Back To The Bakken -- Five New Permits; Four Permits Renewed -- October 16, 2026

Locator: 51965B.

WTI: $101.40. Surged 3.5%, $3.44 at the close. No specific news. 

What accounts for sudden jump? Yes, NASDAQ fell 2% but many of these AI companies were up huge over the past year. AAPL started off strong in the a.m. but fell by the close but still finished in the green, and sold out of its iPhone Duo models in minutes. They're now being flipped; resold for $5,000 on eBay. Did Apple set their price point too low? 

Active rigs: 35.

Five new permits, #43415 - #43419, inclusive --

• Operators: Phoenix Operating (3); Oasis (2);
• Fields: Strandahl (Williams County); Deep Water Creek Bay (McLean County);
• Comments:
• Phoenix Operating has permits for three Davey Drill Fed wells, NENW 29-175-103, 
• to be sited 335 FNL and 2198 / 2258 FWL;
• Oasis has permits for two MHA Grizzly wells, NENW 18-150-90, 
• to be sited 812 / 845 FNL and 2180 FWL.

Four permits renewed:

• BR, two Maverick permits and two Stortroen permits, all in Dimmick Lake. 

Alison's Top Stories For The Week -- October 16, 2026

Locator: 51965B.

Quick connects: 

• Standing Rock Sioux Tribe files new lawsuit over Dakota Access Pipeline -- Bismarck Tribune

• Judge's ruling in landowners' case against Summit favors local control -- Bismarck Tribune

• State stripper well tax break more generous than 'historic norm' -- North Dakota Monitor

• ND on pace to lose out on $66M this year from obscure oil tax break -- North Dakota Monitor

• Existential questions on climate and jobs cloud picture of North Dakota's place in AI revolution -- InForum

• Lawsuit against Dakota Access Pipeline an absurdity from alternate version of reality -- Williston Herald

• Geronimo Power CEO touts transparency amid scrutiny of proposed Cass County data center -- InForum

• Up to $6 million in tax rebates approved for South Dakota's largest wind project -- South Dakota Searchlight

• McKenzie County enacts toughened data center ordinance amid growing outcry -- McKenzie County Farmer

• PSC approves transfer of corridor and route permit for gas pipeline in Mercer County -- Bismarck Tribune

• Data centers can't be stopped, but good policy is needed, NDSU researcher says -- North Dakota Monitor

• This sparsely populated red state quietly climbed to the top of America's financial rankings -- Fox News

• State of North Dakota, four tribal nations receiving more than $27 million in LIHEAP funding -- KX News

• North Dakota Association of Counties talks about how to handle data centers at annual meeting -- KFYR-TV

• Fewer rigs, more oil: Chevron is expected to reduce its drilling rigs from 3 to 2 in December -- KFYR-TV

• Tallgrass Water pipeline spill contaminates dry creek bed in northwest North Dakota -- North Dakota Monitor

• Powering opportunity: Few industries have shaped North Dakota as profoundly as energy -- The Beacon

• Armstrong says session will emphasize fiscal responsibility and limiting growth of state government -- WDAY

• Gov. Armstrong, Lt. Gov. Strinden present North Dakota Governor's Awards for Excellence -- Dickinson Press

• District 35 Senate candidates split on school meals, term limits and state spending -- Bismarck Tribune

• District 35 North Dakota House candidates debate healthcare, ethics and immigration -- Bismarck Tribune

• Former longtime Democratic North Dakota Rep. Steven Zaiser of Fargo has died -- Bismarck Tribune

• North Dakota lawmakers may change official name of Highway Patrol during upcoming session -- KFYR-TV

• North Dakota U.S. House Debate | Julie Fedorchak vs. Trygve Hammer -- McKenzie County Farmer

• Ribbon cutting ceremony for new State Laboratory to take place Tuesday -- Health & Human Services

• Hay bales must be removed from North Dakota highway rights of way by November 1 -- Dickinson Press

