Good News: Atmospheric CO2 Drops Below 400 -- Flaring Restrictions In The Bakken Working? -- September 22, 2015

This comes as a surprise, at least to me. Press release:

Questar Corporation today announced that its subsidiary, Wexpro Company, has entered into a joint venture to develop natural gas-producing properties in western Colorado’s Piceance Basin.

Wexpro will partner with Piceance Energy, LLC, a subsidiary of Laramie Energy II, LLC, and a leader in developing low-cost drilling and completion strategies in the basin.

Wexpro expects to spend $60 million to $70 million on an 80-well drilling program targeting the Mesaverde formation. The partners will begin drilling in the Collbran Valley in Mesa County in early October 2015, and continue through early 2017.

The joint-development agreement also provides Wexpro options to acquire development rights for deeper formations and, with mutual consent, to significantly extend and expand the drilling program up to 300 wells, depending on commodity prices. 

It was probably smart of Questar to wait to make the announcement AFTER the sage grouse announcement.

$65 million / 80 wells = $850,000 / well.

For the archives. Remember, some estimate the Piceance Basin to have more than one trillion bbls OOIP.

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And Another Surprise

"Happy Birthday To You" is now back in the public domain. If that link does not get you past the "paywall," google Happy Birthday' song copyright is not valid, judge rules.

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Atmospheric CO2 Below 400

In April, 2015, CO2Now reported atmospheric CO2 at 403. Posted, but unfortunately no screen shot and the link is dynamic.

Apparently the NDIC flaring restrictions are making a difference. The most recent CO2 numbers being reported by the same group, CO2Now shows that atmospheric CO2 has dropped well below 400 (dynamic link):

Meanwhile record snowfalls are being reported in Siberia.

[Yes, I know there are seasonal variations with regard to atmospheric CO2. Like the monthly jobs numbers I assume CO2Now / NOAA can come up with any atmospheric CO2 number they want. When posting this, it was "the thought that counted." LOL. I was just surprised CO2Now / NOAA would publish a number below 400, considering that with a bit of massaging, it would be easy to get it above 400, the critical threshold at which the world will come to an end.]

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Wow! How Many Gay Couples ARE There In Kentucky?

Rowan County, KY: population, 23,000.

Morehead, Rowan County seat: population, 7,000. 

It appears, based on the number of ABC News reports on marriage licenses coming out of Rowan County, KY, everyone over the age of 14 is getting married or remarried -- marriage licensing clerk herself has been married four times and has children from "adulterous" relations -- according to ABC News and to which the clerk agreed -- if I heard the interview correctly.

Based on population numbers it appears most in Rowan County live in the back country.

And of the "everyone over the age of 14 getting married or remarried," it appears that most of them are planning to marry someone of the same sex. Considering this is is the Bible belt, this is truly bizarre. I must be missing something.

Even more bizarrely, Rowan County, in geographical size and population, is one of the smaller counties in Kentucky. One can get a marriage license in any county in Kentucky to meet Kentucky requirements to get married anywhere in the state. Residency is not required.

I'm beginning to think that heterosexuals rush to Las Vegas when they want to get married quickly, but in Kentucky, those who want to marry someone of the same sex, they rush to Morehead, Rowan County, Kentucky.

The next obvious question, of course, is there a bakery in Morehead that bakes wedding cakes with a don't ask, don't tell policy? A google search "Morehead Kentucky wedding cakes" results in no less than four bakeries and none state a they have a "no-gay" policy. And that must be accurate. Otherwise, ABC News would be reporting on that.

Stay tuned.

Dueling Banjos, from Deliverance

1/4 Bakken Wells Report An IP; No New Permits Issued Today -- September 22, 2015

Active rigs:

	9/22/2015	09/22/2014	09/22/2013	09/22/2012	09/22/2011
Active Rigs	68	196	185	185	195

Wells coming off the confidential list Wednesday:

• 30353, 820, Hess, BL-Kerbaugh-156-96-3427H-2, Beaver Lodge, t8/15; cum --
• 30373, drl, Statoil, Folvag 5-8 8TFH, Stony Creek, no production data,
• 30681, drl/NC, MRO, Marjorie 14-10H, Reunion Bay, no production data,
• 30790, SI/NC, SM Energy, Stacey 13-9H, Poe, no production data,

No new permits today.

