The Day Whiting Canceled Seventeen Permits -- That Day Will Live In Infamy -- Decmeber 7, 2019

From the December 5, 2019, NDIC daily activity report in which it was reported that Whiting canceled seventeen permits. The permits:

• 34211, Olson 41-29TFH, Williams County, Dollar Joe,
• 34212, Olson 31-29TFH, Williams County, Dollar Joe,
• 33704, Jackman 11-11-1HM, Williams County, East Fork,  
• 30847, P Lynch 155-99-14-33-28-3H3A, Williams County, Epping, 
• 30849, P Lynch 155-99-14-33-28-3H3, Williams County, Epping, renewed, February, 2018; then canceled; Three Forks B1; 
• 31683, P Bibler 154-99-3-5-29-2H3, Williams County, Epping, renewed in July, 2019, then canceled; Three Forks B1;
• 35002, Larson 44-12-2TFH, Williams County, Corinth,
• 35003, Larson 44-12-3H, Williams County, Corinth,
• 34981, Schilke 24-21-1TFH, Williams County, Big Stone, 
• 34982,  Schilke 24-21-2H, Williams County, Big Stone,
• 34983, Schilke 24-21-2TFH, Williams County, Big Stone,
• 31624, Wright 44-34-2H, Williams County, Juniper,
• 29295, Koppinger 21-13PH, Stark County,
• 29296, Koppinger 41-13PH, Stark County,
• 28799, Tomchuk 41-30PH, Stark County,
• 29149, Solberg 44-12PH, Stark County,
• 29152, Dietz 11-17PH, Stark County,

At first I thought it fairly disconcerting. It's still a little bothersome but most of the locations were in tier 2, maybe tier 3 locations ... having said that, the Epping, East Fork, and Dollar Joe locations were not all that bad, but hard to say.  It is interesting that most of these permits seem to be Three Forks/Pronghorn.

So, we'll see. The good news? Whiting is still plugging away in the Bakken.

**************************************

Without The Blog, Without Readers I Would Have Missed This One

And Here's The Problem With EVs -- The Series Continues -- December 7, 2019

This is the problem with tethered vehicles, posted earlier. Even the Australians got a kick out of the California Tesal conga line.

From Tyler Durden:

There are now around 400,000 Teslas on the roads of the U.S. and the company’s commitment to hoarding its cash by any means necessary, including not paying bills and not investing in its Supercharger network, could finally be coming back to bite its owners in pronounced fashion.

Now, this, just a couple of days later: car makers rushing to copy Tesla lack one thing -- buyers.

From WSJ.

Electric vehicles cost more than their gasoline counterparts, are cumbersome to charge and sell fewer in the U.S. than the Toyota Camry. For every eight pickups sold in America there is one pure-plug-in vehicle sold (many so-called electrics use a conventional engine as well as a battery).

Still, companies are preparing for the electric age by cutting workers. This is partly to save money needed for development, but it is primarily to prepare for a vehicle design-and-production process that will be, as they say in Silicon Valley, “asset light.”

Let’s be honest. Even the smartest auto executive doesn’t have a clue when the EV revolution will happen. Could be 2025, or it could be 2050. To date, the customer’s appetite for big trucks and SUVs running on cheap gasoline has ruled the market. The roar of an engine and the convenience of a gas station has won out over regulators and environmentalists telling us the world will melt if we don’t go electric.

The question for automotive executives: If you fire the people who know how to make what people want to buy, what are you left with? Only people who make stuff no one wants to buy. 

Most interesting observation about this graphic? Which region (China, US, EU) is most "nuts" about global warming; CO2 emissions? Which region (China, US, EU) has shortest driving distances between destination points?  Which region (China, US, EU) seems most suited for EVs? Which region has 330 million people (EU or US)? Which region has 750 million people (EU or US)? Which region is lagging in EV sales by a huge margin?


In the USAF I once took a course on human behavior and how decisions are made by bureaucracies.