• North Dakota Student Association president seeks to make students more aware of NDSA -- Dickinson Press

• Teen driver's crash story reinforces lifesaving importance of wearing seat belts -- NDDOT News Release

• North Dakota Student Association anticipates legislative session and student priorities -- Dickinson Press

• Ideological and legal concerns raised over proposed retention bonuses for teachers -- Williston Herald

• Bizarre crisis casts McKenzie County Superintendent position into uncertainty -- McKenzie County Farmer

• North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction Debate | Levi Bachmeier vs. Tracy Foss -- InForum

• Entities receive funding from North Dakota Department of Career and Technical Education -- Dickinson Press

• New school program with Williams County Sheriff's Deputy helps students feel seen and heard -- KX News

• Students in North Dakota showed improved ACT test scores in 2026, according to NDDPI -- KX News

• Report on participation in Minnesota's free school meals offers insight to North Dakota -- Minot Daily News

• After 10 years, BHS students who named Coyote Creek dragline return for a visit as seniors -- The Beacon

• Rough Rider High Value Network helping North Dakota's rural hospitals survive, thrive -- Dickinson Press

• ND State Water Commission approves Grenora water treatment plant improvement -- Minot Daily News

• Divide County Commissioners may be looking back into a home rule charter this winter -- The Journal

• Public Service Commissioners hold hearing for proposed wind farm to be built near Grenora -- The Journal

• Dickinson Museum Center undergoes $6 million expansion to support research, tourism -- Dickinson Press

• Mammoth fossil dig continues on private property west of Powers Lake in Burke County -- Prairie Public

• North Dakota Water Commission OKs funding for projects, including $1 million in McVille -- Dickinson Press

• Voters from Turtle Mountain cast primary ballots for chairperson and tribal business council -- KFYR-TV

• Watford City's budget reflects community's expanded tax base and oil revenues -- McKenzie County Farmer

• McKenzie County Sheriff's office secures $64K bailout following IT order blunder -- McKenzie County Farmer

• More than $65M has been granted to various North Dakota rural development projects -- Dickinson Press

• Hazen City Commission set the stage for projects in preparation for spring -- The Center Republican

• Following special meetings and hearing, Mercer County's 2027 budget within levy limits -- The Beacon

• Bipartisan senators urge Trump administration to reverse Russian diesel plan to lower fuel prices -- KFYR-TV

• President Trump's Russia deal draws GOP heat as midterm picture for Republicans gets bleak -- The Hill

• Canadian gov't designates new pipeline as national interest; Cold Lake First Nations challenge -- Oil Price

• Federal regulators shoot down grid operator's plan to cut power to data centers during shortfalls -- The Hill

• JD Vance announces plan to use wartime authority to boost fuel production at Texas refinery -- The Hill

• OPEC puts large number on next year's oil market: global demand growth of 2.6M barrels per day -- Oil Price

• Trump says 'massive' oil, gas and mineral exploration in Greenland is 'getting ready to begin' -- CBS News

• China's coal imports fall 6% from year earlier as average price for coal hit nearly 3-year high -- Oil Price

• Trump campaigns in Alaska, a conservative state feeling the pinch of high energy prices -- Reuters

• EPA to propose revisions to methane regulations, easing restrictions on wells and flaring -- Oil & Gas Journal

• In this midterm election, voters can end the era of oppressive, expensive regulation -- Empowerment Alliance

• Courts need to remove biased propaganda of climate activists from the scales of justice -- RealClearEnergy

• Republicans dominate financially healthiest governments, Democrats run the worst -- Washington Stand

• International Energy Agency will release more than 20M barrels of diesel as soon as possible -- Oil Price

Did Apple Set The Price Point Too Low? History May Not Repeat, But It Certainly Does Rhyme -- We'll Clean This Page Up Later This Weekend -- Friday, October 16, 2026

Locator: 51964APPLE.
Locator: 51964MUSE.
Locator: 51964WTI.
Locator: 51964CRASH.
Locator: 51964CVX.
Locator: 51964WHPRESS.
Locator: 51964DIDIFORGETANYTHING?

