Unemployment Plunges; Labor Shortage to Worsen Due to US Energy Revolution with Approval of Keystone XL: President Says Energy Revolution Unprecedented; Keystone XL Was a Godsend for Jobs; Just The Beginning; Welders, Geologists In Short Supply

No, we did not see that headline. Rather, we saw the permitorium and the killing of Keystone XL.

Meanwhile, the real headline: Labor Crunch to Worsen for Australia's Burgeoning LNG Industry

The world is entering a "golden age of gas" with Australia set to be a key contributor to it.
With seven world-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in the country currently under construction, it is clear that Australia is positioning itself to emerge as the leading player in the global LNG market.

Despite Australia's ascendancy in the global LNG sector, concerns about the country's ability to attract and retain a skilled and capable workforce have started surfacing.

Yup.

Australia, unlike the US, is going full-steam ahead to provide jobs for its citizens. Good for them.

From wiki, a map of natural gas pipelines criss-crossing the United States.  The Sandhills in Nebraska are in the western half of the state.

Monday Links; Nine (9) New Permits; Wells Coming Off Confidential List; Apple Milestone: HAL and RIG Freed From Further BP-Leak Liability

Daily operations report

Williston temporary bypass on west side: completed! $10 million project and it's a temporary fix. Wow.

Active rigs in North Dakota: 199

Nine (9) new permits, Williston Basin, North Dakota

• Operators: Whiting (4), Crescent Point Energy (2), MRO (2), Zenergy
• Fields: Sandrocks (McKenzie), Little Muddy (Williams), Sanish (Mountrail), Big Bend (Mountrail), Alger (Mountrail).

Crescent Point has a permit for a wildcat in Williams County. 

These wells come off confidential list today (weekend plus Monday)

• 19796, drl, CLR, Magnuson 1-19H, Hanson oil field,  Williams County, s2/12; cum  --
• 21176, drl, Arsenal Energy, Anthony Robert 10-3H, Stanley, s2/12; cum 25K 6/12;
• 21965, drl, BR, Ole Boe 41-14MBH, Haystack Butte, McKenzie County,
• 22263, drl, Crescent Point Energy, CPEUSC McQuarters 14-23-158N-101W, Little Muddy, Williams,
• 18446, drl, Petro-Hunt, Fort Berthold 152-93-18B-19-1H, Four Bears, McKenzie, s2/12;
• 21739, drl, Zavanna, Kepner 9-4 1H, Glass Bluff, McKenzie, s2/12;
• 22005, 3,050, BEXP, Melissa 31-30 1H, East Fork, Williams, t5/12; cum 33K 6/12;
• 22142, 287, CLR, Kostelecky 1-1H, wildcat, Billings, t5/12; cum 15K 6/12;
• 22201, 996, Hess, LK-Dolezal-145-97-0805H-1, Little Knife, Dunn, t5/12; cum 46K 6/12;
• 19678, 2,186, Helis, Moberg 15-18H, Croff (just west of Grail), McKenzie, t5/12; cum 40K 6/12;
• 20041, 606, Whiting, Merilyn Smith 12-7TFH, Sanish, Mountrail, t2/12; cum 30K 6/12;
• 20762, 817, Zenergy, Arnstad 3-10H, Painted Woods, Williams, t5/12; cum 19K 6/12;
• 21075, 450, Whiting, BSMU 1807, Big Stick, Billings, a Madison well; cum 15K 6/12;
• 21092, 436, QEP Energy, MHA 6-05-06H-149-90, Deep Water Creek Bay, McLean, t7/12; cum --
• 21815, drl, BEXP, Richard 8-5 1H, Banks, McKenzie; in the heart of the Bakken; s2/12;
• 21890, 322, Whiting, Pam Locken 21-22TFH, Sanish, Mountrail, s4/12; cum 18K 6/12;
• 22148, drl, BEXP, Albert B. 27-34 1H, Nameless, McKenzie, just west of Alexander;  s2/12; cum 32K 6/12; 
• 22158, 996, CLR, Kuhn 2-12H, Camp, McKenzie; in the heart of the Bakken; t5/12; cum 49K 6/12; 

Producing wells completed:

• 20436, 1,277, BR, Scott 31-36MBH, Murphy Creek, t11/11; cum 23K 6/12;
• 22255, 255, Samson Resources, Longhorn 9-4-158-99H, t6/12; cum 5K 6/1;2

Another man who misses the point

From the Sacramento Bee, of all places.

