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Thursday, September 12, 2013

Precious: What's Good For The Goose Is Good For The Gander

Assad tells O'Bama: quit arming the rebels, or no deal.

And Vladimir has Assad's back. I think President O'Bama might get support from the French, as long as it's just a pinprick. I can't make this stuff up. [That was a pretty good line from President O'Bama: the US military doesn't do pinpricks.]

My hunch is this: Syria will soon end up on the president's "to do" list somewhere between the Keystone XL pipeline and another Parisian vacation with Michelle. He's a "did that, done that" sort of guy.

Fourteen (14) New Permits -- Williston Basin, North Dakota, USA; Operators Reporting Some Huge Wells, Including A Huge Well In Painted Woods

Active rigs: 182

Fourteen (14) new permits -- 
  • Operators: XTO (4), Newfield (3), EOG (2),  CLR (2), Zenergy, Petro-Hunt, Fidelity,
  • Fields: Charlson (McKenzie), Dutch henry Butte (Stark), South Tobacco Garden (McKenzie), Foreman Butte (McKenzie), Banks (McKenzie), Siverston (McKenzie), Parshall (Mountrail)
  • Comments:
Wells coming off the confidential list were reported earlier; see sidebar at the right.

Six (6) producing wells completed:
  • 24180, 4,065, Statoil, East Fork 32-29 3H, East Fork, t8/13; cum --
  • 24181, 3,012, Statoil, Folvag 5-8 3H, Stony Creek, t8/13; cum --
  • 23631, 2,174, Statoil, Michael Owan 26-35 3H, Painted Woods, gas approached 10,000 units; t8/13; cum --
  • 24196, 2,251, KOG, P Evans 154-99-2-4-9-15H3, Stockyard Creek, t8/13; cum --
  • 25561, 136, Corinthian Exploration, Corinthian Berge 16-26 1H, a Spearfish well; North Souris, t8/13; cum --
  • 24458, 1,573, Liberty Resources, Erickson 152-103-23-14-1H,  Glass Butte, t8/13; cum --
EOG canceled a permit:
  • 19607, PNC, EOG, Fertile 20-15H, Parshall;
Wells coming off the confidential list Friday:
  • 23669, conf-->loc, KOG, Koala 8-5-6-5H3, Poe, some time ago TR&E told me that wells don't go from "conf" list to "loc" list
  • 23913, 630, Fidelity, State 30-31H, Stanley; t3/13; cum 64K 7/13;
  • 24016, 379, CLR, Colfax 2-19H, Oliver, t7/13; cum 5K 7/13;
  • 24195, 1,862, KOG, P Evans 154-99-2-4-28-2H3, Epping, t8/13; cum -- 
  • 24439, 1,733, Petro-Hunt, Sorenson 152-96-24D-13-6H, Union Center, t813; cum --
  • 24806, drl, CLR, Wahpeton 12-16H3, Banks, no production data;
  • 24933, drl, CLR, Tangsrud 7-1H3, Siverston, no production data;
  • 24949, drl, QEP, Patsy 2-29-32BH, Grail, no production data,

****************************

23913, see above, Fidelity, State 30-31H, Stanley; started off strong; petered out:

DateOil RunsMCF Sold
7-201332751302
6-201384311396
5-201383053782
4-2013234114481
3-2013202030

Indiana University Will Shift 50 Full-Time Employees To Temporary Agency Specifically Because Of ObamaCare

National Review is reporting:
The Indiana University is laying off 50 workers and sending them to a temp agency because of Obamacare.
Indiana University, which currently spends $215 million a year on health care, will shift 50 maintenance and custodial employees to an outside contractor that will hire them and will manage their hours. According to Indiana’s WRTV, the university is doing so to avoid paying for health insurance for the workers — Obamacare will require that all hourly employees who work 30 or more hours a week be provided with “affordable” health insurance.
Graduate students at IU have also fallen victim to Obamacare, as the university will be limiting the number of hours they can work to keep them under the 30-hour threshold as well.
I remember someone wrote me a long time ago, unhappy that I referred to this train wreck as ObamaCare. In fact, that name is being used by "everyone," including NPR. 

I track ObamaCare cost-shifting at the ObamaCareCosLeaving tag.

In addition to everything else, pundits and union chiefs have now noted that ObamaCare will destroy the 40-work week, something I posted a long, long time ago. 

WSJ Links For Thursday

It just dawned on me: I forgot to read the WSJ today. My bad. Let's see what they have to say.

