37.

Three new permits: #43433 - #43435, inclusive:

• Operator: Whiting
• Field: Middle Creek
• Comments: 
• Whiting has permits for three Garfield Federal wells, SWSE 15-150-103, 
• to be sited 483 / 548 FSL and 2117 / 2191 FEL.

Six permits renewed:

• Enerplus: 
• the following permits: Flatiron, Shoal, Fjord, Hogback, Arroyo, and Barchan; all in NWNW 28-152-94, Antelope oil field, McKenzie County, permits #37868 - #37873, inclusive.

One permit caneled:

• 26209, Enerplus, Christine Joe, SESE 31-158-102, Williams County.

Alison's Top North Dakota Energy Stories (Quick Connects) -- October 23, 2026

Locator: 52021TOPSTORIES.

From Alison, a "factoid": North Dakota averaged 182 drilling rigs in 2011. By 2024-25, that average had dropped to about 34 rigs but each rig was drilling nearly 5 times more lateral footage per year.

Quick connects:

• Enhanced oil recovery initiative prepares to expand in Bakken -- Bismarck Tribune

• North Dakota oil production still on the rise, boosting state tax revenues -- Dickinson Press

• ND officials jumpstarting next phase of effort to boost Bakken oil production -- KNOX Radio

• ND reaches record 20,177 producing oil wells as higher prices drive activity -- The Dakotan

• Bismarck-Mandan data center forum focuses on the positives -- Bismarck Tribune

• North Dakota oil companies speed up well completions as prices rise, state regulator says -- Reuters

• US Department of Energy awards $1M to University of North Dakota to fund research -- Grand Forks Herald

• North Dakota farmers seek further federal tax relief from lawmakers as oil prices rise -- KX News

• Advocates make case against measure to raise constitutional amendment threshold -- North Dakota Monitor

• Plain Talk: Public Service Commission debate between Jill Kringstad and Scot Kelsh -- Williston Herald

• PSC challenger advocates for landowners; incumbent claims to be uniquely qualified -- North Dakota Monitor

• 60% threshold for changing state's constitution debated as protection or barrier -- North Dakota Monitor

• Former ND state Rep. Richard Becker, who represented Grand Forks, dies at age 84 -- Bismarck Tribune

• New State Lab opens on North Dakota Capitol grounds with expanded capabilities -- North Dakota Monitor

• Development Fund leaders ID'd in $4M in conflicts of interest; chair's firm got $500k -- Bismarck Tribune

• North Dakota will see series of rail upgrades aided by over $23M in federal funding -- Dickinson Press

• North Dakota US House candidates Fedorchak, Hammer differ on federal oversight of AI -- Dickinson Press

• North Dakota's preliminary unemployment rate fell to 1.8% in September, down from 2.2% in August -- WZFG

• Supreme Court justices ask why they should upend voters' will in candidacy dispute -- North Dakota Monitor

• Efforts outlined to expand health care access in North Dakota, support providers & patients -- John Hoeven

• Republicans suing ND secretary of state over some legislative candidates appearing on ballot -- KX News

• It's not just blind partisanship shielding North Dakota from the national blue wave -- McKenzie County Farmer

• ND's eight commercial service airports established a new September boarding record -- Minot Daily News

• Free school meals debated as a win for families or wrong for state's constitution -- North Dakota Monitor

• Williston Basin School Board discuss potential impacts of free school meals measure -- Williston Herald

• Voters in Surrey Public School District to get second chance to vote on bond issue -- Minot Daily News

• North Dakota lawmakers consider rules for protecting children using AI chatbots -- Dickinson Press

• Opinion: The reaction to proposed teacher retention bonuses has been stupidly partisan -- InForum

• ND school business managers recognized for certification, professional development -- Dickinson Press

• Trenton's Eight Mile School District plans to seek renewal of its four-day school week -- Williston Herald

• Dexter Shondell Love Jr. responsible for $4.92 million fraud of Dickinson School District -- Dickinson Press

• North Dakota students reminded of approaching Congressional App Challenge deadline -- Julie Fedorchak

• Connecting North Dakota Educators: Education leaders from across the state gather for NDCEL -- KFYR-TV

• North Dakota Geological Survey discovery leads to new raptor dinosaur species -- Dickinson Press

• Fossilized T.rex footprints successfully airlifted from Little Missouri National Grasslands -- Minot Daily News

• Mother-daughter school bus drivers mark 100 combined years behind the wheel -- Dickinson Press

• Williston City Commission approved a three-year deferral on property assessments -- Williston Herald

• Divide reviews data center zoning rules after tour of Ellendale data center facility -- The Journal

