Confidential Wells Coming Off Confidential List; Petro-Hunt With a Straw Into the Tyler; BEXP With A Nice Well; Whiting With a Very Nice Pronghorn Well; OXY USA With A Good Well;

RBN Energy with a nice story on crude-by-rail, part II. 
RBN Energy with a look at the Jones Act: maritime act raising the cost of coastal shipping. 

Bakken Operations

Active rigs in North Dakota: 190, steady.

The following wells came off the confidential list over the long weekend and on Tuesday; Saturday, Sunday, and Monday reported below; Tuesday tomorrow.

21308, drl, KOG, Koala 14-32-29-3H, Banks,
22060, 621, Whiting, Zalesky 31-18PH, North Creek, t/4/12; cum 24K 8/12;
22104, 541, CLR, Morison 1-14H, Bully, t7/12; cum 12K 8/12;
22540, 291, CLR, Jarlsberg 1-25H, Wildrose, t7/12; cum 7K 8/12;
22597, drl, Gadeco, Alexander 25-36H, Epping,
22623, drl, BEXP, Heen 26-35 3TFH, Todd,
20580, 540, OXY USA, Terry Dvorak 1-15-22H-142-95, Murphy Creek, t4/12; cum 12K 8/12;
22081, drl, BEXP, Heen 26-35 2H, Todd,
22166, drl, Samson Resources, Outback 25-36-162-97H, Bluffton,
22167, 1,545, Whiting, Frank 44-7PH, Bell, t4/12; cum 85K 8/12;
22512, drl, BEXP, Lonnie 15-22 2TFH, Ragged Butte,
22545, drl, G3 Operating, J Haugen 1-9-4H, Climax,
21148, 809, CLR, Pasadena 1-11H, Banks, t7/12; cum 38K 8/12;
22291, 2,650, BEXP, Arvid Anderson 14-11 3H, Alger, t9/12; cum --
21981, drl, CLR, Alpha 1-14H, Camp,
22410, drl, Slawson, Ann Nelson [Federal] 3-31-30H, Ross,
22564, 80, Petro-Hunt, Wollan 152-96-27B-1-3, Clear Creek, a Minnelusa well;  t5/12; cum 7K 8/12;
22569, 272, Whiting, Stecker 23-3, Hoot Owl, a Red River well; t7/12; cum 11K 8/12;
20424, 1,156, XTO, FBIR Grinnell 41X-1C, Heart Butte, t7/12; cum 6K 8/12;
21995, drl, Abraxas, Ravin 26-35-3H, North Fork,

COMMENT: Petro-Hunt's Minnelusa Wollan well (from the file report): a vertical well intended to test sand in the lower portion of the Tyler formation that appears to be oil on water. It was spudded April 9, 2012, and reached total depth of 7,857 feet on April 18, 2012." Nine days. Tyler formation.

It looks like the Tyler was about 80 feet thick at this location: top Tyler target - 7,597 feet; base Tyler target - 7,607 feet; base Tyler Sand target - 7,681 feet.

This well was not stimulated (not fracked).

[For archival purposes: Big Snowy/Otter - 7,697 feet, the top of the Lodgepole.]

The Frank 44-7PH well to date:

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
8-2012	14200	15270
7-2012	14893	16082
6-2012	15319	18378
5-2012	23160	24653
4-2012	17691	17412

The Pasadena 1-11H well to date:

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
8-2012	12597	15774
7-2012	20515	17865
6-2012	4135	1456

Petro-Hunt's Minnelusa Wollan well:

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
MINNELUSA	8-2012	31	1502	1322	232	18251	0	18034
MINNELUSA	7-2012	31	1855	2000	335	19545	0	19328
MINNELUSA	6-2012	30	2158	2084	75	17299	0	17088
MINNELUSA	5-2012	18	1639	1186	49	8636	0	8510

Fifteen (15) new permits:

• Operators: Petro-Hunt (9), KOG (3), Fidelity (2), Whiting
• Fields: Charlson (McKenzie), Sanish (Mountrail), Clear Creek (McKenzie), Moccasin Creek (Dunn)

Comments: I'm watching to see if any new permitting by OXY and/or Newfield; none today

The Benches

For those who are new to the site and coming across the phrase, "the lower benches" for the first time: here is a short blurb posted earlier this year. [The link is broken; I will try to find the link.]