One (1) producing well completed:

• 25183, 2,764, Slawson, River Rat Federal 3-23-14H, Four Bears, one of three lateral re-entries to complete wells previously drilled through the curve; high levels of background gas throughout; 1,000 units with connection gases above 1,500 units in first half of lateral; later, majority of connection gasese averaging 3,000 units; target zone, 14 feet; t9/15; cum -- 

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New Dinosaur Species

IBTimes is reporting:

A new dinosaur species was unearthed in northern Alaska and it apparently thrived in the brisk, polar landscape. The groundbreaking discovery of the duck-billed dino, dubbed Ugrunaaluk kuukpikensis, has marked a turning point for paleontologists who have focused on warmer climates.

.... the creature in Alaska’s Prince Creek Formation, which means it thrived in an area that was considered relatively cold, for dinosaurs at least.

The new creature looked very similar to Edmontosaurus, another duck-billed dino often found in Montana and Alberta, Canada. But with an ample amount of bones, researchers were able to find enough small differences to make them suspect these were a new species.

Researchers suggest that Ugrunaaluk kuukpikensis, which means “ancient grazer” in the language used by native Alaskan Inupiat Eskimos, grew up to 30 feet long from nose to tail and had hundreds of teeth to chew through tough vegetation in the polar forest that covered northern Alaska about 70 million years ago.

Why can't they name these things something middle school kids -- besides Inupiats -- can pronounce? 

Greater Sage Grouse Does Not Need Federal Protections -- President Obama -- September 22, 2015

Updates

June 9, 2017: revised/renewed efforts to saving a species in which 2 of 3 males are infertile.

US Interior Sec. Ryan K. Zinke signed an order late on June 7 that was aimed at improving greater sage grouse habitat preservation efforts across 11 western states and strengthening cooperation between the federal government and state and local governments, oil and gas producers, ranchers, outdoor recreation groups, and other stakeholders.

.... also established an internal review team that will evaluate both federal greater sage grouse plans and state plans and programs to assure that they are complementary. The team also will consider local economic growth and job creation as it evaluates possible plan modifications.

WEA and the North Dakota Petroleum Council jointly sued the US Bureau of Land Management and US Forest Service in federal court in May 2016, charging that the agencies developed amended land use plans for the greater sage grouse that imposed restrictions on new oil and gas leases and on development of existing leases

Original Post 

The Billings Gazette is reporting:

The Interior Department said Tuesday that the greater sage grouse, a ground-dwelling bird whose vast range spans 11 Western states, does not need federal protections following a costly effort to reverse the species' decline without reshaping the region's economy.

The fight over whether to list the bird as endangered or threatened recalled the battle over the spotted owl 25 years ago, where federal protection greatly impeded the logging economy. The Obama administration and affected states have committed hundreds of millions of dollars to saving the species without Endangered Species Act protections that many argued would threaten the oil and gas industry and agriculture.

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Another Endangered Species: The Individual ObamaCare Enrollee?

According to Motley Fool:

The number of paying Obamacare enrollees fell to 9.9 million by June 30, 2015, thus falling below the 10 million-person enrollment milestone many proponents had cheered. Put another way, roughly 1.8 million people who were enrolled in Obamacare at the end of February had either not paid their bills or were dropped by their insurers.

The Apple Page -- September 22, 2015; FERC Approves Project To Export Appalachian Natural Gas Through Louisiana

Another $310 Million Project For Louisiana

From FuelFix:

A federal agency has approved construction of a project that will supply natural gas to the Cameron LNG export facility in southwest Louisiana.

The Advocate reports the announcement of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval was made by Columbia Pipeline Group Inc. and Columbia Pipeline Partners LP.
Their subsidiary, Columbia Gulf Transmission LLC, will supply the Appalachian natural gas to the facility.

The project involves an investment of about $310 million. Construction is expected to begin in spring 2016, with service starting during first-quarter 2018.

When it comes to energy, I think this will be America's century.

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Why Not Detroit?

Courier-Journal is reporting:

Ford Motor Co. first put out a call during the summer for potential assembly technicians to apply for jobs at the Kentucky Truck Plant (Louisville, KY). Now it's seeking to enlarge the facility.

The company applied Monday for zoning approval to add 288,000 square feet on its 413-acre site at 3001 Chamberlain Lane.

Current employment: 4,100 hourly, 209 salaried; UAW Local 862 represents the hourly employees, 900 of whom are entry level, aka Tier 2.

