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Monday, June 24, 2013

The Spin Begins -- They Had To Look Long And Hard But They Finally Found Some Examples

 Updates

June 27, 2013: as expected. The follow-up to the story linked below. The IRS targeted 292 Tea Party groups, only 6 "progressive" groups President O'Bama does not have time for meeting with Flat Earthers; I don't have time to listen to arguments from apologists for President O'Bama. Anyone with a) an IQ of 100 or more; and, b) any sense of a moral compass cannot possible be enamored with this young angry man "leading" America.

Original Post
 
The AP is reporting.

By the way, "they" are still looking for a long form birth certificate for the president.

Traveling

It is 7:11 pm local time here in the Boston area.

I will stay here at Starbucks until my laptop is fully charged; it's about 84% now, so another 30 minutes.

I may or may not blog any more stories before I leave.

When I depart, I will do some last minute errands in the local area, and then I will start my long trip to Dallas.

I will post along the way, stopping at McDonald's where they have wi-fi but no outlets, and Starbucks where they have both outlets and wi-fi. Can you imagine if I had an all-electric vehicle, trying to find places along the way to re-charge.

I was surprised that the price of oil held up so well today. Because I did not have access to the internet today, I did not keep up with the news. Most of my blogging came from stories sent to me by others, mostly Don. Thank you. It helps me move along more quickly. I particularly enjoyed The Washington Times look at Williston, North Dakota.

In the move, I misplaced my camera. That's too bad. I wanted to take one more picture tonight before I left his Starbucks. It is located at the corner of Trapelo Road and Williston Road in Belmont, Massachusetts, a few miles west of Boston. I cannot make this stuff up. I guess one can check it out at Google maps.

Global Warming: The European View

Updates

June 25, 2013: everyone agrees -- now, even the American press admits that global warming has stopped for the past "10 - 15 years. " (Actually, now 16 years, but mainstream media is starting to tell both sides of the story. The most interesting comment: general consensus that scientists do not know why global warming has stopped, and, of course, can't say that rising CO2 emissions have anything to do with .... whatever ... even I'm getting tired of writing about this ... from the linked article:
Regulations are certain to draw legal challenges. And the slower-than-expected rise in global surface temperatures over the last 10-15 years is giving climate skeptics openings to challenge the need for new regulations, while creating puzzles for climate scientists studying the slowdown.
Original Post

Before reading the article that is linked below, remember, this is an opinion piece from the European perspective. The Economist is considered to be one of the most respected, one of the most prestigious magazines, one of the most credible outlet for news.

I have been (negatively) impressed with the folks who write to tell me my views about global warming have been wrong ever since I started blogging. I did not print those comments; they did not add anything to the blog. The comments did not provide additional data or additional links to new information, simply more opinions.

It's nice to see The Economist print this article.

In case my link breaks, this is the lead paragraph which will help you find it via google, if necessary:
GLOBAL warming has slowed. The rate of warming of over the past 15 years has been lower than that of the preceding 20 years. There is no serious doubt that our planet continues to heat, but it has heated less than most climate scientists had predicted. Nate Cohn of the New Republic reports: "Since 1998, the warmest year of the twentieth century, temperatures have not kept up with computer models that seemed to project steady warming; they’re perilously close to falling beneath even the lowest projections."

This Is How I See Williston, North Dakota

Link here to The Washington Times.
North Dakota is sheer beauty. Like anywhere, there are drawbacks. The winters are frigid. My experience in June would have been less enjoyable in February. North Dakotans are used to negative temperatures and appreciate them; they keep out Californians.
While meeting people in a single city does not give the picture of an entire state, it helps us form a more informed opinion than those who have never visited, especially when the state population is relatively small. Those who think of North Dakota as flyover country need to drop their elitism and visit for themselves.

Koch Pipeline To Build 250,000 BOPD Dakota Express; Western North Dakota To Patoka, IL; Exploring Connection At Patoka To The Eastern Gulf Crude Access Pipeline

Updates

July 1, 2013: apparently this pipeline has been approved, but details are sketchy, specifically the western terminal in North Dakota.
 
