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Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Apple Not Environmentally Friendly Enough For San Francisco: Will Ban Municipal Purchases of Macs

Even with all those solar arrays, it appears Apple is not environmentally friendly enough for San Francisco. Sad.

I am rushed due to limited wi-fi while traveling so this post may be completely wrong. Go to link to get the story.

Six (6) New Permits -- The Williston Basin, North Dakota, USA -- Daily Activity Report -- July 11, 2012

Daily activity report -- July 11, 2012 -- pending

Permits
  • Operators:Newfield (3), Whiting, Helis, Oasis
  • Fields: Westberg (McKenzie), Bell, Grail, Bonetrail
Wells coming off confidential list:
  • 20057, 686, Hess, Duffy 15-34H, Ray, t5/12; cum 17K 5/12; 
  • 21570, 636, Slawson, Serpent Federal 1-36-31H, Van Hook, t5/12; cum 14K 5/12;
  • 21735, drl, American Eagle, Christianson 15-12-163-101, Colgan; s1/12; cum 7K 5/12; 
One producing well was completed:
  • 21287, 835, Hess, EN-Thronson-154-94-2029H-1, Mountrail, 

The Vikings Don't Mess Around -- Absolutely Nothing To Do With The Bakken

Norway imposes compulsory arbitration; oil to start flowing again for Statoil. I doubt we would see this in the US.

Actually, the state of Norway -- the government -- is the biggest shareholder in Statoil, currently owning about 67% of the company.  It should not come as a surprise that the largest shareholder was able to -- and did -- order both sides back to the bargaining table. Gee, I wonder how the bargaining will turn out?

IPs: Marked "Improvement" Year-Over-Year --- Filloon

Link at SeekingAlpha.com here.
Brigham was the first to use 40 stage fracs, and because of this had 9 of the top 10 IP rates in the Williston Basin. Other producers have started to get more aggressive and because of this, I believe we will get significant revisions upward in estimated ultimate recoveries or EURs.
I agree. For newbies, when I first started blogging about the Bakken, EURs were in the 400,000 range. I noted a gradual increase to 600,000 and some corporate presentations suggest 900,000 bbl-EURs in the best Bakken. I am convinced we will see some 1,000,000 bbl-EURs.

For newbies, check out EOG's Austin wells in the Parshall oil field.

Two-For-One Deal: Bakken Oil Potential; North American Energy Potential

It seems I've posted this PDF file before, but I can't remember. Doesn't hurt to post it again. Something to read this evening.  Sent to me by Don.

This is a new PDF that I have not seen before. Again, I have not yet read all of it but what little I've read, looks very, very interesting.  Also, sent to me by Don.

Reminder: Bakken Housing

Link to their website.

This was the comment they sent me:
Bakken Residence Suites has the nicest accommodations in the Bakken region. We are expanding with 30 new deluxe 2 bedroom cabins. Taking reservations now. http://www.bakkenresidencesuites.com Ph 701-509-6331
One of many options in the oil patch, I assume.

China: #2 Economic Power -- Absolutely Nothing To Do With The Bakken

Some time ago I was taken to task when I suggested it was only a matter of time -- very short time -- when China would overtake the United States as the #1 economic power in the world. In fact, by my criteria, it already has. I use the instantaneous slope of the curve as my criteria. Be that as it may. China is now #2 by generally agreed-upon criteria.
Two years after eclipsing Japan as the world's second-largest economy, China stole the number-two spot on the Fortune 500 list of the biggest global companies from its Asian rival. 
Two data points:
Although the US still hosts the lion's share of Global 500 corporations, no country has lost more companies during the last decade. There are 132 US-headquartered businesses on this year's list, down from 197 a decade ago.
And,
China added 12 companies to the list this year, while the number of European firms fell to 161 amid the eurozone debt crisis, from 172 in 2011.

"One of the more remarkable shifts has been in the number of Chinese companies on the list," Fortune said, pointing out there were only 11 Chinese firms on the Global 500 in 2002, while the number of Japanese companies has fallen from 88.
China has 73 companies on the list compared to Japan's 68. 

Back-of-the-envelope calculations: Japan's drop from 88 to 68 is a 23% drop. The US drop from 197 to 132 is a 33% drop. Wow. In that period of time (one decade, China has gone from 11 companies to 73 companies, close to 300% increase).  If 30 US companies drop off the list and 30 Chinese companies make the list, China is #1 based on this one criterion.

I think China still uses a lot of coal.

Wisconsin Rejects ObamaCare -- Absolutely Nothing To Do With The Bakken -- Absolutely Nothing

I think ObamaCare offers investors and Harvard's School of Business one of the biggest opportunities they will ever, ever see in their lifetime. This is a huge story and will affect all Americans and every segment of the economy. It truly is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for everyone.

