There is historic precedent for Washington to be cautious. In 1963, when relations between President John F. Kennedy and Conservative Prime Minister John Diefenbaker were poisonous, the United States accused Ottawa of not meeting its commitments to NATO.LOL.
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a) It does not matter if the big trigger takes effect or not, the extraction tax will go to 5% on January 1, 2016;The bill passed and was signed by the Governor.
b) The triggers will be eliminated. Any well completed prior to December 1, 2015 that is eligible for any exemption will only be able to take advantage of the reduced rate until November 30, 2015;
c) If the average price of a barrel of oil is above $90 (indexed for inflation) for three consecutive months, the extraction tax will increase to 6%;
d) The rate will trigger back down to 5% following three consecutive months below $90; e) Removes the tertiary recovery project using CO2 exemption for wells in the Bakken or Three Forks formations, and for those wells outside of the Bakken, the exemption would be for a period of five years; SB2069 includes housecleaning and clarification language on the rate of withholding for oil and gas royalties.
On a go forward basis, the reason for price excursions will be real changes in shale oil production together with speculative beliefs in this regard. I have asserted in previous posts that the US has unwittingly become the swing producer, meaning when it sneezes world oil catches a cold. The Saudis used to have this status together with OPEC determinism of oil supply.
Recently Boone Pickens shared a stage with former EPA head Carol Browner and ex-secretary of energy, Steve Chu, discussing the environmental safety of shale oil and gas production; no doubt the debate was entertaining. Associated with this occasion Pickens stated to the press that the US was responsible for the oil price crash, not the Saudis. While this is not exactly news to at least readers of my posts, I cannot recollect a causal link being suggested by any person vested with expertise.
Most of the press has been on why the Saudis did it, rather than whether they did it. Damaging US shale oil production and hurting the economy of Iran and weakening Syria’s Assad (the latter through impoverishing financier Russia) were the principal theories advanced. Assuming the validity of Pickens’ assertion, one can conclude that if US production brought the price of oil down, then reduction in the same would send it back up. One theory of Saudi motivation would be supported.
Snagging is legal in all areas of the Yellowstone River in North Dakota, and in the area of the Missouri River lying west of the U.S. Highway 85 bridge to the Montana border, excluding that portion from the pipeline crossing (river mile 1,577) downstream to the upper end of the Lewis and Clark Wildlife Management Area (river mile 1,565).
Snaggers should be aware that mandatory harvest of all snagged paddlefish is required on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. On these days, all paddlefish caught must be tagged immediately.
Legal snagging hours are from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Snaggers are allowed only one tag per season.
Snag-and-release of all paddlefish is required on Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays.
Those planning to participate during snag-and-release-only days need to have in their possession a current season, unused paddlefish snagging tag. Use or possession of gaffs is prohibited on snag-and-release-only days, and, if it occurs, during the snag-and-release extension period.
All paddlefish snagged and tagged must be removed from the river by 9 p.m. of each snagging day. The use or possession of a gaff hook within one-half mile in either direction of the Highway 200 bridge on the Yellowstone River is illegal at any time during the snagging season.
If the season closes early because the harvest cap is reached, an extended snag-and-release-only period will be allowed for up to four days.Much, much more at the link.
The North Dakota Public Service Commission approved Wednesday permits for three electrical power infrastructure projects in western North Dakota being planned by Basin Electric Power Cooperative.
The projects, costing about $445 million, involve expansions of two natural gas powered generating stations and a new electric transmission line in the Oil Patch.
The first permit is for a $161.2 million expansion of the Pioneer Generating Station in Williams County, about 15 miles northwest of Williston. Basin Electric plans to add 111 megawatts of electric generation capacity to the station consisting of 12 engines running on natural gas supplied to the site by an existing pipeline. The new engines will be constructed adjacent to three existing turbines at the location, bringing the total capacity at the site to 246 megawatts. [$161.2 million / 111 MW = $1.5 million / MW]
The second permit is for a $149 million expansion of the Lonesome Creek Station in McKenzie County, about 14 miles west of Watford City. Basin Electric plans to add 135 megawatts of electric generation capacity to the station by adding three 45-megawatt, natural gas-fired combustion turbines. The turbines would be adjacent to three similar turbines at the location, bringing the total capacity at the site to 270 megawatts. [$149 million / 135 MW = $1.1 million /MW]
The third permit issued is for a $135 million North Killdeer Loop Phase I project in McKenzie County, which involves 28 miles of a new 345 kilovolt electric transmission line. The project will also include the construction of two substations. The line would start from the proposed Patent Gate Substation north of Arnegard and would extend generally eastward to the proposed Kummer Ridge substation east of Watford City.The locations are very, very interesting. Maybe more on that later, when I get caught up, after traveling.
