Hess Beats Estimates; PSX Profit Doubles -- October 29, 2014

Updates

PSX: profit doubles; beats by 27 cents; costs slide; 

Hess: beats estimates; Bakken production surges; shares up:

Hess posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday as production jumped in North Dakota's Bakken shale formation.

Net income surged to $1 billion, or $3.31 per share, in the third quarter from $420 million, or $1.23 per share, in the year-ago period.

Excluding recent asset sales and other one-time items, the company posted profit of $1.24 per share.

Southern Company (SO): beats by 2 cents;

Newfield: beats by one cent (yesterday)

SM Energy: misses by two cents (yesterday)

PSXP: misses by three cents

STR: beats by four cents

WLL: which is it?

• AP headline: Whiting misses Street 3Q forecasts ($1.24 vs $1.25)
• Reuters: Whiting profit beats Street as North Dakota output jumps; 

Whiting Petroleum Corp posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday as production rose 33 percent at its North Dakota wells. Denver-based Whiting posted net income of $158 million, or $1.32 per share, compared with $204 million, or $1.71 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding one-time items, the company earned $1.24 per share. By that measure, analysts expected earnings of $1.21 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

WMB: misses by 3 cents but confirms dividend-growth guidance of ~ 15% annually -- from the higher 3Q14 base -- through 2017 with planned dividends of ~ $1.96 in 2014, $2.46 in 2015, $2.82 in 2016, $3.25 in 2017. Shares surge over 3%.

WPZ: Williams Cos profit soars; boosted by Access Midstream stake; shares up 2%

Original Post

According to Yahoo!Finance. But sometimes Yahoo!Finance is wrong. So we will just have to wait and see.

If they do report, expectations:

• Hess: $1.08
• KOG: 20 cents;
• Phillips 66 (PSX): $1.75 at 8:00 a.m. EDT
• PSX partners (PSXP): 40 cents at 8:45 a.m. EDT
• Qusestar (STR): 18 cents after market close
• Southern Co (SO): $1.07 at 7:30 a.m. EDT
• Statoil at 2:00 a.m. EDT
• Whiting (WLL): $1.22 after market close
• Williams (WMB): 19 cents after market close
• WMB partners (WPZ): 39 cents after market close

... and a whole bunch more ...

This is not an investment site. Do not make any investment, financial, or relationship decisions based on anything you read here or think you may have read here.

Regarding KOG. Would this be a good poll? Will the deal with Whiting happen? Less than 2% of outstanding shares are held by insiders. According to Yahoo!Finance more than 75% of outstanding shares are held by institutions. The vote is December 3, 2014.

Again, this is not an investment site, but I could not possibly be more upbeat about the market right now. So many stories. If one has a long horizon. Huge opportunities. A lot of dots to connect. But again, this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment, financial, or relationship decisions based on anything you read here or think you may have read here.

In a long note with a lot of numbers, I make factual and typographical errors; if this information is important to you go to the source.

Tuesday Night - Lots Of Stories -- Not Many About The Bakken -- October 28, 2014

But the first story is about the Bakken. The press release:

Crestwood Midstream Partners LP  announced today the loading of the 1,000^th crude oil unit train at its COLT Hub in Epping, North Dakota.

The COLT rail facility commenced service in June 2012 with an original capacity to load 80,000 barrels per day. The facility has undergone two major expansions since 2012 and has a current capacity to load up to 160,000 bopd.

Crestwood’s COLT rail facility is one of the largest crude-by-rail loading terminals in the U.S., based on daily volumes loaded, currently averaging approximately 120,000 bopd. 

I first blogged about this in 2010.

• June, 2012 - July, 2014: 24 months
• Aug - Sept - Oct: less than 3 months
• off-line for expansion
• so maybe 24 months
• 24 * 30 = 720 days
• 1,000 crude oil unit trains / 720 days = more than a unit train on average every day. 

Wow, that's working 24/7.

Hillary Clinton, said in a recent speech, that this CBR terminal was built by the government. She said every business in this country was built by the government. Not even going to find the link.

A big "thank you" to a reader for finding / sending me the Crestwood press release. In fact, I think most of the stories linked on this post are coming in from readers.

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More Businesses "Built" By The Government

By the way, The Bismarck Tribune is reporting that the government "built" more than a 1,000 businesses in the Bismarck-Mandan area in the last ten years:

From 2002 to 2013, 1,169 new places of business were opened in Burleigh and Morton counties.

“The growth of our community is undeniable, but it can be difficult to quantify that growth when it’s happening at such a fast pace,” marketing and research director Judy Sauter said in the Bismarck-Mandan Development Association newsletter.

“So while it’s easy to point to specific building projects or anecdotal stories, quantifiable statistics like those in our monthly Economy-at-a-Glance are the best indicators of just how far we’ve come.”

As of 2013, there were 33,267 business establishments in North Dakota, according to North Dakota Job Service statistics.

Hillary would be proud: all these businesses being "built" by the government. It's really quite remarkable when you think about it. No wonder Hillary gets so excited when she talks about it. Just imagine all the "businesses" and "jobs" her government will create if she becomes president.

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Global Warming

Climate Change

Extreme Weather

Ice Age Now

The Pause That Refreshes

Okay, we all agree there has been no warming for 19 years. Now, the UN's climate experts are saying the "pause" will last another 30 years. I can't make this stuff up. Yahoo!Video: UN climate scientist says "cooling" could last another 30 years. I was looking for a site that had the "print" report and there are literally so many sites saying the same thing. Just like a growing snowball, all these reports now coming out that global warming is over. That was easy.

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How's That Clean Coal Plant In Mississippi Working Out?

They Would Have Been Better Building A Nuclear Plant

This story is now tracked here. 

I'm sure the folks in Mississippi will be happy to hear that news -- that global warming is on "pause" for the foreseeable future. Bloomberg is reporting:

Southern Co. said its first-of-a-kind clean coal power plant in Mississippi will cost almost three times more and take three years longer than originally proposed. [They would have been better off building a nuclear plant.]

The estimated cost of the Kemper County project is now $6.1 billion and it’s expected to be in service in the first half of 2016, Atlanta-based Southern said today in a filing.

The company initially said the project would cost $2.2 billion and begin generating power four years after it was proposed in 2009.

“It’s the gift that keeps on taking,” said Paul Patterson, a New York-based analyst for Glenrock Associates LLC. “This is one of many write downs and it’s a disappointment, obviously.”

The plant would be the first designed to capture carbon dioxide by turning coal into a gas, with technology that Southern plans to sell to others as countries from the U.S. to China seek to cut greenhouse-gas emissions. Kemper will heat the coal to high temperatures to turn it into a gas and then separate carbon dioxide that can be piped to oil fields to improve output.

The Chinese are adding a new coal-powered plant once a week, on average. I guess this Kemper County project is another "business" that is being built by the government, the stuff that Hillary talks about. Delayed. Over budget. The big story here is whether someone will eventually "pull  the plug" on this project and just take the write-off. The costs are going to be passed on to the customers. 

Twenty-One (21) New Permits -- North Dakota; KOG With Two "High-IP" Wells; Oasis To Report 12 Wells Wednesday; October 28, 2014

Active rigs:

	10/28/2014	10/28/2013	10/28/2012	10/28/2011	10/28/2010
Active Rigs	192	180	186	200	150

Wells coming off the confidential list today were posted earlier, see sidebar at the right.

Wells coming off the confidential list Wednesday:

• 24909, 2,090, Oasis, Kaleb 5501 12-1B, Cow Creek, t7/14; cum 18K 8/14;
• 25764, drl, Oasis, Hannah Kaydence 5501 12-1T, Cow Creek, producing,
• 27113, 658, Oasis, Hagen Banks 5298 42-31 3T, Banks, t7/14; cum 32K 8/14;
• 27219, 1,410, Oasis, Mallard 5692 31-22 5T, Alger, t8/14; cum 3K 8/14;
• 27220, 1,933, Oasis, Mallard 5692 31-22 6B, Alger, t8/14; cum 30K 8/14;
• 27221, 1,316, Oasis, mallard 5692 31-22 7T, Alger, t8/14; cum 2K 8/14;
• 27245, 1,505, Oasis, Tufto 5501 11-13 3T, Cow Creek, t6/14; cum 24K 8/14;
• 27246, 2,237, Oasis, Tufto 5501 11-13 2B, Cow Creek, t5/14; cum 37K 8/14;
• 27250, 398, Oasis, Tufto 5501 13-13 4T, Cow Creek, t6/14; cum 26K 8/14;
• 27251, 1,013, Oasis, Tufto 5501 13-13 6T, Cow Creek, t6/14; cum 24K 8/14;
• 27467, 111, Oasis, Shaw 6092 11-23 2T, Cottonwood, t9/14; cum --
• 27600, 1,260, Oasis, Oasis Meiers 5692 43-18 6T, Alger, t8/14; cum 10K 8/14;
• 27836, drl, MRO, Richanda USA 21-4H, McGregory Buttes, no production data,
• 27911, drl, Slawson, Bootleg 5-14-15TFH, Stockyard Creek, no production data,
• 28208, 175, Slawson, Zulu 6-21TFH, Big Bend, t8/14; cum 3K 8/14;

