Bakken Differentials Rose To Strongest Level In Nearly 3 Years On Alberta Wildfire Shut-Ins -- May 10, 2016

Reuters is reporting: U.S. Cash Crude-Bakken grades jump to near 3-year high on Alberta wildfire shut-ins. (I think "they" are talking "differentials"; not actual spot cash prices, if that makes sense.) If this is important to you, see the link.

• Bakken differentials rose on Monday to the strongest in nearly three years as traders hurried to buy the crude on worries about supply constraints due to a raging wildfire in Canada's Alberta province. 
• The move follows Syncrude Canada cutting estimated production volumes by some 35 percent in May after a wildfire forced the company to close its mines and upgrader operations over the weekend. 
• U.S. Bakken for June settled at 40 cents a barrel over WTI from 35 cents a barrel below WTI on Friday, according to Shorcan Energy Brokers. That was the strongest since July 2013. -- This is the basis for the headline.
•  Canadian crude prices climbed further on Monday as the wildfire entered a second week, with offline capacity estimated at around 1 million barrels per day. 
• Light, sweet barrels in the U.S. Gulf got a boost, with traders expecting barrels to possibly move inland as a result of the production curbs. 
• Light Louisiana Sweet (WTC-LLS) for June delivery rose 20.5 cents to a midpoint of $2.13 and traded between $2.05 and $2.15 a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures. 
• Mars Sour (WTC-MRS (LSE: MRS.L - news) ) rose 3 cents to a midpoint of -$3.22 and traded between $3.20 and $3.25 a barrel discount to U.S. crude futures.
• WTI Midland (WTC-WTM) rose 7 cents to a midpoint of -$0.13 and traded at a 10 cent a barrel discount to U.S. crude futures. 

*****************************************

Six Consecutive Yahtzees

Newfield's Skaar Federal Wells In Sand Creek Oil Field

Note: Newfield is "now Ovintiv." -- June 6, 2021.

Encana acquired Newfield back in 2019. Ovintiv Inc., formerly Encana Corporation, is a hydrocarbon exploration and production company organized in Delaware and headquartered in Denver, United States. It was founded and headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, and was the largest energy company and largest natural gas producer in Canada. The company was rebranded as Ovintiv and relocated to Denver in 2019–20.

June 6, 2021: it was noted that a number of these wells are off line. No obvious reason. 

The wells:

• 32041, 1,229, Ovintiv/Encana/Newfield, Skaar Federal 153-96-30-5HLW, Sand Creek, t2/16; cum 141K 11/20; cum 151K 6/22;
• 32040, IA/2,347, Ovintiv/Encana/Newfield, Skaar Federal 153-96-30-1H, Sand Creek, t2/16; cum 165K 11/20; jump in production, 9/20; cum 174K 7/21;
  
• 32039, 2,308, Ovintiv/Encana/Newfield, Skaar Federal 153-96-30-2H, Sand Creek, t2/16; cum 210K 11/20; cum 230K 6/22;
  
• 32038, 2,202, Ovintiv/Encana/Newfield, Skaar Federal 153-96-30-3H, Sand Creek, t2/16; cum 237K 11/20; cum 262K 6/22;
  
• 32037, 2,981, Ovintiv/Encana/Newfield, Skaar Federal 153-96-30-1H, Sand Creek, t2/16; cum 263K 11/20; cum 297K 6/22;

• 28961, IA/807, Ovintiv/Encana/Newfield, Skaar Federal153-96-29-10H, Sand Creek, AL, t5/15; cum 81K 12/19; off line 12/10; remains off line 11/20; cum 95K 6/22;
• 28960, 1,289, Ovintiv/Encana/Newfield, Skaar Federal 153-96-29-3H, Sand Creek, AL, t5/15; cum 112K 11/20; cum 121K 6/21;
  
• 28959, IA/1,090, Ovintiv/Encana/Newfield, Skaar Federal 153-96-29-11H, Sand Creek, AL, t5/15; cum 102K 11/20; cum 108K 12/21;
  