Progress [of the MDU-Calumet topping plant west of Dickinson] toward operation, which began with a March 2013 groundbreaking, has been slower than expected. Rasmussen said the goal of having the facility fully operational by the end of May looks certain.Interim plant manager replaced; new manager named.
Gov. Jerry Brown is expected to announce Thursday that the state is substantially trimming the amount of fish and wildlife habitat it plans to restore in connection with a controversial project to replumb the heart of California's water system.
This month, state water officials said they were overhauling a proposal to construct two massive water tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and restore more than 100,000 acres of delta habitat.
Among the changes that Brown is expected to detail at an Oakland news conference is the decision to move ahead with just 30,000 acres of habitat work in the next 3.5 years.
Years in the making, the plan is designed to lessen the environmental harm of delta water exports by building a new diversion point on the Sacramento River that would feed two 30-mile tunnels connected to existing pumping facilities that send supplies south to San Joaquin Valley growers and Southland cities.
The project also called for restoring 100,000 acres or more of habitat over five decades at a cost of $8 billion in federal and state funds.
A major goal of the plan was to gain a 50-year environmental permit for delta exports that would ease the endangered species restrictions that have cut delta deliveries.
But state water resources Director Mark Cowin this month said it had become apparent that the project couldn't meet the tough federal requirements for such long-term approvals.
Meanwhile, Exxon increased its dividend by 6% on Wednesday to 73 cents a quarter up from 69 cents. That implied a $12.2 billion payout to investors, but it wasn’t certain the payout would be that big until the company said Thursday how many shares are outstanding. But, yes, that’s the right projectionBusiness Insider says XOM "smashes" expectations.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 34,000 to a seasonally adjusted 262,000 for the week ended April 25, the lowest reading since April 2000.It was the eighth straight week that claims remained below 300,000, which is usually associated with a strengthening labor market, suggesting March's moderation in job growth was likely an aberration.Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims falling to 290,000 last week. The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, fell 1,250 last week to 283,750.
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RBN Energy takes a closer look at the Monterey tight oil play, which sits beneath parts of central and south-coastal California.
As recently as 2011, the EIA was saying the Monterey play had about 15 Billion Bbls of technically recoverable oil, more than all the other tight-oil/shale plays in the Lower 48 combined. (In that same estimate, the Bakken was estimated to have about 4 Billion Bbl of technically recoverable oil, and the Eagle Ford about 3 Billion Bbl.)
By 2014, however, EIA had dramatically honed back the Monterey estimate to only 600 Million Bbl—a 96% drop. (That’s like hearing, “No sir, your gas tank’s not full. You’re actually running on fumes.”)
EIA said the big downgrading of the Monterey play’s potential—at least given current technology—was tied to new geological information and the lack of production growth like that seen in the Bakken and Eagle Ford shales.
Subsequent industry reports have indicated that the Monterey play’s geology and that of the Bakken and Eagle Ford are like night and day, with the Monterey play’s being much more complex—and less predictable.
Guidance:
Questar reports EPS in-line, misses on revs; reaffirms FY15 EPS guidance: Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.48 per share, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.48; revenues fell 6.2% year/year to $428.6 mln vs the $457.99 mln consensus.
- Williams is reaffirming its guidance for the years 2015 through 2017 provided on Feb. 18, 2015. We expect Williams Partners' 2015 adjusted EBITDA and distributable cash flow to be near the low end of the range due to the extended Geismar ramp-up and the effects of low commodity prices on volumes and margins.