Seven (7) producing wells completed:

• 26424, 2,189, KOG, P Manning 154-99-2-2-11-14H, Stockyard Creek, t9/14; cum --
• 26422, 2,144, KOG, P Manning 154-99-2-2-11-15, Stockyard Creek, t9/14; cum --
• 27060, 1,872, BR,Norman 21-4MBH 2SH, Johnson Corner, 4 sections, t9/14; cum --
• 26862, 1,546, XTO, Ruby State Federal34X-36B, Grinnell, t9/14; cum --
• 23587, 584, XTO, Kristensen 24X-9B, Temple, t10/14; cum --
• 23681, 656, XTO, Martin Fox 20-17HX, Mandaree, t10/14; cum --
• 23682, 1,142, WPX, Martin Fox 20-17HB, Mandaree, t10/14; cum --

Twenty-one (21) new permits:

• Operators: Hess (6), EOG (5), QEP (5), Petro-Hunt (2), Petro-Sentinel, CLR, Enerplus
• Fields: Truax (Williams), Rainbow (Williams), Grail (McKenzie), Parshall (Mountrail), Green Lake (Williams), Heart Butte (Dunn), Little Knife (Dunn), Coyote Creek (Bowman)
• Comments: this is the second permit/well for Petro-Sentinel; their first well (#24659) was dry;

Tuesday -- October 28, 2014

Active rigs:

	10/28/2014	10/28/2013	10/28/2012	10/28/2011	10/28/2010
Active Rigs	193	180	186	200	150

RBN Energy: sixth in a continuing series -- condensate takeaway in the Eagle Ford.

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For Investors

This is not an investment site. Do not make any investment, financial, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or what you think you may have read here. Shares trading at new highs are outpacing those trading at new lows. New highs: AAPL, CAH, CSX, FDX, UNP.

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Sears Layoffs Swell 

SeekingAlpha is reporting that Sears layoffs swell to 7,000:

More stores have been added to the tally of Sears and Kmart locations shutting down. The locations include 63 Kmart stores; 34 Sears stores; 34 Sears Auto Centers, 32 of which are associated with closing Sears stores; 1 Kmart distribution center and 1 Sears product repair facility. More locations could be added to the list. The closures are scheduled between November and January, with many stores closing before Christmas.

• layoffs: 7,000 (initial announcement was 5,000, I believe)
• closures rise to include 63 Kmart stores, 34 Sears stores, 34 Sears Auto Centers, 1 Kmart distribution center and 1 Sears product repair facility.
• Sears lists thousands of its open and operating facilities as available for full or partial lease.
• Sears says its physical stores remain "integral" to its transformation, will hire for the holidays.

I blog on the demise of the "big box store" here.

Yesterday I planned to buy a Bose remote control and a lens cover for a Canon camera locally. Before ordering on-line, I checked out Best Buy -- I haven't been in a Best Buy store in ages. I asked a Best Buy employee in customer service where either (the remote control or the lens cover) could be found. He pointed me in the direction, noting that if they didn't have the Bose remote control, a universal control would probably work. Best Buy does not carry Bose remote controllers -- not at least in this store. The lens cover was a "generic" cover -- which is fine -- but it did not state what cameras it would accommodate. Even knowing the exact size  (50 mm or 52 mm) was not adequate -- different cameras have slightly different requirements than just the size. There was no employee nearby with whom I could discuss trying a lens cover before buying ($7.98 for about 4 cents worth of plastic). I left the store without buying either. I will order the genuine article from Amazon. At the time of my visit, it was absolutely quiet; many store employees and very few customers. I get better customer service at Wal-Mart, interestingly.

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Ebola

I see the state of Maine plans to ask the nurse returning from Ebolaland vis New Jersey to "self-quarantine herself for 21 days. One would think the clock would have started when she entered the states, which must have been about a week ago. I see she has not yet been invited to the White House to be hugged by the president. I don't blame him. It's now well confirmed that the virus can survive outside the human body for a lot longer than suspected or first reported. Like on doorknobs and toilet seats.

[Update: I posted that two days ago, October 28, 2014. Today, two days later, October 30, it is being reported that the CDC is, in fact, reporting the same thing: Ebola is more easily spread than we are being told:

Ebola is a lot easier to catch than health officials have admitted — and can be contracted by contact with a doorknob contaminated by a sneeze from an infected person an hour or more before.

And there you have it.]