Details, Details, Details -- About Par For The Course -- The Proposed Reservation Refinery On Hold While Tribal Chief Gets Ducks Back In Order -- November 27, 2014

KNET is reporting:

Leaders with the Three Affiliated Tribes in western North Dakota plan to revise their plan for an oil refinery on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.

Yes, that refinery, the refinery for which "ground was broken" a year and a half ago (May, 2013). 

Tribal chairman Mark Fox tells the Minot Daily News that the project has been at a standstill while the tribe deals with environmental measures and other procedural items.

Details, details. Procedural items. Like meeting BLM, EPA, USACE, NDIC, and EIEIO rules and regulations. 

It is planned on land about 2½ miles west of Makoti, in southwest Ward County.

I wonder when the project "went on standstill"? June, 2013?

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

Arch Shipping More Coal

With all the attention on oil the past few weeks, I've completely forgotten about coal. In fact, having seen so few stories on coal in the mainstream media, I assumed coal was dead in this country. I certainly did not expect this. Market Realist is reporting:

During the quarter, the Appalachian segment shipped 3.6 million tons of coal. The shipments included 1.7 million tons of metallurgical coal and 1.9 million tons of thermal coal.

Both thermal and metallurgical coal shipments increased over 3Q 2013, when the company shipped a total of 3.3 million tons coal (1.8 million tons thermal and 1.5 million tons metallurgical).

Management noted that Leer mine, which started production in 4Q 2013, exceeded expectations. The company’s Appalachian coal (both thermal and metallurgical) sold out for 2014.

On the basis of 2014 guidance, we may see shipments of 1.7 million tons of metallurgical coal and 1.5 million tons of thermal coal in 4Q 2014.

You can tell that the company is reducing its exposure to Appalachian thermal coal from the numbers.

Yes, the company is reducing its exposure to thermal coal, but still: with all the natural gas being produced, and with all the time that power plants have had to switch to natural gas, this is really quite surprising. It tells me something -- probably logistics -- keeps coal in the game. It also tells me that the US has a huge appetite for energy (from all sources).

This must be music to Warren's ears -- all that coal still being shipped by rail.

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

Curious

I was curious what might be going on at the Target store down the street. It was closed all day, but was scheduled to open at 6:00 p.m. and be open until midnight, in anticipation of Black Friday, less than eight hours later.

So, well after dark, about 8:00 p.m., at the end of the first quarter between Seattle and San Francisco I put new batteries in the rear red light on the bike, re-positioned the red light on the back of my back-pack, and headed to Target.

Wow, not a spot left in the parking lot. Cars in trail at the front door, unloading passengers and loading large flat-screen (are there any other kind) TV sets. Inside, the check-out counters "ran" smoothly; more than enough counters open. Even two baristas on duty at Starbucks; normally there would only be one at this time of night, if the coffee shop was even open.

I didn't need anything; it was simply curious. Blu-Ray DVDs: $4.00. Regularly priced $14.99 at Target; checking Amazon for identical DVD priced $8.96 and $9.99 at Amazon tonight.

America: wow, what a great country.