• 30743, PNC, Ovintiv/Encana/Newfield, Skaar Federal 153-96-28-13HLW,
• 30742, 1,736, Ovintiv/Encana/Newfield, Skaar Federal 153-96-28-21-5H, F, t10/15; cum 309K 3/21; offline 3/21; only two days production, 4/21; cum 314K 6/22;
  
• 30741, 1,085, Ovintiv/Encana/Newfield, Skaar Federal 153-96-28-21-12H, AL, t10/15; cum 200K 11/20; cum 220K 6/22;
  
• 30740, IA/1,019, Ovintiv/Encana/Newfield, Skaar Federal 153-96-28-21-4H, F, t10/15; cum 257K 6/20; off line 6/20; remains off line 11/20; cum 257K 5/20;
  
• 30739, 1,243, Ovintiv/Encana/Newfield, Skaar Federal 153-96-28-21-11H, AL, t10/15; cum 288K 11/20; cum 313K 6/22;
  

***********************************************************

32037, see above, Newfield, Skaar Federal 153-96-30-1H:

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
3-2016	36604	72599
2-2016	17211	19912

32041, see above, Newfield, Skaar Federal 153-96-30-5HLW:

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
3-2016	20335	51673
2-2016	15301	16971

32040, see above, Newfield, Skaar Federal 153-96-30-1H:

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
3-2016	25262	52701
2-2016	16262	17974

32039, see above, Newfield, Skaar Federal 153-96-30-2H:

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
3-2016	28508	55183
2-2016	20865	20356

32038, see above, Newfield, Skaar Federal 153-96-30-3H:

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
3-2016	33466	66809
2-2016	19813	21663

Whiting's Skaar Federal Wells In Twin Valley Oil Field

Updates

October 21, 2018: updated graphic. Fourteen new wells since the screenshot taken in 2017 (see below):

One would expect a significant jump in production in all of the "original Skaar Federal wells" and you would be correct. Example (all five wells have similar jump in production), #22387:

BAKKEN	5-2017	19	4695	4757	1360	19434	18438	958
BAKKEN	4-2017	30	6867	6833	3026	36918	35083	1775
BAKKEN	3-2017	28	9576	9626	4065	31399	29398	1946
BAKKEN	2-2017	28	12146	12235	5232	37476	36507	914
BAKKEN	1-2017	31	11842	11766	5798	39030	38659	309
BAKKEN	12-2016	24	10283	10190	4861	30136	28437	1651
BAKKEN	11-2016	17	8998	8883	4280	23776	22488	1255
BAKKEN	10-2016	5	1315	1861	121	2413	1372	1034
BAKKEN	9-2016	12	11287	10800	8265	17645	13016	4614
BAKKEN	8-2016	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	7-2016	12	1855	1904	216	5274	5213	37
BAKKEN	6-2016	30	5081	5164	520	12953	12747	146
BAKKEN	5-2016	18	3595	3491	259	9667	8469	1164
BAKKEN	4-2016	30	5072	5138	517	13507	13420	27

March 24, 2017: Whiting's Skaar Federal wells took a huge jump in production after neighboring wells were fracked. See this post for that discussion.

Whiting's Skaar Federal Wells

This was posted earlier but as part of another post. I want this to stand alone. The Whiting Skaar Federal wells in Twin Valley oil field will be followed here

*******************************************

Wells In This Drilling Unit

In addition to those wells in the original post, add these wells:

• 32329, along the section line to the west, 2,861, Whiting, Rolla Federal 11-3-1TFHU, t10/16; cum 570K 9/20; cum 598K 8/21;
• 31710, 2,426, Whiting, Rolla Federal 21-3-1TFH, t10/16; cum 344K 9/20; cum 360K 8/21;
  
• 31711, 3,810, Whiting, Rolla Federal 21-3-2TFH, t10/16; cum 296K 6/20; remains off line 9/20; back on line 10/20; cum 305K 4/21;
• 31712, 2,274, Whiting, Rolla Federal 21-3-1H, t9/16; cum 296K 9/20; cum 310K 8/21;
• 31715, 3,465, Whiting, Rolla Federal 21-3-3TFH, t10/16; cum 316K 9/20; cum 329K 8/21;

• 31704, 3,271, Whiting, Rolla Federal 31-3-1TFH, t9/16; cum 287K 9/20; cum 296K 8/21;
• 31705, 2,079, Whiting, Rolla Federal 31-3-2TFH, t10/16; cum 320K 9/20; cum 337K 8/21;
• 31706, A, Whiting, Rolla Federal 31-3-3TFH, t--; cum 261K 7/20  -- look at this, off-line as of 2/19; something going on? back on line 819; off line 11/19; remains off line 9/20 with 13 days 7/20; back on line 10/20; cum 277K 8/21;
  
• 31707, 2,546, Whiting, Rolla Federal 31-3-4TFH, t9/16; cum 303K 9/20; cum 320K 8/21;
• 31708, 3,101 Whiting, Rolla Federal 31-3-1H, t9/16; cum 266K 9/20; cum 275K 8/21;

• 22386, see below, cum 5546K 8/21;
• 22387, see below, cum 495K 8/21;
• 22388, see below, cum 556K 8/21;
• 27283, see below, cum 478K 8/21;
• 27284, see below, cum 538K 8/21;

 

Whiting's Skaar Federal Wells

Original Post

 

Either on the same pad as the Skaar Federal wells, or right next to it, another 3-well pad (I believe all five wells on same pad, but could be wrong; Google map suggests all five on same pad)  (note the IPs):

• 22386, 4,456, Whiting, Skaar Federal 41-3-1H, Twin Valley, 30 stages; 3.0 million lbs; Middle Bakken "C" facies; gas averaged 484 units with spikes to 7,000 units, t6/13; cum 548K 9/20; API: 33-053-03977; huge jump in production 10/16; cum 556K 8/21;
• 22387, 4,460, Whiting, Skaar Federal 41-3-2H, Twin Valley, 30 stages; 3.1 million lbs; Middle Bakken "C" facies; background gas averaged only 265 units, but spiked to 4,000 units; t6/13; cum 490K 9/20; API: 33-053-03978; huge jump in production 12/16; cum 495K 8/21;
• 22388, 4,956, Whiting, Skaar Federal 41-3-3H, 30 stages; 3.1 million lbs, Middle Bakken "C" facies; t6/13; cum 546K 9/20; API: 33-053-03979; huge jump in production, 11/16; cum 556K 8/21;
• 27283, 4,523, Whiting, Skaar Federal 41-3TFHU, t6/14; cum 458K 9/20; API: 33-053-05558; moderate jump in production 11/16; cum 478K 8/21;
• 27284, 4,934, Whiting, Skaar Federal 41-3TFH, t6/14; cum 531K 9/20; API: 33-053-05559; huge jump in production, 11/16; cum 538K 8/21;

• 32326, 2,420, Whiting, Rolla Federal .... t10/16; cum 267K 9/20; off line 11/19; remains off line 2/20; back on line 4/20; cum 280K 8/21;
• 32327, 3,149, Whiting, Rolla Federal .... t9/16; cum 329K 9/20; cum 344K 8/21;
• 32328, 2,053, Whiting, Rolla Federal .... t10/16; cum 313K 9/20; cum 328K 8/21;
• 32329, 2,861, Whiting, Rolla Federal .... t10/16; cum 570K 9/20; cum 598K 8/21;

• 31710, 2,426, Whiting, Rolla Federal .... t10/16; cum 344K 9/20; cum 360K 8/21;
• 31711, 3,810, Whiting, Rolla Federal .... t10/16; cum 296K 9/20; cum 310K 8/21;
• 31712, 2,274, Whiting, Rolla Federal .... t9/16; cum 296K 9/20; cum 306K 8/21;
• 31715, 3,465, Whiting, Rolla Federal .... t10/16; cum 306K 2/20; cum 329K 8/21;

