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Wednesday, April 20, 2016

SM Energy With Four (4) New Permits -- April 20, 2016

Wells coming off the confidential list Thursday:
  • 29130, SI/NC, Hess, BW-Johnson-149-99-1003H-6, Cherry Creek, no production data, 
  • 31569, 471, Crescent Point Energy, CPEUSC Fairholm 4-33-34-164N-100W, West Ambrose, t1/16; cum 14K after 41 days;
  • 31909, SI/NC, Statoil, Enderud 9-4 XE 1TFH, Banks, no production data,
  • 31935, 521, BR, CCU Plymouth 11-29TFH, Corral Creek, t2/16; cum --
Active rigs:


4/20/201604/20/201504/20/201404/20/201304/20/2012
Active Rigs2892188185210

Four (4) new permits:
  • Operator: SM Energy
  • Field: Ambrose (Divide)
  • Comments:
One (1) producing well completed:
  • 31157, 855, Whiting, Obrigewitch 21-29-2PH, Bell, t4/16; cum --

McDonald's -- $15-Minimum Wage? Here We Go In Missouri -- April 20, 2016; New Poll

Not noted by mainstream media for the most part yet:
McComb says the 6,500-square-foot Missouri restaurant will be unique because it will allow its customers to place their orders at digital kiosks and customize their burgers and desserts.
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New Poll: Your Choice For The $20 Bill

I'm too lazy to change it; I forgot to add the option where one could add one's own answer, so in the new poll at the sidebar at the right you are "limited" to the choices. If you feel strongly that you have a better choice, use the "comment" section below.

I believe the criteria for the current selection was limited to the individuals at this site + 1

The Morning After Hillary, Trump Clobber Adversaries In NY By Wider Margins Than Predicted -- Tubman To Replace Jackson On $20 Bill -- April 20, 2016

Wow:


Wow!

This is despite Kuwaiti oil workers ending their strike, cutting Kuwaiti production to 1.5 million bopd:
Thousands of Kuwaiti oil workers remained on strike for a third day on Tuesday to protest against planned public sector pay reform, cutting crude output to 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd). [The strike ended today.]
That is little more than half of Kuwait's average output of 2.8 million bpd in March.
The Wall Street Journal provided this "explanation" 57 minutes ago:
Oil prices flipped to gains Wednesday after an unexpected and sharp decrease in U.S. distillate stockpiles convinced traders to shrug off rising crude stockpiles and the end of a Kuwaiti oil-workers’ strike.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday that distillate stocks, which include heating oil and diesel, fell by nearly 3.6 million barrels when analysts expected no change. It was enough to balance out an addition to crude stockpiles and send total oil and petroleum stockpiles lower—though barely—for only the sixth time in 24 weeks dating back to the start of November.
The combined stockpiles of crude, gasoline and other petroleum products have become a key indicator for many analysts and traders. Production is retreating from record highs in the U.S. but stockpiles there and around the globe are still at record highs. Prices are unlikely to rebound until the massive supply in those stockpiles starts to drain, signaling that a glut that has lingered for two years is finally about to ease, analysts and traders have said.
The concern about oversupply is still strong and had sent oil prices tumbling in early trading Wednesday. The American Petroleum Institute had reported late Tuesday that U.S. crude stocks grew by around 3.1 million barrels last week. And the end of the strike in Kuwait could also increase supply by nearly another 2 million barrels.
Also, note the bullishness of the market, flirting with an all-time high, despite being told for weeks that
  • the US was all but guaranteed going into a recession this year; and, 
  • 1Q16 was going to be a horrendous earnings quarter
Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment, financial, relationship, or travel decisions based on what you read here or what you think you may have possibly read here. 

Wednesday, April 20, 2016; Gasoline Demand Remains On Glide Path To New All-Time Record

Tweeting now, John Kemp: US implied gasoline consumption averaged 9.4 million b/d over last 4 weeks and still running at seasonal record.

Recession: CNBC is reporting --
Of the major energy producers, Alaska, North Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming have slipped into recession, according to Moody's. (West Virginia and Wyoming — both top coal producers — have also been hurt by a drop in coal production and prices.) The economies of Louisiana, Oklahoma and New Mexico have stalled — but not yet headed in reverse. Only Texas has continued to see its economy expand in all but a few energy-dependent metro areas, according to Moody's.
Most of the article focuses on Alaska, then on Wyoming. With regard to North Dakota:
North Dakota, by comparison, is feeling less pain from the loss of oil taxes.
As home to the Bakken oil field and one of the biggest beneficiaries of the modern U.S. oil and gas boom, North Dakota has also enjoyed a tax windfall from a surge in energy production taxes. As of last year, these so-called severance taxes made up more than half of the state's revenue.
But North Dakota has insulated itself somewhat from the crash in oil prices, largely because its windfall came relatively recently. That meant it's had less time to find ways to spend those oil and gas riches. The state has also reduced its reliance on energy revenues with a cap on oil revenues of $300 million every two years.
"(North Dakota) hasn't overspent," said Moody's Cochrane. "They've been very, very cautious and conservative in their in budget projection and their projection for what they energy revenue might be." 
And the article ends with Texas, pretty much unscathed.

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Active rigs:


4/20/201604/20/201504/20/201404/20/201304/20/2012
Active Rigs2892188185210

RBN Energy: evolving Gulf Coast pricing and new pipelines to St James.
A year ago (April 2015) the price spread between Light Louisiana Sweet (LLS) the St. James, LA benchmark light crude and Permian West Texas Intermediate (WTI) delivered to Houston was roughly $2.50/Bbl. In the first quarter of 2016 – following the end of the crude export ban and the crash of crude prices below $40.bbl – that spread narrowed to 30 cents/Bbl. This price differential change has thrown a wrench into traditional Gulf Coast price relationships that encouraged the flow of crude east from Houston to Louisiana. Further changes are expected as pipeline projects due to be completed in the next two years will deliver Bakken and Permian crude direct to St. James. Today we wrap up our series on St. James with a look at changing crude prices and flows.
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The Daily Spin

The Los Angeles Times is reporting, in an op-ed:
"United does not generally offer low premium plans in the Marketplaces," Cox and Semanskee report. The company offers the lowest or second-lowest silver plan in about one third of the counties where it participates in 2016. As a result, the effect of a United withdrawal nationally would be modest...The national weighted average benchmark silver plan would have been roughly 1% higher in 2016 had United not participated (less than $4 per month for an unsubsidized 40-year-old)."
HHS supplemented Kaiser's findings with results from healthcare.gov, the website for enrollment on federally-run exchanges. United policies were not priced competitively in any of the five most-populous states where exchange enrollments go through the federal website--Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Georgia. More than 90% of the populations of all five lived in areas where they could find a silver plan cheaper than United's.