Groupthink.

***************************

Good News For The Incumbent President ...

.... but readers are not so sure this is good news for GM. At the link, see the comments.

"GM, LG CHem to build $2.3 billion Ohio battery plant." 

One comment:

GM will fail when all these electric vehicles fail to sell. Gone in less than 10 years.

*************************************

And, No, I'm Not Getting Paid For This

Bourne Identity; Twenty-Two Permits Renewed; Six Producing Wells Completed; EOG With Five "LR" Permits -- December 6, 2019

Wow, I'm in a great mood.

Friday night.

All the driving for the week has been completed. Yes, lots of driving on the weekend, but the weekends are different. The weekdays are challenging coordinating schedules for three active granddaughters between the hours of 4:30 and 9:30 p.m.

It is 7:49 p.m. and I'm free. Free. Free. No driving until 8:30 a.m. tomorrow morning.

Not even sure I will do a typical Bakken blog tonight.

LOL.

I questioned earlier whether EOG might be looking to exit the Bakken. Based on today's NDIC "daily activity report" it looks like EOG is sticking around for awhile. Oasis says it is using free cash flow from the Bakken to fund its operational expenses in the Permian. Interesting, huh?

I can't stand Anderson Cooper, but I think that's mostly because he's associated with CNN. I don't like him but he's too good to be on CNN. He needs to move to .... Fox ... LOL. See this link: https://www.foxnews.com/media/cnn-ratings-plummet-lowest-three-years.

Also thirteen Bakken wells are reported as "producing or plugged." In the Bakken, that means they are all producing. Most of them are Whiting wells.

MRO re-surveyed a pad that will have five wells, section 34-152-94.

This information (today's daily activity report, and,

• the EIA dashboards; and,
• the $95,000/acre some operators paid for the Bakken
• tell me all I need to know why operators are sticking around in the Bakken.

Best example of TDS in last six hours, see link at MarketWatch below the screenshot:

As if Trump could orchestrate the best jobs report in years! LOL. And after the jobs report, the Dow surges 330 points, one of the best days ever for the Dow. And Trump, according to MarketWatch orchestrated it all. And Sophia now has two unicorns in her stable. LOL. As if Trump could orchestrate a jobs report. I always thought Obama "manipulated" jobs reports but pundits at that time said presidents could not orchestrate such reports.

My biggest decision tonight: do I watch the Bourne Identity on PARHD or do I watch "Perry Mason" on Amazon Prime Video. "PARHD" is Paramount. Pay your money, take your chance. I won't watch any basketball tonight. Least favorite sport. Even baseball is better. Having said that, I won't watch soccer either, generally speaking.

Random data point: the US has 27 days of crude oil in inventory, not including SPR. Link here. It's been higher/longer, but 27 days is about a week too long if one is highly invested in oil.

For all the excitement about the market today, it essentially got back to where it was a week ago. Ovey.

I'm heading to bed. See you tomorrow. Goodnight and good luck to all. But first, today's daily activity report:

Five new permits:

• Operator: EOG
• Field: Parshall (Mountrail)
• Comments: 
• EOG has permits for a 5-well Liberty LR pad in section 14-151-91, Parshall oil field. 
• See this post.

Thirteen wells added to the "plugged or producing" list:

• CLR (9): six Uhlman Federal; three Pittsburgh wells, all in McKenzie County;
• Whiting (2): a Fladeland well and a Niemitalo well, both in Mountrail County;
• Hess (2): two EN-Weyrauch B wells in Mountrail County

Twenty-two permits renewed:

• EOG (9): five Round Prairie permits in Williams County; four Parshall permits in Mountrail County;
• MRO (5): one Whitney/Alvina/Stillwell/Coan/Mathias permit, all in Dunn County
• Southwestern Production (3): three TMW permits in Billings County
• Petro-Hunt (2): two Noonan Federal permits in McKenzie County 
• Petro Harvester (2): two FLX2 permits in Burke County
• Denbury: a CHSU permit in Bowman County 