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The Apple Page

Every model of Apple's iPhone 6S is already sold out.

All versions of the iPhone 6S, which include all color combinations and storage options regardless of carrier, are pushed back by one to two weeks.

The larger 5.5-inch iPhone 6S Plus is on hold for three to four weeks.

This isn't unusual — Apple's new iPhones usually sell out fast. It's rare to receive your iPhone on launch day unless you place your order as soon as Apple's preorder page goes live.

Let's see what Macrumors has to say. Tea leaves on Monday (yesterday) suggested that was the case. In addition, Apple won't be selling iPhones on launch date in the US states that have no sales tax:  along with Hong Kong, China, and Japan, these four states have high rate of scalpers:

The four U.S. states with Apple retail stores that are affected by this policy include Oregon, Delaware, New Hampshire, and Alaska. Montana is the fifth U.S. state without a statewide sales tax, but Apple does not have any retail stores located in the state. 

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Sayonara

[Update, September 26, 2015: Spain requires VW to return "clean subsidies."

[Update, September 24, 2015: MyWay article on VW.]

[Update, September 23, 2015: no link, being reported everywhere: VW CEO resigns.]

VW CEO on his way out. Tea leaves. No link; being reported everywhere. 

Oasis Fined For Not Paying Royalties -- September 22, 2015; Replace Good-Paying Union Jobs With $15/Hour Flipping Hamburger Jobs

Hey, You Can Always Move To Minneapolis And Flip Hamburgers

Becker To Minneapolis: 50  Miles -- Single Charge For An EV

Ya gotta love the governor: supports $15/hour to flip hamburgers but will shut down good-paying union jobs. Whatever. And the governor thought it was only his neighbor to the west that had "a coal problem." Midwestern Energy News is reporting:

The debate over the fate of Minnesota's largest -- and most polluting -- coal fired power plant has intensified as state policy makers begin creating a roadmap to meet goals set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan.

On Monday House Job Growth and Energy Affordability (JGEA) Committee Chair Rep. Pat Garofalo led a tour of the Sherburne County Generating Station (Sherco) along with Rep. Jim Newberger, who represents the town of Becker, where the plant is located. A hearing afterward focused on the plant's importance to the community.

Importance to the community?  Becker, population, 5,000. Hello. The plant is the community. Close the plant and the community ....

The Sherburne County Generating Station, also known as Sherco, is a massive coal-fired power plant in Becker, Minnesota, which is in Sherburne County. Its three units have a combined capacity of 2,400 megawatts, making it the largest power plant in the state.

To replace 2,400 megawatts with wind, at $2.5 million /MW = $6,000 million or $6 billion. Solar would be significantly higher. The typical wind farm is about 240 MW, so we are talking at least ten (10) wind farms in North Dakota to make up the loss of this coal plant. And intermittent energy needs back-up natural gas plants. North Dakota, I would say, is sitting in the sweet spot for energy. Ten more wind farms around West Fargo, and a new natural gas plant in Tioga. Wow, the possibilities are endless.

The state can use UND / Grand Forks drones to inspect everything.

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Chesapeake Bookkeeping

The Dickinson Press is reporting: 

Oasis Petroleum has been assessed a $72,438 fine for failing to make royalty payments on oil production on the Fort Berthold Reservation, the Department of Interior’s Office of Natural Resources Revenue announced Monday.

The civil penalty was for failing to make royalty payments on production from an American Indian lease between February 2013 and June 2014, the Office of Natural Resources Revenue said.

The company eventually paid the royalties in July 2014.

Learning from Chesapeake? 

It would be nice to see the fine distributed among the mineral owners. In a perfect world, any fine would be doubled: a matching amount would be paid the mineral owners.

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Transparency

Compare the disclosure rules of Idaho with North Dakota. Here are the rules of Idaho has reported by The SF Gate: 

The new rule approved by the Idaho Legislature last spring requires companies to turn over production records six months after a well starts producing. Six months after that, the state is required to make those records public.

In other words, insiders inside the state government have access to private information for six months before it is released to the public. Gee, I wonder....

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Setting Us Up For $200 Oil

EIA "energy cookie":

In response to the decline in crude oil prices since mid-2014, the number of active offshore rigs has declined worldwide, dropping close to 20%—304 offshore rigs were operating in August 2015, down from 377 in August 2014.

During this period, the number of active offshore rigs in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico dropped more rapidly, falling by 46%.