- Co sees 2015 adj. EBITDA guidance at $4.3-4.7 bln, sees 2016 adj. EBITDA guidance at $5.2-5.6 bln, sees 2017 adj. EBITDA guidance at $5.8-6.3 bln.
- Reaffirming Williams Partners adjusted EBITDA guidance for 2015-2017 with 2015 expected to be near low end of range on extended Geismar ramp-up and effects of low commodity prices
- Reaffirming Williams dividend guidance of $2.38 per share in 2015 with 10% to 15% annual dividend growth through 2017 with growing coverage
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Gross domestic product expanded at an only 0.2 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday. That was a big step down from the fourth quarter's 2.2 percent pace and marked the weakest reading in a year.GDPNow forecast 0.1% so 0.2% is twice what was forecast. Incredible that "they" could be off by that much. 100%. LOL.
U.S. energy consumption has slowed recently and is not anticipated to return to growth levels seen in the second half of the 20th century. E
IA's Reference case projections in the Annual Energy Outlook 2015 (AEO2015) show that domestic consumption is expected to grow at a modest 0.3% per year through 2040, less than half the rate of population growth.
Energy used in homes is essentially flat, and transportation consumption will decline slightly, meaning that energy consumption growth will be concentrated in U.S. businesses and industries. --- EIA
Hess Corp. on Wednesday reported a first-quarter loss of $389 million, after reporting a profit in the same period a year earlier.
The New York-based company said it had a loss of $1.37 per share. Losses, adjusted for non-recurring costs and to account for discontinued operations, came to 98 cents per share.
The results surpassed Wall Street expectations.
The average estimate of 11 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for a loss of $1.09 per share.
Linn Energy misses by 85 cents:The oil and gas producer posted revenue of $1.55 billion in the period, also beating Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $1.44 billion.
Linn Energy misses by $0.85: Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $1.03 per share, $0.85 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.18).
- Grew average daily production by two percent to approximately 1,201 MMcfe/d for the first quarter 2015, compared to the estimated year-end 2014 exit rate of approximately 1,180 MMcfe/d, while decreasing the budget for total oil and natural gas capital expenditures by approximately 65 percent for 2015 compared to 2014.
Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment or financial decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here. Do not make any travel plans based on what you read here. Do not make any relationship changes based on what you think you may have read here. And most importantly, don't choose your ObamaCare health plan based on what you read here or think you may have read.Anthem beats by $0.45, misses on revs; guides FY15 EPS above consensus: Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $3.14 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.45 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $2.69; revenues rose 6.8% year/year to $18.85 bln vs the $19.28 bln consensus.
- Co issues upside guidance for FY15, sees EPS of more than $9.90, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $9.85 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Medical membership is now expected to be in the range of 38,200,000 -- 38,400,000. Fully insured membership is expected to be in the range of 14,750,000 -- 14,850,000 and self-funded membership is now expected to be in the range of 23,450,000 -- 23,550,000.
- Medical membership is now expected to be in the range of 38,200,000 -- 38,400,000. Fully insured membership is expected to be in the range of 14,750,000 -- 14,850,000 and self-funded membership is now expected to be in the range of 23,450,000 -- 23,550,000. The benefit expense ratio was 80.2 percent in the first quarter of 2015, a decrease of 250 basis points from 82.7 percent in the prior year quarter.
When one culture infringes on another's perceived rights and traditions, conflict is inevitable. When each party's sense of justice differs from the other's and they find no common ground, escalation ensues.Wow -- does that not describe what is going on in Baltimore and Ferguson these days?
Harold Hamm's ex-wife Tuesday lost her appeal for even more than the nearly $1 billion she won in a divorce battle with the wealthy CEO and founder of oil giant Continental Resources.
Sue Ann Arnall waived her legal bid to reopen the case when she cashed the nine-figure check Hamm was ordered to give her in a November decision that capped a nearly two-month divorce trial, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled.
She "took possession or title of the real property and deposited the check for property-division alimony," the court's majority opinion concluded. "The judgment is now satisfied."
Tuesday's ruling, however, allowed Hamm to continue his own appeal of the decision that had appeared to bring a legal end to the former couple's 26-year marriage.Never should have cashed that check.
