Thursday, January 22, 2015

Random Look At Some Wells That Came Off DRL Status Just As The Price Of Oil Plummeted -- January 22, 2015

I think this is really cool. Maybe it means something, maybe it doesn't. You decide.

Look at the production profiles of three recent BR wells:

27059, IA/1,320, BR, Denali 21-4TFH 2NH, Johnson Corner, 4 sections, t9/14; cum 6K 11/14;
PoolDateDaysBBLS OilRunsBBLS WaterMCF ProdMCF SoldVent/Flare
BAKKEN11-20140000000
BAKKEN10-2014103491200
BAKKEN9-20141255395187656219733167602943


27061, IA/2,088, BR, Denali 21-4MBH 3NH, Johnson Corner, 4 sections, t9/14; cum 14K 11/14; 
PoolDateDaysBBLS OilRunsBBLS WaterMCF ProdMCF SoldVent/Flare
BAKKEN11-20140000000
BAKKEN10-20140000000
BAKKEN9-20142714388143882937629086888320136


27060, IA/1,872, BR, Norman 21-4MBH, 2SH, Johnson Corner, 4 sections, t9/14; cum 14K 11/14;
PoolDateDaysBBLS OilRunsBBLS WaterMCF ProdMCF SoldVent/Flare
BAKKEN11-20140000000
BAKKEN10-20140000000
BAKKEN9-2014814215142156330276981127516403


The four wells on this pad have all been completed. There is a lot of activity in this section and on a neighboring pad, one-third mile away, they are drilling (and possibly fracking) four more wells. So the fact that these three wells (and the fourth well) have identical production profiles could simply be due to operational reasons. So, in a few months we will come back and take another look.

However, with the slump in oil prices, it certainly begs the question.

In the process of updating the wells that were on DRL status in 3Q14, I came across what seems to be an inordinate amount of wells that appear to be choked back significantly or taken off-line completely. It's hard to believe they are all choked back or taken off-line for operational reasons. Some examples:
  • 26448, 58, Newfield, Hovland 150-99-26-35-2H, South Tobacco Garden, t5/14; cum 3K 11/14; -- considered completed; but no evidence this well has been fracked
  • 21374, 2,263, Statoil, Barstad 23-14 4TFH, Alger, t9/14; cum 6K 11/14;
  • 21373, 2,451, Statoil, Barstad 23-14 5H, Alger, t9/14; cum 8K 11/14;
  • 21375, 2,516, Statoil, Barstad 23-14 6TFH, Alger, t9/14; cum 8K 11/14;
  • 27575, 2,474, Statoil, Barstad 23-14 8H, Alger, t10/14; cum 8K 11/14;
  • 27085, 1,560, BR, Norman 34-33TFH, Johnson Corner, 4 sections, t7/14; cum 14K 11/15;
  • 27137, 1,872, BR, Denali 21-4MBH, Johnson Corner, 4 sections, t7/14; cum 5K 11/15;
  • 26799, 693, Hess, SC-Tom-153-98-1514H-4, Truax, t9/14; cum 33K 11/14; 
Look how low the cumulative production numbers are despite huge IPs. The last one with 33,000 bbls in two months looks good until one looks at the production profile:

26799, 693, Hess, SC-Tom-153-98-1514H-4, Truax, t9/14; cum 33K 11/14;
PoolDateDaysBBLS OilRunsBBLS WaterMCF ProdMCF SoldVent/Flare
BAKKEN11-201430659565263034102029947255
BAKKEN10-2014308177865341091424013663577
BAKKEN9-20142917932173061001830815221268689

The Bakken is known for a steep decline rate and perhaps that's all it is for that Hess SC-Tom well, but again, it begs the question. Even for a Bakken well, that decline well looks suspicious.

Break, break.

Wells that go to zero production are being taken off-line for a reason, generally for operational reasons associated with pad drilling.

However, wells that have huge decline rates (out of the ordinary for even the Bakken) suggest they are being choked back for reasons other than operational constraints (flaring, takeaway constraints, pricing). 

And look at that Newfield well with an IP of 58. It's no longer on DRL status suggesting the operator considers the well completed and yet there is no indication that the well has been fracked.

Break, break.

Whether these wells are taken off line for operational reasons or whether they are being choked back for whatever reason, think about it: in November, 2014, oil production in North Dakota hit another record despite wells not being as productive as they could have been.

I was updating 3Q14 wells that had been on DRL status. I had only updated a handful of wells, and yet it seemed well out of proportion to have so many wells choked back or taken off line.

Just an observation.

I could be very, very wrong. But it certainly seems interesting on so many levels.

********************************
Wow, Time For Some Music

MalagueƱa Salerosa, Chingon
 
Anyone hungry for Tres Amigos (restaurant in Williston)?

Saudi King Abdullah Dead -- January 22, 2015

He was about the only one who was in favor of a price war based on a Saudi prince some weeks ago (previously posted).

*********************************
Perhaps Not

Rigzone op-ed:
The freefall in crude oil prices continues unabated. During the latter half of 2014, crude oil plunged to less than half of its value earlier in the year. The sharp decline has sent the major suppliers into a tizzy, and the development threatens to profoundly alter the dynamics of the global oil and gas trade.
Much of this downward spiral results from the maneuverings of Saudi Arabia, which has been instrumental in Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) deciding to stop short of withholding production – despite the seeming reluctance of some other members. The speculation market is awash with talks of Saudi Arabia going all out to hurt Iran and nipping the growing shale oil industry in the bud. Moreover, those espousing this viewpoint suspect the Saudi-driven campaign will punish Russia for supporting the embattled Iran-backed regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad in his country's ongoing civil war.
Despite the temptation to discuss the geopolitical motives of the Saudi government, it would be worthwhile to explore the economic and business rationale of such a move. From the Saudi government's point of view, letting market forces decide the price of oil would help to achieve its geopolitical aims and to reinforce its credentials as the top player in the global oil and gas trade.
Ali Al-Naimi, the Saudi petroleum minister, is not a man who lets emotions get in the way when making business decisions. A long-time official at Saudi Aramco, where he rose through the ranks to become CEO of the oil giant before taking the reins of the petroleum ministry in 1995, Naimi is a seasoned and hugely experienced veteran. By all accounts, he is a calm and deliberate person who would resist the urge to make a hasty decision that would hurt Iran or any other political rival. Saudi Arabia's decision to let market forces determine oil prices is a cold and calculated one, meant to reinforce the Kingdom’s position as the dominant supplier of crude for the foreseeable future – much to the consternation of some other OPEC members. With low production costs and burgeoning coffers, Saudi Arabia can withstand virtually any oil price for the short- to medium-term – unlike many other OPEC members.
Much more at the link. 
In conclusion, the Saudis' reluctance to lower crude production is based more on sound economic and business sense rather than the ulterior political motives often touted in public discourse. Some producers are bound to get hurt in the process, but market forces are invariably favorable only to the most efficient and the most resourceful.