Continental Resources provides great graphics of the Three Forks benches. Go to the Continental Resources website; click on the "For Investors" tab at the top of the page; then "Events and Presentations" tab at the top right; and click on any presentation you want. Slides 13 and 14 of the August corporate presentation shows the "benches."

In addition, there is a stand-alone post on CLR's Charlotte wells testing the hypothesis that there are four producing benches in the Three Forks formation.

Aerial Photos of the New Bypass North of Williston

Updates

Later, 11:38 pm: see comments below. The company working on designing this project is SRF, headquartered out of Minneapolis, MN, with regional offices in Fargo and Bismarck. Click here for link to their website. It appears it is easy to contact their principals by e-mail if interested in additional information. A huge "thank you" for the reader who took the time to send in this information.

Original Post

Readers can help us out on this one.

A reader was kind enough to send some incredible aerial photos of what I think is the "new" bypass road north of Williston as it comes to/crosses "2 & 85" about five miles north of Williston.

It's definitely not the 13-mile corner north of Williston (unless they completely eliminated the arc).

I don't think it's the corner at 60 Avenue NW because 60th Avenue NW is completely straight, and in the bottom-most photo one can see the county highway has a distinctive curve about a mile in the distance. It has to be 57th Street Northwest (my hunch is County Highway 6 is now 57th Street Northwest).

But about five miles north of Williston is County Highway 6, which has that distinctive curve about a mile east of "2 & 85."

So, I think this "brand new" intersection is about five miles north of Williston, where County Highway 6 intersects with "2 & 85." If so, I think the well at the intersection is:

• 22414, conf, Zenergy, Tufto 13-24H, Cow Creek,

I will be glad to let readers correct me.

Having said all that: look at the amount of asphalt used at the intersections: I can only imagine the engineering that was done to make this intersection stand up to all the truck traffic it's going to see.

Then, look at all the truck traffic.

And the crew camps.

Those who grew up in Williston, but who have long since left, will hardly recognize these amazing changes.

A huge thank you to the reader for sending these photos to be shared.

See comment below: the middle photo captures the location and early work on Love's Truck Stop.

If I am correct that this is County Highway 6 crossing "2 & 85" north of Williston: the four-lane divided highway is US Highway 2 and 85 running north - south from Williston, north of Williston about five miles on the way to Minot. The county highway is running west - east. In the bottom-most photo one is looking east off into the direction and the distinctive curve to the south about a mile in the distance.

One can see a new oil well / pad off to the right, in the southeast corner of the intersection.

The "13-mile corner" is about another seven or eight miles to the north (to the left) of the bottom-most photo.

Truckers must really appreciate this new bypass.

Nodding Donkeys In the Bakken, Eagle Ford, and the Utica

Link here to Bloomberg.

Data points later, maybe, except this one:

New wells in the Bakken formation of North Dakota and Montana generate enough pressure to flow on their own for as long as two years before pump jacks or other so-called artificial-lift equipment is needed, Jeffrey B. Hume, executive vice chairman of Continental Resources Inc., the dominant Bakken operator, said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. 

A little bit of hyperbole, perhaps. It depends.

Great News for Chevron in Ecuador

From the Wall Street Cheat Sheet:

According to the World Bank’s arbitration panel, Ecuador must pay Occidental Petroleum Corporation  $1.77 billion to resolve a contract dispute following the country’s canceling the firm’s oil concession in 2006. However, the government has already announced that it will not comply with any ruling it does not like. So there.

If there's ever a "final" judgement against Chevron in Ecuador, Chevron can take a similar attitude. I assume. What goes around, comes around. 

Random Update of CLR's Development of the Three Forks Formation in The Killdeer Area: Provided By a Reader; Did Stimulating a New Well Increase Production at a Neighboring Well?

A reader sent the following information in as a comment. Some folks don't read the comments, but this is an excellent piece of work and needs broader reader exposure, so I am re-posting it here.

