Friday -- Propane, Ethane, And PetChems -- RBN Energy

As a reminder, the #1 external link for those trying to understand the Bakken is RBN Energy. 

Active rigs in North Dakota:

	3/21/2014	03/21/2013	03/21/2012	03/21/2011	03/21/2010
Active Rigs	195	184	205	171	103

RBN Energy: propane exports.

We've done several blogs over the past months about the impact of the back-to-back crop drying and Polar Vortex anomalies on NGL prices in general and propane prices in particular. Today we are going to take a walk further downstream and look at how increasing propane exports, the weather related anomalies and subsequent price spikes shifted the petrochemical feedstock slate. From mid-year 2013 to early 2014, huge volumes of propane were backed out of the petrochemical sector, replaced for the most part by ethane. These swings have important implications for the future consumption of NGL feedstocks by petchems. In today's blog, Kelly Van Hull assesses NGL feedstock switching in the petrochemical sector in "Beyond Hypothermia and Extreme Propane Price Spikes - Petrochemical Feedstock Switching 2013-14."

The Wall Street Journal

I don't think I've seen more childish games at the highest levels than the "sanctions" being imposed between Russia and the US. I think the most childish is Sen McCain hoping he gets on the list. This speaks volumes about how well sanctions work. Putin is an absolute genius. The Iranian sanctions worked so well, Obama unilaterally removed them. I'm waiting for the Iranians to impose sanctions on the Americans. LOL.

Uneven wage gains restrain recovery. Really? In The WSJ?

This is why the Keystone XL won't be approved before the election. Democrats are sticking to their game plans.  Party looks to Obama for fundraising and steps up drive to mobilize supporters. About the only thing still going for activist environmentalists is the "Keystone thingy."

And now a secessionist movement in Spain. Spawned by Putin and the Crimean. Wasn't Spain about the only country that a) Obama didn't visit on his global apology tour; and, b) that Michelle and the girls have not visited for a vacation?

Under the radar. Obama has thrown the Muslims under the bus. The administration cancels a summit with Mideast least over "splits between Washington's closest allies in the region." Hmmm....

Exxon will share with shareholders how it measures "carbon risk."

White House may cast Blackberry aside. Say it isn't so. I'm shocked. I'm shocked.

BMW will expand South Carolina factory. Cheap energy. Right to work. It's not Germany.

Update on natural gas storage tanks. Of all things.

The nation's effort to stay warm during the harsh winter has left natural-gas supplies at their lowest level in more than a decade, and even as the calendar shows it is spring, some investors are wagering that prices will stay high. 

Natural-gas futures are up 10% from a year ago, and just last month they surged to five-year highs as frigid temperatures drove record demand. A sustained rise in natural-gas prices boosts the chances that consumers eventually will pay higher rates, analysts say.

State regulators often have the final say on retail prices, and futures prices play a prominent role in their decisions on whether to permit rate increases.

Investors bullish on natural gas are questioning the widely held belief that U.S. producers, tapping the country's abundant resources through new fracking technologies, can drill enough to replenish supplies before next winter's onset.

The Los Angeles Times

San Diego Opera will close.  

Recession? What recession? Viking Cruises sets Guinness record -- launches 16 cruise ships in 24 hours:

The Vikings are invading -- again. Viking Cruises set a Guinness World Record for christening 16 river cruise ships in a 24-hour period in the Netherlands, Germany and France on Monday and Tuesday. And the company plans to christen two more ships Friday in Portugal too.

Viking shattered its own record set last year when it christened 10 new "longships" in a day. Nine ships were christened Monday in Amsterdam, followed the next day by three in Avignon, France and four in Rostock, Germany. Two more are slated to debut Friday in Porto, Portugal. All new ships will operate on European itineraries.

Yes, there were the requisite number of ship godmothers too, ranging from cookbook authors Mary Berry (Viking Alsvin) and Anne Willan (Viking Hermod) to travel company executives like Expedia CruiseShipCenters vice president Geraldine Ree (Viking Eistla).

Aside from the record-setting hoopla, the inaugurations underscore how committed the company is to expanding and cashing in on the booming river cruise demand. USA Today reports that Viking plans to add another dozen ships in 2015, Chief Executive Torstein Hagen said Tuesday at the ceremonies in France.

Two more will be christened today, in Portugal.