*****************************
Also At Rigzone
Rigzone is reporting:
Oil trader Gunvor's head of analysis said on Thursday crude was unlikely to return to $100 a barrel in the foreseeable future, but prices were expected to be volatile as traders sought to move oil into storage during the current glut.
David Fyfe, formerly research chief at the International Energy Agency, said OPEC would not want to see a return to triple digits as lower prices, which have more than halved to below $50 since June, were only now starting to slow output from outside the producer group. "Why would they want that?"
Fyfe asked an oil storage conference in Amsterdam of allowing oil to resettle above $100 per barrel. "They'd be back at square one."
Gunvor traded around 2.5 million barrels of oil a day in 2012, according to the most recent data on the company's website, the equivalent of almost 3 percent of global supplies. Oil prices averaged around $110 a barrel between 2011 and 2013, but fast-growing U.S. shale output and slowing demand growth have seen prices collapse since June, falling to a near six-year low near $45 a barrel last week.
Fyfe said the gap between spot prices and barrels for later delivery could widen further as traders look to finance the storage of crude and as energy majors slash investments in future production. This market structure, known as contango, has already led traders to stretch the available storage space for crude oil and products in Europe despite a 30 percent capacity increase over the past five years.
Traders have also booked vessels with an estimated 40 million barrels of capacity to store oil at sea, while some are shipping additional crude to the United States where more on land tanks are available.
This is exactly what RBN Energy has also said recently. 

Cliff's Notes On The Current Slump In The Price Of Oil -- January 22, 2015

First you have the "unabridged."

Then, the "edited, abridged."

Then, the Reader's Digest version.

And, now Cliff's Notes. A reader sent this link. One of the best posts I've seen on the subject. I'll link you to it now, cut and paste portions later. The problem is: one cannot simply cut and paste a few line items --  you need to see it all.

Having said that, the two three observations I like best:
  • OXY thinks no one knows, but the key is Chinese demand. “Ignore the noise from the oil ministers.” 
  • WPX slashing rig count from 18 to 7 (Bakken, Piceance, San Juan Basins). 5 rigs in Bakken going to 1 but says can easily ramp back up to peak of 30 (thirty)
  • OXY: acreage costs have collapsed so bolt-on acreage opportunities abound. Large scale opportunities are not attractive as you are buying someone else’s problems
I assume this post could be lost to archives; one may want to save it. 

4/6 Wells To DRL Status; Nineteen (19) Producing Wells Completed; Eight (8) New Permits -- January 22, 2015; Graphic Of Eastern Williston Annex

***********************************************
The Road To New England, An Update

New England’s power system is increasingly shifting from aging oil- and coal-fired plants and to natural gas that relies on pipelines experiencing bottlenecks that drive up prices, the region’s electric grid operator said Wednesday.
ISO-New England officials said wind and solar resources are a small but growing part of the region’s energy mix, though they are not always available when needed by the region’s 14 million residents — peak demand for power in winter typically occurs after the sun has set.
In contrast to last winter’s extended cold weather that pushed up energy demand and prices, a mild winter and falling oil prices this year have helped keep prices down. But winter has eight weeks to go and use could spike with a more traditional New England winter.
Natural gas pipeline bottlenecks are a continuing problem.
How bad is it?
The proportion of natural gas in the region’s energy mix was 44 percent in 2014, up from 15 percent in 2000. At the same time, coal- and oil-fired generation dropped to 6 percent from 40 percent.
As much as 8,300 megawatts of older coal- and oil-fired generating capacity could be at risk of retirement due to economic pressures and potentially more stringent environmental rules [think Pocahantas].
If those 28 generators retire, 6,300 megawatts of new or expanded capacity would be needed to replace them.
Plant retirements underway include Salem Harbor Station, Brayton Point, and Mount Tom Station in Massachusetts, Vermont Yankee and Norwalk Harbor in Connecticut.
Proposals for 9,500 megawatts are seeking to be connected to the regional grid, but much of that may not pan out and some plans are for wind power in remote areas of northern New England that transmit energy that cannot reach southern New England. Billions of dollars would be needed to extend transmission to the remote areas.
*************************************
Glad To Be In Texas, Where Snow Is Measured In Inches

AccuWeather is reporting:
A storm poised to hit this weekend could bring the first widespread snowfall of the winter to part of the Interstate-95 Northeast corridor, the northern and western suburbs of the I-95 cities and parts of the Appalachians.
According to AccuWeather.com Chief Meteorologist Elliot Abrams, "Unlike many storms this winter, this particular one has the potential to bring a foot of snow to some locations, where rain fails to mix in over New England."
*************************************
Back To The Bakken

Active rigs:


1/22/201501/22/201401/22/201301/22/201201/22/2011
Active Rigs159187188203165

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

Eight (8) new permits --
  • Operators: Slawson (5), XTO (3)
  • Fields: Big Bend (Mountrail), Haystack Butte (McKenzie)
  • Comments: Circling the wagons.
HRC canceled one permit, a Fort Berthold permit (#22504).