• More than $20 million in LIHEAP funding is coming to tribal nations in North Dakota -- Dickinson Press

• District 3's Republican candidates eye preserving primary residence property tax credit -- Minot Daily News

• Southwest Art Gallery & Science Center to host its annual fundraising gala -- Dickinson Press

• Election brings repeat for commission, auditor; Divide candidates discuss why they're running -- The Journal

• Crosby auditor outlines property tax impacts and key projects in new 2027 city budget -- The Journal

• NDDEQ opens public comment period on new heavy industry proposed near Minot -- North Dakota Monitor

• Building opportunity: McKenzie County JDA drives housing, business growth -- McKenzie County Farmer

• Williams County Commission rejects data center ordinance amendments request -- Williston Herald

• Investment in data centers draws concern as it surpasses all other historical booms -- North Dakota Monitor

• Bessent: oil prices could go down before the end of the year, but it will depend on the Iran war -- The Hill

• Oil stocks in US strategic petroleum reserve fall to 282.7 million barrels, lowest level since 1982 -- Reuters

• Venezuela expects almost $76 billion of investment in its oil and gas sector over next five years -- World Oil

• Halliburton expects 2027 mid-single-digit revenue growth without requiring US fracking rebound -- World Oil

• US Department of Energy has called on refiners to ramp up diesel fuel production further -- Oil Price

• President Trump invokes Cold War-era Defense Production Act for oil production and refining -- Reuters

• Coal supply for power plants in India is ramping up to record high as power crisis looms -- Oil Price

iPhone Handoff -- October 23, 2026

Locator: 52020APPLE.

Tag: Duo. 

The "iPhone Handoff" feature is exclusive to Apple right now. The phenomenon will grow very, very slowly but it will grow.  

Which smart phone or which carrier has "handoff" capabilities -- a second phone with same telephone number? And a whole lot more information/discussion!

Link here. Link: https://share.google/aimode/jkW3xpz7UkPG97yy7.

Continuing the conversation, link here. Link: https://share.google/aimode/Z3YTl128Gx4rIf6po.  

***************************
On Another Note

Latest from IDC as reported by CNBC:

Apple will hold iPhone Duo orders / production at 7 million for 2026.

Apple will eventually control 40% of the foldable market. 

Apple will overtake Samsung in foldables sometime in 2027.  

Okay -- I'm Done For The Day -- At Least For The Morning -- I'm Already Overwhelmed -- See You Later Today -- Friday, October 23, 2026

Locator: 52019B.

How Are Apple iPhone Duo Sales Going? Friday, Day Of Launch -- October, 23, 2026

Locator: 52018APPLE 

Tag: iPhone smartphone AAPL extraordinary 

If they can afford to pay for gasoline to drive to the store, they can stand in line and be among the first to buy a $2,000 smartphone that folds. 

 *******************************
Reposting

Locator: 52005STELLAR. 

The review at this link: benchmark -- the iPhone Duo and the iPhone 18 Pro scored nearly identical scores

CPUs:

• single-core: 4,002
• multi-core: 10,728

GPUs, similar in that both scored similarly

• 60,608

Now, how do these Apple number compare to Duo's closest Android competitor, the Galaxy Z Fold 8?

Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen %:

• single-core: 3,112 (significantly less than Apple's)
• multi-core: 10,438 (about par with Apple's multi-core, though less)

But look at this for the GPU, the Z Fold 8 (Qualcomm designs and makes the Adreno 840 GPU integrated inside the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset powering the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8):

• 17,331 -- holy makerel -- that compares with 60,608 for the Apple GPU. 
• not even in the same ballpark
• this is high school football compared with the NFL 

Holy mackerel.

"That puts the closest competitor to Apple, the Samsung Galaxy  Z Fold 8, scoring a measly 17,331 on the GPU test. That puts the Samsung Z Fold 8 at 22% less powerful on a single-core and a whopping 71% less performance for the GPU. " 

Holy mackerel! 

Gamers are going to sell a body part to pay for the Duo but they're still going to have to wait.  

Reality: this has little to do with profits, profit margins, revenue, sales, etc. This is all about bragging rights. And Apple has the rights. 

But get this: 

Apple's HomeView used another Apple "A" chip -- the A18. Once Apple gets the TSMC / A20 supply chain / Duo supply chain under control, we will see the A20 move into the HomeView and other phones. 

I track the "Chips" here but have not kept up for obvious reasons. It looks like I will be tracking Apple's "A" chips here.

*****************************
How Are They Different

Query: How does A20 differ from previous A chip?

Reply: