Washington, DC, On-Line Exchanges To Be Delayed Six Weeks

Link here.

Just days away from launch, the District of Columbia's health marketplace is announcing a pretty significant delay.

While the D.C. Health Link will launch a Web site on October 1, shoppers will not have access to the their premium prices until mid-November. The delay comes after the District marketplace discovered "a high error rate" in calculating the tax credits that low- and middle-income people will use to purchase insurance on the marketplace.

The insurance marketplaces, if working as plan, are supposed to spit out an estimate for a tax credit after a shopper enters in some basic information about where she lives and how much she earns. In the District, that won't happen next month. Instead, the eligibility determination will be made "off-line by experts" by early November.

Wells Coming Off Confidential List Thursday; Both WPX And BR Are Reporting Nice Wells

• 22212, 1,474, WPX, George Evans 14-23HZ, Van Hook, t8/13; cum 11K 7/13;
• 23645, 2,926, BR, Lillibridge 24-22MBH 2NH, Johnson Corner, 4 sections; t7/13; cum 9K 7/13;
• 24126, 269, Oasis, Melvin 6093 43-19H, Gros Ventre, t3/13; cum 18K 7/13;
• 24258, DRL, BR, Glacier 14-9TFH, Clear Creek, no production data,
• 24641, DRL, Hess, HA-Nelson 152-95-3328H-5, Hawkeye, no production data,
• 24930, DRL, CLR, Tangsrud 13-1H2, Hayland, no production data,

I assume wells with no production data will go to DRL status for operational reasons.

Eighteen (18) New Permits -- The Williston Basin, North Dakota, USA; Did Statoil Just Report A Record IP?

Active rigs: 186

Eighteen (18) new permits --

• Operators: True (4), Oasis (3), MRO (2), Whiting (2), CLR (2), Fidelity (2), American Eagle, Bakken Hunter, SM Energy,
• Fields: Four Bears (McKenzie), Chateau (Billings), Red Wing Creek (McKenzie), Camel Hump (Golden Valley), Bounty School (Divide), Cottonwood (Mountrail), Indian Hill (McKenzie), Dickinson (Stark), Stanley (Mountrail), Alexandria (Divide)
• Comments: American Eagle has a permit for a wildcat in Divide County

Wells coming off the confidential list were reported earlier; see sidebar at the right.

Four (4) producing wells completed:

• 23992, 5,417, Statoil, Beaux 18-19 7H, Banks, t8/13; cum --
• 23438, 2,464, Statoil, M. Macklin 15-22 7H, Cow Creek, t8/13; cum --
• 25696, 167, Corinthian, Corinthian Lochner 1-4 1H, North Souris, t9/13; cum --
• 25697, 130, Corinthian, Corinthian Berge 12-1 1H, North Souris, t9/13; cum -- 

Statoil's Beaux well looks like it set a new IP record in the Williston Basin Bakken. 

It Appears Statoil Just Reported A Record IP In The Williston Basin

From my FAQ page:

What is the record IP to date in the Williston Basin? 

Statoil reported an IP of 5,417 on September 25, 2013: #23992, Beaux 18-19 7H, Banks oil field.

Statoil reported an IP of 5,387 on July 19, 2013: #23387, Beaux 18-19 4H, Banks oil field. This might be a new record (this is the IP for crude oil only).

The initial production of any well, self-reported by the producer, is becoming less meaningful over time. Having said that, it looks like the record IP for a Bakken well is now 5,200, a Newfield well (July, 2011): 18691, 5,200, NFX, Wisness Federal 152-96-4-2H, Westberg, Bakken.

Statoil reported on July 10, 2013: 23385, 5,070, Beaux 18-19 6H, Banks, t6/13; cum -- ; 7 days to drill the lateral; I did not see completion data; 31 swell packers planned; 

Two earlier wells: a Whiting well which had an IP of 4,761 boepd: file #17612, 4,761 boepd IP, Whiting, Maki 11-27H, Mountrail County, Sanish field.  This is still current as of February 20, 2010. Since then, BEXP claims to have set a record with the Sorenson 29-32 1-H, #18654, with a 24-hour flowback of 5,133 bopd. However, the NDIC reported an IP of 2,944. BEXP also reported the Jack Cvancara 19-18 #1H in the Ross project area with a 24-hour flowback of 5,035.