• 31704, 3,271, Whiting, Rolla Federal .... t9/16; cum 287K 9/20; cum 296K 8/21;
• 31705, 2,079, Whiting, Rolla Federal .... t10/16; cum 320K 9/20; cum 337K 8/21;
• 31706, AL/A, Whiting, Rolla Federal .... t--; cum 261K 7/20; remains off line 11/19; remains off line 9/20 except for 13 days, 7/20; cum 277K 8/21;
• 31707, 2,546, Whiting, Rolla Federal .... t9/16; cum 303K 9/20; cum 320K 8/21;
• 31708, 3,101, Whiting, Rolla Federal .... t9/16; cum 266K 9/20; cum 275K 8/21;

Note how much yet needs to be done in this area (I believe this graphic/screen shot was taken on December 7, 2014):

Updated graphic, same area, January 28, 2017:

Updated graphic, same area, November 12, 2018:

Holy Bakken, Batman! Thirty-Nine Permits Renewed! Meanwhile, Statoil Reports Another High-IP Skarston Well -- May 10, 2016

Thirty-nine permits renewed:

• BR (2), an Ole permit in McKenzie County; a Catalina permit in Dunn County
• Enerplus (6), an Axe, Poblano, Vise Cayenne, Anvil, and a(n) Habanero permit, all in Dunn County
• HRC (2), two Fort Berthold wells, both in Dunn County
• Emerald, a Lloyd Christmas well in Stark County
• Oasis (5), five Hanover permits in Williams County
• Newfield (3), three Jorgenson Federal wells in Dunn County
• Noah Energy, a BP North Haas well in Bottineau County
• WPX, a Poplar permit in McKenzie County
• Slawson (5), five Jore Federal wells in McKenzie County
• BR (13), thirteen Abercrombie, Aberlid, and Gladstone permits all in McKenzie County

Wells coming off confidential list Wednesday:

• 24046, 1,661, Petro-Hunt, State 154-94-31C-32-2H, Charlson, t1/16; cum 42K 3/16;
• 31875, drl, CLR, Corsican Federal 2-15H1, Sanish,
• 32041, 1,229, Newfield, Skaar Federal 153-96-30-5HLW, Sand Creek, t2/16; cum 36K after 46 days

The Newfield Skaar Federal wells are tracked here;
Five (5) new permits --

• Operators: EOG (3), Whiting (2)
• Fields: Parshall (Mountrail), Bell (Stark)
• Comments:

QEP re-surveys five TIPI V permits in McKenzie County.

EOG canceled on permits, a Riverview permits in McKenzie County

One (1) producing well completed:

• 25855, 3,115, Statoil, Skartson 1-12 3TFH, Banks, t4/16; cum -- ; the Skarston wells are tracked here;

************************************

 32041, see above, Newfield, Skaar Federal 153-96-30-5HLW, Sand Creek:

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
3-2016	20335	51673
2-2016	15301	16971

24046, see above, Petro-Hunt, State 154-94-31C-32-2H, Charlson:

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
3-2016	15570	0
2-2016	14847	0
1-2016	11122	0

Oasis: Investor Presentation -- 1Q16 -- May 10, 2016

Link here (dynamic, obviously).

20 slides.

