Reuters Has A Picture of Stanley Oil Well

Reuters, yes, that Reuters, has a story on on-shore drilling with a picture of a Stanley oil well.

It looks like a pumper that could be anywhere (except the gulf) but if Reuters says it is near Stanley, it probably is. If you can't trust Reuters, who can you trust?

BusinessWeek: ND Oil Patch Off the Chart

BusinessWeek, yes, that BusinessWeek, says North Dakota's oil patch is "off the chart."

I thought I was the only one who was irrationally exuberant over the North Dakota oil industry.

For Investors Who Use The US Post Office ....

... it might be time to stock up on "forever" stamps which can still be purchased for forty-four cents.

Rates are gonna go up.....

Global Warming

Let's see, last time I checked this is July.

I see that the Beartooth Pass is closed due to snow. The pass is located at the state line between Montana and Wyoming according to the news report: that covers a lot of territory.

This Probably Should Not Be Advertised

Budget surplus for North Dakota is now estimated at $800 million.

This is probably something that should not be advertised. It is too tempting for the Federal government to redistribute money from those states with a budget surplus (only one that I know of) to those states with a budget deficit (about 49; some worse than others, with California, Illinois and New York on the critical list).

Again, these links tend to break soon and may require passwords to access archives.

NOG Reports a Couple of Great Wells

I'm traveling so my notes will not be as long as I would like.

NOG presents an update with two great wells: Stallion and Sniper, 2,753, and 3,784, respectively. Of the many opportunities to invest in the Bakken, the companies I tend to accumulate shares in are CLR, NOG and ENB. Others that I like, but just not enough cash to go around: KOG, St Mary, WLL, EOG, maybe BEXP (a good trading stock?), MDU.

Again, we all know the discussions regarding IPs, 24-hour flowbacks, etc., so for newbies, the above production rates will decline horrifically. Having said that, the Stallion well has produced a total of 119,166 barrels of oil equivalent ("BOE") over 125 production days, according to the press release. At $50/bbl, that is about $6 million and should just about pay for the well. NOG holds a working interest in both wells: cash up front and that's about it for NOG expenses.

I have held shares in MDU in the past and will do so in the future.

For Investors

Someone wrote me a couple days ago to point out he had not seen any stories in the media/CNBC about companies downgrading their second quarter earnings estimates.

This morning, he sends me a very interesting story from Bloomberg (if you can't trust Bloomberg, who can you trust -- that Bloomberg). Here's the lead paragraph:

Analysts are raising earnings estimates for U.S. companies at the fastest rate since at least 2004 just as stocks post the biggest losses in 16 months on concern that the economy will sink back into a recession. 

I wrote just last week that with the market way down, I hope investors are accumulating shares in their favorite companies.  For me, it's energy and telecommunication companies, but there are probably opportunities everywhere.

Also, I posted the following a few days ago:

For a system allegedly being strangled in its bed, U.S. capitalism seems to be in astonishingly robust shape.

Numbers published by the Federal Reserve a few weeks ago show that corporate profit margins have just hit record levels. Indeed. Andrew Smithers, the well-regarded financial consultant and author of "Wall Street Revalued," calculates from the Fed's latest Flow of Funds report that corporate profit margins rocketed to 36% in the first quarter. Since records began in 1947 they have never been this high. The highest they got under Ronald Reagan was 30%.

I am still on the road, so my postings may be a bit fewer in number (and quality).