Before we get to the print edition, here's something from one of the WSJ blogs. Which U.S. stock emerged from the financial crisis on top? Starbucks. Shares are up over 400% since 2008.
Wall Street, the epicenter of the crisis back in September 2008, has done even better [than the emerging market]. The total return for the S&P 500 across those five years is about 50%. High dividend paying stocks–remember that reach for yield?–have done even better, returning almost two-thirds.
And which U.S. stock has weathered the post-crisis period best? Looking at S&P 500 members which had a market capitalization of at least $5 billion on September 12, 2008, and which have survived, one stock delivered a total return in excess of 400%, beating gold, palladium and everything else.
Its name? Starbucks. Recession or not, apparently Americans still like to pay up for their coffee.
There's always an argument among investors over dividend vs non-dividend stocks, all things being equal. I used to love high dividend stocks -- until tax time. However, after getting a bit more serious about investing in the past two days, I've given it some more thought. Companies paying high dividends better keep thriving to make those dividend payments.  Just saying.

Now to the print edition. Sorry for the digression. 

Shipping rates soar as China buys more ore: A late-summer push by China to stock up on iron ore has helped push shipping rates to their highest in more than a year, sending a gauge of the global economy soaring. What peak China?

I said this earlier: Apple is looking to Japan, China, not the US in recent iPhone 5C and 5S release. Now, I see the same thing in the WSJ: Apple won't go for broke in China. Rather than go decisively down-market in China, Apple is trying to maintain its industry-leading profitability.

Have you been watching all the deals in the Bakken since June, 2013? Here's part of the reason: companies are acting on rising interest rates. Rising interest rates are pushing corporate executives to not only rethink their borrowing and refinancing strategies, but also to adjust pension contributions and overseas trade. Some may even accelerate plans for deals.

International Paper will close an Alabama paper mill. International Paper plans to close its biggest paper mill, displacing 1,100 workers amid shrinking demand for paper in an increasingly digital world. There was a time when computers actually increased the amount of paper being used because folks thought nothing of hitting the "Print" button to make another copy. However, now that tablets will outsell PCs this year or next for the first time, people are getting away from printing. One can print from a tablet but it's generally not done. At the linked article:
Research firm IDC said Wednesday it expects shipments of tablet computers will hit 84.1 million in this year's fourth quarter, a razor-thin edge over the 83.1 million laptops and desktop computers IDC expects will be sold world-wide in the three-month stretch fueled by the holiday shopping frenzy.
And that was about it.

Wrong Again

I sincerely thought the "Syrian peace dividend" would drive NYMEX down to $100, down from $100.

I see that midday it popped $1.30 to almost $110 again.

I don't have television so I don't know what the talking heads make of it, but for me, two things:
  • weakening dollar (part of the "Syrian peace dividend")
  • Saudi pumping at record levels to make up for loss of Libyan crude oil
There are folks who think Saudi can't pump at these record levels forever.

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By the way, speaking of Syria, I had to laugh out loud. In the background window I have The Los Angeles Times open. The screen automatically refreshed to this story with a huge photo of gaffer-in-chief: Kerry arrives for talks with Russia on Syria.

I see it is raining in Geneva.

But I digress.

As soon as I saw the headline with Russia in it, and then saw a picture of "Lurch," all I could think of was "rope-a-dope."

I know I should take this more seriously, but I honestly cannot help myself. I imagine the folks in the Kremlin are thinking the same thing.

And the White House? Scared silly that Kerry will come up with something else just as stupid as his reply to a hypothetical.

*******************************

Following the first meeting, we're back to "ought to be," as in "there ought to be consequences." But no "red line." I suppose the Russian reply: "there ought to be a lot of things. But that doesn't mean it's going to happen."

Leave It To Wal-Mart: New iPhones Already Discounted

Incredible marketing. They are learning from the JC Penney debacle. Low-information folks (as Rush Limbaugh calls them); typical Wal-Mart shoppers; my wife; and, me -- all of us -- we love sales. So, you're thinking of a cheap smart phone. You hear all this "crap" about the iPhone. You have to have an iPhone. But folks say they are too expensive. At least that's what NBC is saying all day long. Too expensive. What gives? You walk into Wal-Mart planning to buy a $5.00 DVD next to the electronics section. You glance over at the Apple Display. Big sign: "Sale."

Way back in the recesses of your mind you recall all that "crap" about the iPhone and how expensive they are and it's out of reach. But hey, it's on sale. $79. "Our monthly cable bill is twice that." And, hey, once I pay the $79, it's paid for.

Hey, it's on sale.

The pitch, the announcement, the presentation was two days ago. Companies have to be fast these days, and Apple is one of the fastest, but even Apple can't be this fast.

Surely, some Wal-Mart clerk stocking shelves Tuesday at midnight, didn't call the overnight secretary at 4 Infinity Loop to suggest a sales price for the 5C. And by Wednesday noon, the suggestion reached Tim Cook, and by Wednesday afternoon, Apple made the decision. Sure, Wal-Mart, go ahead and offer a discount. It's only our reputation that could be hurt.

This was all thought out over the past six months: price it at $99 on Tuesday and then let Wal-Mart put them on sale Thursday. See what happens. JC Penney proved that folks like sales, and they like coupons. They don't like up-front every day "low" pricing. (And you all recall, the recently sacked JC Penney CEO was a former Apple marketing guru.)

Yahoo!Finance is reporting:
In what might be an unprecedented move by Apple Inc., the company apparently has agreed to permit Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to sell the iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S at discount prices. The 5C, which carries a list price of $99, will sell for $79, and the 5S will sell for $189, compared with the list price of $199.
Apple surely will receive its full selling price from Walmart, so revenues will not be affected, but the optics are unusual to say the least. Discounting a new product just two days after it has been introduced is new ground for Apple, at least in our memory. Why would the company do this?

It is no secret that the new iPhones have been greeted with a lukewarm reception at best, and perhaps Apple is angling to bump up sales numbers by letting Walmart discount the phones immediately. If consumers believe there is a stampede for the new phones, well, maybe they will create one.
More likely, Apple is running a trial.
Repeating:
The pitch, the announcement, the presentation was two days ago. Companies have to be fast these days, and Apple is one of the fastest, but even Apple can't be this fast.

Surely, some Wal-Mart clerk stocking shelves Tuesday at midnight, didn't call the overnight secretary at 4 Infinity Loop to suggest a sales price for the 5C. And by Wednesday noon, the suggestion reached Tim Cook, and by Wednesday afternoon, Apple made the decision. Sure, Wal-Mart, go ahead and offer a discount. It's only our reputation that could be hurt.
No one can move that fast.

Oh, one exception. Three-plus years of chemical weapons and threats of retribution in Syria, and no breakthrough. Then a comedian, Al Brooks, makes an outlandish suggestion. John Kerry gaffes the suggestion in an off-hand remark; the White House tries to walk it back; Vladimir grabs it and by the next morning it's the "new" American policy. That evening Mr O'Bama goes on television to tell Americans that was his plan all along.

So, I guess it could have been a Wal-Mart $8/hour employee who called Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, floated the idea, and the rest is, as they say, history.

LOL.

Around The Horn

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment decisions based on what you read here or what you think you may have read here. 

Oil is up about a buck; now about $108. (The Yahoo!Finance link is broken again.)

KOG trades at new high ($11.34) but has now dropped back a few pennies.

Oasis up 2%. Wow. New high at $44.89.

CVX, COP, XOM: all in a narrow trading range.

EOG up a bit; hitting a new high of $168.30

CHK down slightly; a bit of profit taking.

SD: up again, about half a percent.

AMZG up almost 2%.

TPLM up almost 2%.

UNP down slightly; has been in a trading range lately.

I don't follow BNSF (BRK) much any more; BRK follows the market in general.

ENB, EEP both down slightly; in a trading range. Remember, ENB recently announced a public offering of 8 million new shares [September 13, 2013: offering closed; sold 8 million; raised $223 million]. 

SRE continues to struggle, but finally slightly green.

TransCanada down half a percent.

CLR: up. Flirting with new highs, close to $104.

WLL: hits a new high. I don't follow WLL as a rule, though I bought a few shares some time ago and hold for the long term. WLL doesn't get a lot of press. It's taken a while for WLL to move. 

Halcon Has A Nice Well In Eagle Nest

In case you missed it:
  • 22980, 3,077, HRC, Fort Berthold 148-94-9C-0404H, Eagle Nest; average gas, 3,523 units; t7/13; cum 23K 7/13; another well in which the roughnecks don't get the credit they deserve for preventing a blow-out
Wow, I haven't updated Eagle Nest since March 25, 2012, but this is where I track Eagle Nest. It's inside the reservation. Folks better get their permit requests in and approved before the Feds get involved. Once the Feds get involved TR&E won't have to worry about flaring any more. 

By the way, this is the field that HRC acquired much of their acreage from Petro-Hunt.

This is a huge field for HRC. I updated a few wells, but much more yet to be done.

Talk About The "Red Queen" --

Bloomberg is reporting:
OPEC produced 0.8 percent less crude oil in August due to declining Libyan output, even as Saudi Arabia pumped the most in 32 years, the International Energy Agency said.
The 12 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries produced 30.51 million barrels a day last month ....
Libya’s output fell to an average of 550,000 barrels in August from 1 million barrels in July, according to the report. Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s biggest producer, pumped 10.19 million barrels a day, up 190,000 barrels from July, the IEA said.
“OPEC crude oil supplies turned lower again in August with a sharp downturn in Libyan production only partially offset by near-record output from Saudi Arabia,” the IEA said.
Iraqi crude production rose to 3.17 million barrels a day in August from a revised estimate of 3.06 million barrels in the previous month, the IEA said. Total Iraqi exports rose about 165,000 barrels a day to 2.47 million barrels a day, “with southern shipments exceptionally robust while northern volumes remained constrained,” it said.
The 550,000 bopd is the output from that country, not the exports. I believe exports were considerably lower, but I could be wrong.

The "Red Queen" effect: producing as much as possible just to maintain. The "Red Queen" went viral with an essay on The Oil Drum regarding the Bakken. The Oil Drum  has called it quits. So has a Bakken discussion group except for three founding members, TR&E. 

You Have Got To Be Kidding: Jobless Claims Processing Snafu

Yes, that's the Reuters headline: claims processing reporting is hit by cooking the books processing snafu.  [One day later: The Wall Street Journal reports on this debacle. Two states that did not send in complete data: Nevada, California. Why does that not surprise me?]

I can't make this stuff up.

Claims dropped 31,000 in one week. LOL.  I will wait for the revision next week.
The number of new U.S. jobless claims fell sharply last week but much of the decline appeared due to technical problems in claims processing, clouding the last major reading of labor market health before the Federal Reserve meets to consider reducing its stimulus for the economy.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 31,000 to a seasonally adjusted 292,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday.
That was the lowest level of claims since 2006, confounding analysts' expectations for a mild increase.
Why would the timing of the last major reading of the labor market health before the Federal Reserves meets make any difference in processing claims unless someone (or someones) were massaging the books?

This is incredible. I'm not even going to post this data over at the link where I track this stuff. This is, even for me, beyond the pale.

Maybe, "they" all thought that if O'Bama lobbed missiles at Syria this past weekend, the nuclear war that would have broken out between the US and Russia (over in Syria, of course; not here in the US) would have negated all need for any processing. 

Even more interesting:
  • the story did not include the usual revision from the previous week
  • if you do the math, you will note that the numbers were NOT revised from last week, even though numbers were ESTIMATED for three states last week
This is incredibly bogus. The press isn't even fact-checking basic numbers any more. What a joke.

This is the same administration that reports no change in the country's debt for the past several months.

Incredible. What can possibly be easier than simply counting forms? (Claims forms.)

And they want to write fracking rules for North Dakota?

Doom And Gloom ...

... sometimes I don't know who's worse: Debbie Downer or CNBC?

When one sees these stories, the first question one should ask is: why was this story posted at this particular time?

Since this story predicts the state of the European economy in 2025, this story could have been posted yesterday, today, tomorrow, a week from now, or a year from now.

This story helps divert attention from how bad things are in the US due to five years of current administration policies (or non-policies). The one two consistent policies this administration has had:
  • kill the coal industry
  • slow-roll the oil and gas industry
Now, back to the linked story.

Does anyone find it interesting that Arjun Kharpal never mentioned the reason for austerity measures in Europe? Not one word about energy; not one word about "green" energy debacles; not one word about huge waste of money spent on wind energy in Spain.

In case the link breaks:
Europe could have another 25 million poor people by 2025 as the effects of austerity measures are felt across the continent, a leading poverty charity warned on Thursday.
This would bring the total number of people living in poverty across Europe to 146 million, almost a third of the population and it could take up to 25 years to regain the living standards people enjoyed five years ago, according to Oxfam. 
But they will still be building windmills.  And playing great music:

Spanish Music


But I still prefer "El":

Cancion del Mariachi Desperado, Antonio Banderas

Halcon To Sell Non-Core Conventional Assets

Press release, regarding three separate purchase and sale agreements, totaling about $300 million:
In aggregate, as of December 31, 2012, estimated proved reserves associated with the Properties were approximately 21.2 million barrels of oil equivalent, 67% of which was proved developed. Proved reserves were approximately 77% oil and NGLs, and these assets currently produce approximately 4,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day. 
Perhaps more later.