Nineteen (19) producing wells completed:
  • 27236, 1,659, Slawson, Neptang 4-22-15TFH, Van Hook, t12/14; cum --
  • 27237, 1,370, Slawson, Waterbond 4-27-34TFH, Van Hook, t11/14; cum 1K 11/14;
  • 27238, 1,332, Slawson, Waterbond 6-27-34TFH, Van Hook, t11/14; cum 1K 11/14;
  • 27239, 1,515, Slawson, Neptang 6-22-15TH, Van Hook, t11/14; cum 1K 11/14;
  • 27240, 1,125, Waterbond 3-27-23H, Van Hook, t11/14; cum 1K 11/14;
  • 27303, 1,373, Zavanna, Husky 33-28 2H, Williston, t12/14; cum --
  • 27338, 863, CLR, Vachal 8-27H, Alkali Creek, t12/14; cum 2K 11/14;
  • 27654, 1,088, Petro-Hunt, Jonsrud 151-96-4A-10-1HS, Clear Creek, 4 sections, t1/15; cum --
  • 27798, 1,032, Hess, AN-Evenson-152-95-1003H-9, Antelope, a Sanish well, t1/15; cum --
  • 28072, 1,336, Hess, AN-Evenson-LW-152-95-1003H-1, Antelope, 4 sections, a Sanish well, t1/15; cum --
  • 28321, 788, Abraxas, Stenehjem 27-34-2H, North Fork, t12/14; cum --
  • 28322, 950, Abraxas, Stenehjem 27-34-3H, North Fork, t12/14; cum --
  • 28323, 917, Abraxas, Stenehjem 27-34-4H, North Fork, t12/14; cum --
  • 28478, 606, Slawson, Nightmaker 5-17-8TFH, Big Bend, t11/14; cum 13K 11/14;
  • 28479, 881, Slawson, Nightmaker 3-17-8H, Big Bend, t11/14; cum 32K 11/14;
  • 28620, 574, Mooka 6-29-20TFH, Big Bend, t10/14; cum 2K 11/14;
  • 28621, 1,349, Slawson, Mooka 5-29-20TFH, Big Bend, t11/14; cum 1K 11/14;
  • 28625, 728, CLR, Mildred 5-19H1, Brooklyn, t12/14; cum 1K 11/14;
  • 28670, 843, EOG, Parshall 84-2827H, Parshall, t1/15; cum --
Interesting? CLR with two well name changes:
  • 28567, conf, CLR, Wiley 6 PA (was Wiley 6-25H1)
  • 28568, conf, CLR, Wiley 7 PA (was Wiley 7-25H)
One operator transfer, from Tracker Resource, to CLR:
  • 16099, IA/314, CLR/Tracker Resource, Gamma-State 16-15, Catwalk, a Bakken well, open hole/perf with 600K lbs sand, t5/06; cum 69K 11/14; off-line since September, 2014; see graphic below
Wells coming off the confidential list Friday:
  • 27637, 796, Hess, LK-Alwin-LW-147-97-1324H-1, Little Knife, 4 sections, t12/14; cum --
  • 28561, drl, CLR, Bailey 4-24H2, Pershing, no production data,
  • 28593, drl, Zavanna, Simmental 2-11 3H, Long Creek, no production data,
  • 28631, 527, Hunt, Smoky Butte 160-100-8-5H-1, Smoky Butte, t10/14; cum 17K 11/14;
  • 28641, drl, CLR, Boise 2-24H, Brooklyn, no production data,
  • 28887, drl, XTO, Johnson 24X-31EXH, Siverston, no production data,
******************************

Note the new eastern side of Williston that has been annexed during the boom. None of this was part of Williston when I was growing up in Williston:



That are marked by the arrows, east of the Little Muddy and south of the Missouri River is all "new" for Williston.

Williston Wire -- January 22, 2015

Williston wire website

Jobs fairs announced.

Oil drilling intensifies in Bakken core.

BNSF announces expansion details. Previously posted.

Amtrak resumes regular schedule. The schedule for Amtrak's "Empire Builder" has returned to normal. Amtrak officials announced in Williston recently that the Empire Builder has resumed stops in Minot, Rugby, Williston and other sites. The schedule changed last year to allow BNSF to put a billion dollars into railway improvements. Now, officials say the brunt of the work is behind them.

Despite falling oil prices, railways remain busy. Previously posted.

Demand for electricity still booms in the Bakken. Keeping up with the rapidly expanding electrical demand in the Bakken has been no easy task for electric utilities. "With utilities, we like to do long-range planning. We like 10 to 20 year load forecasting and building large generating units that are meant to turn on and run at the highest efficiency. That's the ideal world," says Dale Niezwaag, senior legislative representative with Basin Electric Power Cooperative. Those standards, however, haven't been applicable during the past few years in the Bakken region. "We've run into the oil and gas industry where they want electricity tomorrow, no matter what the cost," Niezwaag relates. "They just want us to get it done because time is money and they want production to start."

Bakken person of the year: Jon McCreary, owner of JMAC Resources.
McCreary, who grew up on a farm in the Columbian Basin Irrigation Project in a giving family, learned what it meant to 'give to those in need' at a young age. His parents befriended people that others avoided, served their church and gave to people in need. He graduated college with degrees in accounting and finance and later became the Chief Financial Officer of a publicly traded commercial bank, but his goal and ambition was to go back to his independent roots and exercise his entrepreneurial skills while running his own company.
McCreary fulfilled that goal in 2007 when he purchased JMAC Resources. Within his first year of ownership he tripled the company's sales and JMAC Resources has steadily grown in service areas, continually meeting the need of the marketplace ever since.

Is This Graph Telling Us Something? -- January 22, 2015; Today's EIA Report On Gasoline Demand

This is quite surprising. Is this graph telling us something? Remember: gasoline is at record lows, and is headed lower by the end of this week or next.


Perhaps it's simply seasonal. But the jobs picture and this graph are a bit concerning.

The Slowdown Has Begun -- January 22, 2015

Active rigs in North Dakota:


1/22/201501/22/201401/22/201301/22/201201/22/2011
Active Rigs159187188203165

*********************************
The Slowdown Is Beginning

CNBC is reporting:
Drillers have begun reducing rigs in big shale regions, including the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico, the country's highest-producing region, as well as North Dakota's Bakken Shale and the Eagle Ford in south and east Texas. But shutdowns in other, less productive and emerging areas will likely be more widespread.
That's about all that was said about the Permian, the Eagle Ford, and the Bakken. The rest:

TMS:
The Tuscaloosa Marine Shale (TMS) has some of the nation's highest breakeven costs—about $70 to $90 a barrel for benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude. 

The TMS lies under a swath of the Deep South that runs along the border of Louisiana and Mississippi. While it is believed to hold 7 billion barrels of oil, that black gold is buried between 11,000 feet and more than 15,000 feet below the surface. That compares with depths as shallow as 5,500 feet in some parts of the Permian Basin.