One of the reasons it has been difficult to follow development of the Three Forks is because the names of the well may not indicate it is a Three Forks well, though that seems to be changing. (Whiting does a great job with the "TF" and "PH" designation, for example.) The next challenge will be identifying 2nd, 3rd, and 4th benches of the Three Forks. I don't know if CLR's goal to re-define the stratigraphic limits of the Bakken Pool will get to that degree of granularity; if it did, the information might show up in the file reports. Otherwise, our only recourse may be the corporate presentations. 

The following: Continental's effort to develop the TF in the Killdeer area. From west of Killdeer (Roadrunner) to the North Killdeer Mountains a swath about 4 or 5 miles wide the reader found 26 wells producing from the TF.


Continental Three Forks Well Production Through August 2012
From west of Killdeer to North Killdeer Mountains
File Number -- Name -- IP (bbls oil) -- Production Completion Date

• 16943 Bice 1-29H 516 121,257 5/9/2008
• 17153 Skachenko 1-31H 456 111,800 11/20/2008
• 17201 Mittlestadt 1-20H 956 165,118 11/2/2008
• 17211 Gale 1-32H 240 91,431 8/16/2008
• 17372 Dolezal 1-5H 426 95,762 8/27/2009
• 17398 Kukla 1-21H 603 247,500 5/18/2009
• 18351 Clover 1-3H 1,125 201,168 2/9/2010
• 17530 Hartman 1-28H 780 157,777 8/11/2010
• 18636 Bang 2-33T 633 106,078 4/26/2010
• 18796 Roadrunner 1-15H 761 155,030 8/13/2010
• 18859 Carson Peak 3-35H 680 274,945 4/10/2011
• 18860 Morris 2-26H 517 127,687 4/7/2011
• 19012 Bonneville 2-23H 365 82,290 12/5/2010
• 19013 Bridger 2-14H 399 97,680 12/4/2010
• 19020 Meadowlark 3-6H 744 60,921 4/24/2011
• 19023 Skachenko 2-31H 726 76,845 4/24/2011
• 19156 Brandvik 2-25H 282 162,272 10/1/2010
• 19968 Pletan 2-18H 757 107,378 7/18/2011
• 20208 Hawkinson 2-27H 960 166,619 9/7/2011
• 20212 Whitman 3-34H 482 64,165 9/6/2011
• 20547 Kukla 2-16H 744 45,108 3/8/2012
• 20548 Candee 2-29H 356 55,313 3/28/2012
• 20806 Dvirnak 2-7H 744 85,606 11/21/2011
• 20809 Pletan 4-18H 1,294 65,939 11/18/2011
• 21583 Roadrunner 3-15H 1,087 20,140 6/26/2012
• 21584 Clover 3-10H 1,081 39,139 6/26/2012

Total: 2,984,970 bbls.

Just short of 3 million barrels.

On a side note go to the Mittlestat 1-20H (17201) well file and you can see that for 7 months prior to June the well did not exceed 2,000 barrels per month. 30 days in June 1,771. Then,  wow: 31 days in July 12,548; then 31 days in August 6,997.

No indication of any down time for clean out or refrac therefore the only thing it appears to me going on the area was the completion of the (21569) Mittlestat 2-20H which comes off confidential this week. Somehow the frac job from the second well must have stimulated the first well. Without plugging it from migrating sand.

I am now curious to see if the second well might be a lower bench TF well. Across the gravel road to the south is the Bice 1-29H and the 2-29H. The second Bice well was drilled into the MB and maybe had some impact on production from the first but I don't think very much, not 6- or 7-fold. It was shut down during the completion and frac of Bice 2 to do some testing for communication between formations.

Update on the Gasoline Situation in California

Updates

October 11, 2012: there are reports that reformulated gasoline stocks had been rising despite refinery fire, pipeline contamination; price of gasoline rose sharply despite rise in stocks;

October 9, 2012: Chevron's Richmond (California) facility will be closed for rest of year; worse-case scenario being played out; 

October 9, 2012: "Gasoline prices at the pump in California rose to a record overnight even as Governor Jerry Brown directed state regulators to allow refineries to produce more supply by shifting to winter-grade fuel." No one really expected prices to drop back that fast after a political speech. (Political? He's trying to save his tax increase initiative. The refineries were already in the process of switching. Bloomberg confirmed the WSJ observation below:

The state’s gasoline markets are particularly susceptible when refineries have outages because California is mostly cut off from the oil-product pipelines spanning the rest of the country, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Gasoline in California also has its own blending requirements to reduce smog and it’s difficult to import from other states. 