The president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis says the economic activity going on in North Dakota's booming oil patch is different than anywhere else in the country.

Narayana Kocherlakota's comment came following a tour last week of the area between Minot and Williston where various companies are drilling for oil. 

The soundbite he left North Dakotans with:

But Kockerlakota tells The Williston Herald ( http://bit.ly/P552DU) that because the population of western North Dakota is relatively small, the boom isn't affecting the nation's economy as much as some people think.

Okay. I'm glad we got that cleared up.

From the Rapid City Journal, this observation from same individual:

Kockerlakota also noted that western North Dakota's boom will at some point become a bust. He said people should be prepared for that to happen at some point by investing what they have now.

Wow, Debbie Downer. He needs to get out and about a bit more. No wonder the banks are afraid to lend money to developers in the Bakken. Maybe he should visit General Motors, Solyndra. I'm not sure what he means by "at some point" and "a bust." If it were only small mom-and-pop companies setting up shop in the Bakken, I would have concerns, but the complexes that Schlumberger, Baker Hughes, Sanjel, Halliburton, et al, have put in suggest they plan to stay for at least 30 years. The pipeline infrastructure and the railroad infrastructure isn't being put in place for a two-year boom. I will tag this to follow up in December, 2030.  But yes, if the world quits using oil for transportation, natural gas for electricity production, and plastics, the Bakken will be a bust.

Investors Aren't Missing The Point

Earlier last week, one could have bought AAPL for less than $630/share. Today, I see it is up another $12 in a down market, and is now approaching $660/share. Quite incredible. See disclaimer. I own no shares in Apple. I own a lot of their products, however.

Daily links

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/08/19/4739152/federal-reserve-bank-officials.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/08/19/4739152/federal-reserve-bank-officials.html#storylink=cpy

Chinese big four banks increase lending; Chines banks lend at behest of the government; a long, long time ago, it was pointed out that with all the single men in China, the country needs to keep them employed; just saying

Price of WTI oil flirting with $98 -- no link; dynamic; my simple thinking -- no difference between "$100 oil" and "$98 oil"

RBN Energy: future of crude and NGL

A personal note for archival purposes

Earlier today, about 1:40 p.m. local time, we (my wife, our two granddaughters, and I) were driving from San Pedro to Long Beach/Huntington Beach, California.

To get there we need to cross two huge bridges: one over the Port of Los Angeles, and one over the Port of Long Beach (both in San Pedro Harbor).

The first bridge is the Vincent Thomas bridge.  For unknown reasons, the traffic was backed up. Then we noticed a helicopter flying over the area, making numerous passes.

At the top of the bridge was a fire truck; three of the men were standing around; the fourth had binoculars and was looking at the water beneath the bridge.

The helicopter continued to circle. The granddaughters and I discussed the possibilities. It was not a police helicopter (not black and white) and it was not a rescue helicopter (too small, and no hospital markings), so most likely a news helicopter.

Of the many possibilities suggested, I made the last suggestion: someone jumped from the bridge. I was being less than serious.

After the top of the bridge, the traffic went back to two lanes and we were our way. 

Tonight I see this story:

Tony Scott, the 68 y/o director of "Top Gun" jumped off the bridge.

That hit me like a ton of bricks for any number of reasons. Truly, very, very sad.

For investors only: see disclaimer

I didn't care about the story (BP vs XOM) but I was surprised by this, particularly that in bold:

BP, on the other hand, has been reeling ever since the 2010 rig explosion heard round the world. The company's ongoing court battles with Deepwater Horizon partners Transocean and Halliburton  have not gone its way. BP paid nearly $1 billion to Transocean this past quarter to settle accident claims, and Transocean and Halliburton have long since been freed from any additional liability. Continued uncertainty over Deepwater Horizon's long-term impact has kept BP's valuation low, but investors may take solace from ExxonMobil's highly successful recovery from the Alaskan Valdez disaster.

By the way, I had bought shares in XOM just days or weeks before the Valdez incident. I have said many, many times, that turned out to be a very good story, from an investor's point of view. It was very, very interesting how that all turned out.

Apple: Most Valuable Company -- Ever

Exceeds Microsoft's value in 1999 when it was a bubble!