Nothing In This Article That Regular Readers Don't Already Know; How Drillers Protect Assets -- For The Archives -- March 9, 2016

Reuters is reporting (archived)

Something is awry in the beleaguered U.S. shale patch: older wells, which normally gush oil or natural gas in their first few months before rapidly depleting, are not petering out as quickly as they should.

When oil prices began falling a year and a half ago in the deepest rout in a generation, many analysts expected U.S. crude production, especially from fracking in the new shale plays that contributed to a global supply glut, to follow quickly.

Producers, such as Continental Resources Inc and Whiting Petroleum Corp, have slashed spending on almost everything, in some cases even leaving drilled wells unfinished to conserve cash and wait for a sustained turnaround in prices.

With oilfield activity suddenly contracting, production from a dwindling number of freshly fracked wells would be unable to compensate for the rapid depletion of older wells. Yet that long-anticipated turning point has only just begun to emerge - partly because producers had a couple more tricks in store.

There is nothing in this article that regular readers don't already know. The writers use some of the terms loosely, similarly to how I use them.

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Le Burger

I've always wanted to post this clip but never had the reason/opportunity. That changed today. From The [London] Telegraph: 'Le burger' is now the top selling dish in French restaurants:

New figures suggest the decidedly un-French burger is served in 75 per cent of French eateries from the most humble fast food outlets to top-notch restaurant.

For the guardians of French gastronomy, the prospect of being served something as unsophisticated as a slab of mincemeat with a bap and slice of cheese would long have been considered sacrilegious.  

Today, however, the tables have turned. In a culinary revolution, three quarters of French restaurants now sell hamburgers and 80 per cent of these say it has become their top-selling dish, according to a new study.

"Le burger" – as the French dub the quintessentially American invention to the despair of linguistic purists of the Académie Française – has become a feature of even the most illustrious eateries.

Indeed, such is its success that sales are set to overtake those of the classic "jambon beurre" (ham and butter baguette), the nation's staple lunchtime sandwich.

Last year, the French chomped their way through 1.19 billion burgers, an 11 per cent rise on the previous year, while "le jambon beurre" fell to 1.23 billion. 

"Burger mania (in France) is unstoppable," declared Bernard Boutboul, head of Gira Conseil, the food consultancy behind the study.

"If it goes on like this, then one can assume that within two years sales of the jambon-beurre and burger will be neck and neck."

In truth, the French have long been lovers of burgers in fast-food outlets. France is McDonald's biggest market in the world outside of the US and was practically the only nation in the world where the chain posted a rise in sales last year.

However, Mr Boutboul said the reason for the burger's phenomenal success in France has been its spread from fast-food to more traditional sit-down restaurants, even top-tier ones. 

Did you note that the burger was not simply among the top dishes served in French restaurants, the burger is the #1 dish served in French restaurants. Along with Freedom Fries, no doubt. LOL.

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Le Big Mac

Pulp Fiction