Highlights From The KOG Presentation At Barclay's CEO Energy Conference

At SeekingAlpha.

The good news: KOG is a one-basin play.

The bad news: KOG is a one-basin play.

About 200,000 net acres.

7 rigs.

Name dropping: area of mutual interest with XOM
  • KOG participates with XOM with at least one or two rigs
  • 50% interest
Production guidance: 30K to 34K boepd this year; currently about 38K boepd

Continue to work on downspacing (they should just ask the folks over at the TR&E site; they know what the best spacing unit size is -- 10 acres)

Inventory: 12 to 15 years (by the way, this is almost identical to EOG's inventory in the Bakken. It also mirrors exactly what UND said about two or three years ago. Active drilling will continue through 2030, and then maintenance through 2100).

KOG says they were the first operator to drill off a pad (I would be interested in hearing Harold Hamm's comment on this).

KOG: pretty much drilling four-well pads everywhere; will try some 8-well pads but with two rigs to shorten time between first spud and first sale.

 Dunn County: best acreage; 800,000 to one-million-bbl EURs.

Slightly less quality: Polar and Koala, north and south of the Missouri River; 700,000 to 900,000 bbl EURs.

KOG does not yet distinguish among the various benches of the Three Forks on their graphics.

Currently: 140 million bbls of oil; expect that to rise (dramatically?) as KOG "ramps up"

Cost: $9.5 million; down from $10.5 to $11 million back in 2012

CAPEX: about $1 billion this year

Two other areas: Wildrose (north); Grizzly (southwest); only 7% of CAPEX

Drilling time: 18 days vs 30 days a year ago; goal -- 15 days.

Fracking: two fulltime 24-hour frack crews but then says they only use the 2nd crew "off and on" and that the second crew has been "down" for the past three weeks. So, I guess when they are working, they work around the clock, but that does not necessarily mean they are running year-round

With regard to spacing, formations, communication, etc:
So, we’ll get into our down spacing program, and I know there is kind of the buzz at the whole Williston right now. We have done a couple projects. I’m going to talk primarily about the one we call our Polar Block, just north of the river, east of Williston.  
We chose to put six wells in the middle Bakken member. We put these wells about 800 feet apart. We went down into Three Forks, and we also drilled three wells there, but we alternated between what we referred to as the upper member and the middle member, also known as one and two.
Our attitude on the Three Forks, we believe this is actually one reservoir. We don’t believe there is a separation between the two, that it’s a seal. We believe we fracked a well in the middle member. We get communication up into the upper member and vice versa. So, we laid them out just alternating across again about 800 feet apart. I guess it would be about 400 feet of the middle Bakken wells. So, we did this in two different places. Again, we’ll talk about the one on the north, we call our Polar Block I.
Then:
We didn’t see a lot of communication when we were fracking these wells. We were looking for pressure in offsetting wells, we didn’t see a lot of that. As we’ve gone through first 30 or 60 days of production, we continued to shut wells in here and there to see if we see an impact on an offsetting well. To date again, we have not seen anything that makes us very nervous at this point. 
Spacing: KOG thinks they may be going beyond 7 and 8 wells per drilling spacing unit (wow).

I know the folks over at the TR&E were concerned about wells being spaced too closely together, though, in the same breath, they wanted 10-acre spacing, but now we have at least three operators -- EOG, CLR, KOG -- who are not seeing risks in drilling wells with 800-foot spacing. 

WWJD?

The Dickinson Press is reporting:
A church here that has been temporarily housing job-seekers while they get on their feet is being forced to end its lodging program this week, leaving about 30 men with nowhere to sleep.
Concordia Lutheran Church would need to remodel its building to add fire-protection sprinklers, showers for residents and other updates to meet building and fire codes, according to Williston city officials.
In a letter dated Aug. 12, city planning staff gave Concordia 30 days to discontinue the “overnighters” program until the facility can be brought up to code.
The Rev. Jay Reinke said the church doesn’t have the money to hire an architect and fulfill the city’s requirements. Friday will be the last night people can stay overnight at the church, said Reinke, adding that he is disappointed and saddened by the city’s actions.
Sad commentary on my hometown.

