Tuesday -- December 16, 2014; Active Rigs Up To 184; Russia Might Default

Active rigs:

	12/16/2014	12/16/2013	12/16/2012	12/16/2011	12/16/2010
Active Rigs	184	191	181	199	165

RNB Energy: natural gas pipeline projects in the Northeast -- an update on the Constitution Pipeline, the Northeast Energy Direct project, and Access Northeast, all of which are planned to help move Marcellus gas into the heart of New England.

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Clarity

The fog is starting to clear. This is getting pretty cool. Looking back ten years from now, the current slump in oil prices will be something historians will still be writing about.

Saudi Arabia has talked about "protecting their market share."

There have been a lot of stories about Russia growing closer to China with all those energy deals over the past year. That's like raising a red flag in front of a bull for Saudi Arabia when it comes to protecting their market share.

Prices began to collapse immediately after Saudi made the announcement over Thanksgiving, 2014. Less than three weeks later, there is serious talk about Russia defaulting.

If Russia defaults, oil companies (mostly US) are going to extract huge concessions from Russia if the oil companies even agree to stay. In the meantime, I don't suppose a lot of westerners drilling in Russia are really going to work for free. All that talk about Russia maintaining 2014 production going into 2015 seems a bit questionable, doesn't it.

[As a side note, back on November 23, 2014, I talked about the amount of oil the US imports from Russia despite sanctions. Sounds like Saudi actions cause more pain than US sanctions.]

With regard to Saudi's action, there are six dots to connect. Things are becoming much clearer.

On a side note, I don't watch television any more (except for occasional NASCAR, NFL, and college football), so let me know if CNBC is more worried about a) Greece defaulting; b) Russia defaulting; or, c) what Herb Greenberg is saying about Starbucks.

I Can See Clearly Now, Johnny Nash
Of course, some folks can't see clearly at all. Despite "Islamic" being in their name, ISIS is not Islamic. LOL. When you listen to the speech, see if he could be describing the Palestinians under Arafat when that "state" was just getting started? It's interesting which religions the president goes out of his way to defend.