Inventory:

• 485,000 net acres (vs 506K 1Q14)
• 91% held by production
• 97% operated
• 607 remaining locations; economic at current prices 
• Bakken + TFS1 = 13 years of remaining inventory

Core:

• Wild Basin (east of Indian Hills
• Indian Hills
• Alger

Extended Core
Fairway
Production

• basically flat for 6 consecutive quarters, aove 50 Mboepd
• 1Q16: 50.3 Mboepd

LOE, 1Q16: $6.78/Boe; lowest since 2012
CWC: $6.5 million; down from $10.6 million in 2014; eyeing another 5 - 10% reduction in CWC
Orderly drop in number of active rigs:

• 4Q14: 16
• 1Q15: 5
• 4Q15: 3
• 1Q16: 2 (and holding)

Average spud to rig release (days, rounded):
2014: 22 days
1Q15: 22 days
4Q15: 17 days
1Q16: 16 days

EUR:

• Bakken: 1.05 million boe
• TFS: 875,000 boe

I'm Feeling The Bern: One Picture Worth A Thousand Words -- Democratic Party Leaders Want To Ban Fracking -- May 10, 2016

Hopefully this  link never breaks, though I suppose it will: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10205729775673527&set=a.1588646245952.2070009.1529720277&type=3&theater. Facebook has a history of removing this sort of stuff, they say.

Also note what EIA says fracking has resulted in: in 2016 the average household will spend $900 less on gasoline than it did two years ago.

EIA Administrator Adam Sieminski issued the following comments on the new monthly STEO forecast:

Gasoline/Refined Products: “Rising crude oil prices are likely to be passed on to consumers at the pump, but U.S. drivers are still expected to pay the lowest summer gasoline prices since 2004, and for all of 2016 the average household will spend $900 less on gasoline than it did two years ago.”

Fracking has led to this:

Crude Oil: “U.S. crude oil production in 2017 is expected to be more than 100,000 barrels per day higher than previously forecast in response to higher oil prices. Higher oil demand in China and India will contribute to a drawdown in global oil inventories during the second half of 2017.”

Natural Gas: “Low natural gas prices may slow the growth in U.S. natural gas production for the next few months.” “Big builds in U.S. natural gas inventories are expected during the months ahead, leaving inventories at a record high at the start of the heating season in November.”

Obama's war on coal continues unabated; EIA conveniently forgets to mention why natural gas is so competitive; it's not just due to fracking:

Electricity: “The annual amount of electricity generated by natural gas will exceed the generation from coal-fired power plants this year for the first time. Coal-fired electricity generation will be 8% lower this year, while natural gas generation will increase by 4%.”

Coal: “High natural gas production and low natural gas prices are making coal a less competitive generating fuel for many U.S. power plant operators. U.S. coal production this year is expected to have the biggest volume decline in almost seven decades.”

And then, of course, the update on wasteful, unreliable, intermittent, eagle-killing, energy:

Renewables: “Wind power will account for almost 6% of U.S. total electricity generation in 2017. Ethanol’s share of U.S. gasoline will average 10% this year and in 2017.”

One Word You Don't Want To See After The Company Name You Hold Shares In: CRASHES -- May 10, 2016

MuskMelon's SolarCity seems a bit overripe: shares "crashed." Their word, not mine:

SolarCity (SCTY) – The company reported a wider-than-expected loss and gave disappointing guidance. It expects sales of $135 million to $143 million in the second quarter, versus analysts’ forecast of $151 million.

Elsewhere:

Jim Chanos is taking Elon Musk on, and so far Chanos seems to be winning.

Chanos, the founder of Kynikos Associates and legendary short seller, has made bets over the past few months against two of Musk's major endeavor, SolarCity and Tesla, and both are tumbling.

Tesla dropped 2.8% during trading Monday and is down more than 20% from its recent high on April 6, putting it into bear-market territory.

In October, Chanos questioned the firm's ability to ramp up production and fulfill orders. The production worries, combined with the company's diminishing technological advantage over other automakers, convinced Chanos that Tesla couldn't justify its high-flying stock price.

**********************************

That "Hillary Moment"

I haven't been inside a Walmart to just look around in quite some time. I've visited Walmart a couple of times in the past few weeks to pick up one or two specific items, but today I went for a number of different category items and I found myself looking at "things" and prices I had not seen in a long time. I had the same feeling that Hillary appeared to have when she used the NY subway for the first in a long time -- something some folks now call the "Hillary Moment."