"California is mostly cut off from the oil-product pipelines spanning the rest of the country": it's called a moat. A MOAT!

October 9, 2012: from yesterday's WSJ, op-ed, page A16: California's green gas shortages: prices are spiking thanks to state mandates that will only get worse.

The lede:

Californians are grumbling about a gas price spike, which state officials blame on disruptions in the supply chain. Actually, they're paying through the nozzle for their greener-than-thou government. 

Wow, I said the same thing, either below or elsewhere. The price of gasoline spikes in California due to a minor refinery fire and "contamination" in a pipeline. That was it. That caused the spike?
Let's see what the WSJ has to say, along with my comments interspersed:

Because of California's stringent regulations, the state has essentially isolated itself from the rest of the country. At a different post, an uninformed reader commented that the spike did not make sense; there were other refineries in the US. That's true.

Unfortunately, they don't blend gasoline to California's specifications. There is another state that is isolated from the rest of the US: Hawaii. Hawaii also the highest gasoline prices of the 50 states, historically. Hawaii and Californa are isolated from the rest of the US when it comes to energy, but for different reasons.

From the op-ed piece:

Over the last two decades four refineries in the state have shut down rather than investin expensive upgrades to comply with fuel regulations. The biggest killer was a 2002 ban on the additive MTBE, which refiners had to replace with ethanol. The California Air Resources Board has estimated that this reformulated blend adds five to 15 cents to the cost of every gallon of gas, but Californians pay a premium whenever a refinery shuts down.

And there's more:

... Jerry Brown told regulators to let refiners produce winter-blend gasoline early this year. But even "normal' gas prices in California are about 30 cents higher than the natioanl average thanks to its fuel standards and a 50.5-cent gas tax that is second only to New York's 51.3 cents.

And there's more:

Any relief Californians feel will be short-lived. The state's cap-and-trade program, which charges businesses for emitting carbon, will take effect this November. Oil companies warn they'll pass on the costs to consumers. Meanwhile, a low-carbon fuel standard kicks into high gear in 2015. That's when regulators expect the new generation of biofuels like cellulosic ethanol to be plentiful, though such fuels aren't commercially viable. Midwest ethanol won't comply. 

Bottom line:

If all of California's 2006 global warming law were implemented, the [Boston Consulting Group] study estimates the cost of gas would increase by up to $2.70 per gallon. By the way, Californians are already paying up to 50% more for their electricity than the rest of the country thanks to their renewable-energy portfolio standard.

And then this zinger:

In related news, EPA chief Lisa Jackson says California is her model for the nation.

Later, 6:42 pm: I guess the governor of California read my original post below. He has finally stepped in, saying that refineries can switch to winter blend immediately, taking whatever steps necessary to get more supply to his frustrated constituents. Showing some spine. Huge political risk to try to lower gasoline prices. Seriously: the governor's proposition to raise income taxes is at risk.

Later, 12:23 pm: The price of gasoline in California went up another nickel overnight.The good news: the price looks like it may stabilize. The bad news: the word "stabilize."

California motorists faced another day of record-breaking gasoline prices Sunday, though relief appeared to be on the way.

In its latest update early Sunday, AAA reported that statewide average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is $4.655.

Saturday's average of $4.6140 was the highest since June 19, 2008, when it was $4.6096. The four-penny-per-gallon jump Sunday was less than Saturday's increase, which was 12 cents.

Sunday's price, like Saturday's, was the highest in the nation, with the Golden State leapfrogging Hawaii as the state with the most expensive fuel due to a temporary reduction in supply. Californians are paying 24 cents per gallon more than motorists in Hawaii, according to the AAA report.

I guess if Hawaiians can afford it, so can Californians. There is no spike in the price in Hawaii as far as I know. The California state officials are strangely quiet. One can be assured if this was happening in New York state there would be all kinds of senatorial hand-wringing.

Oh, speaking of which, on a different note, there is a report out there today, that California is just a couple votes shy of having a Democratic super-majority in the legislature. I take that as great news for the Bakken. This simply means less chance that California will do much about its faltering oil and gas industry.