Six producers abandoned, but very old file numbers:

• 01350; 01571; 26008; 19046; 13735; and 13405;

Six producing wells completed:

• 35518, 1,722, Hess, EN-Person-156-94-1102H-5, Big Butte, t10/19; cum 15K in 16 days;
• 35517, 2,290, Hess, EN-Person-156-94-1102H-4, Big Butte, t10/19; cum 14K in 12 days;
• 36299, 1,960, Newfield, Schneiderman 150-99-29-32-6H, South Tobacco Garden, t10/19; cum 42K in 12 days; extrapolates to 52K in a 30-day month;
• 36300, 876, Newfield, Schneiderman 150-99-29-32-7H, South Tobacco Garden, t10/19; cum 19K in 19 days;
• 36494, 2,472, Whiting, Irwin 41-25H, Foreman Butte, t10/19; cum 6K in 7 days; these two wells are almost wildcats by definition; far to the west in north McKenzie County; nearest well is #23901, drilled in 2013, cumulative of 207K, 10/19;
• 36495, 2,256, Whiting, Irwin 41-25-2H, Foreman Bute, t10/19; cum 6K in 7 days;

Random Note Regarding EOG's Permits For Five "LR" Wells In The Parshall -- December 7, 2019

Disclaimer: all my "usual" disclaimers pertain. 

Permits from the NDIC December 6, 2019, daily activity report. I believe there is a backstory to these five wells, which takes us back to the June, 2019, NDIC hearing dockets, and a post that begins:

This takes us back to a comment from a reader and my reply to that comment over at the post on the June, 2019, hearing dockets. 

I could be wrong and if I'm wrong, I'm pretty sure some eagle-eyed reader will contact me. These are EOG permits in the Parshall, sited on the east side of the river, and will end under the river:

• 37252, 1600-acre spacing unit, ltr dtd December 6, 2019; sections 15, 16 & W/2 14-151-91, Three Forks B1; BHL: SWSW 16-151-91;
• 37253, 1600-acre spacing unit, ltr dtd December 6, 2019; sections 15, 16 & W/2 14-151-91, middle Bakken; BHL: SWSW 16-151-91;
• 37254, 1600-acre spacing unit, ltr dtd December 6, 2019; sections 15, 16 & W/2 14-151-91, middle Bakken; BHL: SWNW 16-151-91;
• 37255, 1600-acre spacing unit, ltr dtd December 6, 2019; sections 15, 16 & W/2 14-151-91, Three Forks B1; BHL: NWSW 16-151-91;
• 37256 1600-acre spacing unit, ltr dtd December 6, 2019; sections 15, 16 & W/2 14-151-91, middle Bakken; BHL: NWNW 16-151-91;

Graphics to follow.

See existing graphic at this site.

Wow, I love it when a story comes together and the dots connect.

Top Stories Of The Week -- Week 49 -- The Narrative -- December 7, 2019

Updates

Later: a reader provides better data regarding Bakken wells and cumulative production (see first comment):

• Total number of wells: 14,306 -- 100%
• 1.5 million bbls crude oil: 2 wells; 0.01%
• 1.0 million bbls crude oil: 8 wells; 0.1%
• 0.9 million bbls crude oil: 13 wells; 0.1%
• 0.8 million bbls crude oil: 29 wells; 0.2%
• 0.7 million bbls crude oil: 70; 0..5%
• 0.6 million bbls crude oil: 151; 1.1%
• 0.5 million bbls crude oil: 335; 2.3%
• 0.4 million bbls crude oil: 980; 6.9%
• 0.3 million bbls crude oil: 2,795; 19.5%
• 0.2 million bbls crude oil: 7,011; 49.0%
• 0.1 million bbls crude oil: 12,493: 87.3%
• less than 0.1 million bbls crude oil: 1,813; 12.7%

Note: This is based on shaleprofile.com data, as of the September, 2019, NDIC report. It is restricted to include only ND wells, only hz wells, only those from 2005 or later, and only those designated as Middle Bakken or Three Forks (i.e. Red River not included).  