New record in the Bakken, November 3, 2011. The Tarpon Federal 21-4H is a Whiting  Petroleum operated well and had a 24-hour initial production (IP) rate of 7,009 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE), setting a new Williston Basin record for a Bakken well.

Whiting said this was a record TFS well at the time, early 2012, file #20526, Smith 34-12TFH, 2,446, 102K in first 4.5 months.

A corollary: what is the best Bakken well? For 2012, click her.

With regard to the Statoil Beaux wells, so far (September 26, 2013) on this 4-well pad:

A 4-well pad in section 7-152-98:

• 23990, 3,657, Statoil, Beaux 18-19 2TFH, Banks, t8/13; cum --
• 23991, 4,071, Statoil/BEXP, Johnston 7-6 2TFH, Banks,
• 23992, 5,417, Statoil, Beaux 18-19 7H, Banks, t8/13; cum --
• 23993, drl, Statoil/BEXP, Johnston 7-6 7H, Banks,

Random Note: MidAmerican Energy To Buy NV Energy

NV Energy shareholders approve MidAmerican Energy merger: Co announced that NV Energy shareholders approved the previously announced merger agreement providing for the acquisition of NV Energy by MidAmerican Energy Holdings. The transaction, which is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2014, remains subject to customary closing conditions, including approvals from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada.

EPD To Expand LPG Export Facility Located On The Houston Ship Channel

Enterprise Products announces additional expansion of its LPG export facility: Co announced an additional expansion of its LPG export terminal located on the Houston Ship Channel that will increase its capability to load fully-refrigerated, low-ethane propane. By enhancing the refrigeration capacity of the LPG export facility, Enterprise will increase its loading capacity by an additional 1.5 million barrels ("MMBbls"), or three cargoes per month. This will increase total design capacity to approximately 9 MMbbls per month upon completion of the expansion project, which is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2015.

[Personal comment: this is another story I either would have missed or not been interested in had it not been for RBN Energy. This article posted September 4, 2013, taught me a lot and was linked at the MillionDollarWay blog.]

Regular readers know that I do not care for Motley Fool (due to their teasers to buy subscriptions) but they do post some good information. Today, five very different midstream MLP opportunities:

EPD is another venerable, trusted name. Over the years, it's had some of the most conservative coverage ratios in the space, accounting for its premium to peers. Like Kinder Morgan, its size makes growth more challenging than smaller peers, but that size, its strong balance sheet, wide coverage, and consistent growth are exactly what conservative investors have come to trust. They'll pay up for the track record.

Two of the more interesting names to pop out are smaller, higher-growth opportunities. High growth can translate to vastly greater total-return potential even if current yields appear weaker. The top names in five-year returns are those that grew their distributions the most, despite carrying lower yields. That retained capital is what fuels their growth. Enterprise is an excellent example of how lower yield and growth can drive higher returns over time.

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. My "welcome/disclaimer" will explain why I include links to investment sites. 

Early Winter

From The National Weather Service:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
429 AM MDT WED SEP 25 2013

...EARLY SEASON SNOW EVENT TO IMPACT BUTTE... ANACONDA... AND
OTHER PARTS OF WESTERN MONTANA AND LEMHI COUNTY... 

Algore probably won't be adding this to his PowerPoint Presentation.Wouldn't it be a hoot if Algore, Jr, got a Nobel Peace Price in 2030, for his work on Global Cooling?

Montana Update

As reported in The Fairfield SunTimes:

Richland County:
CLR -- four Bakken wells:

• Hitchcock 1-9H, 340.
• Revere 1-31H, two laterals (15,000 feet and 19,000 feet), 613.
• Tower 1-4H, two laterals (15,000 feet and 19,000 feet), 508.
• Pine 12-1 1H, two laterals (10,000 feet and 15,000 feet), 158.

Oasis -- one Bakken well:

• Stilt Federal 2658 42-22H, TD at 21,000 feet; 970.

Roosevelt County
Oasis -- one Bakken well:

• Ma 2758 41-11B, two laterals (10,000 feet and 20,000 feet); 1,626.

Sheridan County
Unit Petroleum -- on Bakken well:

• Abenroth 1-2H, TD at 12,000 feet; 3 bopd IP (not a typo).

Around The Horn

After yesterday's surprise, I am curious to see how the market is doing today.