First off, "never-frozen" salmon is either the very same price or actually a bit less expensive than what I find at our favorite grocer who has really, really good prices and really quality meat and seafood.

Regular groceries seemed competitive in price to least expensive available elsewhere, though nothing really stood out. In fact, by happenstance, extra sharp cheddar cheese was slightly more expensive than at our neighborhood grocer but that's because our neighborhood grocer had a special on cheese.

Bu then this. I've always expected to pay $6.98 for rotisserie chicken, the whole chicken working mothers pick up on the way home to a waiting, hungry family that seems unable to fend for themselves without maternal hunting and gathering. And cooking. And washing. And putting away.

Not today. "Rollback!" "Rollback Rotisserie chicken!" Rotisserie chickens were selling for $4.98. I don't know about you, but I find that incredible. I didn't price a fresh chicken but I doubt one can get one for much less than $4.98.

Over in personal hygiene, I didn't find any particularly great buys in shampoo, but brand-name deodorant -- and better yet, "my" brand-name deodorant -- was selling at a 2 for 1 price.

By the way, that reminds me, I might have to come back to deodorant and pheromones. It turns out Sam Kean has something to say on that subject.

As usual, there were plenty of cashiers and it was a breeze paying for everything. 

Why We All Benefit From Free-Market Capitalism -- May 10, 2016

Some weeks ago, I was informed by Google's YouTube that I could no longer upload any more videos. Google has a complicated formula for determining when someone has exhausted his/her usefulness for YouTube.

I was at a loss. I depended on YouTube to upload personal videos to share with family and post on the blog.

Our younger daughter came to my aid. She said Flickr offers one (1) terabyte of free server space for photos and videos. I have now uploaded several videos to Flickr and have used less than 1% of that free server space. I will "never" use a terabyte but if I do, Flickr offers additional server space for a nominal fee.

Now this: my favorite on-line retailer, Amazon is offering the same opportunity to upload videos. This will be directly competitive with YouTube. The Amazon service is designed for professionals so it may not be for me, but we will see. It will be a long time before I use a terabyte of Flickr server space. (Speaking of which, unlike Hillary Clinton and her personal IT staff, I have never lost any e-mail or uploaded videos. Amazing.)

The other day, I accidentally clicked the wrong button (seriously) at the Amazon website and inadvertently signed up for Amazon Prime, which now costs about $100/year. I did not need it. I won't go through the "gory" details of how that happened. It was my mistake. I'm pretty sure that had I told Amazon it was a mistake, they would have reimbursed me and removed me from Amazon Prime.

The problem: I love it. I love Amazon Prime. Amazon Prime is a whole lot more than "fast delivery" but that's pretty much all I use Prime for right now. It is amazing. With fulfillment centers in the local area, I can order things one evening, and get the product (generally books), not the next day, but the following day, even on weekends. I'll have to watch closely; it's possible some packages are arriving the next day, but I don't know. Sometimes it takes longer for the manager to alert me that a package has arrived for me at the manager's office.

****************************

Notes For The Granddaughters

Speaking of Amazon, Google, et al, I am enjoying a number of music videos during the midnight hour. I don't stream yet from Amazon Prime so for the most part I watch and re-watch old DVDs and Blu-Rays. As mentioned earlier, I am back in my Bob Dylan phase and interestingly enough, back in my Bee Gees phase. (When I pick up Sophia from TutorTime, I play the Beatles CD with their 27 #1 hits. She loves the older songs -- the fast, bubble-gum, teenage-love songs -- I play them loud in the car, and she jumps and claps and laughs and swings her hands and arms in time with the music.)

If one watches closely the timeline and the progression of music along the Steve Jobs / Apple timeline, one understands very, very well why Apple is pursuing an Apple Car.

My hunch: there is a indirect relationship between the information we read about Apple in the daily news and what Tim Cook is focused on -- if that makes sense. In other words, as we get more and more information each day regarding Apple computers, software, watches, phones, etc., Tim Cook is spending less and less time on those products and spending more time on automobiles.

Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ATT, Charter, Comcast, Verizon, Walmart -- it's an interesting world.

Just A Little Interruption -- Notes For The Granddaughters -- Nothing About The Bakken -- May 10, 2016

It is being reported that President Obama will become the first sitting US president to visit Hiroshima.

This story resonates with me for several reasons, not least of which my mother-in-law was a young Japanese teenager living in Yokohama area (I could be wrong on that; if my wife reads the blog, she will be quick to correct me on where her mother was living at the time) when Nagasaki/Hiroshima were bombed.

Sam Kean devotes chapter 3 in The Violinist's Thumb to Tsutomu Yamaguchi who was in Hiroshima the day the first nuclear bomb was dropped, and he was in Nagasaki three days later when the second US nuclear bomb was dropped. He survived both and lived to be 93 years old, dying in 2010, of stomach cancer, a not-uncommon cancer in Japan.

Sam Kean/Yamaguchi describe the bomber, the dropping bomb, and the after-effects, at Hiroshima.

Yamaguchi suffered severe injuries, not least of which was "his left arm, fully exposed to the great white flash, had turned black."

His goal was to reach a train station to get home to his wife and son. 

All the bridges had collapsed or burned, so he steeled himself and began crossing an apocalyptic "bridge of corpses" clogging the river, crawling across melted legs and faces. Further upstream, he found a railroad trestle with one steel beam intact, spanning fifty years. He clambered up, crossed the iron tightrope, and descended. He pushed through the mob at the train station and slumped into a train seat. Miraculously the train pulled out soon afterward -- he was saved. The train would run all night, but he was finally headed home, to Nagasaki.

Yamaguchi's trek was foreshadowed in JRR Tolien's The Lord of The Rings, a scene taken from the Somme, WWI. 

Several pages later by Sam Kean:

Ill and swooning, Yamaguchi arrived in Nagasaki early on August 8  (the city would be hit with a nuclear bomb the next day) and staggered home. His family had assumed him lost; he convinced his wife he was not a ghost by showing her his feet, since Japanese ghosts traditionally have none. Yamaguchi rested that day, swimming in and out of consciousness, but obeyed an order the next day to report to Mitsubishi headquarters (his employer) in Nagasaki.

He arrived shortly before 11:00 a.m. Arms and face bandaged, he struggled to relate the magnitude of atomic warfare to his coworkers. But his boss, skeptical, interrupted to browbeat him, dismissing his story as fable. "You're an engineer," he barked. "Calculate it. How could one bomb destroy a whole city?"

Famous last words. Just as this Nostradamus wrapped up, a white light swelled inside the room. Heat prickled Yamaguhi's skin, and he hit the deck of the ship-engineering office.

It is believed that approximately 150 Japanese were in both cities on the days that the nuclear bombs were dropped.

Single-exposure individuals are referred to as hibakusha in Japanese. Double-exposure victims, like Yamaguchi, are referred to as nijyuu hibakusha. Of the 150 nijyu hibakusha, Japan officially recognizes only one: Tsutomu Yamaguchi.

It is impossible to articulate what Yamaguchi went through the next several months, but he did survive. So did his wife. Incredibly by 1950, he and his wife had "regained enough vigor" to want more children, no matter the long term prognosis (the risk of cancer in their children).

Their two daughters, healthy at birth, "endured sickly adolescences and adulthoods. [The Yamaguchis] suspect [their daughters] had inherited a genetically compromised immune system from their twice-bombed father and once-bombed mother."

As noted above, the patriarch died at age 93. Their first son, once-bombed Katsutoshi died at age 58, 50+ years after Nagasaki. His mother, Hisako, lived even longer, dying in 2008 of liver and kidney cancer at age 88.

Miscellaneous Energy News -- May 10, 2016

Red Queen update: 2:00 p.m. Central Time; Thursday, May 12, 2016.

***********************************

GE Expands Energy Portfolio

GE will acquire Doosan Engineering for $250 million, all cash -- this will expand GE's combined-cycle power plant portfolio.