Original Post

Link here to Wall Street Cheat Sheet:

The problems at refineries are at the crux of the issue. Chevron’s  245,000 barrel-a-day refinery in Richmond, California, caught on fire in early August and has not yet returned to full production.

Furthermore, a Chevron pipeline that transports crude oil from the south to the north has been shut down due to contamination in the oil.

In southern California, two refineries owned by Phillips 66 are closed for scheduled maintenance, and an ExxonMobil refinery is recovering from a power outage that halted production.

Because of the gasoline shortage, Valero announced Thursday it had stopped selling gasoline into the California spot market. Valero, the largest refiner in the United States, operates two refineries in California with a combined capacity of 213,000 barrels a day and will continue to supply gasoline to its branded and licensed retail stations in the state.

But while soaring gas prices are unfortunate, as Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for Oil Price Information Service, told Reuters. “This is not something that is going to last for months. This is something that is going to last for days or weeks.”

The "weeks" part is concerning. "Weeks" can easily turn into months.

I really shouldn't add this next part because of all the comments it will generate. But I don't understand this. It does not cost any more to buy the oil or refine the oil, so why are refiners able to charge more, or if the refiners are not charging more, why are the service stations allowed to charge more? Yes, it's supply and demand, but during hurricane evacuations in which the disaster is forecast well in advance, and folks have plenty of time to prepare, the first thing we seem to hear when the price of gasoline goes up peri-hurricanes, is the word gouging.

Q: How is a hurricane in Louisiana different than what is going on now in California with regard to scarcity of gasoline? A: The hurricane is a natural event; not controlled at all by humans. Everything mentioned above with regard to California is 100% man-made/man-caused or somehow related to human activity: fires, scheduled maintenance, regulations, pipeline contamination.

I really don't know, but if the only difference is natural disaster vs man-made situation, perhaps that's the reason. 

Why is the state of California not stepping in, and capping all price increases until the refineries and pipelines return to "normal"? In the meantime, simple rationing would prevent ensure adequate gasoline for all. To the best of my knowledge, there is no "shortage" of gasoline per se; there is a shortage of gasoline at the margins.

I'm not looking for a political discussion, or an "economic" discussion per se, I'm trying to figure out how gouging is defined. I'm almost afraid to ask. Smile. I would love to put up a new poll on this very subject, but I don't know how to ask the question succinctly.

The situation in California is likely to last "days to weeks." The "shortage" of gasoline in a hurricane evacuation lasts days at most, never weeks. 

3Q12 Earnings

Earnings Calendar

Earnings: 3Q12

All 3Q12 earnings will be reported at this page; link will be on sidebar at the right, under "Earnings Central." When we start to see earnings reports for this quarter, I will move "Earnings Central" to the top of the sidebar until the earning seasons is over.

I don't have time to check/update earnings on all companies listed below. If you see one that I have missed, feel free to send it in (anonymous comment or by e-mail) and I will post it.

Comment: I am looking forward to an incredible 3Q12 for the energy industry. Think of Saudi Arabia as just one big oil company. If Saudi Arabia is making record amounts of money, so are the majors. [Update: majors are warning that earnings will be lower than expected due to lower energy prices this past quarter.]

Miscellaneous articles:
Short-term plays in oil shale stocks: Part I; Part II;  -- SeekingAlpha.com, October, 2012

General update:

Alcoa: better than expected; "flat" expected; $5.83 billion vs $5.54 billion revenue; 3 cents/share vs 0 cents/share expected; shares up 2.6% after earnings report;

Earnings Calendar

AXAS:  earnings; earnings transcript;

BEXP: see STO below

BHI: misses by 12 cents; guidance is good;

BK: beats expectations; 

CHK: biggest loss in three years;

CLNE: record number of gallons delivered; profits up significantly;

CLR: beats by one cent; beats on revenue;

CNP: misses big; back in August, 2Q12, it beat expectations and upped guidance; conference call;

COP: blows away earnings estimates; transcript;

Crescent Point: Nov 8

CRR (CARBO Ceramics): transcript: comment from the transcript:

CARBO also purchased property in North Dakota that we intend to use as a large distribution center, enhancing our ability to serve the Bakken shale play.

