Update From A Reader On "Rents" In The Bakken -- March 2, 2015

Excellent, excellent editorial by Rob Port over at Bakken.com on flaring. Regular readers know my thoughts on flaring.

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Bakken Rents

Do you remember that story posted earlier about rents coming down in the Bakken?

From a reader regarding rents in Watford City:

• Rents are like $2700, $3400, $3700 for 1, 2, 3 bedroom apartments. 
• Duplex rentals: $4,200/month per side. 

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The Road To New England

Regular readers are well aware of this story; it provides a bit more background. RBN Energy was one of the first to explain why the grid "held" this year in New England and why prices have remained relatively low.

Bangor Daily News is reporting:

What a difference a year makes.

Twelve months ago, tumultuous weather in the Northeast caused record natural gas price spikes and forced some power plants to shut for lack of fuel as power producers scrambled to outbid each other for scarce supplies.

This February, the region has shivered through the coldest weather in 81 years, yet gas prices are a fifth lower than a year ago after power generators, learning lessons from last winter, stocked up on extra oil and gas from domestic and overseas sources before the weather turned cold.

New England’s power grid operator, ISO New England, provided incentives to encourage generators to lock in oil and gas supplies early, offering an end-of-season cash payout to cover any excess costs from unused fuel supplies, among other things. Liquefied natural gas was also included in the program for the first time this year.

“Both the region’s power grid and its resources have been operating well this winter, even through the arctic cold, and the winter reliability program has been a big part of that because it helped ensure that resources had fuel to operate when we needed them,” Lacey Girard, ISO New England spokeswoman, said.

ISO New England said 79 oil and dual-fuel units able to burn both gas and oil bought about 4.5 million barrels of oil. In addition, six gas units bought fuel from liquefied natural gas terminals that bring gas in from overseas as part of the current winter reliability program.

Residents in New England should be grateful ISO New England didn't fall for that "global warming" story. LOL. 

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At Least Some Integrity

Tweeting now: Susan Rice says Jews were 'singled out' for 'hate' in attack on Paris kosher grocery, contradicting President Obama calling it random - @IssacDovere

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And More Honesty

CNBC is reporting:

Buffett already has his money where his mouth is. His famous "Million-Dollar Bet" with hedge fund-focused investment firm Protégé Partners is that a simple S&P 500 index fund managed by Vanguard would beat a mix of five funds of hedge funds over 10 years.

Through seven years, Buffett's index fund is up 63.5 percent while the five funds of funds selected by Protégé are up an estimated average of 19.6 percent, according to a Fortune report in February.

Ghost Riders in the Sky, Dick Dale