Huge Thanks to Carpe Diem -- Williston Wages Compared

Updates

May 6, 2012: at the end of the original post I said: "My hunch is that the average Williston wage earner also pays at the highest federal tax rate."

At least one reader took issue with that comment and that reader was correct. I did not correctly articulate what I was trying to say. Fortunately today's Boston Globe said what I was trying to say:

The Buffett Rule - named for billionaire Warren Buffett, one of the measure’s most vocal proponents - would have generated additional revenue by requiring people who earn more than $1 million per year to pay effective federal tax rates of at least 30 percent. Because capital gains on investments, a major source of income for many affluent people, are taxed at just 15 percent, it is possible for high earners to pay lower effective rates than members of the middle class.

What I should have said below is that it is my hunch that most blue collar workers in the Bakken are paying the highest effective rates for their income level. And if I'm still saying it incorrectly, I assume most folks know what I'm trying to say.

Original Post

The other day I linked a story regarding average wages of $71,000 for Williston workers.

"Anonymous" was curious what the pre-boom wage number was.

I said I was curious how the Williston wage compares with cities nationwide.

CarpeDiem provides the answer. A quick search suggests Williston may lead the nation in average wages for workers. This is the link to the original Williston Herald story.

Go to the link to see the full list, but at $70,000, Williston leads San Francisco (#2) at $65K; and Washington, DC (#3) at $63K.

There will be a lot of comments about the high cost of housing in Williston. Before we go down that rabbit trail, it ain't exactly cheap to live in San Francisco or Washington, DC, where property taxes and local taxes are additional factors to consider. 

My hunch is that the average Williston wage earner also pays at the highest federal tax rate.

Natural Gas Rigs Might Not Be Drilling For Natural Gas

Isn't this a most interesting story?

Link here.

The number of U.S. natural-gas rigs is “misleading” because some are actually drilling for oil and liquids, Pioneer (PXD) Natural Resources Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Scott Sheffield said.

There are probably only a couple of hundred drilling rigs exploring in pure or “dry” gas fields, Sheffield said in an interview at a Hart Energy conference in Fort Worth, Texas today. In Texas, some rigs are classified as drilling for gas because state rules allow operators to hold more acreage with a gas well, Sheffield said. 

Something tells me the state regulators will sort this out ASAP.

Until then, natural gas rigs may be drilling for something other than natural gas: holding leases by production?


Crazy, Gnarls Barkley

Data Disconnects -- Oil Prices -- OPEC Production Climbs to Highest Level In THREE YEARS -- Price of Brent Oil Hits Three-Week High

Earlier this week, a CNBC talking head predicted oil was likely to go under $100 by the end of the week.

Not only did WTI not go under $100, Brent hit a three-week high.

Oil rose to the highest level in more than three weeks in New York as the biggest gain in U.S. consumer spending in more than a year and better-than-projected earnings overshadowed lower-than-forecast economic growth. 

Now this:

Oil output in April by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries climbed to the highest level in more than three years, a Bloomberg survey showed. Production increased 305,000 barrels, or 1 percent, to an average 31.405 million barrels a day from a revised 31.1 million in March, according to the survey of oil companies, producers and analysts. Output rose to the highest level since October 2008.

Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s biggest producer, bolstered output by 115,000 barrels a day to 9.82 million this month. The gain left production at the highest level since August. 

There's a name for this: -- the Red Queen Race. 

Nine (9) New Permits -- The Williston Basin, North Dakota, USA

Daily activity report, April 27, 2012 --

Operators: MRO (3), BEXP (3), Oasis, EOG, XTO

Fields: Banks (McKenzie), Avoca (Williams), Tyrone (Williams), Parshall (Mountrail), Bailey (Dunn), Dollar Joe (Williams)

Five wells released from "tight hole" status; three were completed, including:

• 20124, 802, Whiting, Brueni 21-16TFH, Stark
• 20992, 490, Petro-Hunt, Sylte Mineral Trust 157-101-25B-36-1H, Dunn
• 21358, 3,863, BEXP, Clifford Bakke 26-35 2H, Mountrail
• 20547, DRL, CLR, Kukla 2-16H, Dunn,
• 21402, DRL, Hess, BB-Belquist-150-95-1011H-2, McKenzie

No Blogging Until Later -- Several Items Added Yesterday