Catching Up -- Monday, March 9, 2015

OPEC trying to break North American frackers -- Bloomberg, January 9, 2015
OPEC not targeting North American frackers -- Yahoo!Finance, March 9, 2015

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Exxon: counting on shale oil in three states -- North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Texas. Arkansas OnLine is reporting: 

In a world of $55-a-barrel oil, Exxon Mobil is relying on shale fields in Texas, Oklahoma and North Dakota to fund the next wave of big overseas projects it needs to thrive in the future.

Exxon unveiled plans last week to double the amount of oil it pumps from U.S. shale fields during the next three years, even as it moves more cautiously on investments in big projects elsewhere. Decades after quitting many U.S. fields to pursue bigger reserves from the Middle East to the North Sea, Exxon now sees its U.S. assets as its most reliable cash engines.

With its leading technology, expertise and market clout, the biggest U.S. oil producer has been able to reduce costs and improve efficiency in domestic shale fields it began acquiring in 2010. That progress, coming even as the price of crude has dropped, has allowed Exxon to generate "attractive returns," said Chief Executive Officer Rex Tillerson.

"It might surprise some people how attractive some of these things are in this environment," Tillerson told a gathering of investors in New York. North American shale "is more resilient than some people think it is."

Exxon expects its worldwide production of crude and natural gas to climb 7.5 percent to the equivalent of 4.3 million barrels a day by the end of 2017, the Irving, Texas-based company said. The last time Exxon performed at that level was 2011.

Price slump is blessing in surprise for unconventional oil. 24/7 is reporting:

Despite the doom & gloom, something new is happening in the oil industry. You need to prepare for the coming surge.

One of the subtlest, most effective moves in sports is the head-fake. It's a thing of beauty when done well. In the energy commodity business, it can be disastrous to anyone who falls for it.

Right now, everyone is focused on low crude oil prices, and the subsequent layoffs and rig shutdowns that follow. I say it's a head-fake, because too many companies are buying into the narrative and scurrying for cover, while the smart money slips past them to victory.

Despite lower prices and dire news, particularly in the American oil markets, the fundamentals generally point to a flurry of need. If oil prices can merely get back to the $60-$70 a barrel range in the next 12 months, and stay there for a reasonable period of time, U.S. production is poised to respond.

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From a reader:

If you have Neflix, a must watch: 30 For 30: Of Miracles And Men (2015). The reader loved it; said to be the "Russia's version of the "1980 Miracle On Ice."

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The Apple Juggernaut -- WSJ

The link. 

An investor who bought Cisco on the day of the Nasdaq’s record in March 2000 and held that investment would have suffered a 53% loss through last Friday on a total-return basis, including price moves and dividend payments. [Wow -- including dividends.]

Buying and holding Intel in the same period would have resulted in a 25% total-return loss. Buying and holding Microsoft and Oracle would have produced total-return gains of 18% and 10%, respectively, but would have lagged behind the 98% return on the S&P 500 in the same period. [Wow -- Microsoft at 18% trailed ATT at 39%.]

Apple? Up 2,652%.