I would love CLR to step up to the plate, install the fire-protection sprinklers, and the showers. 

Why Does Vladimir Sound More Believeable And/Or Trustworthy When It Comes To Syria?

I did not read every line, nor did I read the article twice. I may have missed a lot that was said. I didn't spend much time on this article.

I'm not even sure Vladimir wrote it.

But let's assume he did. Let's assume what I read was pretty much the same throughout the entire "article."

Why do I find myself "trusting" Vladimir more than O'Bama at this moment in time?

Don sent me the article. I would have missed it. The final paragraph could have been written by Peggy Noonan:
My working and personal relationship with President Obama is marked by growing trust. I appreciate this. I carefully studied his address to the nation on Tuesday. And I would rather disagree with a case he made on American exceptionalism, stating that the United States’ policy is “what makes America different. It’s what makes us exceptional.” It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation. There are big countries and small countries, rich and poor, those with long democratic traditions and those still finding their way to democracy. Their policies differ, too. We are all different, but when we ask for the Lord’s blessings, we must not forget that God created us equal.
There is some irony here. Hasn't President O'Bama spent his entire presidency trying to convince Americans that "they" are not "exceptional."

One word: Kafka. 

Chesapeake Settles Within Hours Of Suit Being Filed

Note: this is a "cut and paste" from an earlier post. But it's a huge story and needs a stand-alone post. North Dakota mineral rights owners may be interested in this story.

This article, sent to me by Don, is very, very interesting. I remember posting this story two or three years ago when elsewhere they were all concerned about how much natural gas was being wasted in North Dakota. I would love to find that original post, but it might prove difficult, but I believe I was the first "blog" to post the news that Chesapeake was going to charge mineral rights owners for gathering, processing, transporting natural gas. I thought that was ludicrous. No one commented, and the folks over at the Bakken Shale Discussion Group were fixated on Mr Helms and completely missed that story or so it seemed to me. It turned out to be a good story.

Reuters is reporting that the courts have ruled that Chesapeake overcharged mineral owners for gathering, processing, and transporting natural gas, and they needed to be reimbursed.
Chesapeake Energy Corp  has agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit with Pennsylvania landowners who said the natural gas producer was deducting large fees from their royalty checks. 
Chesapeake, the largest natural gas operator in the state, settled the lawsuit within hours of its filing with the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania on August 30. On Wednesday, Chesapeake's lawyer submitted the proposed wording of a court order that would approve the settlement, which is expected by the end of the year.
Reuters reported on August 28 that Chesapeake started this year to take much heavier deductions from royalty checks it sends Pennsylvania landowners to help pay to gather, compress, market and transport natural gas, in most cases cutting compensation by more than half.
How strong was the case? Chesapeake settled the case "within hours.

Wow, here the related posts are:
I see I even have a tag for this story: Barnett_CHK_TransportationCosts.

What a great blog. LOL. As Mr T told me a long time ago: this blog is complete nonsense.

Thursday Morning News, Views, And Links -- Part III -- Chesapeake Settles Lawsuit Within Hours

Dow futures are down a bit; oil is up almost a buck, up over $108 again, and yet war is far off. The dollar is weakening, I believe. Maybe later we will see how folks explain the rise in the price of oil despite huge supplies. Libya?

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I reported this story yesterday; this is the Rigzone/Reuter perspective:
The Obama administration on Wednesday authorized natural gas exports from a fourth U.S. facility, speeding up a review process that would-be gas exporters and their allies in Congress had criticized as too slow.
Dominion Resource Inc's conditional permit for liquefied natural gas exports from its Cove Point terminal on Maryland's Chesapeake Bay came just over a month after the Energy Department approved exports from a terminal in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Dominion's was the fourth natural gas export permit issued by the administration. It was the third permit issued this year, following a pause of nearly two years in review of applications to export gas to all but a handful of countries covered by free trade agreements.
The first linked story will eventually get you to a nice CarpeDiem graphic on the price of natural gas around the world. 

***********************

The news gets better: Chevron says LNG global market will get tighter, even as Chinese sales fall.
The liquefied natural gas market looks to be tight in the years ahead given a shortage of new projects lined up, partly due to rising costs as demand for contractors to do the work has surged, Chevron Corp's vice chairman said on Wednesday.
Some Australian LNG export capacity already has been scrapped, while Chevron was forced to add $15 billion to the price tag for its huge Gorgon LNG project in Western Australia.
"The rising costs of contracting will impact the economics of projects, and could temper the industry's willingness to invest," George Kirkland, who runs the U.S. company's oil and gas production arm, said of the industry in general. "The supply is there. Really the question then becomes: can we bring it to market?"
Very, very interesting, to say the least.