It's a buyer's market for drivers interested in new or used electrics and hybrids.
Sales of new electric cars and hybrids, according to automotive research and shopping site Edmunds.com, are at their lowest level since 2011 — the first full year of sales for the groundbreaking Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid and Nissan's all-electric Leaf. So carmakers are paring prices in an effort to get them moving.
Furthermore, motorists who leased those first-generation cars, and have decided not to buy them, are turning them in. They're on dealer lots with still relatively low mileage, and at prices considerably cheaper than the new ones.
Even with $7,500 federal tax credits and other incentives, automakers such as General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Nissan have dropped prices in an attempt to move their new hybrids and electrics. Cadillac became the most recent to reduce the sticker on an electric car, when it whacked $9,000 off its ELR plug-in hybrid last week.
Miss North Dakota will be taking home the Miss Congeniality award from the Miss America 2015 scholarship pageant. Jacky Arness was voted a winner by her fellow contestants and was given the award during the "Countdown to Miss America" presentation.Pretty cool. But it gets better:
Though Miss North Dakota did not make it into the initial 15 semi-finalists, Miss America 2015 host Chris Harrison announced that if the judges could vote unanimously they could add one more contestant to the semi-finals. The judges voted Miss North Dakota into the bonus spot so she is allowed to continue on in competition.
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As a result of the record cold winter last year, stockpiles began this winter at a five-year low and at a deficit of about 240 Bcf compared to the previous year.
However, by December, a year-over-year (yoy) surplus in storage began to emerge and continued to grow through the course of the winter. By the time the traditional gas winter withdrawal season ended March 31, inventories were more than 600 Bcf above the previous year, and the yoy surplus has continued to grow since then. Stockpiles as of EIA’s April 17 weekly gas storage update are 1,629 Bcf, which is about 100 Bcf below the five-year average, but a whopping 737 Bcf above year-ago inventory levels.
This is startling given that demand this winter was the second highest in gas market history, 0.8 Bcf/d shy of the record-high demand set last year. How did we get to this point?
Figure 2 [at the link] begins to answer that question. The chart illustrates how supply and demand fundamentals shaped up in the U.S. Lower 48 over the past couple of winters.
Another excellent post by RBN Energy. Again, the post will be archived by the source, at the source.
Samsung Electronics Co. said its first-quarter net income has plunged 39 percent as the smartphone business saw its profit shrink to less than half from a year earlier.
The company reported Wednesday that its January-March income was 4.63 trillion won ($4.35 billion), compared with 7.49 trillion won one year earlier.
That was lower than analysts' consensus of 4.97 trillion won.
Sales fell 12 percent from a year earlier to 47.12 trillion won while operating income dropped 30 percent to 5.98 trillion won, in line with Samsung's earnings preview earlier this month.
The wider-than-expected drop in net profit was due to a big profit plunge in Samsung's mobile business. The maker of Galaxy smartphones said its mobile division generated 2.74 trillion won in quarterly profit, compared with 6.43 trillion won a year earlier.
Analysts estimate Samsung sold more smartphones than Apple during the quarter but the Korean firm lost its share in the high-end market to Apple after the maker of the iPhone began offering models with bigger screens last fall.
Iraq, OPEC’s second-biggest producer, will start exporting Basrah Heavy crude next month after offering discounts for the new grade in Europe, Asia and the Americas.
Iraq is offering Basrah Heavy after facing pressure from customers to split its main Basrah Light crude into two grades to preserve quality. The country, home to the world’s fifth-largest proven reserves, is rebuilding its energy industry after decades of conflict and sanctions. Iraq pumped 3.34 million barrels a day in March, state-run Oil Marketing Co. known as SOMO said April 16.
Crude exports from northern Iraq via SOMO will rise to 550,000 barrels a day in early May, 600,000 barrels a day in June and 625,000 barrels a day by August. Iraq pumped about 2.4 million barrels daily at the end of 2010 and plans to boost capacity to 6 million barrels by 2019.I'm probably misreading this but the delta between 3.34 million bopd production and 600,000 bopd in exports suggests most of Iraq's oil is necessary for internal consumption. I don't know.