Original Post

Oil & Gas Journal is reporting:
Koch Pipeline Co. LP is holding the first phase of an open season for its 250,000-b/d Dakota Express Pipeline to transport Bakken crude oil from western North Dakota to Hartford and Patoka, Ill. Koch also intends to explore a connection at Patoka to the Eastern Gulf Crude Access Pipeline, which would be capable of delivering Bakken crude to eastern US Gulf Coast refineries. Dakota Express Pipeline would enter service in 2016.
Another nail in the Keystone XL coffin. Yes, I know Bakken light, sweet oil, is completely different from Canadian sands heavy oil and the refineries are designed for Canadian crude, but a) the President does not know this; and, b) RBN Energy explains how refineries are adapting.

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The City of New Orleans, Arlo Guthrie

EPP To Ship Diluent From Gulf Coast to Chicago-Area Delivery Points

I can't remember if I already posted this.

Oil & Gas Journal is reporting:
Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPP) will proceed with development of a project to transport diluent-quality natural gasoline from its Mont Belvieu, Tex., liquids storage complex via its 20-in. OD TE Products Pipeline to several potential Chicago-area delivery points. The decision followed an open season during which EPP secured long-term commitments supporting plans to provide access to both Enbridge Inc.’s Southern Lights and Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP’s Cochin pipelines.
For update on some of these pipelines, click here.

Update on Halcon Wells; Analysis Of KOG Acquisition -- Filloon

Mike Filloon at SeekingAlpha.

That was the SeekingAlpha headline (Halcon and KOG); in fact there is a lot more: also TPLM, CLR, and Oasis.

With regard to the KOG - Liberty Resources deal, this is just part of what Mike wrote:
The most exciting wells in Tyrone Field are being purchased by Kodiak Oil and Gas. This purchase was received in both a positive and negative light. The bears believe Kodiak will have to go back to the shareholders this year. This is an issue, as Kodiak seemed to have the cash to operate 2013. The Liberty purchase makes for a cloudy situation, which could pull the stock price back this year. Kodiak believes it can pay for this acquisition through cash flow, and this could be possible. If it can accomplish this, then the deal was a good one.
I initially did not like the purchase. It seemed Kodiak was in for a big year if it hit company estimates. It was seeing costs decrease, with tight differentials. Going over the purchase, it seemed Kodiak didn't get the acreage cheap, but didn't pay too much either. The question is about motivation. The acreage isn't top notch, and does not produce great IP rates. Going over Liberty's well results, I found out why. Liberty's west Williams County results are the best in the area. The table below provides Kodiak's new wells.
Go to the linked article for some staggering data. 

Four (4) New Permits -- The Williston Basin, North Dakota, USA; Wells Coming Off The Confidential List Tuesday; MRO Will Report A Big Well Tuesday

Active rigs: 186 (within the expected range, but down 3 today)

Four (4) new permits:
  • Operators: XTO (2), EOG (2)
  • Fields: West Capa (Williams), Parshall (Mountrail)
  • Comments:
Wells coming off the confidential list were posted earlier; see sidebar at the right.

Two EOG Wayzetta wells were canceled:
  • 25703, PNC, EOG, Wayzetta 33-2829HX,
  • 25704, PNC, EOG, Wayzetta 34-2829HX,
Six (6) producing wells were completed:
  • 23314, 1,224, WPX, Good Bird 36-25HA, Moccasin Creek, t5/13; cum --
  • 22845, 1,039, MRO, Diamond A 31-28TFH, Bailey, t5/13; cum --
  • 23611, 988, CLR, Akron 4-34H, Banks, t6/13; cum --
  • 23824, 581, Hess, EN-State D 154-93-2635H-3, Robinson Lake, t5/13; cum --
  • 23956, 566, Hess, EN-D Cvancara S-154-93-0904H-4, Robinson Lake, t6/13; cum --
  • 23839, 1,144, XTO, Leiseth 24X-22E, North Tobacco Garden, t4/13; cum 4K 4/13;
There were two well name changes:
  • 25703 and 25704 were both "H" wells; they are now "HX" wells. 
Wells coming off the confidential list Tuesday:
  • 24103, 251, Samson Resources, Bakke 3229-4TFH, Ambrose, t4/13; cum 2K 4/13;
  • 24481, drl, BR, CCU Meriwether 24-19MBH, Corral Creek, no data,
  • 24648, 262, MRO, Lincoln USA 16-1H, McGregory Buttes, t2/13; cum 38K 4/13;
  • 24649, drl, KOG, P Wood 154-98-3-27-34-14H, Truax, no data

