What We Will Be Talking About Wednesday -- November 11, 2014; Samson Resources Bakken Assets In Play?

Reuters is reporting:

KKR & Co,which led the acquisition of oil and gas producer Samson Resources Corp for $7.2 billion in 2011 and has already sold almost half its acreage to cope with lower energy prices, plans to sell its North Dakota Bakken oil deposit worth less than $500 million as part of an ongoing downsizing plan, according to people familiar with the matter.

KKR, one of the world's biggest private equity firms with $96 billion in assets under management, overpaid for Samson, and persistently low natural gas prices have hampered its ability to finance the company and added to its debt burden, the people said. KKR's plan was to shift Samson's assets from natural gas production more into oil and liquids.

A big "thank you" to a reader for sending me the link. The article above says assets are "worth less than $500 million." Compare with $650 million paid in this post.

Again, this is simply information for my interest. If this information is important to you, go to the source. Do not rely on this blog. The glob is for my benefit to help me better understand the Bakken; others are welcome to read what I post, but I certainly would not make any financial, investment, or relationship decisions based on what one reads here or what one thinks they may have read here. 

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Deep-Sea Drilling

We Feel Your Pain

With slump in oil prices I put Venezuela at the top of the list for pain, followed by deep-sea drillers, and then Russia. Pundits suggest various OPEC counties are near the top of the list, but I don't think quite as high as other folks might think. Be that as it may, with regard to deep-sea drillers, Transocean says they will likely retire additional rigs:

Transocean Ltd, the owner of the world's largest offshore drilling fleet, said it was likely to retire additional rigs as the company continued to face pressure due to slowdown in an oversupplied rig market.

The drilling contractor's shares rose as much as 3 percent in early trading after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly results on Monday.

The recent slide in oil prices has weighed on demand for offshore services as oil and gas producers cut costs. Day rates for offshore rigs are expected to drop further over the next few quarters as oil companies shy away from expensive production.

Analysts believe the offshore industry will remain over-supplied for the next one to two years, as rigs ordered during the previous boom hit the sea.

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Libya

Old news. I don't think Libya will be much of a factor either way for the next few years.

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Strong Dollar

Fast Money: strong dollar could send oil to $30/bbl. If it gets to a $30/bbl, airline fares will be cut in half; gasoline will go to 80 cents/gallon. Happy days are around the corner. 

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Other News

Wall Street Journal

I know this is an important issue, but it was interesting that it was the headline story in almost every newspaper today: Obama urges FCC to protect net neutrality. After one of the biggest midterm election upsets ever, the stuff going on in the Mideast, Putin, the Polar Vortex, and everything else, and the headline is Obama and net neutrality? 

ObamaCare enrollment for 2015 is going to tank. 

Doctors cash in on drug tests for seniors.

I think this is an under-reported story, the midterm election shellacking. Eisenhower was the last Republican president in the "old era." The sixties -- the decade of the 60s -- was an incredible decade for America. It is interesting "to see America in the 60's" at the JFK museum in Dallas -- the walk through the sixth floor and one is immersed / taken back to the 60's. JFK set in motion some programs / idealism that may be only now starting to burn out 50 years later. It will be interesting if 100 years from now, historians bookend the last 50 - 60 years with JFK at one end and Obama at the other end. When one looks at the red / blue map that will be in place on January 20, 2015, it is truly  remarkable. Then this article in the WSJ today: Democrats are short of fresh new faces. Not completely. They have Pocahontas. Who barely won when she ran, and now her state has a Republican governor. There won't be a man that looks like President Obama on the 2016 ballot for US president in 2016. A lot of dots to connect. 

US Postal Service hacked.

Recession? Depression? The Road to New England. Federal regulators effectively banned all cod fishing for the next six months and are considering cutting the amount of cod New England fishermen will be allowed to catch by as much as 75% next year. Something tells me New England has bigger things than global warming to worry about.

The note above about JFK and BHO bookending the last five decades -- now this: Detorit looks to re-engineer how city government works.

This is interesting: feds want states to produce plans to have "high-performing teachers regardless of race or income." Really?

The tea leaves suggest Israel and the West Bank are about to blow. Up. Again.

The US will delay delivery of F-16 fighter planes to Iraq, citing security reasons.

Russia-China deal could further hit natural-gas prices.

Having failed to reach common ground with Congress, "Obama seeks common ground with China."

I saw this while I was on vacation: ATT gets a foothold in Mexico.

Another "red line" in the sand over Iran's nuclear program blows away.

Rocket scientists will attempt the challenging task of trying to land a probe on the surface of a comet. Rumors that Harry Reid is on the probe are probably untrue.

GM will trim workers and production at two Michigan assembly plants; too many Cadillac ATS, CTS, Buick Verano, and Chevrolet Sonics. I need to get out more; I've never even heard of a Verano.

UAW expects VW to recognize the union as the bargaining unit at its Chattanooga manufacturing plant.

Boehner: does not want Federal government to mandate internet sales tax.

FCC / internet neutrality: Obama vs Congress? Non-gamers vs gamers?

The Los Angeles Times

Nothing.

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A Note to the Granddaughters

I have a huge warm spot for the folks in Massachusetts, especially in the Boston area, and on Cape Cod. My comments about "the road to New England" have nothing to do with the Massachusetts folks; it's all about the decisions that their politicians are making.

My daughter and son-in-law, and two granddaughters, lived in a Boston suburb for four years; we were with them, in the Boston area, for much of that time.

I bicycled almost everywhere in the area, including much of Boston, year-round, including during the winter when streets were closed due to snow / snowplows.

We made several weekend trips to the tip of Cape Cod and fell in love with Provincetown. I sometimes think that Provincetown was my favorite spot, and I have pretty much lived and visited everywhere with some notable exceptions (but not many). In another life, in a life in which I was not married, or did not have children, I might live in Provincetown.

One of our favorite restaurants was the Morning Glory in Gloucester.  Both my wife and I loved it. We tried to get to Gloucester once a month.

I read two books on the Massachusetts lobster industry and that gives me an idea of the challenges in the cod fishing industry. Truly, very, very sad.