This will be a nice metric going forward.

Original Post

These are the things on my mind after having just completed the top stories of the week.

Here's a bit of irony. It may very well be that it will be Saudi Arabia that will "save" the US shale operators. Say what? It's a given that Saudi Arabia cannot survive on $60 Brent or $50 WTI. I'm not even convinced that Saudi Arabia will do well with Brent at anything below $80. Saudi Arabia will "do what it takes" to keep the price of oil "up." A cartel might be able to enforce production discipline unlike a free market. A free market can also result in production discipline but to do it, may be very, very painful. A lot of story lines, and a lot of irony.

On another note, without question this has been a most incredible week: we ended the week on one of the most incredibly uplifting stories ever for the US economy and it's hard to deny that President Trump played a role. Meanwhile, the US House is now preparing articles of impeachment. So, I guess there is some irony here, also. The economy is doing incredibly well (both on Main Street and Wall Street) and the president's Christmas present is impeachment.

The US is not at war; the US economy is doing quite well; unemployment is at a 50-year low; African-American unemployment is at record lows; labor force participation is at record highs; no wage inflation; in fact, the Fed is trying to get the inflation number up a bit, closer to 2%. The 10-year bond ended the week with a return of about 1.85%. Pundits at one time said the world as know it would come to an end if the "10-year went under 2%." Well, there you have it. The world as I know it did end: AAPL ended the week on a new all-time high.

Back to oil. Not more than two or three years ago I opined that $50- to $55-WTI was the sweet spot. Oil operators could make money while still keeping gasoline prices low for US consumers. But one sure gets the impression that operators are struggling on $55 oil. What changed? I still feel that operators really, really overpaid for the Permian. There will be a bow wave of pain lasting three to five  years for operators to get through that mistake; many will not survive. It appears that 2019 was the first year of pain. If several years is defined as three to five years, then look for 2022 for US oil companies to start looking really, really good again.

Like him or hate him, it's hard to think of many things that President Trump has said that hasn't been accurate. Most of what he has tweeted has proved to be true. The one thing that concerns me most -- and I'm flip-flopping on this: southern border "immigration." Some time ago I posted on the blog that I had no concerns about the southern border "immigration" issue. The US was capable of "absorbing" these new immigrants.

But things have changed.

By the way, DACA is now being "decided" by the US Supreme Court.

This is the nightmare: Mexico appears to be following the "Venezuela model." It certainly appears that AMLO is setting himself up for "president for life." When Mexico implodes, it won't be caravans of 1,000's of gate-crashers streaming across our southern border; it won't even be 10's of thousands. The flood will be measured in "El-Paso units" or perhaps "Beto units" or something similar. One "Beto unit" (or whatever the name becomes) will equate to 100,000 people streaming across the southern border; 500,000 people = 5 Beto units. Headline, Wall Street Journal, March 15, 2029, "three Beto caravans came through the El Paso area yesterday."

See southern border immigration in five charts. The population of Mexico is 130 million.

See the coming implosion of Mexico, at The Wall Street Journal. That story is behind a paywall, but I will post excerpts later at a separate post.

Back to the Bakken. Back in 2018 I opined that starting in 2019 we were going to start seeing a lot of Bakken wells pass the 500,000-bbl-cumulative threshold. Through August of this year I had not noted many examples, and I was perplexed. I thought I had gotten ahead of my headlights, but here it. We're now starting to see more and more half-million-bbl wells. Many of these are older wells; but many of them are relatively new. Several years ago Michael Filloon (and others) started talking about EURs of 1 million bbls and 1.2 million bbls. Not much talk since then, but we will see it in the quarterly reports and quarterly presentations. It appears that for the time-being (maybe forever?) we've seen EURs in the Bakken max out at 1 million bbls. Time will tell, but the wells coming off the confidential list this past year have been incredible. I've now added a new metric: production in the first full month. For example:

• 35611, 1,596, Hess, RS-Flickertail-156-91-1720H-4, Ross, t6/19; cum 81K 10/19; 23K month; 
• 35536, 675, Oasis, Om Erickson 5501 11-18 4B, Missouri Ridge, t6/19; cum 94K 10/19; 21K month;

In both those examples, the last data point is the largest production in any one of the first six months after the well is completed and tested. So, for #35536, the highest production in any of the first six months of this well after being completed/tested was 21,000 bbls.