*********************** 

At least some folks "down under" can now open their bottles of champagne. IceAgeNow is reporting that the Australians are taking an ice pick to their "green" agenda. 
Some programs to be totally abolished.
“PUBLIC servants are drawing up plans to collapse 33 climate change schemes run by seven departments and eight agencies into just three bodies run by two departments under a substantial rewrite of the administration of carbon abatement schemes under the Coalition,” says this article in the Australian.
Coalition climate action spokesman Greg Hunt, who briefed public servants on the dramatic restructure of the federal climate change bureaucracy before the election was called, yesterday confirmed the Coalition was committed to proceeding with the plan.
The move is forecast to save the government tens of millions of dollars.
***********************  
This article, sent to me by Don, is very, very interesting. I remember posting this story two or three years ago when elsewhere they were all concerned about how much natural gas was being wasted in North Dakota. I would love to find that original post, but it might prove difficult, but I believe I was the first "blog" to post the news that Chesapeake was going to charge mineral rights owners for gathering, processing, transporting natural gas. I thought that was ludicrous. No one commented, and the folks over at the Bakken Shale Discussion Group were fixated on Mr Helms and completely missed that story or so it seemed to me. Well, as usual, I was ahead of the curve. Reuters is reporting that the courts have ruled that Chesapeake overcharged mineral owners for gathering, processing, and transporting natural gas, and they needed to be reimbursed.
Chesapeake Energy Corp  has agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit with Pennsylvania landowners who said the natural gas producer was deducting large fees from their royalty checks. 
Chesapeake, the largest natural gas operator in the state, settled the lawsuit within hours of its filing with the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania on August 30. On Wednesday, Chesapeake's lawyer submitted the proposed wording of a court order that would approve the settlement, which is expected by the end of the year.
Reuters reported on August 28 that Chesapeake started this year to take much heavier deductions from royalty checks it sends Pennsylvania landowners to help pay to gather, compress, market and transport natural gas, in most cases cutting compensation by more than half.
How strong was the case? Chesapeake settled the case "within hours.

Wow, here the related posts are:
I see I even have a tag for this story: Barnett_CHK_TransportationCosts.

What a great blog. LOL. As Mr T told me a long time ago: this blog is complete nonsense. But it's still standing.

This will be posted as a stand-alone post. It's an important story on so many levels.

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Question: why no anti-Obama-war protests?

Anti-Vietnam Theme Song, Country Joe

Answer: the president has become irrelevant, on so many levels.

KOG Gets Rigzone's Attention

Rigzone is reporting (in fact, it was today's lead story, I believe): Kodiak Oil Production Rising After Latest Bakken Land Deal.
Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp's purchase of 42,000 acres of leases in North Dakota's Bakken shale fields last June has helped boost the company's production, Chief Executive Lynn Peterson said in an interview on Wednesday.
The increase reflects the company's aggressive plan to spend about $950 million this year to drill 100 new wells. Kodiak is the eighth-largest Bakken operator and its oil production has been steadily increasing, despite its relatively small size compared with Bakken peers.
The company's stock has followed suit, rising 25 percent since January, a boon to hedge funds Paulson & Co and Citadel Investment Group LLC, Kodiak's two largest shareholders.
Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment decisions based on what you read here or what you think you may have read here. There are several story lines in this short Rigzone blurb, but I won't discuss them here except to say the last paragraph in the "indent" is concerning.

The article continues:
Gross operated production, which includes production from wells Kodiak does not operate but has a stake in, has risen to "just shy" of 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) from 45,000 boe/d in August, Peterson said on Wednesday.
"We're clicking on all cylinders," he said.
The company bought 42,000 acres of Bakken acreage from privately held Liberty Resources in June.
Peterson said Kodiak has "no need" for more land deals, but is keeping an eye on potential buyouts.
The referenced deal is linked at the sidebar at the right.  