One word: boring.

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. 

Traded at new highs this session: BCEI, CLR, DRYS, OAS, WLL.

Oil continues to hold its own; it has dropped a fair bit over the past few days, but it is up  today. [End of session, closed down, below $102.]

KOG is down a bit, but still solidly over $11.00

Oasis is up slightly. I would have expected some profit taking.

HK is up a couple of pennies. I used to consider KOG the bellwether for the Bakken (I personally don't own any KOG), but now, for the short term, HK is a better Bakken indicator in my mind.

CVX, COP, XOM: the first two down a few pennies (inconsequential); XOM up a nickle.

EOG is down slightly, but I had forgotten it had risen this far so fast.

CHK: back up a bit, but a dollar under its 52-week high.

SD: up a bit.

AMZG: no trades yet/or flat.

TPLM: down a few pennies.

UNP down slightly. It looks like everything is pretty much following the market in general, which is flat at the moment (8:42 CT).

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

ENB, EEP: both up; in a trading range. Boring.

EPD: up slightly.

SRE up slightly.

TransCanada: up another half-a-percent but well off its 52-week high.

CLR: up another dollar; below its 52-week high.

WLL: up slightly; trading at a new high.

Wednesday Morning Links, News, And Views

Active rigs: 187

RBN Energy: great update of the Bakken as it heads toward a million bbls a day --

The latest North Dakota crude production estimates for July 2013 show a year on year increase of 200 Mb/d to a new record of 874 Mb/d. If you add Montana and South Dakota production (80 Mb/d) the Williston Basin is getting close to 1 MMb/d. After going through a famine of pipeline capacity in 2012, producers turned to rail to get their barrels to market. By the end of 2013 there will be 1.5 MMb/d of rail and pipeline takeaway capacity - more than enough to handle expanding output. Today we review the latest Bakken numbers.

Two things

• in light of the stock market action yesterday regarding Bakken operators, this update is very, very timely
• be sure to read to the end of today's RBN Energy post

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

Noble to split into two companies:

Noble Corporation announced today that its Board of Directors has approved a plan to separate a business comprised of many of its standard specification drilling units, resulting in the creation of two separate and highly focused offshore drilling companies.  The drilling units that would be owned and operated by the new company comprise most of the standard specification drilling units in the Noble fleet, including five drillships, three semisubmersibles, 34 jackups, two submersibles, and one FPSO.  The new company would also be responsible for the Hibernia platform operations. 

Wall Street Journal

I read the print edition earlier today; I did not find much to link. I'll run through the digital edition, just to double check. One thing I did note: listening to NPR news this morning, I was led to believe that President Obama made the decision to avoid a photo-op/hand shake with the new Iranian president. It turns out that he was itching for such a photo-op; it was the Iranian leader who left him standing. It was the WSJ that reported the back story. It is always interesting to see how different news outlets, in this case, NPR can spin these stories. It's possible the "truth" is somewhere between the NPR version and the WSJ version....

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

Potentially, the big loser in ObamaCare could be .... Medicare. I have always maintained the following: 

Our point is that when Washington legislates on a grand scale, it sets in motion a game whose long-run outcome nobody can predict.  

There will be winners and losers. Investors, I believe, will be winners.

************************ 

New York Times

This headline says it all, about a president "in over his head." Five years into his presidency, in his second term, his foreign policy is still evolving. The headline: Obama's evolving doctrine. That seemed to be the theme throughout The WSJ: the president is still trying to figure out where he stands. 

 Los Angeles Times

This I cannot make up: Los Angeles approved a 39-story residential tower without a fault review. But an MTA study suggests the proposed tower site might lie over a strand of the active Santa Monica fault. LA approves a 39-story residential tower WITHOUT an earquake/fault line review. What am I missing. The state will study fracking ad nauseum before issuing a single permit, and here we have a skyscraper going up in LA without a fault review. Front page story. I can't make this stuff up.

The New York Times would never find time for this story on its front page, but the LA Times did: a consumer noted that "one Target store may have higher prices than another." I wonder if there was a Target story in that Nairobi mall where terrorists killed up to a hundred hostages. It sort of puts things into perspective. Anyway, to answer the consumer's concern: different stores in the chain have different fixed costs, such as the lease, taxes, staffing and security. This is common among most big retail chains.