Week 25: June 19, 2016 -- June 25, 2016

Everything this past week was overshadowed by the "Brexit." It will take years to unwind this .. with five more countries -- including France -- considering an exit -- this may be just the start. One wonders how far back one can trace the history of the "Brexit" -- I don't think it's hyperbole to say that one might be able to trace it back to the Bakken revolution. It sounds preposterous, but when one reads The Oil Kings by Andrew Scott Cooper, finished in 2010, and copyright in 2011, one can connect some interesting dots.

Perhaps more on that later.

The second big story, of course, was the announcement that the Panama Canal expansion, completed, is now ready to be tested. A lot rides on the first neo-Panamanian vessel to transit the canal. There are indications that things may not go all that smoothly. I'm eager to see how this plays out. This is the EIA's assessment.

The other big news is that Saudi Arabia quietly announced that it will not increase production. The announcement was so anti-climactic that one can hardly find a story reporting that announcement, what it means, and any analysis.

The most amazing thing is that for all the talk -- and it's really been not much more than talk since October, 2014 -- OPEC production / Saudi production really hasn't changed that much. After that announcement and the weekly crude oil data, the price of oil was moving up nicely ... and then the Brexit vote.

The other big news in energy was the announcement that the last two nuclear plants in California will be shut down within the decade. Maybe that was news from the previous week; things seem to be moving quickly. I think we're seeing the beginning of the end of the global warming scam.

And finally one more note -- and then I will get on with the Bakken -- MuskMelon is probably thrilled with the Brexit. That story finally took the Tesla / SolarCity debacle off the front page of every newspaper in the country. 

Operations
A laundry list of several energy stories this past week
Is CLR "up to something" in the Rattlesnake Point oil field?
Meandering thoughts o choked back wells, inactive wells, and DUCs in the Bakken
Mike Filloon's update -- June 22, 2016
Although not all rigs are the "big" rigs, the official active rig count in North Dakota got back up to 30 this past week

Fracking
Wyoming judge rules that Obam's attempt to ban fracking was illegal; an AP "Big Story"

Pipeline
Officials allow Dakota Access Pipeline access under tribal lands in Iowa

CBR
Minor update  

Natural gas
Surprisingly, natural gas prices have catapulted well above prices for coal; dispatchable energy is the name of the game now
GE gets into Guinness Book of World Records with its new natural gas turbine; and, here
Electricity grid in California in emergency mode

Miscellaneous
US gasoline demand continues to set records
With gasoline demand continuing to set records, Warren Buffett buys more PSX
GOP has interesting ticket for North Dakota governor/lieutenant governor