CTL: beats expectations, but revenues fall; conference call;

CVX: profits drop by a third; strong dividend growth should continue. Link to a SeekingAlpha.com article.

CVX had about $253.7 billion in revenue in 2011, up 24% from 2010. However this growth is not projected to continue into 2012 and 2013 when analysts target about $252 billion and $262 billion respectively. CVX has a market capitalization of $230.6 billion and an enterprise value of $219.3 billion, shows almost no debt. CVX has about $10.2 billion in debt, but over $21 billion in cash and equivalents. CVX has a strong track record of paying dividends. For 2011, its payout ratio to net income was 23% and its payout to operating cash flow was 15%. While CVX primarily returns capital to shareholders through dividends, CVX did repurchase over $3 billion of shares in 2011, up substantially from the two previous years.

 Well, so much for that SeekingAlpha.com article: CVX says it will report significant earnings decreased in 3Q12 due to lowered production; also, Supreme Court rules against CVX in Ecuador case;

DBLE: 40-cent loss vs 26-cent gain last year; due to loss associated with hedging; clean earnings of 34 cents vs 51 cents;

DNR: 33 cents vs 37 cents last year; did high Bakken and Marcellus production save this company? -- Motley Fool.; investor day at SeekingAlpha;

DVN: swings to loss; steeper than expected revenue decline;

ECA: hefty loss on $1.2 billion charge;

The natural gas-focused company, based in Calgary, Alberta, recorded a $1.19 billion non-cash impairment charge in the latest quarter, again marking down the value of its natural-gas assets as prices dipped. It took a similar charge in the second quarter.

Encana said third-quarter operating earnings, which exclude the impairment charge and other items, fell to $263 million, or 36 cents a share, from $389 million, or 53 cents a share. Results beat the Thomson Reuters mean estimate for a profit of 26 cents a share.

Encana said natural-gas prices hit their lowest levels in a decade during the first half of the year, leading it to shut in or curtail about 500 million cubic feet a day of production.

EEP: beats by 3 cents; misses on revenues; conference call webcast, Nov 1

ENB: nice report; earns 34 cents; transcript;

EOG: nice report; earnings at Reuters;

EPD: ; transcript;

ERF: Nov 9

GEOI (bought by Halcon [HK], below):

GMXR: continues to lose money but production increase is notable;

HAL:  worse than forecast; expensive guar; net income fell to 65 cents/share; down from 74 cents yoy; revenue rose 9 percent; expensive guar;

HES: beats expectations; huge beat ($1.46 vs $1.19 expected; $1.11 last year);

HP: Nov 15

HK (Halcon; previously GEOI): Nov 8

Kinder Morgan:

KOG: earns a penny; hurt by derivatives; transcript;

Legacy/Bowood: 

LINE: loss on derivatives but otherwise great; transcript;

MDU: 38 cents, beats last year's 34 cents; turning the corner?; transcript;

MPC (Marathon Petroleum) : earnings up, due to asset sale; transcript;

MRO (Marathon Oil): misses by 2 cents, but revenues blast past estimates;

NBL:  mixed results; transcript;

NBR: transcript;

NFX: huge loss on derivatives; shares slammed, down almost 20 percent;

NOG: 27 cents vs 22 cents 2Q12; beats by a penny; transcript;

NOV: beats expectations; transcript;

OAS: 109% production increase yoy; transcript;

For the third quarter of 2012, the Company reported net income of $18.3 million, or $0.20 per diluted share, as compared to net income of $66.3 million, or $0.72 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2011. The Company's third quarter 2012 results were impacted by several non-cash items, including a $27.7 million unrealized loss on derivative instruments and a $36 thousand impairment of oil and gas properties. Excluding these items and their tax effect, the third quarter 2012 Adjusted Net Income (non-GAAP) was $35.4 million, or $0.38 per diluted share. Excluding similar non-cash items and their tax effect, Adjusted Net Income (non-GAAP) for the third quarter of 2011 was $21.6 million, or $0.23 per diluted share.

