Tracking Russia's Northern Fleet; Memo To Self: Check On This Building In Seven Years -- October 24, 2016

Updates

October 25, 2016, 3:40 p.m Central Time: the flotilla is a few hours away from Gibralter; still along the southwest coast of Portugal.
 

Original Post

 

Interested in tracking Russian's Northern Fleet headed for Syria?

You can even watch the Russian flotilla by tracking the transponder signal from the Nikolay Chiker, a helpful little tug which travels with the malfunction-prone Admiral Kuznetsov in case she breaks down. On the morning of October 22, 2016, the tug was steaming southwestward out of the English Channel.

I can't make this stuff up. It really works. When you get to the linked site, track "Nikolay Chiker." It looks like it is off the coast of Portugal. Could be wrong. I'm new at this.

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A Big Story

Something tells me this is going to be a big story.

Ask yourself: "Leaning Tower of Pisa, 16 feet, over how many centuries?"

Ask yourself: "How often do you know your putting is off in a brand-new high-rise because the building is tilting?"

Something tells me this is going to be a big story.

If this were in the Enquirer, I would blow it off. But this is an AP story.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Pamela Buttery noticed something peculiar six years ago while practicing golf putting in her 57th-floor apartment at the luxurious Millennium Tower. The ball kept veering to the same corner of her living room.

Those were the first signs for residents of the sleek, mirrored high-rise that something was wrong. 

The 58-story building has gained notoriety in recent weeks as the "leaning tower of San Francisco." But it's not just leaning. It's sinking, too. And engineers hired to assess the problem say it shows no immediate sign of stopping.

Completed seven years ago, the tower so far has sunk 16 inches into the soft soil and landfill of San Francisco's crowded financial district. But it's not sinking evenly, which has created a 2-inch tilt at the base - and a roughly 6-inch lean at the top.

The good news, the building was completed seven years ago, during the Obama administration, so I guess it can't be blamed on George W. Bush:

Several documents involving the downtown building were leaked in recent weeks, including exchanges between the city's Department of Building Inspection and Millennium Partners, the developer. They show both sides knew the building was sinking more than anticipated before it opened in late 2009, but neither made that information public.

In a February 2009 letter, a chief buildings inspector, Raymond Lui, wrote to the tower's engineering firm to express concerns about "larger than expected settlements." He asked what was being done to stop the sinking and if the building's structural safety could be affected. 

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And Then He Kissed Me, The Crystals

CLR's Sakakawea Federal Wells

Locator: 10010SAKAKAWEA.

Updates

December 28, 2020: production updated; #33536 that had been off line and inactive is now back on line and back to previous production;

September 2, 2019: see production profile of one of the Sakakawea wells here.

February 20, 2019: production data updated below.

December 23, 2016: updating the CLR Sakakawea Federal wells. They are all LOC as of December 23, 2016. They are sited in section 25-153-94. They are all in the 1280-acre drilling unit just to the east and north: 19/18-153-93. The 7-well pad will be middle Bakken wells. The 6-well pad will have three first bench wells, and three second bench wells in the Three Forks. 

• 33094: MB 1280; 3,043, Sakakawea Federal 14-19H, t1/19; cum 502K 3/21; huge well; cum 541K 7/21; cumm 709K 1/24;
  
• 33093: MB 1280; 1,791, t12/18; cum 328K 10/20; cum 365K 3/21; cum 388K 7/21; cum 417K 1/24;
  
• 33092: MB 1280; 2,646, t12/18; cum 341K 10/20; cum 361K 3/21; cum 371K 7/21; cum 409K 1/24;
  
• 33091: MB 1280; 3,029, t12/18; cum 345K 10/20; cum 370K 3/21; cum 384K 7/21; cum 434K 1/24;
  
• 33090: MB 1280; 3,092, t1/19; cum 340K 10/20; cum 361K 3/21; cum 373K 7/21; cum 414K 1/24;
  
• 33089: MB 1280; 1,098, CLR, Sakakawea Federal 4-19H, Elm Tree, t2/19; cum 315K 10/20;  cum 420K 1/224; cum 358K 7/21; cum 420K 1/24;
• 33088: MB 1280; 1,939, t1/19; cum 283K 10/20; cum 323K 7/21; cum 363K 1/24;
  
• 33536: Holstein Federal 16-25HSL; 2,221, t1/19; cum 243K 10/10; off line 2/20; remains off line 7/20; back on line, 8/20; cum 282K 7/21; cum 342K 1/24;
  

