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Saturday, April 17, 2010

Recession. What Recession?

API reports that US gasoline production broke record in March.

If this is the worst recession since the depression, I would hate to see a "good" economy. No one could keep up.

By the way, this article references the Bakken as part of the reason for this record being broken. Very interesting.

Two quotes from the article:

"US refineries produced more gasoline in March -- an average 9.3 million b/d -- than any previous month on record....Gasoline deliveries, which is how API measures demand, averaged 9.2 million b/d, more than any previous March."

"The Bakken formation has been a marvelous change. We've seen North Dakota climb to fourth in the nation in terms of production...US oil production was an average 5.5 million b/d for a second consecutive month in March...the improvement was confined to the Lower 48 states, where production climbed 1.7% to an average 4.8 million b/d from 4.7 million b/d a year earlier.  Production in Alaska declined 3% to an average 688,000 b/d from March 2009"s average 709,000 b/d."

Stories From Around the Oil Patch

News from around the oil patch:

1. Taxable sales continue to increase in oil counties fueled by the energy sector. Taxable sales increased 10 to 13% across various sectors across the state.

2. Dickinson company pursuing a 100-man camp. The Dickinson Press, like many newspapers-on-line, have open access the day the stories are published, but then require a subscription after the date has passed. I believe the Dickinson Press subscription is free; just sign up for a password. Others, such as the Wall Street Journal, release a small number of articles for free, but most require a subscription. If you can't get to these articles easily, don't spend too much time trying. If they have important news more than the headline, I will try to include that in the blurb. Also, Google searches will generally lead you to a "free" copy.

3. EPA to study fracturing in North Dakota. Don't worry. It will take at least two years for the study, and then lots of wrangling. But this site takes a lot of my time, and if the EPA shuts down the Bakken, then I shut down the site, and spend more time doing more useful things. Smile. I'm not concerned. As oil approaches $100/bbl, I doubt there will be much enthusiasm for shutting down domestic production, although under the current administration, nothing would surprise me.