Thursday Morning News, Views, And Links -- Part II

Active rigs: 181 (steady; nearing the post-boom low of 179)

RBN Energy: discusses the impact of the international events on the price of oil --
If the Gulf Coast refining party is “over” that means refiners will reduce their refinery crude throughputs (still over 93 percent in the Gulf Coast PADD 3 region as reported by EIA for the week ended September 6, 2013) rather than lose money processing crude at a loss. Reduced refinery demand will place downward pressure on crude prices just as more domestic and Canadian supplies are arriving at refinery gates via new pipelines and rail terminals. Since the US will still be reliant on imported crude for a few more years yet, crude prices here are likely to keep pace with international levels. In that case the only piece of the puzzle that can keep US refiners and producers happy is higher refined product prices to restore better refining margins. Higher product prices in turn could dampen US demand and reduce refinery runs further. US consumers will not be happy campers either.
All of which confirms the extent to which the US crude oil market continues to be closely linked to international events – with all the attendant risks that entails. Crude price shocks like those caused by the Syrian crisis are to be expected for the time being. We can at least though, look forward to a time not too far in the future when US crude oil production gets close to meeting demand (especially if you include Canadian supplies). At that point the impact of events in the Middle East may have considerably less impact on domestic markets.
War, What Is It Good For? Edwin Starr


I had forgotten this was a hit song in 1969. Regular readers know that "1969" was absolutely the best year for music. I talk about it at this site. Don't go to that site or open it; it will slow down your computer to unbelievably slow speed unless you have incredibly fast wi-fi. Just a warning.

Of course, Edwin was wrong. War is good for those who trade (as in, buy and sell) oil and oil futures. And if you watched "Golden Triangle, I and II" in 1984/1985 Miami Vice you would also know that was was good for the opium trade.

But I digress.

Gasoline Down To $3.21 Per Gallon In Local Area

Wow, this is quite incredible.

I don't pay attention to gasoline prices in the local area all that much now that I am on my bike today. But I rode in to Starbucks at 5:30 this a.m. -- which, by the way, is about an hour later than "o-dark-thirty" in the military. And it was dark.

The good news: when it's that dark, drivers can see me easily with all my lights. I have more lights on my bike than an 18-wheeler (density, not actual number). If I'm hit at night it won't because I didn't have enough lights.  I didn't have to worry: no cars on the road. I flew through intersections regardless of the color of the light.

What was I talking about? Oh, yes, the price of gasoline. In the darkness of the night, the price of gasoline is easily seen on the neon signs. It was $3.21 at the convenience store. That is cheap. If it drops 22 cents, it will be less than $3.00. If it gets below $3.00, even Texans will start to like President O'Bama. Okay, just joking.

So, oil is at record highs, flirting with $110/bbl and gasoline is as low as it's been in the O'Bama presidency. Elsewhere, TR&E are discussing this incongruity and somehow getting around to all the waste of natural gas in the Bakken.

Thursday Morning News, Views, And Links -- Part I -- The "Good" Seat At Starbucks; Fox News Video To Go Viral

Good morning.

There may be a recurring theme in today's posts. I generally post about ten stand-alone posts on a good day and update about 25 older posts.

I do not have internet connectivity at home, so my blogging is limited to specific blocs of time, generally early morning, later afternoon. If I had internet at home, I would have another bloc of time, around midnight.

I like to respond immediately to folks who write me, so I apologize for being delayed getting back to folks who write me, but that's the way it is.

In order to get a good seat at Starbuck's, one has to be here by 5:30 (the doors open at 5:00 a.m.), and even then, the "good" seat is not guaranteed. But today, I set the alarm to make sure I would be here on time to get the "good" seat. I have a lot  to post.

I don't know if folks are aware of this, but The Oil Drum is calling it quits. It will still be accessible but apparently it won't remain current. I'm not exactly sure what it will look like a month from now. I thought it was "off the air" as of August, but now, apparently, it will be sometime this month for the last post at The Oil Drum. Perhaps more on that later.

I didn't really plan to write about The Oil Drum but I needed a segueway to the next item.

It looks like the best Bakken shale discussion group on the net is finally throwing in the towel. I can't remember if I had my own blog when I first posted at the site or if the blog came later. I like to think that the "group" was the impetus to start my own blog. I remember getting dis-invited from the "group" after my first post. I was afraid to post after that because I knew nothing about the Bakken compared to everyone else who posted there. But I continued to follow the "group." I learned a lot from the "group." Maybe more on that later.

This will be a busy day of blogging, so let's get started.

Yes, I got the "good" seat at Starbucks.

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Later: I don't get television. I haven't watched Fox in months, so I was unaware how good "Judge Jeanine" is.  Must-watch.