• 33104: TF B2 1280; 2,313, Sakakawea Federal 13-19H2, t1/19; cum 346K 7/21; cum 482K 1/24;
  
• 33103: TF B1 1280; 2,089, Sakakawea Federal 11-19H1, t1/19; cum 336K 7/21; cum 399K 1/24;
  
• 33102: TF B2 1280; 1,713, Sakakawea Federal 9-19H2, t1/19; cum 283K 7/21; cumm 336K 1/24;
• 33101: TF B1 1280; 2,400, CLR, Sakakawea Federal 7-1H1, Elm Tree, t1/19; cum 321K 7/21; cum 372K 1/24;
• 33100: TF B2 1280; 1,402, CLR, Sakakawea Federal 5-19H2, Elm Tree, t3/19; cum 289K 7/21; cum 330K 1/24;
• 33099: TF B1 1280; 1,450, CLR, Sakakawea Federal 3-19H1, Elm Tree, t2/19; cum 273K 7/21; cum 326K 1/24;
  
• 33539: TF B2 1280; 1,610, CLR, Sakakawea Federal 1-19H2, Elm Tree, t2/19; cum 334K 3/21; cum 404K 1/24;
• 33538, A/IA/1,415, CLR, Hendrickson Federal 14-25HSL, Elm Tree, t1/19; cum 189K 10/20; off line 5/20; remains off line 7/20; back on line 8/20; cum 349K 7/21; cum 278K 1/24;
  
• 33537, 2,038, CLR, Holstein Federal 15-25H1, Elm Tree, t1/19; cum 332K 3/21; off line 4/20; remains off line 7/20; back on line 10/20; cum 358K 7/21; cum 427K 1/24;
  

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October 29, 2016: see more at this post. CLR wants to site 25 wells on an existing 2560-acre drilling unit. 

October 29, 2016: this is what the graphic looks like today with CLR's proposed 13-well Sakakawea Federal pad in Elm Tree oil field:

 

Original Post

 

I don't have the energy tonight to put a lot of "stuff" into this post, but I need to at least get this posted. Last week and today, on NDIC's daily activity report, CLR was "awarded" thirteen new permits, Sakakawea Federal permits.

The two screenshots below show the general area that these wells will be drilled. Again, I did this quickly, and there may be errors, but it's probably fairly accurate (I think the wells will be sited in a northwest to southeast configuration on the pad, will run west to east under the river. When I'm in the mood I might sort this out more precisely but for now that will do.)

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Unchained Melody, The Righteous Brothers

Bakken 2.0: Fourteen (14) New Permits; 34 Permits Renewed; 35 Active Rigs; 7 DUCs Completed -- October 24, 2016

I'm glad he lived long enough to see the Bakken.

The Night Has A Thousand Eyes, Bobby Vee
My [exact] memories of California, 1969. LOL.

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Just a few weeks ago when we were down to 31 active rigs in North Dakota, I asked if we might go below 30. Today, we are quickly back up to 35.

Active rigs:

	10/24/2016	10/24/2015	10/24/2014	10/24/2013	10/24/2012
Active Rigs	35	68	194	180	190

Wells coming off confidential list Tuesday:
32001, SI/NC, BR, CCU Zephyr 24-34 TFH, Corral Creek, no production data,
32279, SI/NC, XTO, FBIR Blackmedicine 24X-21G, Heart Butte, no production data,

Less than a week ago, I opined that we were in the early stages of Bakken 2.0. Today, fourteen (14) new permits:

• Operator: CLR
  Fields: Elm Tree (McKenzie), Banks (McKenzie)
• Comments: 
• ten new permits in NESE 25-153-94 (Elm Tree)
• four new permits in SENE 2-152-99 (Banks)

Less than a week ago, I opined that we were in the early stages of Bakken 2.0. Today, thirty-four (34) permits renewed:

• EOG (10), ten Hawkeye permits in McKenzie County
• HRC (8), three Fort Berthold permits in McKenzie County; two Helstad permits in Williams County, one Johnson permit in Williams County, one Sylte Mineral Trust permit in Williams County; one Borrud permit in Williams County;
• Zavanna (6), four Galloway permits in Williams County, two George permits in Williams County
• Enerplus (4), a Walleye, a Giraffe, a Hyena, and a Cheetah, all in Dunn County
• Enduro (3), two NGMU and one NSCU permit, all in Bottineau County
• Petro-Hunt, a USA permit in McKenzie County
• Cornerstone, a Melby permit in Burke County 
• XTO, a Nygaard Federal in Dunn County

Seven DUCs reported as completed, averaging about 2/day:

• 29529, 1,177, Enerplus, Badger 150-94-04B-09H TF, Spotted Horn, t8/16; cum 17 after first 31 days;
• 29531, 926, Enerplus, Mink 150-94-04B-09H TF, Spotted Horn, t8/16; cum 16K after first 18 days;
• 29614, 1,864, XTO, Olive Mae 7-8-9HA, Van Hook, t10/16; absolutely no production;
• 31311, 1,903, Hess, AN-Brenna-153-95-3130H-4, Sanish Pool, Antelope, t10/16; no production data,
• 31312, 1,091, Hess, AN-Brenna-153-94-3130H-3, Sanish Pool, Antelope, t10/16; no production data,
• 32325, 67 (no typo), Hess, EN-Freda-LW-154-94-2635H-1, Alkali Creek, t9/16; no production data,
• 32603,  844, Hess, HA-Rolfsrud-152-96-1720H-9, Westberg, t9/16; no production data;

Is there another category for DUCs that are reported as completed but show absolutely no production data? 

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November 8, 2016

Devil or Angel, Bobby Vee  

Reason #1 Why I Love To Blog: What I Get From My Readers -- Nothing About The Bakken -- Except Peripherally, Perhaps -- Connecting The Kaolin Dots -- October 24, 2016

Updates

Later, 2:56 p.m. Central Time: wow, I should have labeled this post "The Library Page" or "The Book Page."

The original post was written while reading in the Southlake, TX, library earlier this morning/early afternoon. I thought maybe I was overdoing it with books, but I use the blog as my "reminder" and, in some respects, as a "to do" list when it comes to reading.

I thought about deleting the original post, but then thought I would let it be, but would title the post in such a way that Mike Filloon and others who might come here for the Bakken weren't mislead thinking this was a post on the Bakken.

I say all that to say this: this must truly be the day for books. God works in mysterious ways.

When I got home, the mail had arrived. Except for The London Review of Books and a slim little package, it was all junk mail. I went through the London Review quickly, saving the best for last, the little package. A reader had asked for my mailing address to send me a book, so I knew this was that.

Wow, what an inspirational book. For someone (me) who absolutely loves his daughters and granddaughters, and especially his youngest granddaughter right now, Sophia, age 2, this was a most perfect book.

Sophia and I are learning to count to ten. There was a recent article in The Wall Street Journal about kids who learn to count on their fingers do well in math, contrary to much myth otherwise. And then this book came, You Don't Need 10, by Katie Taylor Wyman, born, raised, and still residing in Williston. This is a small book about Paisley, four years old at the time the book was published, and her family in Williston. The book just came out, copyright 2016.

It's a keeper. If interested: Books On Broadway in Williston. A great Christmas stocking stuffer, by the way.

Favorite picture in the book: Dad and Paisley fishing, having just caught ... a fish. I would have identified it by name, but I don't know my fish. The fishing picture/story is important; it pops up again in a later chapter.
 

Original Post

 

A word search for "kaolin" on the blog resulted in four "hits":

• the Wittgenstein Vitrine at the Dallas Museum of Art, February 26, 2016
• still looking for another proppant source closer to home, December 31, 2012
• kaolin-rich clay in Dunn County, Stark County, October 14, 2012
• CARBO Ceramics, October 3, 2012

Now, two books that I will be writing about over the next few days (weeks?) and putting that information here -- until I get bored and move on to something else.

• The Hare With Amber Eyes, Edmund de Waal, c. 2010, DDS: 920 DE
• The White Road, Edmund de Waal, c. 2015, reviewed at The New York Times

A word search for "petunse" on the blog: zero hits, as expected.
Also:

• UND Pottery, on the net. 
• At wiki: petuntse. 

Most of my future notes on Edmund de Waal's books, The Hare with Amber Eyes and The White Road will be followed elsewhere, although I may occasionally add notes on the MDW. 

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Note for the Granddaughters

Wow, talk about coincidental. One of my favorite movies is Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, a story that includes an imagined meeting / relationship between Hemingway and Fitzgerald in Paris. In that movie, it's easy to miss, but one of the characters mentions "Gustave Caillebotte," though if I recall correctly, only mentioned his last name.

I first heard of Caillebotte some months ago through a spectacular Caillebotte exhibit at the Kimball Fine Arts Museum in Ft Worth, Texas, something I've talked about several times on the blog.

Today, while reading Edmund de Waal's The Hare with Amber Eyes I was pleasantly surprised to see a couple of pages devoted to Caillebotte and a small, black and white reproduction of one of the paintings that highlighted the exhibit: "Le pont de l'Europe," painted in 1876. 

