Tuesday, October 20, 2026

NDIC Director's Cut -- August 2026 Data -- To Be Released Today -- October 20, 2026

Locator: 51980MOBYDICK.

North Dakota’s latest production figures from August 2026 will be released TODAY at 10:00am CST during the October Director’s Cut. Link here.

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The Book Page

Just released. A facsimile reproduction of the original 1930 publication.

Link. Link here: https://share.google/aimode/O6bfgDlk6DGPBnwf1. 

Full novel online: Project Gutenberg eBook 2701. Link here. 

Project Gutenberg. Link here. 

Monday, October 19, 2026

Tuesday Morning -- October 19, 2026

Locator: 51979B.

Updates: The Cramer Hour

Noon: 

After starting out a bit weak, forty minutes into new trading, the Dow is up 400 points.  

Markets, early (see disclaimer -- this is not an investment site):

  • large integrated oil companies hit new 52-week highs, then pulled back but still in the green;
  • AAPL: down a couple of dollars
    • iPhone Duo out-of-stock
    • touchscreen Pro coming?
    • low spend; high income; high cash flow 
  • BRKB: a new 52-week high -- trading at $538; up $6; up a bit more than 1%
  • SRE, VG, LNG, ENB, EPD -- all up a bit -- see today's RBN Energy blog today on natgas feedgas demand

Original Post 

Anticipation: futures --

  • Dow: down 24 points;
  • S&P 500: down 20 points;
  • NASDAQ: down 220 points 

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Back to the Bakken

WTI: $98.53 (oilprice) --> $105.75 (CNBC).

  • CVX: up 0.29%; up $0.67; trading at $225.04. 
    • a new 52-week high, $227.28 earlier,  has since dropped back a bit.
    • July 2026: trading below $170

New wells reporting: 

  • Wednesday, October 21, 2026: 53 for the month, 53 for the quarter, 552 for the year, 
    • 41920, conf, Hess, GO-Barb-LE-157-97-3523H-1,
    • 41475, conf, Enerplus, Crying Tree 147-97-8-5-8H, 
    • 41474, conf, Enerplus, Crying Tree 147-97-8-5-7H,
  • Tuesday, October 20, 2026: 49 for the month, 49 for the quarter, 548 for the year,  
    • 41473, conf, Enerplus, Crying Tree 147-97-8-5-6H, 

RBN Energy: US LNG feedgas demand surpasses the 20-Bcf/d milestone. Link here. Archived.

A decade ago, the first LNG cargo produced in the Lower 48 was exported from Sabine Pass. Now, the U.S. is home to eight terminals, with seven more under construction, and feedgas demand for LNG has surpassed 20 Bcf/d for the first time. 

To celebrate this monumental milestone, reached in the past few days, today’s RBN blog looks at how we got here, the recent stall in feedgas volumes, and where U.S. export demand is headed in the years to come.

As U.S. shale gas production climbed in the late 2000s and early 2010s, it became clear that, far from running out of natural gas, the U.S. was heading toward a massive surplus. The abundance of low-cost natural gas spurred significant demand-side investment, driving a buildout of both natural gas-fired power generation and LNG export facilities. 

On July 31, 2012, Cheniere Energy reached a positive final investment decision (FID) on the first two trains at Sabine Pass LNG (dark-green diamond in Figure 1 below) in Cameron Parish, LA, paving the way for construction of the first LNG export terminal in the Lower 48.  

The Book Page: The Cleopatras, Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones -- October 19, 2026

Locator: 51978BOOKS.

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The Book Page

The Cleopatras: The Forgotten Queens of Egypt, Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, c. 2024.

This will complete my "trilogy." LOL. 

  • The Landmark Arrian / original translation by Pamela Mensch -- originally written 130 AD; this translation c. 2010 -- 
  • Dividing the Spoils -- c. 2011
  • The Cleopatras -- c. 2024

Notes on the Cleopatras at this blog: https://milliondollarliterature.blogspot.com/2026/10/the-cleopatras-forgotten-queens-of.html.  

Seleucus:

  

Daily Activity Report -- Five New Permits; Two Permits Renewed -- October 19, 2026

Locator: 51977B.

France: for the archives. Anarchists destroying their country. 

Monday, October 19th: Black Monday -- 1987. For psychological reasons, this was a good day to get throught. 

NFL tonight: Washington Commanders (1-3-1) vs the undefeated 49ers (5-0), in the Bay area. 7:15 CT.

New Apple product: a touchscreen MacBook? If so, could be announced as early as October 28, 2026 -- next week. 

I think this, more than anything, will set the tone for John Ternus' way of running Apple. AAPL flat, slightly negative. BRKB was flat, also, slightly green. CVX hit a new high today.

WTI: over at CNBC, they're reporting a jump in the price of WTI today. 

CNBC says Brent surged at the end of the day after Houthis says they struck Saudi airport, other Saudi targets. 
At the close, CNBC says WTI increased by 2.38%; an increase of $2.41; trading at $103.82. Oilprice is showing considerable less, trading at $98.43. I'm sure it's common for Oilprice and CNBC to report different prices, but I don't recall such a wide spread. 
So what's going on? From AI: if both sites are explicitly labeling the ticker as WTI, you are seeing a contract rollover discrepancy. Today (October 19) is right on the edge of the November 2026 WTI contract expiration (which expires October 20). So, by the end of the week, the numbers should be in agreement.

CVX: link here. CVX and Devon Energy were both mentioned as the "last trade" by two analysts on "Fast Money," CNBC, today.

Is the court getting tired of this nonsense?

The Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear a bid by a Democratic-appointed member of the National Labor Relations Board to challenge the legality of her firing by President Donald Trump. 
The justices turned away former NLRB member Gwynne Wilcox’s appeal of a lower court’s ruling that said the Republican president’s January 2025 firing of her was a valid exercise of executive authority. A DEI appointment. Links easily found.

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Back to the Bakken

WTI: $98.24 being reported by Oilprice, but CNBC is reporting $103. 

Active rigs: 37. New recent high.

Five new permits, #43420 - #43434, inclusive -- 

  • Operators: Phoenix Operating (4); BR
  • Fields: Charlie Bob (McKenzie County); Dimmick Lake (McKenzie County)
  • Comments:
    • Phoenix Operating has permits for four Bulldog Fed wells, SWSE 35-145-98, 
      • to be sited 455 FSL and 2156 / 2246 FEL.
    • BR has a permit for a single Clemens well, SESW 7-151-96, lot 2, section 6-151-96, 
      • to be sited 438 FSL and 2209 FWL.

Two permits renewed:

  • Oasis: two Peterson 5298 permits, Banks oil field, McKenzie County.

Money Market Fund Monitor -- Monthly Updata -- Through September -- Posted October 19, 2026

Locator: 51976MMF.

Tag: MMF MMFs money market funds 

Excellent discussion on this phenomenon here: https://share.google/aimode/C431deYE3WA1GTWgo.  

Short discussion on MMFs here: https://share.google/aimode/5ChUDbI5etdkMzZkO.

MMF: link here.  

Slight decrease month-over-month.