OKE:  missed by a penny;

OKS: 3Q12 higher, and confirms guidance;

OXY: income falls, but beats expectations; link to MarketWatch;

3Q12 net income fell 22% on about flat revenue. Earnings declined to $1.38 billion, or $1.69 a share, from $1.77 billion, or $2.17, in the year-earlier quarter. Continuing operations produced earnings of $1.70 a share versus $2.18. Sales were off 0.7% to $5.97 billion from $6.01 billion. A survey of analysts by FactSet Research produced consensus estimates of $1.63 a share of profit on $5.63 billion of revenue. Third-quarter production of 766,000 barreld of oil equivalent a day rose 4% from the year-earlier quarter. Higher volume plus better results in marketing and trading were partly offset by lower prices. 

In the Williston basin in North Dakota, we currently have over 310,000 net acres of significant resource potential, which we estimate to be about 250 million net barrels. Our production in the basin has tripled since we entered the area over 1.5 years ago. We have recently slowed our drilling activity and significantly reduced our rig count in the basin as a result of cost pressures. While well costs have subsequently declined modestly, we will only increase our rig count when costs come down enough to make returns competitive with the rest of our portfolio. We believe that over the long term, our resource base in the Williston basin represents a significant opportunity for the company.

PAA: income down; revenue up;

PSX: Nov 6

QEP: misses by 16 cents;

RIG: Oct 29

SD: Nov 8

SLB: beats by one cent;

SM: beats on both top and bottom lines; transcript; much of the conference call was on the Eagle Ford;

SRE: huge quarter; conference call; even Motley Fool noticed;

SRGY:

SSN:

STO (BEXP): transcript;

STR: beats by one cent and confirms guidance;

TPLM: Dec 12

UNP: huge, profits up 15%; shares jump;

USEG: Nov 12

VLO: beats estimates; transcript;

VOG: Nov?

WFT: Nov 13

WHX:  Nov 8

WHZ:

WLL: nice report; transcript; analysis;

WMB: profit drops on lower prices; transcript;

WPX: loss of 32 cents; transcript;

XOM:  beats ($2.09 vs $1.96) but volumes plunge;

For Investors Only: Earnings Season Coming Up; CNBC's Analysis of the Economy Based on Restaurant Numbers; Bogus?

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Make no investment decisions based on what you read at this blog. See "welcome" and "disclaimer" at the top and the sidebar.

There is this teaser at the Yahoo!Finance page:  Which Industry Had a Double-Digit Jump in Hiring? The link takes you to this, saying it was the restaurant industry:

From CNBC:

As the markets continue to focus on today's monthly non-farm payrolls numbers, a breakdown of the data show that hiring has been strong within the restaurant industry. 

In September 114,000 jobs were added on a net basis across the country, of those 15,700 were in the restaurant industry which accounted for nearly 14% of all the jobs added. The restaurant industry was ranked second in September's job creation. In August, restaurants held the number one position, as 28,300 jobs were in the food services group, accounting for more than a quarter of the jobs added that period.

A drop from 28,300 jobs in August (a bad month for jobs claims) to 15,700 jobs in September (a much better month), a 44.5 percent drop.

But then you go to the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

Health care added 44,000 jobs in September. Job gains continued in ambulatory health care services (+30,000) and hospitals (+8,000). Over the past year, employment in health care has risen by 295,000. 

In September, employment increased by 17,000 in transportation and warehousing. 

Employment in financial activities edged up in September (+13,000), reflecting modest job growth in credit intermediation (+6,000) and real estate (+7,000). 

Manufacturing employment edged down in September (-16,000). 

In September, job losses occurred in computer and electronic products (-6,000) and in printing and related activities (-3,000). 

Employment in other major industries, including mining and logging, construction, wholesale trade, retail trade, information, professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and government, showed little change over the month.

I assume the "restaurant" category CNBC says is leading the employment list is part of "leisure and hospitality." If so, the CNBC report does not square with the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  On top of that, by CNBC's own story, the number of new hires by restaurants dropped by nearly 50% from August to September.

A "resurgence" of the restaurant industry might indeed foreshadow an improving economy, but going to the BLS I just don't see it. The CNBC guys are incredibly smart, so I am most likely missing something. I did not delve very deeply into the BLS report, no deeper than the agency's executive summary.

Stock Splits

Company and effective month

• ONEOK, June, 2-1 
• Plains All American, October, 2-1