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| Date | Oil Runs | MCF Sold |
|---|---|---|
| 2-2015 | 11993 | 0 |
| 11-2014 | 11762 | 0 |
| 10-2014 | 1148 | 0 |
| Date | Oil Runs | MCF Sold |
|---|---|---|
| 11-2014 | 13065 | 0 |
When Meriwether Lewis and William Clark crossed the Missouri River back in the day, they didn’t have to contend with the nearly 13,000 vehicles that cross it these days via the bridge named for the famed explorers.
But moose, deer and other wildlife do.
Part of the $300 million the North Dakota Department of Transportation has committed to upgrade U.S. Highway 85 between Williston and Watford City will include a first-of-its-kind wildlife underpass, or crossing. At least it’s the first of its kind in North Dakota.
Work on a portion of the project between Watford City and Alexander is already underway, but the bridge part of the job won’t be bid until sometime this spring.An underpass is a better idea than simply putting up a moose sign inviting moose to cross the highway at designated points.
It’s official, the Energy Department’s green energy loan program is actually expected to lose money despite media reports that such loans would net the government a profit.
The Government Accountability Office says the DOE’s oft-touted $28 billion loan program will cost taxpayers $2.21 billion over the lifetime of the loans. Not only that, the costs to taxpayers for green loans has risen about $500 million as “the result of loan guarantee defaults” from companies like Solyndra and Abound Solar.
The “credit subsidy cost of the loans and loan guarantees in its portfolio” is expected “to be $2.21 billion, including $807 million for loans that have defaulted,” GAO reports. “The fees DOE has collected have not been sufficient to cover all of its administrative expenses for the program” because the “fees on the current loan guarantees were too low to cover ongoing monitoring costs.”
This stands in sharp contrast to media reports from last year suggesting the DOE’s green loan program would net taxpayers $5 billion. Last year, the Washington Post’s Wonkblog ran with the headline, “Remember Solyndra? Those loans are making money.”
The liberal news watchdog Media Matters exclaimed that “Solyndra Scandal-Mongering Hasn’t Stopped The Energy Dept’s Loan Program From Turning A Profit”
Such news stories came after a November 2014 DOE progress report saying it was on track to earn more than $5 billion in total interest payments. The DOE said it had earned $810 million in interest payments — outweighing the $780 million in estimated losses the loan program was expected to incur.But for Obama, Solyndra accomplished what it was set up to do.
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake offered up regrets on “Meet The Press” Sunday for saying space was given to protesters in Baltimore who “wished to destroy.”
Rawlings-Blake told host Chuck Todd that she “certainly used the wrong phrase,” of which she received roundabout criticism as the riots escalated Monday.
“Do you regret using the phrase ‘space to destroy?'” host Chuck Todd asked.
“You know, I certainly think that it was taken out of context,” Rawlings-Blake started.
“Let me say this: I’m from Baltimore, my parents are from here, I’m raising my daughter here. I’m a public defender. As city council person, as mayor, I’ve always worked to strengthen my city. We fought to get those stores in our community. I would never condone rioting. Just period. I would never condone it.”It was not taken out of context; I heard (and watched) the entire press conference. She was very clear in what she said; her police officers confirmed that she told them to "stand down." It was very clear that the police had been ordered to stand down that first night of rioting.
If I were president and thought I knew an obvious way to bring peace and prosperity to troubled cities -- and felt pretty strongly about it -- I'd maybe mention it before my seventh year in office. Drop it into a State of the Union address, for example.
But it just isn't the case that we're a new federal program away from fixing the problems Obama identified. It isn't the case that conservatives are standing in the way of what everyone knows would work because we just don't share Obama's compassion.
“It's a very delicate balancing act because while we tried to make sure they were protected from the cars and the other things that were going on, we gave those who wished to destroy space to do that, as well,” she said in the wake of Saturday's protests in Baltimore.Last night:
However on Monday night, as rioters engaged in outbreaks of violence, Rawlings-Blake gave this statement. “I'm going to protect people's right to protest,” she said. “The fact that people exploited that does not mean that I do not have an obligation to protect people's right to protest. I never said, nor would I ever say, that we are giving people space to destroy our city. So my words should not be twisted.”Video hurts.