Not common, but not rare, we are seeing many "45K-months" and enough "70K-months" to suggest that we've entered a new phase of the Bakken, at least as far as initial six-month production.

Week 49: December 1, 2019 -- December 7, 2019

This day in history: Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941.

Top international non-energy story:

• Independence Day for America -- September 30, 2019 -- a day that will live in history;
• Saudi Arabia foreign exchange reserves trending toward an all-time low;

Top international energy story:

• Saudi Aramco IPO launched; largest company in the world;

Top national non-energy story:

• US economy -- jobs, stock market -- surge; here; and, here;
• Record-setting Black Friday, Cyber Monday;
• Gasoline drops below $2.00 / gallon in Texas (same link as above)
• Nancy Pelosi made it official: directed the Judiciary Committee to draft articles of impeachment
• Global warming smacks the northern tier, northeast US; early winter; 
• Schwab, acquiring Ameritrade, will move headquarters to Ft Worth, Texas, area;

Top national energy story:

• WTI trending toward $60/bbl;
• Midland, TX, now the richest metropolitan area in the US based on per capita income;
• Manufacturers no longer reporting monthly EV sales;

Top North Dakota non-energy story:

Top North Dakota energy story:

• The Bakken will have the "next" largest crude oil production growth in 2019 -- EIA;

Geoff Simon's top North Dakota energy stories: pending

Operations:

• New operator in the Bakken: Red Trail Energy, LLC; 
• Whiting cancels seventeen permits; 
• The staggering Bakken: Antelope oil field; WPX; CLR; MRO; the Helis Grail;
• Four wells, each have gone over 500,000 bbls cumulative;
• A Petro-Hunt Wisness well goes over 500,000 bbls cumulative;
• A BR well goes over 500,000 bbls cumulative; 
• XTO well goes over 500,000 bbls cumulative;
• Update on a Slawson re-entry well;
• Extended long laterals?

Bakken economy

• Three western North Dakota newspapers call it a day; two purchased and will continue operatiosn without interruption; 
• Wind farm update in western North Dakota;

Miscellaneous:

• The Economist extols Bakr al-Baghdadi's enforcement of Sharia law;
• Dickinson firm awarded $270 million contract to build 31 miles of "the wall"
• The Permian doldrums; 

Tethered vehicles:

• Here's the problem;
• Global EV sales down 28% year-over-year, October, 2019;
• Manufacturers no longer reporting monthly EV sales;

Off The Net For Awhile -- December 6, 2019

How about them Dallas Cowboys last night? They lose another one. Truly unbelievable.

Off the net for awhile. How much work is left in the Bakken? The short answer: a lot.

WTI: $58.84.

**************************************

Elvis?

While posting the Bakken graphic, this video popped up in the background. I wasn't watching the video channel, simply listening to it in the background.

I thought it was Elvis and was ready to "delete" it -- I don't care for Elvis ... and then it turned out to be one of my favorites -- completely missed it ... and I should have known. LOL.

It's Only Make Believe, Conway Twitty

Not Sure What To Say -- December 6, 2019

Updates

December 7, 2019: of course, I did not know any of this. See comments --

Merkel is rom East Berlin.

"In 1968, Merkel joined the Free German Youth (FDJ), the official communist youth movement sponsored by the ruling Marxist–Leninist Socialist Unity Party of Germany.Membership was nominally voluntary, but those who did not join found it difficult to gain admission to higher education."

