Chesapeake, Michigan, North Dakota -- Will The Dots Connect?

I had not read the story until Don sent me a link. The Justice Department investigating a Big Oil company run by a white man was a "dog bites man" story as far as I was concerned. Nothing new, nothing interesting, nada, zip, zilch.

But when Don sends me a link, it's generally (okay, "always") worth reading. He seldom tells me why he sent me the link, but "reading between the lines" sometime provides a clue.

Same with this story. As noted, I had not read it, and I had not planned to read it: it was another "dog bites man" story.

But, with Don's link, I quickly scanned the linked article. I can't follow all the legalese, but wow -- what I did follow -- seems identical to the story regarding Chesapeake in southwestern North Dakota: lots of acreage bought; lots of discussion about potential; reality sinks in; and .... then ...

I still don't plan to follow the story until the ChesapeakeBakken plays out. (Funny: I had no intention of following the Keystone XL either until the pipeline became a symbol of this administration's attitude toward Big Oil.)

Hey, by the way, I was thinking about Big Oil tonight on the way home from Huntington Beach, California (maybe more on that later), and seeing the price of gasoline at $4.15 for regular when it had been about $3.75 when I first got out here two weeks ago. The initial run-up was unexplained; the recent run-up is being blamed on the Richmond, California, Chevron refinery fire. It's interesting how folks (at least some folks, not me) complain about Big Oil [for the record, I love Big Oil]. If folks only knew the challenges of drilling for oil in roadside-bomb-Iraq; the permitorium perpetrated by Washington; the challenges of a robust pipeline system; etc., etc., etc., maybe they would marvel at how well the industry actually does. I am amazed. One refinery fire and pundits suggest gasoline could to to $5.00/gallon before the summer ends. Think of all the things that could happen within the oil and gas industry worldwide, and yet, oil is delivered to refineries, and gasoline is delivered to your corner convenience story operated by .... well, by whoever operates them -- VP Biden knows, even if you don't --- and prices appear to be acceptable to most Americans. I base that on the fact that Californians, despite $4.15 gasoline drive at 75 miles/hour on the freeway, and pick-up trucks carrying nothing in their boxes, stop and start at intersections as if gasoline was still 30 cents/gallon.

Speaking of which: when gasoline is $3.75/gallon, most folks just say they are paying $4.00 for a gallon of gasoline. When they start paying more than $4.35 a gallon, they will feel as if they are paying $5.00/gallon. Just saying. JITFNE.

Wow, I'm in a great mood tonight. It appears CVX hit a new all-time high today. In 2010, CVX was paying 68 cents/share dividend; it is now paying 90 cents/share.