80% of what follows was not on my bingo card today.  

The big question: what specifically drove WTI to surge just before the weekend. Asking for the Iranians.

See disclaimer.

Apple: link here.

Link to the Core, link here.

White House Press Secretary resigns: served less than five days? 

WTI: surges nearly 4%; up $3.62 at the close; trading at $101.60.  

What caused the stock market crash Monday October 19, 1987?

 

 CVX: trending toward halfway to a market cap of $1 trillion. 

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Disclaimer

Briefly: 

I am inappropriately exuberant about the Bakken and I am often well out front of my headlights. I am often appropriately accused of hyperbole when it comes to the Bakken.

I am inappropriately exuberant about the US economy and the US market.

I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple.

See disclaimer. This is not an investment site. 

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment, financial, job, career, travel, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here. All my posts are done quickly: there will be content and typographical errors. If something appears wrong, it probably is. Feel free to fact check everything.

If anything on any of my posts is important to you, go to the source. If/when I find typographical / content errors, I will correct them. 

Reminder: I am inappropriately exuberant about the Bakken, US economy, and the US market.

I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple. 

And now, Nvidia, also. I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Nvidia. Nvidia is a metonym for AI and/or the sixth industrial revolution. 

I've now added Broadcom to the disclaimer. I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Broadcom. Now, I've added Amazon. And QCOM. Nothing on this site should be seen as recommendations for the general public. On the other hand, I have no problem if members of my extended family "see" recommendations I might be making - but only members of my extended family, limited to my children and my grandchildren.

Longer version here.

Two Apple Bedtime Stories -- October 16 ,2026

Locator: 51963APPLE.

Apple partners with Meta on Muse. Link here. 

Apple iPhone Duo pre-orders off to a strong start -- Barron's. Link here. 

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The Geography Page

Great location for a college student to learn about geologic strata, volcanology, link here. Link: https://share.google/aimode/5CHiyVz7wu61wHVtR.  I think one year study abroad would be appropriate. 

Santorini, Greece. Small island directly south of Athens, Greece. On a line directly between Izmir, Turkey, and Chania, Greece, on the island of Crete, midway on that line: the island of Santorini. 

As the crow flies, Santorini Island, from Athens, is:

• 120 nautical miles;
• 140 statute miles.

Link here. 

Among The Big Five -- India Is The Real Sleeper -- October 16, 2026

Locator: 51962INDIA.

WTI: $98.24.

Cramer's first hour. Jim Cramer has the hour off. His chair occupied by Sara Eisen.  

AI debt fears fuel tech volatility: these fears continue to be the story. 

Going forward: there is so much talk about China that many folks are missing the much bigger story. The bigger story -- the country that is the real sleeper: India. 

We don't need to re-hash what India is doing among countries around the world but population? How does India compare with China?  

India is the world's most populous country, with a population of about 1.48 billion, while China has 1.41 billion people. India has roughly 63.7 million more people (about 4.5% more) than China's.

Time to take a deeper dive into India vs South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan. 

Link here. Link: https://share.google/aimode/gPZa4D2znwrBZsD2S. 

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The Eisenhour

John Ternus, Apple CEO, on cover of Time magazine -- invention of the year.

• Time considers Apple's first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, to be one of its Best Inventions of 2026. The feature highlights new Apple CEO John Ternus on the cover and details the engineering behind the device's custom hinge and nanotexture display. 
• Homeview really surprised the average tech consumer. Won't make much money for the company, but will incrementally add more cash from services. 

Coke: KFC switches to Coke (KO). Ends relationship with Pepsi. Stock appreciation over five years:

• KO: over five years, up 71%.
• PEP: over five years, down 18%. 

Banks: today, up significantly. BNY up 2.6% at the open. 

Netflix struggling. After ten years is now replacing its content chief hoping to engage viewers.