Already, exploration and production companies are pulling out. Last month, Comstock Resources suspended drilling in the TMS, and Halcon Resources said in November it would wind down operations there.
Mississippian Lime:
Another area that will definitely see cuts is the Mississippian Lime. Located in Oklahoma and Kansas, the play is comprised of a basin roughly the size of West Virginia. Producers need oil at roughly $75 a barrel to break even there.
MS Lime wells produce a lot of water, and regulations connected to the water use create additional labor, transportation and power costs. 
Oklahoma City-based SandRidge Energy, the largest player in the MS Lime, said this month it was reducing its rig count and capital expenditure levels. The company's shares are down nearly 80 percent over the last six months, from just under $7 to little more than $1.
The upside is that SandRidge was able to buy property in the area on the cheap, perhaps for as little as a few hundred dollars an acre. That compares with tens of thousands of dollars per acre in parts of the Permian when oil prices were at highs.

Job Watch: 2015 Will Be A Year Of Cutbacks -- January 22, 2015; The 800-Pound Gorilla Has Arrived

Updates

January 27, 2015: Just last week I said that 2015 "will be the year of [job] cutbacks." Today this headline: IBM plans biggest corporate lay-off in history and Forbes has the story.
 
Original Post

It looks more and more like 2015 is going to be the year of job losses. I have not been able to keep up with all the job losses that are being announced during earnings (4Q14) season.

From DCClothesline: storm on the horizon: massive layoffs planned for corporate conflomerates in 2015; January 2, 2015  --
It appears that the confidence in the economy may be another over-inflated attempt at masking the true state of affairs. In fact, some of the largest U.S. corporate conglomerates are planning for massive layoffs in the coming year.
CEO of the Coca-Cola company, Muhtar Kent dubbed 2015 as a transition year and notes that 2015 will most notably be “the most important year for us to make the changes in terms of a leaner, better-operating model.” He adds, “The consumer is challenged everywhere around the world,” Kent said in a conference call. “There is a lot of volatility in the world, in currencies, in interest rates, in growth rates and in geopolitical issues.”
The list seems extraordinary. There are two themes here:
  • it's not just the oil and gas industry; it's across the board, all sectors
  • these are high-paying jobs, with companies that generally provide health care and many other benefits for their employees; these are not minimum wage jobs being shed
It's not just the oil and gas industry. It's everywhere. Today eBay and AmEx announced significant cuts.

Some recent headlines:
Sound bites:
  • For Coca-Cola and McDonald's, 2015 will be a year of cutbacks, change and evolution as an increasingly Internet-savvy and health-conscious public continues to move away from sugary drinks and fried and processed foods.
  • Carolinas HealthCare System has eliminated more than 100 management positions – including two jobs that paid a total of about $3 million – as part of a goal to trim $110 million in expenses from next year’s budget, hospital officials announced Tuesday.
    Cutbacks are necessary, in part, because of federal and state budget cuts in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement for seniors, low-income and disabled patients, CEO Michael Tarwater said. That includes refusal by North Carolina and South Carolina lawmakers to expand Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act.
  • Catholic Health Initiatives is one of the largest medical systems in the country. The national system has asked its regional networks “to reduce expenses as a result of external and internal factors, which have adversely impacted our overall financial performance,” Robertson wrote.  
2015 is the first year in which the full effect of ObamaCare will start to be felt after most components of the act were deferred or waived until 2015/2016.

See disclaimer.

For investors, four big stories that all herald good news --
  • GOP holds both houses of Congress; the President is a lame duck
  • EU is going to stimulate the European economy to the tune of $1 trillion (in Euros, of course)
  • job cuts (blame it on ObamaCare or not), the gain drops immediately to the bottom line
  • huge savings on transportation costs for all sectors (and, no, the airlines and the taxis aren't going to eliminate their fuel surcharges without mandates)
The market is up for 200 points today. Just saying. 

Oil And Gas Data Llinks Around The Net -- January 22, 2015

Natural gas fill rate: -216 (a dynamic link). Again, scroll down to the graph at the link; the "blue" / current curve is barely holding at the 5-year average.

Gasoline demand data should be released today. See this post for the screenshot of the graph.

Williston comprehensive plan documents (PDFs) can be found here.

A Reader Opens A Discussion On Possibility Of Resurgence Of Non-Bakken Wells In The Williston Basin -- January 22, 2015

Over at the discussion group, a reader is asking about likelihood of a resurgence in non-Bakken wells being drilled in North Dakota as the cost of oil services comes down.

A Snapshot Of The 2014 Oil And Gas Permits In North Dakota

Disclaimer: for my use only. Taken from my data base. There are errors in the list below. I have not posted any errors on purpose; everything posted is in good faith. My numbers will not agree with the numbers of the NDIC but they will be close. The numbers "won't always add up" because it's sometimes hard to keep track of various criteria; in addition, the database is dynamic. This data was collected between January 20 and January 22, 2015. See additional disclaimer notes.

Looking at the first 1,242 oil and gas permits issued in North Dakota last calendar year (2014), some data points. These permits were issued between (inclusive) January 2, 2014, and June 11, 2014.

A total of 3,013 permits were issued in 2014. The data from 1,242 permits below represents about 41% of all permits.

By producer:
  • Abraxas: 3
  • American Eagle: 23
  • Anschutz: 1
  • Armstrong: 2
  • Ballantyne: 2
  • Ballard: 2
  • Baytex: 2
  • BR: 59
  • CLR: 121
  • Corinthian: 8
  • Cornerstone: 2
  • Crescent Point: 2
  • Denbury: 5
  • Emerald: 30
  • Enduro: 22
  • EOG: 52
  • ERF: 5
  • Fidelity: 15
  • Gadeco: 2
  • Hess: 150
  • HRC: 21
  • Hunt: 11
  • KOG: 22 (inaccurate, because many have been turned over to WLL)
  • Legacy: 14
  • Liberty Resources: 4
  • Luff: 1
  • Mountain Divide: 1
  • MRO: 43
  • Murex: 3
  • Newfield: 22
  • North Plains: 2
  • Oasis: 110
  • OXY USA: 34
  • Peregrine: 1
  • Petro Harvester: 2
  • Petro-Hunt: 46
  • Petrogulf: 2
  • QEP: 37
  • Roff Operating: 1
  • Samson Resources: 7
  • Sinclair: 2
  • Slawson: 30
  • SM: 26
  • Statoil: 25
  • Triangle: 27
  • Welter: 1
  • Whiting: 109 (includes KOG permits converted to WLL)
  • WPX: 20
  • XTO: 100
  • Zargon: 2
  • Zavanna: 10
458 wells reported IPs.

Of those 458 wells, 40 were non-Bakken wells, mostly Madison and Spearfish, one Lodgepole.