Heat recovery steam generator technology, a key component of a combined-cycle power plant, converts water into steam by capturing the exhaust heat from a gas turbine. The steam is then used to drive a steam turbine to produce more power.

GE is in the process of shedding its banking business and has been shifting back to an industrial base. In November 2015, GE said it completed its long-running acquisition of Alstom SA ’s power business. Alstom Power and GE Power & Water combined to form GE Power.

NOTE: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment, financial, relationship, travel, or employment decisions based on what you read here. I do not own any shares of GE. Having said that, it may be time. Does GE pay a dividend? Does a bear poop in the woods? About 3% of the time, I suppose. Does Warren Buffett own any GE? Back in 2014, his GE holdings were said to be 10 million shares; in 2015, GE was listed among Warren's top 8 dividend-paying companies.

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More Layoffs In Houston

Freeport-McMoRan Oil & Gas will lay off 170 workers in its Houston offices.

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Diversifying Its Financing Sources -- LOL 

Petrobras is said to be seeking, sooner than expected, a $1 billion loan from the Export-Import Bank of China. Bloomberg/Rigzone reports that Brazil is facing debt service costs surge in the coming years amid the worst oil market in a generation. In February, just a couple of months ago, Petrobras secured a $10 billion loan from China Development Bank Corp that was part of a deal to supply crude oil to China.

Takeaway: Saudi Arabia is competing with Iran and Brazil for market share.

This was priceless: "The $1 billion loan announced Monday is part of Petrobras' strategy of diversifying its financing sources, it said."

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Going From Bad To Worse In Nigeria

Updates

May 11, 2016: breaking news now -- Nigeria lifts controversial gas subsidy, nearly doubling the price of fuel.

Original Post

Bloomberg/Rigzone is reporting that oil producers are evacuating workers from the Niger Delta -- not because of global warming -- but because of the deteriorating security situation in Nigeria's most-important oil producing region.

I was too tired to post this story that a reader sent me yesterday. This is another great story on the deteriorating situation in Nigeria as reported by The New York Times. Part of the reason I did not think this was going to be that big a story; I was way wrong (not uncommon; I miss a lot of stuff).

So, now in the last couple of days we have a double whammy: heavy oil out of Canada impacted by huge fires; and now this in Nigeria. From The NYT story, this sounds like Venezuela:

Plummeting oil prices have set off an economic unraveling in Nigeria, one of the world’s top oil producers, and the collective anger of a fed-up nation was pouring out.

“Starvation in the land of plenty,” said Tony Usidamen, a public relations consultant waiting for fuel.

For months, many Nigerians have endured painfully long lines for gasoline and power failures that last for days — with no fuel for backup generators. Scant power means water cuts for homes that rely on electricity to pump it. Everyday items are missing from stores, and those that remain cost more than usual.

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Active rigs:

	5/10/2016	05/10/2015	05/10/2014	05/10/2013	05/10/2012
Active Rigs	27	84	192	184	207

RBN Energy: update on CBR.

Investopedia: update on Tesla. Investopedia/Barclay's -- not gonna happen; Tesla in reverse.

Reuters: update on Saudi Aramco IPO. I track the IPO here.

Enough already: Uber, Lyft driven out of Austin.

Trending now:

In an appearance on BloombergTV yesterday, Bank of America Merrill Lynch Head of U.S. Equity & Quantitative Strategy Savita Subramanian warned of a "vortex of negative headlines" coming in June that could soon push the S&P 500 to 1,850—back near February lows. Among the factors she cited are the upcoming 'Brexit' vote, the June decision from the Federal Reserve, and the U.S. election.

US market now: Dow surges almost 200 points; oil up slightly. Let's see, going back to "trending now:

• Brexit ends up being a non-story: Brexit -->Bremain.
• Fed: at most, one rate increase this year; when it happens, market swoons for a couple of days; then recovers nicely
• US election: really?