I was talking to a physician friend the other night who is nearing retirement. He and his wife strongly support ObamaCare and are willing to pay higher taxes to help it work. They are huge Obama supporters. We both agree we like the "good" parts of the bill (neither of us has read the entire bill; nor, I doubt, has anyone). I was most concerned with the "cost" side of the ledger. They pretty much blew that off as "it is what it is." And, that is accurate, "it is what it is."

The one takeaway: he felt costs would be held down because "there are only so many providers in the county." That fact just increased your wait time for an appointment. The problem with socialized medicine is that so many visits are unnecessary. I saw that every day in the US Air Force which has socialized medicine. I see that with those on Medicare who apparently have unlimited access for second, third, and fourth opinions for imaginative somatic disorders.

With that, this page will simply be a collection of stories and links as we chronicle the biggest government program since the Depression-era programs.

Physicians: 83% have considered quitting because of ObamaCare. There are very few issues in any democracy in which more than 80% agree. 

The rich are fleeing Maryland due to high taxes; increased taxes on the rich resulted in a net loss for Maryland. Wait until ObamaCare kicks in. Some states are going to opt out.
Texas, Florida, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Mississippi and Louisiana have rejected two key provisions of the law, according to americanhealthline.com.
My hunch is that this is only the beginning. Note: Wisconsin!

Most unions across the nation have obtained a waiver to delay ObamaCare. It will be interesting to see how many opt out and just pay the penalty. If I recall correctly, many major corporations were given a waiver to delay implementation. As noted above, this is a huge opportunity for investors and MBAs: a whole new cottage industry will sprout -- how to circumvent ObamaCare, and how to profit through ObamaCare. Investors, scam artists, and speculators are going to figure out how to tap some of the trillions of dollar off the top of ObamaCare.  Should be entertaining to watch. Maybe a whole new blog.

Another One Bites the Dust: Scranton, PA -- Absolutely Nothing To Do With The Bakken -- Absolutely Nothing

I'm posting this story only because the article uses a word that I use as one of my headings.
Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty cut everyone's pay -- including his own -- on Friday, saying the state's sixth-largest city is broke because the City Council blocked his proposed tax increase. Doherty, a Democrat, warned nearly 400 police officers, firefighters and public works employees about his doomsday plan, prompting a Lackawanna County judge to order the city to pay full wages to all employees, citing that it is a violation of their contracts. Hours later, the payday envelopes went out, and, despite the judge's order, they were light.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. The judge says the folks must be paid in full. Hello! There's not enough money in the bank. I suppose you give full pay until the money runs out, starting by last name alphabetically.

Business Climate Survey, CNBC: North Dakota The Headline Story -- Takes 5th

Link here to Yahoo News.
North Dakota, driven by its expanding oil economy, ranked five in CNBC's sixth annual study, "America's Top States for Business.
The announcement on CNBC's "Squawk Box" is part of the TV network's day-long countdown of the top five states in its exclusive and influential study, ranking the nation's 50 states in 10 competitive categories.
The top state, as well as the complete rankings, will be revealed by the study's creator Scott Cohn on "Closing Bell" at approximately 4:30 p.m. ET.
North Dakota, which tied for 13th in 2011, knocked Colorado from the fifth spot in the 2012 rankings. The state scored high in several categories, including economy. 
Going from 13th to 5th, North Dakota knocked a lot of states down a notch or two.

Of the top ten states, six are in the North Dakota to Texas corridor. Texas is #1.

More at this CNBC video

California, not surprisingly, is fortieth.

Energy Links: ISA and RBN Energy

Link to Independent Stock Analysis. My site was noted. Nice.

From ISA: if OPEC is helping pricing for Canadian oil sands, it has to be a good news story for the Bakken also.

RBN Energy: when will the WTI to Brent discount end -- if ever?

Six (6) New Permits -- The Williston Basin, North Dakota, USA

Daily activity report, July 10, 2012 --

New permits
  • Operators: EOG (4 -- one pad); CLR (2)
  • Fields: Spotted Horn (McKenzie), St Demetrius (Billings)
Coming off confidential list today:
  • 21556, drl, QEP, MHA 3-31-30H-150-91, Heart Butte, s1/12;
  • 21943, 1,654, Newfield, Inga 150-99-11-2-3H, Tobacco Garden, t6/12; cum--
Comment: That Newfield Inga well completes a nice trifecta. Along with this one, two other nice Newfield Inga wells were reported yesterday:
  • 21942, 1,023, Newfield, Inga 150-99-11-2-10H, McKenzie,
  • 21941, 1,876, Newfield, Inga 150-99-11-2-2H, McKenzie, 
Whiting canceled:
  • 21625, PNC, Whiting, Havelka 21-15TFH, Stark