Of the Bakken wells that reported IPs:
  • the lowest: #27462, 73, Hess, LK-Bice-LW-147-97-1201H1, Big Gulch, t10/14; cum 2K 11/14;
  • the highest: #27553, 3,645, XTO, Walton Federal 41X-19H, Bear Den, t9/14; cum 71K 11/4;
  • number of wells between 73 and 100 bbls IP = 6
  • number of wells between 101 and 200 bbls IP = 17
  • number of wells between 201 and 300 bbls IP = 21
  • number of wells between 301 and 400 bbls IP = 22
  • number of wells between 401 and 500 bbls IP = 18
  • number of wells between 500 and 700 bbls IP = 53
  • number of wells between 701 and 1,000 bbls IP =  80
  • number of wells between 1,001 and 1,200 bbls IP = 32
  • number of wells between 1,201 and 1,400 bbls IP = 29
  • number of wells between 1,401 and 1,600 bbls IP = 30
  • number of wells between 1,601 and 1,800 bbls IP = 29
  • number of wells between 1,801 and 2,000 bbls IP = 20
  • number of wells between 2,001 and 2,400 bbls IP =36
  • number of wells between 2,401 and 2,600 bbls IP = 12
  • number of wells between 2,601 and 3,000 bbls IP = 10
  • number of wells over 3,001 bbls IP = 4
The other three wells reporting IPs over 3,000 bbls:
  • 27408, 3,668, Whiting, Koala 4-4-29-1H, Poe, t11/14; cum 4K 11/14; (a KOG well)
  • 28221, 3,347, Whiting, Brehm 13-7H, Sanish, t8/14; cum 86K 11/14;
  • 27556, 3,511, XTO, Kaye Federal 43X-4B, Lost Bridge, t7/14; cum 79K 11/14;
Of the Bakken wells reporting an IP:
  • average IP of 419 Bakken wells reporting IPs: 1,151 bbls
There were three Bakken wells that were still on the confidential list,  had not reported an IP, but were producing, but may not yet be completed (it was hard to tell) based on low early production numbers.

There were 109 Bakken wells that were on the confidential list, had not reported an IP, but were producing, and based on the production, it appears they have been fracked. Whiting has 22 wells on this list. Oasis has 13 wells on this list.

By county:
  • Dunn: 173
  • McKenzie: 439
  • Mountrail: 234
  • Williams: 183
  • Divide: 76
  • Golden Valley: 2
  • Bowman: 6
  • Renville: 12
  • Billings: 22
  • Stark: 26
  • Burke: 31
  • Bottineau: 39
Status of Bakken wells not yet reporting an IP:
  • Bakken wells on the confidential list: 334
  • Bakken wells on DRL status: 222
  • Two of the Bakken wells on DRL status are showing huge production
  • One well that had been on DRL status is now on CONF status
  • One well that had been on DRL status is now on LOC status

Better Late Than Never: Analysts Say Low Gasoline Prices Will Help Global Economy -- January 22, 2015

Note: initial production numbers for wells coming off the confidential list today have been posted; 50% of wells coming off confidential list today went to DRL status. 

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Remember all that talk about global economy slowing down: that Chinese and US GDP would decrease (I'm ignoring the EU, a lost cause)? The analysts have suddenly noticed that the price of oil has come down a tad. CNBC is reporting:
Tumbling oil prices may increase world economic growth by 15-20 percent this year, but several countries will still lose out. 
The World Bank forecast that the world economy would expand by 2.6 percent in 2014 before growing by 3.0 percent in 2015 and 3.3 percent in 2016. This expansion would be thanks to low oil prices, as well as continued recovery in the U.S., a gradual improvement in the euro area and receding domestic headwinds in slower-growing developing countries.  
It's not much, but every little bit helps. What surprises me is that many of us suspected this several months ago.

Job Watch

This is Page 4

Reagan vs Obama: job recovering following a recession. Reuters and Bloomberg keep telling us job growth is strong, but never seem to really back up that assertion.

The Magic Numbers
First time claims, unemployment benefits: 400,000 (> 400,000: economic stagnation)
New jobs: 200,000 (< 200,000 new jobs: economic stagnation)
Economists estimate the labor market needs to create about 125,000 jobs a month to keep the unemployment rate steady, though estimates vary -- Reuters
I will stick with 200,000 (the "magic number" prior to the Obama administration) -- it's a nicer, "rounder" number to remember.

Over the two years that I had been posting these updates, it had become clear/obvious that the figures were often suspect, if not outright falsified. On November 18, 2013, it was reported that, indeed, unemployment figures have been falsified.
In the home stretch of the 2012 presidential campaign, from August to September, the unemployment rate fell sharply — raising eyebrows from Wall Street to Washington.
The decline — from 8.1 percent in August to 7.8 percent in September — might not have been all it seemed. The numbers, according to a reliable source, were manipulated.
And the Census Bureau, which does the unemployment survey, knew it.
 Take the numbers for what they are worth, I guess. Not much. As so much else with ObamaNation.

Updates

September 2, 2016: the Goldilocks number. Jobs created in August much less than forecast; unemployment unchanged from a revised upward revision one month earlier. 

September 1, 2016: increases 2,000; up to 263,000; four-week average dropped to 263,000.

August 25, 2016: slipped 1,000; down to 261,000. Four-week average dropped 1,250, to 264,000.

August 18, 2016: falls by 4,000; down to 262,000. Four-week average increased 7,750.

August 11, 2016: fell by a 1,000 from a revised 267,000 to 266,000.

August 4, 2016: the news is not getting any better. Analysts expected first time claims to drop. In fact they rose to 269,000. Four-week average also rose to 260,250. In addition, layoffs spiked for the second straight month in July, mostly due to the energy sector.

July 28, 2016: huge miss by Bloomberg. Claims jump 14,000 to 266,000

July 21, 2016: prior, 254K; consensus, 265K (a rise of 11,000 forecast); actual: 253K, a decline of 1,000. Four-week moving average: 257,750. From Econoday, the consensus was based on the "usual" summer auto-retooling layoffs
All the readings in this report are very low, arguably at the lowest levels on record. But the missing piece is this summer's auto retooling which, when it appears, may have an outsized reverse effect on the data. The Labor Department says there are no special factors in today's report, one which points to a second month of strength for the monthly employment report.