I believe from the lightening bolt that the red boxes are just generators.If you want to see well sight infrastructure check out the tarpon federal wells at 22554 there are two well pads in the middle of the federal grass lands south of tobacco gardens lots of extra gas compressing equipment. Just getting started producing and trying to stay in federal guidelines.
An Iranian force has seized a US cargo ship with 34 crew onboard and directed it to an Iranian port, the Saudi-owned broadcaster Al Arabiya has reported.
Four-hundred miles from the near overflowing tanks at the U.S. oil hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, a second glut in the Permian Basin of West Texas is pressuring oil prices once again as pipeline disruptions strand millions of barrels in the region.
The Permian, the fastest-growing shale play, accounts for about a fifth of the country’s total oil production, and is expected to produce about 2 million barrels of crude a day in May. The region houses over 20 million barrels of crude storage.
Stockpiles in the Permian have hit several records in the last four weeks.
Investors have zeroed in on storage, waiting for declines in weekly inventory data to signal demand is rising or production is beginning to taper off. Stockpiles in Cushing, the delivery point for the U.S. futures contract, hit a record in the week to March 13, and Gulf Coast supply has been robust.
Now a Permian backlog shows signs of an even bigger supply glut. Pipeline interruptions next month will compound already high inventories in the region that have grown because production has outpaced takeaway capacity.
Crude from the Permian that gets stored in Midland, Texas, awaiting transport to the Gulf Coast, will be diverted to Cushing, where it will add to burgeoning supplies, possibly putting even more downward pressure on crude prices, traders said.Speculators?
Western North Dakota farmers this year have agreed to plant 6,000 acres of a crop that can be made into jet fuel.
The farmers will be seeding carinata, a variety of mustard seed. Canadian seed producer Agrisoma Biosciences over the winter sought farmers to plant the crop. Spokesman Garret Groves said producers were quick to sign up and exceeded the 4,000-acre goal.
“We’ve had pretty good success,” he told The Bismarck Tribune.
Carinata looks similar to the oilseed canola, only a little bushier. It will be grown in fields near Mott, Carson, Tioga, Ray, Williston, Noonan and Flasher.
One potential customer for the crop is the U.S Navy, which is targeting carinata to help reach its goal of serving half of its energy needs with non-oil sources by 2020.From wiki:
The flowers are very attractive to honey bees which collect both pollen and nectar.From RD Magazine:
This plant is also part of a research to develop an avation biofuel for jet engines. On October 29 of 2012, the first flight of a jet aircraft powered with 100 percent biofuel, made from brassica carinata, was completed.
This new “kid” on the biofuel block taking root is the carinata seed. Carinata is a leafy plant originating in Ethiopia, also referred to as Ethiopian mustard and Abyssinian mustard, and produces oil seeds being used as a biofuel which mimics the attributes of its petroleum-derived counterpart.
To date, carinata has demonstrated agronomic success across sixty commercial sites and farms in the Canadian and U.S. prairies. Carinata is a non-food, energy feedstock crop which yields oil that can be refined into fuels that meet the specifications of petroleum-based fuels and work in ground and air transportation engines without engine modifications or blending.Glad to see the US Navy has money to burn. Taxpayers won't mind. Certainly North Dakota farmers won't mind.
Iran doesn’t possess a passel of Panzer divisions and have a murderous Luftwaffe at its disposal. But it now has the means to make a play for control of the immense oilfields of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and, all too obviously, Iraq, where its proxy militias are gaining strength. Militias under Iranian control can achieve Teheran’s imperial goals almost as well as WWII-style armed forces.We've talked about it before:
It doesn’t take a great military theorist to see that Iran is applying a pincer movement against Saudi Arabia. While the world focuses on U.S./Iran nuclear negotiations, the mullahs–and Putin–have their eyes on more immediate and immensely more juicy prey. They believe, despite the deployment of U.S. Navy vessels leading Iran to turn back an Iranian naval convoy last week, that Obama will do nothing effective.