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24648, see above, MRO, Lincoln USA 16-1H, McGregory Buttes

DateOil RunsMCF Sold
4-2013321110
3-201324280
2-201326240

Some Humor For The Day

I assume everyone has heard the story of Nic Wallenda tight-rope walking across the "Grand Canyon" last night. He did.

Here are some tweets on the story:
  • I worried about Nick Wallenda falling 1,500 feet until Discovery announced they had paramedics on the scene. What a load off
  • Pointless putting an ambulance at the bottom of the Grand Canyon; should have just put a fellow with a shovel down there
  • I'd walk across the Grand Canyon, but I have a fear of widths
  • Nik Wallenda: "It's extremely important that I make it to the other side." No kidding, buddy
  • Dude's wife just said: "Nicolas would never do anything dangerous." Uhhhh ... are we watching the same thing?
  • They've been "minutes away" on this walk forever now
  • If he falls, I'll never watch reality television again (there was a 10-second delay)
  • Too nervous to tweet
  • But can he chew gum at the same time?
Completely unrelated, the LA Times is reporting: pesticide blamed in death of 25,000 bumblebees in Oregon. No mention of whether the counting of the deceased continues, and/or who is doing the counting.

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Supreme Court Ruling On University of Texas Admissions Criteria

Let's see if I can understand this.
1. UT has only so many openings/seats for admission to the university.
2. UT guarantees admission to top 10% of each and every graduating high school class.
3. In 2003 when Supreme Court allowed universities to consider "the whole person" as part of the admissions program, UT instituted an additional pathway, based on "the whole person" concept, for those who are not in the top 10% of their class (the specifics of what constitutes "a whole person" are mushy).
4. A white female was not admitted. She sued UT, saying that she was not admitted because she was white (or, better said, she did not meet the criteria of "a whole person" set by UT.
5. The lower courts disagreed; saying that the university could reject her because ... well, that's where it gets confusing......she obviously didn't graduate in the top 10% of her class or she would have been admitted; so she was in the pool based on "the whole person" concept. Somehow, she did not meet the admissions committee's criteria that would have admitted her under the "whole person concept."
6. The Supreme Court sent the case back to the lower court saying that the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals made legal errors when it upheld the university program. The lower court should have scrutinized the university program more strictly. In other words, the Supreme Court does not want to rule whether the UT policy is constitutional or not. And so we kick the can down the road again. In the meantime, UT can continue to run things the way it wants. But it's very clear SCOTUS was unhappy with a "mushy" "whole person concept" and wants that corrected by the lower court. Good luck. 
7. After being denied admission to UT, the plaintiff went to LSU ("across the state line") from which she graduated.
8. LSU has had a better football team that UT over the past few years. That's all that really counts in the south.
9. The plaintiff has moved back to Austin. A graduate degree from UT would be super and more prestigious and valuable than just an undergraduate diploma from UT.
Later, June 29, 2013: an op-ed piece in the WSJ on college admissions and racial preferences, this time involving the very photogenic Jennifer Gratz and the University of Michigan. 