Born in Hamburg, family moved to E Berlin when Father took a pastorate in Lutheran church there.

I don't think she shares the same view of the Holocaust as most folks in the West do.

Original Post

 
This tells me all I need to know about Merkel:

Holy Mackerel -- Wow, I Would Love To See Steve Lieman's Face When He Reports This; Payrolls Surge; Well Ahead Of Projections; Unemployment Rate Actually Ticks Down -- December 6, 2019

From The WSJ:

Holy mackerel: this is really, really incredible. I assume the mainstream media is still giving Obama the credit for the economy. 

Jobs, link here, November jobs:

• nonfarm payrolls
• prior: 128,000
• consensus forecast: 180,000
• actual: 266,000
• private payrolls:
• prior: 131,000
• consensus forecast: 168,000
• actual: 254,000
• unemployment rate:
• prior: 3.6%
• consensus forecast: 3.6%
• actual:3.5%
• manufacturing payrolls:
• prior: -36,000
• consensus forecast: 15,000
• actual: 54,000

Recession is just around the corner. 

Futures: unchanged, down if anything.

***********************************

More

CNN: "Stocks pop on good jobs report." In fact, the Dow opening was a bit lower than the Dow futures just before and after the jobs report came out. And it was not a "good" report. It was a spectacular report.

Headwinds: every story, it seems, says the job market was incredible despite the headwinds. Exactly what headwinds? The only headwinds I know:

• TDS
• consistent and never-ending negativity from mainstream business media 

Example? This article from "The Rachel Maddow Show" -- MSNBC: the writer shows that job growth slowed under Trump compared to job growth under Obama. This is so predictable. I googled: MSNBC job report today. Screenshot:

Tailwinds?

• easy money;
• everyone is employed -- employed folks pay taxes and buy more stuff;
• US House not passing any more regulations;
• US is energy independent -- this is huge and is not being reported;
• gasoline is below $2.00 / gallon here in north Texas; people have more money to buy other stuff;

What's the best way to put another nail in a solution looking for a  problem? Gasoline below $2.00 / gallon. EVs were a solution to a problem that did not exist.

This morning:

Notes From All Over, Part 1 -- December 6, 2019

Politics

Amy Klobuchar: quietly gaining momentum (the link has been corrected) -- The Chicago Tribune, and Sophia saw a unicorn in the wild yesterday.

Baby names: By the way, for 2019, top baby girl names, #1, Sophia; #2, Olivia; #13, Charlotte. The Today Show list varies from what is being posted elsewhere. Elsewhere, Muhammed makes the top ten list for baby boy names; Muhammed doesn't show up on The Today Show list. Why does that not surprise me? Even reporting baby names has become "fake news." The Sun has the real list.

"You're too old to vote." -- Joe Biden; yesterday's town hall meeting; and that's no malarkey. His "deplorables" moment? Nope, media will ignore it. TDS.

Hillary: recalculating ... recalculating ... recalculating.

Bloomberg: $30 million later --- 6%; won't be on debate stage

Steyer: $50 million later -- 0%; will be on debate stage; spent $50 million in less than 3 months -- LA Times.
 

Market

Futures: another good day for the market? Indices trending green. 

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. 

Jobs, link here, November jobs:

• nonfarm payrolls:
• prior: 128,000
• consensus forecast: 180,000
• actual: 266,000
• unemployment rate:
• prior: 3.6%
• consensus forecast: 3.6%
• actual:3.5%
• manufacturing payrolls:
• prior: -36,000
• consensus forecast: 15,000
• actual: 54,000

Factory orders rebound in October -- multiple sources. From US News -- recession is just around the corner --

New orders for U.S.-made goods rebounded in October after two straight monthly declines, lifted by rising demand for machinery and transportation equipment, but gains were likely to be limited amid persistently weak business confidence.