Valero (largest independent refiner) and NOV have both reported earnings this morning; both beating estimates by a large margin. Range Resources (RRC) will report after market close today.
Disclaimer: this is not an investment site, yada, yada, yada.
Energy companies get most of their water in the state by trucking it from depots to oil and natural gas wells. Some wells require more than 650 truckloads to frack. Companies such as EOG Resources Inc and Halliburton Co are experimenting with ways to reduce their dependence on water.
Fracking water depots, which cost roughly $200,000 to build and can gross more than $700,000 per year, are typically small metal buildings on concrete slabs filled with pumps and small tanks connected to the Missouri River or local aquifers. They can have two to six hookups and fill water trucks with as much as 7,800 gallons of water per visit.
[A] government-backed co-op has nine water depots to hold the fresh water that is piped from the treatment plant in Williston, about 45 miles north of Watford. It plans to build four more depots throughout the Bakken and hugely expand its pipeline system to bring fresh water to more homes. Small lines from the new pipelines will connect directly to some oil wells.
On the other side, Independent Water Providers member JMAC Resources will build more water depots in the region and a massive pipeline just south of the Missouri River to supply oil wells. Other members of the group have also applied for depot permits.The operation in the video above was JMAC. The individual who I spoke to drove up in a pickup truck with the WDW logo on the cab doors. From an April, 2014, Roundup article:
North Dakota water suppliers do not pay for water, and the state legislature rejected a proposed water tax earlier this year. Each side's plans will rapidly increase the options that energy companies have to access water, further depressing prices.
Williston: West Dakota Water (WDW) is saving the state, counties and townships millions of dollars in road maintenance and construction costs through private investment in water pipeline infrastructure.
WDW Principal Engineer Drew Poeckes states, "The most economical way to transport water is through a pipeline. We currently pipe water upwards of 30 miles to well sites by utilizing permanent underground infrastructure to transport the water. West Dakota Water takes away much truck traffic to and from well sites thus saving the state, counties and townships money on the maintenance of their road systems. We are a private company putting in infrastructure (pipelines) that takes the burden off of the public infrastructure (roads)."
WDW is a subsidiary company to JMAC Resources, Inc., and has worked closely with their engineering and technical partner Bartlett & West, to plan, design, construct and provide operational services for fresh water delivery.This is a video of one of the smaller pads to which water is being brought by surface pipeline to the wells; this is about 20 miles east of Williston on 1804:
WDW was granted an industrial permit by the ND State Water Commission in 2012 to withdraw 10,000 ac-ft. annually from the Missouri River. In addition to this permit, WDW was also permitted to construct permanent submerged intakes into the Missouri River for withdrawing this water. The installed intakes allow for year round access to the water even in the harshest weather conditions.I'm not going to go through the math again, but a long time ago I mentioned how many wells could be fracked with an acre-foot of water.
Companies the size of Apple aren't supposed to grow by roughly 30% y/y. The reason Apple shouldn't be growing so fast has something to do with the Law of Large Numbers. Apple has now violated that "law" for the past two quarters. Perhaps that's why the analysts on the conference call seemed so subdued. They were still getting over their shock.Also:
As many expected, Apple announced an expansion of its capital return program. The program will be increased 50% to $200 billion through March 2017. Apple increased the quarterly dividend to $.52/share, and increased the share repurchase program to $140 billion. Share repurchase funds were about to run out, with $80 billion of the $90 billion allocated already spent.More from that fanboy:
According to Cook, the rapid expansion of the middle class in China is what's fueling Apple iPhone sales. As people become more affluent, they are tossing their white-box Android phones for something more upscale. Apple has intelligently positioned itself as that upscale alternative. Apple's retail presence in China, the beauty and elegance of its stores, serve to reinforce the upscale perception.
With Apple’s billions sitting in the bank, I’m constantly surprised that it hasn’t taken big steps to invest some of this cash into battery technology. If it could increase the power density of its batteries even by 10-15%, it could tempt many users away from Android and other mobile platforms because the fact of the matter is, every smartphone currently suffers from this issue to some degree.The writer needs to look at the battery technology used in the new Apple MacBook.