Monday Morning Links And News

Active rigs: 189 (no change)

RBN Energy: PADD 1 NGL storage requirements

Two energy blackouts: yesterday The Williston Herald tweeted that there was a spate of electricity outages across the city of Williston; no explanation given; probably resolved. Then this morning, The LA Times is reporting that the central California coast experienced widespread blackouts affecting 145,000 customers; the utilities do not know the cause of the widespread blackouts.  

WSJ Links

Section D (Personal Journal): I can't even imagine reading the "conversation with the president's chief economic adviser on "the economic view from the White House." More interesting, I would assume, is the article on "The Pension Crisis." Hopefully the other sections have better selections.

And it looks like we will have some interesting stories in Section C (Money & Investing). I had the opportunity to visit Brazil many years ago, specifically looking at its military-industrial complex, and I came away with doubts that Brazil would be all that folks said it could be. I am not surprised by the Journal's pessimistic view of the BRICS. The Journal has a very interesting article suggesting that "emerging markets are on their own":
It is high time investors demerged emerging markets.
Protests on the streets of Brazil and Turkey, a cash crunch in China's financial system, strikes in South Africa: These all indicate rising stress in developing economies. Add in signals the Federal Reserve may soon scale back its bond-purchasing program, and things are looking ugly for countries that have delivered about 75% of global growth over the past decade.
After a decade or so in which emerging markets reliably juiced the global economy, this is a wake-up call for investors.
These countries vary in terms of economic and political development. Protesters in different places have particular grievances, from Brazilians facing higher bus fares to Turks fearing the destruction of a park.
As mentioned some time ago, I was initially excited by Petrobras but I quickly got over that when I realized that the Brazilians would never risk their sandy beaches with offshore drilling. China, I don't know: the culture and the government are completely different. But Turkey has major political issues and that country, too, could take a serious turn for the worse.  The economic story for investors is one story; I think the political story is going to be the BIG story for most of these countries. I think Brazil has a bigger problem than most people realize.

In Section B (Marketplace) there's a nice short piece about the Fed and tapering, suggesting that the wrong question is being asked. It's not whether the Fed will taper; it's whether the Fed "can" taper; it risks pushing the economy back into a recession. Bottom line: even with all the stimulus there hasn't been much improvement in the economy, and the unemployment picture has hardly improved despite the spin from the government and the mainstream media.

All that talk about using your electronic devices while flying? Not so fast. It looks like the excitement was overdone. And all those suspicions that cyberattacks were coming out of China may have been misplaced; there is evidence that the recent spate of cyberattacks were coming out of India.

The headline story in Section A is, of course, the Snowden story. The story line is certainly different than it would have been had this occurred under the Bush administration. President Obama's name comes up twice in the article; had this story broken during the Bush administration, "it" would have been all about Bush-Cheney and almost nothing about Snowden.

I assume President Obama's speech tomorrow on climate change will be a "state of the union address" with a long laundry list to appease his faux environmental base. As long as he does not invoke any executive orders it will be a non-event by a very, very lame duck president.

I have no dog in this fight, and I've lost interest in the whole story, but for those of you who still like solar energy, you may enjoy this, the power struggle between utilities and solar-using homeowners:
At issue in an Iowa lawsuit is whether solar-system marketers can sell electricity in territories where local utilities have exclusive rights to customers. Such an arrangement isn't allowed or is under dispute in many states, limiting solar firms to sales of panels to homeowners and businesses.
But if they win in Iowa, it could pave the way for fledgling solar industries to expand in other states. The case is being watched closely elsewhere in the Midwest, where policies granting utilities a monopoly on electricity service are one reason a solar-construction boom hasn't occurred, unlike in states such as California and New Jersey.
Most interesting: there are thirteen headline stories in "world news." Not one headline has anything to do with Syria. Not one. Ten days ago, Syria was ready to implode and bring down the world with it. And today: nothing. The closest any article comes is a story on deadly fighting erupting in Lebanon. So, I suppose the etat du jour will be Lebanon. And so it goes.

Will op-eds being any better? They are all pretty good, but not worth separating out. If interested, here is the link to today's WSJ op-ed page.