July 14, 2016: unchanged at 254,000

July 8, 2016: "vigorous rebound" according to The New York Times; 287,000 jobs added; unemployment rate up slightly to 4.9%

July 7, 2016tumble 16,000 to 254,000; four-week average dipped slightly to 264,750. It looks like we may have finally turned the corner.

July 2, 2016: jumped 10,000 to 268,000 (previous week revised downward by 1,000). Four-week moving average remained unchanged at 266,750, which is interesting considering the previous week, first time claims plummeted 18,000 to 259,000.

June 23, 2016: declined more than forecast. First time claims plummeted by 18,000 to 259,000. Survey called for a decline to 270,000. Four-week average: down to 267,000, from 269,250 a week earlier.

June 16, 2016: surges 13,000 to 277,000, highest in four weeks; 4-week moving averaged declined 250 to 269,250, based on an anomaly a few weeks ago.

June 9, 2016: dropped 4,000 to 264,00; previous week must have been revised upward to 268,000. 4-week moving averaged dropped 7,500 to 269,500.

June 2, 2016: horrendous job report for the month of May; US added only 34,000 jobs; [revised downward to 11,000 -- almost impossible to believe -- link here]; unemployment rate plunges to 4.7% from 5.0% as more Americans drop out of workforce.

June 2, 2016: fell 1,000 to seasonally adjusted 267,000. Four-week average fell to 276,750.

May 26, 2016: dropped 10,000 to 268,000; 4-week moving average increased to 278,500. 

May 19, 2016: 278,000, a decrease of 16,000; 4-week moving average was 275,750, an increase of 7,500 from the previous week.

May 12, 2016; second consecutive horrendous weekly report -- unexpectedly surges; jumps by 20,000 to 294,000, highest since February, 2015; four-week rolling average jumps to 268,250 from 258,000.

May 6, 2016: April jobs report. One word: Awful. Actually, worse than awful. Atrocious. 

May 5, 2016: surges; way more than expected; up 17,000 from last week; 14,000 more than forecast; 274,000 new claims vs forecast of 260,000; 4-week rolling average up 2,000 to 258,000. Sixty-one weeks with claims under 300,000.

April 28, 2016: up 9,000. Four-week average: 256,000, a 42-year low. 

April 21, 2016: huge miss by analysts -- down 6,000. Forecast: 265,000 (previous 253,000). Actual: 247,000. Forecast was for a 12,000 increase; in fact, dropped 6,000.  Four-week rolling average: 260,500.

April 14, 2016: plummeted; down 13,000 to 253,000 from last week's revised 266,000 figure. The four-week rolling average fell 1,500 to 265,000 last week.

April 7, 2016: fell 9,000 to 267,000. The four-week average, a less-volatile figure, rose 3,500 to 266,750.

March 31, 2016: first time claims surge unexpectedly! Up 11,000 from previous week. New apps at  276,000. The four-week average rose 3,500 to 263,250.

March 30, 2016: new jobs for March, 200K, in-line with economists' forecasts.

March 17, 2016: jump 7,000 to 265,000; four-week average increased 750 to 268,000.

March 10, 2016: applications plummet by 18,000; down to 259,000. Four-week average down 2,500 to 267,500. 

March 4, 2016: new jobs in February, 242K vs 190K forecast; unemployment unchanged at 4.9%.

March 3, 2016: up 16,000 in last two week. Jumps another 6,000 this past week, to 278,000, vs consensus of 270,000. The forecast was for a drop from the previous week. Actually increased. Four-week average drops to 270,250 due to anomalies a few weeks ago.

March 2, 2016: US private sector adds 214,000 jobs in February -- ADP. Average forecast: 190,000.

February 25, 2016: jumps 10,000 to 272,000. Surprisingly, no revision of last week's "huge" estimate (LOL). Four-week average also dropped, now at 272,000. Unemployment rates in 2015 were lower than recession rates in 2007 in only 14 states, including North Dakota; most of the 14 states were in the Midwest; none were on the east coast or west coast. None..

February 18, 2016: claims drop by 7,000 to 262,000. Four-week average down to 273,250. These numbers will have to be revised next week because numbers from Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Puerto Rico were estimated.

February 11, 2016: fell 16,000 to 269,000. Huge drop; no explanation. Four-week average fell 3,500 to 281,250.  

February 4, 2016: forgot to record; must have jumped a bit from 278,000 to 285,000 based on the numbers for the following week (February 11, 2016).

January 28, 2016: fell 16,000 to 278,000 from 294,000 which was revised upward from last week; four-week average at 283,000 from a revised 285,250 last week. 

January 21, 2016: huge "swing and a miss"; up almost 20,000 more than forecast; at 293,000; also, the 4-week average up significantly to 285K from a prior revised 278,500.

January 14, 2016: an increase of 7,000 to 284,000; forecast, 275,000. 

January 8, 2016: payroll growth surged in December, up 292,000 vs projected 200,000. Comes on top of surge in November. Unemployment rate holds steady at 5%; full employment. David Stockman suggests the "292,000" is completely bogus. The payroll number is "seasonally adjusted." The actual raw data was 11,000; the government added another 281,000 jobs through "seasonal adjustment," no doubt the same algorithm used to project global warming 100 years from now. 

January 7, 2016: great jobs report today. The number comes in at 277,000, a decrease of 10,000 or 3.48% from last week. The 4-week moving average was 275,750, a decrease of 1,250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 277,000.

December 31, 2015: applications surge; up 20,000; now at 287,000. four-week rose 4,500. One has to go back almost a year, back to January, 2015, to see numbers (287,000) this high.


December 24, 2015: dropped more than expected. Down to 267,000; four-week rose 1,750 to 272,500.

December 17, 2015: plummeted by 11,000 t0 271,000. Four-week little unchanged at 270,500.

December 10, 2015: number of claims for unemployment benefits rise to a 5-month high; surged 13,000 to 282,000. Four-week: rose 1,500 to 270,750.

December 3, 2015: forgot to post; must have been 269,000 based on December 10, 2015, data. If that is accurate, that was a rise of 9,000 this past week. Four-week must have been 269,250.

November 25, 2015: plummeted 12,000 to 260,000; previous week revised upward to 272,000; 4-week average held steady at 271,000.

November 19, 2015: decreased 5,000 to 271,000. Four week average rises 3,000 to 270,750.

November 12, 2015: unchanged at 276,000. Four week average rises 5,000 to 267,750.

November 5, 2015: completely unexpected; expectation was that there would be an increase of 2,000; in fact, first time claims surged 16,000 to 276,000. The surge was so big that it affected the four-week average which rose to 262,750. 