Factory goods orders increased 0.3% also as bookings for computers and electronic products rose, the Commerce Department said on Thursday. Data for September was revised down to show orders dropping 0.8% instead of falling 0.6% was previously reported. October's gain in factory orders was in line with economists' expectations.

Canadian banks: Canadian banks shed staff as troubles grow for indebted consumers .... well, what would one expect in a country closed for business? Over at Financial Times -- and if you can't trust the Financial Times, who can you trust? Behind a paywall, but I will post a bit from the story later.

Oil

Confused: there are two memes out there --

• oil is dead;
• long live oil

I don't get it (well, actually I do, but ...). The media narrative is that "oil is dead" and yet the data suggests otherwise. The mainstream business media seems to be all agog over Saudi Arabian oil but non-business media seem to suggest oil is dead, notwithstanding that global demand for crude oil is at all time highs. Whatever. And get this ... WTI is trending toward $60. If US oil can't make money on $55-oil, maybe they can on $60 oil ...

More proof of confused narrative? Reuters -- Norway ramps up western Europe's largest oilfield as oil's future questioned. Can you say, "Johan Sverdrup"? Obviously I can't. I've been calling it the "John Sverdrup" oil field all this time; even my link at the sidebar at the right is incorrect. I track the oil field here.

EVs: the fad seems to be waning. Interest in China dropped off a cliff after government ended subsidies; video  of long line of Teslas waiting to charge  at California charging station went viral this past week; companies no longer reporting EV sales on a monthly basis; at best we will get quarterly data; 

Headlines on same page over at Rigzone:

• shale frack spread rebound hopes fade -- do frack spreads matter?
  
• North American shale primed for growth despite possible oil price declines.

EPD: a blue chip among MLPs. MoneyShow. "Ad" disguised as a news story. Ignore.

Kinder Morgan: plans to spend $2.4 billion on expansion projects and joint ventures in 2020;

• headline says it all; not much more to the story
• backlog: $4.1 billion in capital projects 
• CAPEX: plans to spend upwards of $3 billion each year on organic investment opportunities
• previously posted: will sell its Canadian subsidiary to Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline Corp for $2.5 billion by 1H20
• completed the $3.46 billion sale of the Trans Mountain assets and expansion project to the Canadian government in 3Q18

XOM: days as dog of the Dow are over -- Bank of America; some analysts think XOM could do well in 2020 based on Permian projections. Link.

Shale investing: a lot of misstatements (outright lies?) but the article does provide a nice update for those looking to invest in shale operators.

These five companies had breakeven prices lower than $26 per barrel at lateral lengths of 7,560 to 10,500:

• EOG Resources
• Pioneer Natural Resources
• Concho Resources
• Exxon Mobil unit XTO Energy
• Chevron

This writer doesn't understand Saudi Arabia or Saudi Aramco or the IPO either.

What Condition Is My Condition In?

********************************************

The Book Page

From The Vikings: A History, Robert Ferguson, c. 2009.

I checked this book out at the library two weeks ago; finished it; loved it. Returned the book to the library and then bought my own copy through Amazon. Re-reading it again; reading it slowly.

We all know the story of Charlemagne, 8th century Europe. For me, I was never aware what drove his desire to expand his empire. Either that was not taught when I was studying world history in middle school (?) or I completely missed it.

It was all about religion, Christianity to be specific:

• converting the barbarians/heathens of the north and northeast to Christianity; and,
• pushing the Muslims out of Europe, particularly the Iberian peninsula

I always thought his expansion was secular in nature. Not at all.

I was curious which Roman Catholic "sect" was most prominent at this time. I knew all of this at one time, but had forgotten. During my USAF tour of England some years ago, mostly Yorkshire, I visited any number of monastery ruins, got the t-shirt and the books, and learned as much as I could, much of which I have now forgotten. A quick google/wiki search suggests it was the Benedictines during the Charlemagne/Frankish rule.

By the way, that's where I first "met" St Bede. His works provided me a number of passwords at the time -- which I no longer use.