Tuesday -- May 6, 2014

I'm traveling; will be here for 30 minutes so the update will be fast, prone to typographical and factual errors. I will correct them later. The post will be more disorganized that usual, but here goes.

I have a lot of e-mails to reply to; I won't get to them until later tonight, tomorrow, or later this week. I have an interesting e-mail from a reader who notes that restrictions on flaring are resulting in a decrease in oil production for some mineral owners. I'll get back to that later, but I've talked about tat at length in the past. The Bakken is an oil "play." About 92% oil and 8% natural gas; varies.

OAS: First, OAS is having a good morning following their earnings report. The most interesting bit of trivia I don't know yet is how much they got for each acre that they sold in their Sanish divestiture. Stock up over 3%. Reuters report. Revenue rose 40 percent to $349.5 million.

Active rigs:

	5/6/2014	05/06/2013	05/06/2012	05/06/2011	05/06/2010
Active Rigs	186	190	210	177	109

RBN Energy: the economics behind the Jordan Cove LNG project in coastal Oregon.
The Jordan Cove LNG project in coastal Oregon is the first “greenfield” US LNG export project—and the first on the West Coast--to win the Department of Energy’s approval to export to non-Free Trade Agreement (FTA) nations. That approval is critical for an LNG exporter focused on Asian markets, because the only FTA countries in that region are South Korea and Singapore. But can Jordan Cove compete with Sabine Pass and other Gulf Coast projects with existing LNG tankage and therefore lower capital costs? Today we consider the economics behind the project.

The Wall Street Journal  -- short and brief

Target's problem: Tar-zhay isn't working. Sounds like JC Penney. The Christmas-season cyberattack on Target did more than expose customer credit-card data to potential fraud. It also turned up the heat on troubles that simmered under the six-year tenure of CEO Gregg Steinhafel, who stepped down on Monday.

Supreme Court permits prayer at town meetings, but not in school.

Obama will explain why the Statue of Liberty will be under water by the end of his term.

Polio: it's back.

Brazil's biggest city will now ration water, just as it hosts world soccer championship.

 Dirty US coal finds home in Europe. Yup.

Wal-Mart finally notches a win against rival Amazon as its online sales grow faster than the online retailing giant's for the first time in a decade.

Apple's stock ready for launch sequence.

The Los Angeles Times -- the west coast mouthpiece for the Democratic Party

Mr Obama explains why the Statue of Liberty will be underwater by thed of his term.

"How a Keystone XL loss in the Senate could be a win-win for Democrats."

The long political battle over the Keystone XL pipeline could reach a pivotal moment this week if enough Democratic senators join Republicans to support a bill that would approve the project, all but guaranteeing a veto showdown with the White House.

And that is an outcome Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid would like to avoid.

I didn't read the rest of the article, but it's easy what the win-win would be: a) it would allow Dems to distance themselves from the president on his non-energy program; and, b) he would veto the bill, and the activist environmentalists will be thrilled. And lots of campaign money keeps coming in. The last thing anyone wants is a decision being made; the campaign donations would quit coming in.

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For Investors Only

Bakken leaders could replace biotech in 2014. Forbes. 

Reporting today:

• Denbury Resources (DNR) (25 cents): actual -- in-line; stock up 2%
• First Solar (FSLR) (56 cents): excellent; shares "pop"; trounced expectations at $1.10;
• Marathon Oil Corp (MRO) (72 cents): profit triples; beats by 17 cents; nice
• ONEOK (OKE) (38 cents): after market close
• Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) ($1.06): beats by 19 cents; stock surges after-hours

From Yahoo!InPlay And Other Sources

• Trading at new highs: AAPL, EOG, EPD, MPC, NGLS, NRG, OKE, STO, TRN, WMB, XOM.
• Magellan Midstream beats by $0.40
• First Solar to build 42.76MW for EDF Renewable Energy: Co has been selected as the turnkey Engineering, Procurement and Construction contractor for two projects under development by EDF Renewable Energy in California. First Solar and EDF Renewable Energy have signed EPC agreements for the 19.76 Megawatt (MW) AC CID Solar Project, located in Kings County; and the 23MWAC Cottonwood Solar Project, consisting of two sites, one located in Kings County and the other in Kern County. The CID Solar Project has a Power Purchase Agreement with Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

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.

Oasis 1Q14 earnings transcript: Transcript, 1Q14.

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A Note for the Granddaughters  

I left the Bakken yesterday morning, about 3:30 a.m. I spent most of the day with old friends and new friends in southwestern North Dakota before starting out for Grapevine (Dallas), Texas.

There are few things that are I enjoy more than cross-country driving.  Once one gets out of McKenzie County, North Dakota, everything slows down.

I picked up two new CDs at a Target store (paid in cash) along the bypass around Rapid City, SD. I looked forward to a great ride through Nebraska. I have commented many times, it is the most challenging state for me -- I have so many miles to get through Nebraska, it never seems to end. Even with the new CDs, Nebraska seemed to take forever. The stars were out, but I did not see an meteors. I don't consider a cross-country drive a complete success unless I see a meteor, preferably several. I usually see them over Kansas, but my entire trip through Kansas today will be in daylight.

I had a nice discussion with a new friend in Williston: learned a lot about relationships, particularly "love and respect." Very, very interesting.

I've seen a lot of wildlife this trip; more than usual. It must be global warming; that's the only thing that's changed: pronghorn, of course; one wolf (in North Dakota); one fox (in South Dakota); lots of ducks, geese; one sandhill crane over Nebraska; a lot of pheasants (alive in Williams County; dead in Bowman County -- I'm told that drivers drive faster in Bowman County than in Williams County. That may be true.). Other domestic "wildlife": elk (Williston); buffalo (Bowman County, elsewhere); llamas (South Dakota).

I can't believe how nice the weather is. I've taken this route so many times, I actually remember which McDonald's I've stopped in before. The only McDonald's that doesn't have wi-fi is the one in Williston. Understandable. Most McDonald's do not have a electrical outlet for computer users. But now I'm back in Starbucks country; no more problems if I decide to stop.

Best book in its genre, without question: Rocket Girl, by George D. Morgan, c. 2013. Everyone who has an association with North Dakota, particularly Williams County, and even more specifically, Ray, North Dakota, needs to read this book. Absolutely fascinating. One more stop and I will have finished the book. Technically I could say I've finished it now, but I'm eager to read the "Epilogue." Later this week, I will post a review at Amazon.com.