October 29, 2015: lowest in 42 years; slight rise, to 260,000; four-week average, 259,250.

October 22, 2015: slight rise, up 3,000 to 259,000 (last week's number was revised up 1,000). Four-week moving average best since late 1973, at 263,250. 

October 15, 2015: last week, revised down 1,000, to 262,000. This week, plummets again, to 255,000, a decrease of 7,000. Four-week average was 265,000, a decrease of 2,250 from previous revised average. Best number since December 15, 1973.

October 8, 2015: first-time unemployment claims plummet. Drop 13,000 to 263,000; four-week average dropped to 267,500.

October 2, 2015: job creation plummets

October 1, 2015: surged 10,000 to 277,000. Expectations, 271,000. Four-week average dropped to 270,750. 

September 24, 2015: background noise; claims up slightly, 3,000 to 267,000. Four-week average dips lightly. 

September 17, 2015: unexpected plunge to 264,000; drops 11,000. Four-week average fell 3,250 to 272,500.

September 4, 2015: wow, wow, wow. Shocking! Atrocious number. New jobs -- only 177,000.

September 3, 2015
: surges; up 12,000; far exceeds forecast; to 282,000. The 4-week moving average was 275,500, an increase of 3,250.

August 27, 2015: three-week low; decline 6,000 to 271,000; four-week average rose to 272,500.

August 20, 2015: rose 4,000 to 277,000. Analysts had expected a decline.

August 13, 2015: rise "unexpectedly" by 5,000 to 274,000; four-week average fell 1,750 to 266,250 last week, the lowest since April 2000.

August 6, 2015: Initial unemployment claims increase by 3,000 to 270,000. In line with forecasts. That's on top of the 12,000 increase last week.

July 30, 2015: Reuters reports that jobless claims increase, but "still near" cycle lows. Actually, the number surges, up 12,000. The four-week average fell 3,750 (due to last week's anomalous report) to 274,750.

July 23, 2015: even Reuters knows the number is bogus. Plunged 26,000 to 255,000; the expectation had been for 283,000. Lowest since 1973. Four-week moving average fell only 4,000 to 278,500.

July 17, 2015: Jobs: first time unemployment applications plunge by 15,000; now down to 281,000. The four-week figure rose 3,250 to 282,500.

July 9, 2015: claims surge 15,000 to 297,000 (previous week was revised upward by 1,000); four-week average rose 4,500 to 279,500. The four-week moving average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week fluctuations and is therefore considered a better gauge of the labor market, rose 4,500 to 279,500 last week.

July 2, 2015: claims surge 10,000 to 281,000; a 5-week high; four-week average increases by 1,000 to 274,750.

June 25, 2015: claims rise 3,000 to 271,000; four-week average falls 3,250 to 273,750.

June 19, 2015: unemployment rates fall in only nine (9) states; rise in 25 states; flat in the rest.

June 18, 2015: claims drop 12,000 to 267,000; a 15-year low. Four-week average drops 2,000 to 276,750.

June 4, 2015: claims plummet 8,000 to 276,000 from a revised 284,000 the prior week. The revision was 2,000 more than previously reported. The four-week average of applications, a less-volatile measure than the weekly figure, increased to 274,750 from 272,000 in the prior week.

May 28, 2015: claims surge unexpectedly; back to 282,000; four-week average surges by 5,000.

May 21, 2015: surges; rises 10,000, slightly above expectations, to 274,000. Four-week average fell by 5,500 to 266,250.

May 14, 2015: Weekly applications fell 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 264,000 last week. That is just above a 15-year low reached three weeks ago. The average, a less volatile figure, dropped 7,750 to 271,750, the lowest in 15 years.

May 7, 2015: Jobless claims increased by 3,000, fewer than expected, to 265,000. The four-week average fell to 279,500. 

April 30, 2015: doesn't add up, but it is what it is. Plummeted 34,000 to 262,000; four-week average fell 1,250 to 283,750.

April 16, 2015: surged by 12,000, to 294,000; four-week average, 282,750.

April 9, 2015: surged by 14,000 to 281,000

April 3, 2015: huge miss on jobs report -- note the magic numbers above. Forecast: 245,000 new jobs. Actual: 126,000 -- almost half of what was forecast.

April 2, 2015: continuing claims at 15-year low. Last week's numbers revised slightly up to 288,000. But the new number, 268,000, completely blew away expectations of 288,000. Four-week average: 2,325,000.

March 26, 2015: down 9,000 from the week before, much, much better than the consensus; claims drop to 282,000; four-week moving average fell 7,750 to 297,000, back under the all-important milestone of 300,000. 

March 19, 2015: claims up 1,000 to 291,000; the four-week average, a less volatile measure, increased 2,250 to 304,750

March 5, 2015: unemployment claims unexpectedly surge to 320,000 from 313,000 the prior week. The four week moving average jumped 10,250 to 304,750. 

March 4, 2015: U.S. private employers added 212,000 jobs last month. Not bad, but not great, considering we should be into a huge recovery by now.

February 26, 2015: surges 31,000 to 313,000; completed unexpected; far outside the forecast. The 4-week average is up 11,500 to 294,500. The previous week number was revised from 283,000 to 282,000.

February 19, 2015dropped 21,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 283,000. The four-week average of applications, a less volatile number, fell 6,500 to 289,750, its lowest level in 15 weeks.

February 12, 2015: new claims surge; rise way more than expected; up to 304K; four-week average decreased to 289,750 (due to spurious unemployment claims of a couple weeks ago). 

February 5, 2015: new claims lower than expected; 278,000 (up 11,000); four-week average, 292,750.

February 4, 2015: number of new jobs added in private sector falls short; only 213,000; less than forecast.

January 29, 2015: the number seems very, very fishy. Plunged by 43,000 to 265,000 in the week ended Jan. 24, the lowest since April 2000. Previous week revised up by 1,000 to 308,000. The four-week average of claims, a less-volatile measure than the weekly figure, dropped to 298,500 from 306,750 in the prior week.

January 22, 2015: four-week average surges 6,500 to over 300,000 (306,500); the previous week numbers were revised upward by another 1,000 claims. This week's number decreased unexpectedly by 10,000.  

