- ATT, expectations, 64 cents, actual, barely misses; 63 cents after adjustments;
- Boeing, expectations, $1.28; actual, $1.86 (up from $1.51 a year earlier: jumps 18%, raises earnings view;
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From The Bismarck Tribune back on May 20, 2013:Menards distribution center is being built 15 miles to the east by the tracks. The new side track is interesting. Appears they are working 24/7 to complete the all the dirt work and concrete. The size of this project is very large.
After two split votes, the Burleigh County Commission decided Monday to give Midwest Manufacturing, an arm of Menards, a 50 percent property tax break for three years on a $7.5 million manufacturing plant it plans to build in McKenzie Township.
It will be a block plant, truss plant, wood-treating plant and distribution facility along state Highway 10.
The corporation would still pay $25,000 a year to the Sterling School District and $5,000 to McKenzie Township every year of the tax break.
The county is awaiting word on whether Menards will accept the tax break terms. Menards had asked for a full tax break for two years and a 50 percent tax break for three years.Active rigs in North Dakota:
| 10/22/2014 | 10/22/2013 | 10/22/2012 | 10/22/2011 | 10/22/2010 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active Rigs | 193 | 182 | 185 | 195 | 151 |
RBN Energy: how coincidental. Just after the long post on LNG last night, RBN Energy has a post on Japan's long, expensive marriage to LNG:
The increased use of fossil fuels for power generation post-Fukushima resulted in a huge uptick in LNG imports (more than 95% of Japan’s gas comes from LNG).
According to the Japanese government, in 2010 the LNG equivalent of about 9 Bcf/d of natural gas was imported (with electric utilities accounting for more than 5 Bcf/d of the total). By 2013, LNG imports had soared to the equivalent of 11.5 Bcf/d (with utilities accounting for an even greater share—7.4 Bcf/d—in part because of new gas-fired plants coming online), and in the first eight months of 2014, LNG imports averaged 11.8 Bcf/d.
Japan has a stellar LNG import/regasification infrastructure (30 terminals with a total gas send-out capacity of 23 Bcf/d) and can handle the flood of LNG—that wasn’t and isn’t the issue. The problems for Japan are that 1) the fossil-fired units it now depends on for almost all its power (wind, solar and other renewables provide only a sliver) can barely meet demand on days or nights with high power demand, and 2) oil and gas (particularly when it’s supplied as LNG, as it needs to be in Japan) are way more expensive than nuclear fuel (uranium).
Japan has been smart over time in diversifying its LNG sourcing—a US Energy Information Administration pie chart (at the link) shows just how diversified its supply is, and now it’s planning on buying LNG from the US and Canada too.
As we noted earlier, the problem (or at least one of the problems) for Japan is that LNG has become very pricey, not only because of all the spot-market, premium-price buying Japan utilities have had to do the past three years, but because prices for the vast majority of the LNG the utilities buy under long-term contract continue to be based on a historical oil priced index formula and not on something more favorable—say, Henry Hub gas prices.
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A reader alerted me to the following. I have watched snippets with the volume turned off just to see some video of Williston and the surrounding area.
A nice review of the movie from a reader:
See other comments below.I watched this when it came on this past Sunday. I thought it was a fair and well produced show. Some people of course were upset because they said it wasn't about the real Williston and made Williston look bad. I disagree. The first half was about women who made their way to Williston to work in the oil fields and their successes. The last part was about human trafficking in Williston and the people involved. The positive part about human trafficking were the locals and oil companies who are saying we are going to not tolerate this anymore. I am guessing there will be a follow up as LIsa Ling hinted on her Facebook that they could have done a 6-series show on WIlliston because of the complexity and changes taking place daily in Williston and she is anxious to return. Maybe they will show more positive stories on how the characters in this story are doing now...a year later, since this appears to have been documented last winter.
I watched this when it came on this past Sunday. I thought it was a fair and well produced show. Some people of course were upset because they said it wasn't about the real Williston and made Williston look bad. I disagree. The first haf was about women who made their way to Williston to work in the oil fields and their successes. The last part was about human trafficking in Williston and the people involved. The positive part about human trafficking were the locals and oil companies who are saying we are going to not tolerate this anymore. I am guessing there will be a follow up as LIsa Ling hinted on her Facebook that they could have done a 6 series show on WIlliston because of the complexity and changes taking place daily in Williston and she is anxious to return. Maybe they will show more positive stories on how the characters in this story are doing now...a year later, since this appears to have been documented last winter.
ReplyDeleteVery nice comment. Thank you. I will move it up to the main body of the blog-post so it is easier to access.
DeleteI'm very sensitive, of course, but at the end of the day two things stand out: a) the Bakken is simply very, very fascinating for so many people; and, b) everything needs to be put in perspective. I can't even imagine a human-trafficking documentary filmed on the streets after midnight in Detroit, Atlanta, NYC, Philadelphia, just to name a few.
Typical CNN chickification . It was 15% positive, 75% negative. All shots were of the Bakken in winter and as they stated, -60 degrees! And they wonder why CNN's ratings are at the bottom of the heap!
ReplyDeleteI would say it was 50% positive and 50% negative. The first half hour had very positive stories. the last half hour was uncomfortable because of the human trafficking aspect. We don't want to admit it is happening in Williston, but it is. So 50% for positive stories, 25% because it was uncomfortable to watch at times and 25% because it was filmed in the winter. But realistically, who cares if it was shot in the summer or winter. The fact is, we do have winter weather for nearly 5 months of the year, and the stories would still be true, uplifting, uncomforable , etc.. whether it was filmed in the winter or summer. The story was about women drawn to the bakken for work. Not what Williston is like on a warm sunny day.
ReplyDeleteGreat comment: I think the word "uncomfortable" is well chosen. The biggest problem with reporting these days is a) the denominator; and, b) perspective. Denominator: of all the women coming to Williston what percentage are there because of human trafficking? Perspective: how does that compare to other cities of interest? Maybe the documentary answered that; I don't know. But just to say it exists and devote 25 to 50% of the program to that segment may be a problem. Again, I don't know. And, of course, sex sells television ads.
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