Over the past 15 years, the U.S. GOM's share of active offshore rigs worldwide has declined significantly—from almost half of all active offshore rigs worldwide in 2000 to less than 20% since 2008. --- EIA 

It looks like the number of rigs in the Mideast has dropped from around 400 at the peak to about 300. 

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Active rigs:

	9/22/2015	09/22/2014	09/22/2013	09/22/2012	09/22/2011
Active Rigs	68	196	185	185	195

RBN Energy: Update on the Utica; 3Q15 Growth Spurt

U.S. Lower 48 natural gas production is averaging a record 74.2 Bcf/d in September to date, according to PointLogic Energy. Meanwhile, CME’s Henry Hub natural gas futures contract has languished at an average of $2.68/MMBtu this month to date, the lowest for any September since 2001. Much of the recent gain in natural gas production has come from  new Utica Shale output.  In today’s blog, we drill down into the region’s pipeline flow data to see where exactly the growth is coming from, what’s driving it and what it could mean for natural gas supply.

In our latest natural gas supply and demand balance update, using data from our friends at PointLogic, we showed that U.S. dry gas production has remained relatively flat through the summer despite the dramatic rig count decline earlier this year. We also alluded to the likelihood of oversupply persisting through the summer storage injection season. Subsequently, we wrote about the potential for an uptick in production volumes in 4Q2015, enabled by higher demand, higher prices, improved price spreads and more pipeline takeaway capacity. Indications are that any growth would likely come from the Northeast. We mentioned that much of the growth in Northeast production this year to date has come from the Utica Shale in particular, buoyed by new drilling and recent record initial production (IP – the first 30 days of output) numbers from wells primarily targeting dry gas. Today’s blog dives deeper into the Utica production spurt and early indications of where it is headed, starting at the region level and then drilling down into the specific counties driving dry gas production, this time with the help of our friends at Genscape.

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ObamaCare, As Predicted, Health-Care Providers, Insurers Supersize

Remember: Big Health Wrote The Bill No One Read

The Wall Street Journal is reporting:

Five years after the Affordable Care Act helped set off a health-care merger frenzy, the pace of consolidation is accelerating, transforming the medical marketplace into a land of giants.

The trend is under a new spotlight now, as Congress zeroes in on the competitive and cost impact of proposed deals that would collapse the health-insurance industry’s top five players into just three massive companies, each with more than $100 billion in annual revenue. On Tuesday, a Senate subcommittee is set to hear testimony from the chief executives of Aetna Inc., which plans to acquire Humana Inc., and Anthem Inc., which is seeking to buy Cigna Corp. , as well as the head of the American Hospital Association.

The other big insurer, which isn’t testifying, is UnitedHealth Group Inc.
The managed-care deals parallel what has been happening among health-care providers—2015 is on pace to notch the most U.S. hospital deals since 1999, with 71 announced through the end of August, according to Irving Levin Associates, a research firm that tracks health-care transactions. That comes on top of an already torrid spate of deal-making—in 2010, the year the health law passed, there were 72 hospital acquisitions, up from just 50 the year before. Last year, there were 100.

The supersizing, which hasn’t been slowed so far by signals of regulatory concern about health-care consolidation, reflects efforts by companies in both industries to gain the scale and heft to succeed amid changes unleashed or accelerated by the health law. Those include growing pressures to constrain costs, and new forms of payment that require providers to meet efficiency and care-quality goals. Health systems are adding hospitals, doctor practices and a range of other services that enable them to manage all of a patient’s care. And each industry is bulking up to amass leverage in contract negotiations against the other.

Great opportunities for investors.

By the way, we saw this in the military's healthcare system, Tricare. When Tricare was inaugurated, the continental US was divided into 12 regions, with a multitude of health care companies competing for each region. By the time I retired in 2007, it was down to two regions, one east of the Mississippi, and one west of the Mississippi, and down to a handful (maybe two?) healthcare insurers vying for these huge, huge contract. 

Oh, and even as the government permits all these mergers and buyouts, HAL-BHI not allowed.

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Getting To The Bottom Of The Global Warming Scam

One name: Michael Mann.

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Who Will Get Scott Walker's Supporters?

Polling less than 1%, it probably doesn't matter. 

Later: the bigger question -- who will the Koch Bros support. Most likely Rubio. ABB -- anyone but Bush. 

Where's Waldo? -- September 22, 2015