Four-Week Moving Average Surges Over 300,000; More Folks Filed Claims Than Expected; Numbers Point to "Continued Improvement In Labor Market Conditions" -- Mainstream Media, January 22, 2015

Bloomberg Businessweek is reporting that more Americans filed for first-time benefits for unemployment claims than forecast:
Jobless claims decreased by 10,000 to 307,000 in the week ended Jan. 17, from a revised 317,000 in the prior period, a Labor Department report showed on Thursday in Washington. The median forecast of 52 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a decline to 300,000. 
But the spin: it was due to "hangover from the holidays."  Really. The data is for the week ended January 17, 2015 -- that's almost three weeks since the holidays. This is clearly the result of oil and gas industry laying off employees.  This Bloomberg article did not even mention the downturn in the oil and gas industry.

This is just one of my stories on oil and oil service companies slashing jobs. AFP is reporting:
Big winners in the US shale-oil boom, energy services providers now are slashing jobs to preserve their profits and margins from the rapid dive in oil prices.Over the past month, the sector's three largest companies have announced 17,000 job cuts in the oil patch even as they notched up robust earnings in 2014.
Schlumberger, the world's largest oilfield services company, has ordered the lion's share of layoffs: 9,000, or 7.5 percent of its workforce.
Baker Hughes, the number three firm, which is being acquired by number-two Halliburton, is shedding 7,000 employees, representing 11.3 percent of its staff, with most of them to be shown the door by the end of March.
As for Halliburton, 1,000 jobs are being eliminated outside the Americas and the company has signaled that was just the beginning. "We expect our headcount adjustments to be in line with our primary competitors," the company warned.
The second wave is yet to come.

Then this headline over at Yahoo!Finance: big profits, big layoffs.  AMEX and eBay announce big job cuts.
Big layoffs are coming for some big companies. eBay announced that it will layoff 2,400 people, about 7% of its workforce before April. This, after reporting a 10% increase in profits last quarter. American Express also says it will cut 4,000 jobs, or 6% of its work force, despite an 11% rise in fourth quarter profits.
Remember: "job watch" gets excited when there are 5,000 more or 5,000 less claims for first time unemployment benefits. SLB alone is slashing 9,000 jobs, although many of these will be overseas.

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The president's phone call to the chief over at the Bureau of Labor Statistics must have worked. Everyone will be reporting but this is from Newsmax:
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 307,000 for the week ended Jan. 17, the Labor Department said on Thursday.
Now the spin:
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week from a seven-month high, pointing to continued improvement in labor market conditions.
You had to read a little deeper to learn that last week was even worse than originally reported:
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims falling to 300,000 last week. The prior week's data was revised to show 1,000 more claims received than previously reported.
And, of course, the boiler plate: 
The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, increased 6,500 last week to 306,500, taking it above the 300,000 mark for the first time since September.
So, even thought the four-week moving average which is considered a better measure of labor market trends actually increased by a whopping 6,500 bringing claims over 300,000 for the first time in awhile, the spinmeisters can say this:
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week from a seven-month high, pointing to continued improvement in labor market conditions.
I just love the spin. 

The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits increased by 15,000 to 2.44 million in the week ended Jan. 10.

Railroad Shares Surge -- January 22, 2015

President Obama, Eric Holder say "never mind." Closes case on Ferguson policeman; no federal charges. 

Active rigs:


1/22/201501/22/201401/22/201301/22/201201/22/2011
Active Rigs160187188203165


RBN Energy: the NGL players in the Eagle Ford and Permian -- a great post. A must-read. These articles get archived to subscribers only. 
The prolific, liquids-rich Permian Basin and Eagle Ford plays have attracted more than a dozen midstream companies interested in meeting the growing need for natural gas processing plants, fractionators and natural gas liquids pipelines. Some of the larger players have assembled broad-based portfolios of assets, while others have focused on more stand-alone NGL pipeline or gas processing investments. Today we begin wrapping up our series on NGL-related assets in two of the nation’s most important shale plays.
NGL production in the Permian and Eagle Ford has been rising even more quickly than predicted a year or two ago. As we said in Episode 1 of our series, that rapid growth has put renewed pressure on midstream companies to increase the gas processing and NGL take-away capacity from the two prolific “triple-plays”— favored by producers for their ability to generate large volumes of crude oil, gas and NGLs. In the next four episodes, we considered the NGL-related assets of some of the larger players.
In Episode 2, we reviewed Enterprise Products Partners’ (EPD) infrastructure in the Permian, and in Episode 3 we discussed EPD’s assets in the Eagle Ford and DCP Midstream’s assets in the Permian and the Eagle Ford. In Episode 4, we looked at Energy Transfer, and in Episode 5 we considered Targa Resources, which is in the process of acquiring Atlas Pipeline. This time, in our next-to-last episode of the series, we look at nine other companies that own NGL-related assets in the two plays.
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For Investors Only

See disclaimer

Reporting today:
  • Canadian Pacific Railway (CP.TO), expectation $2.56: reports record 4Q14 operating ratio of 60% and earning per share of $2.63; shares climb $6; Revenues in the fourth quarter climbed 10 percent to an all-time high $1.76 billion. Net income rose to a record $451 million, or $2.63 per diluted share. Adjusted earnings in the fourth-quarter jumped to $460 million, or $2.68 per share, from $338 million, or $1.91 per share, in the fourth quarter 2013.
  • Union Pacific (UNP), expectation $1.51: No. 1 U.S. railroad Union Pacific Corp on Thursday reported a 22 percent jump in quarterly profit that beat analyst estimates, driven by rising freight volumes and higher revenue from increased freight rates.
    The Omaha, Nebraska-based company reported a net profit for the fourth quarter of $1.43 billion, up 22 percent from $1.17 billion a year earlier.
    It earned $1.61 a share in the quarter, a 27 percent increase over the $1.27 a share it earned in the fourth quarter of 2013. Shares surge over $4.
  • Verizon (VZ) expectation, 73 cents; meets expectations but posts loss on pension;
    Verizon shares dropped slightly after the company reported a net loss in its fourth-quarter earnings, attributed to employee pensions and benefit costs. However, revenues met expectations thanks to increased wireless and broadband connections.
    The company reported earnings per share of 71 cents, matching the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research. Verizon also reported $33.2 billion in revenue, a 6.8% increase from last year, above expectations of $32.5 billion.
    Verizon reported a net loss for the fourth-quarter of $2.15 billion after adjustments for pension and other post-employment benefits liabilities, early retirement of debt and other costs.
  • SBUX, expectation 80 cents; after market close;