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Hemingway vs Fitzgerald: The Rise and Fall of a Literary Friendship

Scott Donaldson

c. 1999

DDS: 920 DON 

Future updates at this post. 

Chapter 1
Loveshocks: At Home
Page 15

Their childhoods, side-by-side

Chapter 2
Loveshocks: Jiltings
Page 30

Coming of age, side-by-side

Chapter 3
A Friendship Abroad
Page 51

Edmund Wilson first brought Hemingway's prose to Fitzgerald's attention. 

Chapter 4
Oceans Part
Page 109

Fitzgerald's side trip to Hollywood and then he resumed his campaign to advance Hemingway's career.

Chapter 5
1929: Breaking the Bonds
page 123

The stock market crash; both the Fitzgeralds and the Hemingways were living in Paris. And it all begins to fall apart.

Chapter 6
Long Distance
Page 161

Although the Hemingways and the Fitzgeralds were back in America for most of the 1930s, they never got back together.

Chapter 7
Afternoon of an Author
Page 189

Fitzgerald advised to take the mountain air for his health, and in much of 1935 and 1936 he was in Asheville, western North Carolina.

Chapter 8
Alcoholic Cases
Page 222

Alcoholics, side-by-side.

Chapter 9
That Prone Body
Page 252

The author reviews the three distinct states of the Fitzgerald-Hemingway relationship, and then introduces a fourth stage that others have not identified: the relationship after Fitzgerald's death. It continued in a most interesting fashion.

Chapter 10
The Spoils of Posterity
Page 272

Faulkner enters the picture. In 1947, Faulkner, while at the University of Mississippi, ranked or named the top American authors: Wolfe, Dos Passos, Caldwell, Hemingway, and himself. In that elite group,he ranked Wolfe at the top, and Hemingway at the bottom.

Chapter 11
The Master and the Actor
Page 303

The stark differences between Fitzgerald and Hemingway.

Word Of The Day: Gormless -- October 24, 2016

This House Of Cards Has Fallen

NOAA transitions from a science-based agency to a propaganda machine for the warmists.

The NOAA from the linked article below:

“I can confirm that as of October 24, 2016, it will be a complete 11 years since a major hurricane has struck the United States, as defined by the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale of being a Category 3 or higher,” meteorologist Dennis Feltgen, spokesman for NOAA’s National Hurricane Center, told CNSNews.com.

From CNS News, the truth finally comes out (something that won't be report by David Muir on ABC News:

• for the US: eleven (11) years of hurricane drought despite warnings of more frequent, more severe hurricanes due to rising CO2
• the current streak of no major hurricane landfalls onto the US mainland remains intact
• the last major hurricane to hit US mainland: Hurricane Wilma, October 24, 2005
• Category 3 apparently is the definition of "major hurricane"; sustained wind speeds of 111 mph or more and strong storm surges
• longest stretch since record-keeping began going back to 1851
• second-longest stretch ended 147 years ago: 8 years, 11 months (1860 - 1869)
• third-longest stretch, 5 years, 11 months (1900 - 1906)
• four major hurricanes hit US in 2005 (Dennis, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma) but none since
• Hurricane Matthew: Category 1 when it finally hit US mainland -- Category 1 -- no wonder we heard so little about it after all that hype -- and never reported at the time, as I recall
• even Hurricane Sandy has been downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone by the time it hit mainland, New Jersey, October 29, 2012

More at the link. From there is goes into a testy interchange between reporters who want scientific answers to scientific questions, and the NOAA spokespeople providing politically-correct responses.

Gormless.

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Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution

Nathaniel Philbrick

c. 2016

DDS: 973.4 PHI

Chapter 11

The Pangs of a Dying Man

Early December, 1779.

Continental Army taking up qtrs in Morristown, NJ, which had served as Geo Washington's hqtrs in the aftermath of the victories at Trenton and Princeton.

Valley Force has always been reported as the severest winter, but in fact, the winter of 1778 was mild compared to the present winter, 1779 - 1780. January, 1780, the coldest in recorded history of the eastern US.

Now, Arnold's court-martial, postponed since June, could go forward.

Court-martials "fairly routine." -- Philbrick. Really?

Regardless, the court martial over trivial "crimes" compared to what Benedict Arnold was doing now.

Guilty, but minor reprimand by Geo Washington.

Arnold contemplating giving up West Point to the British.

The Connecticut army mutiny over money stunned Geo Washington.

Then news that Charleston had fallen to the British. 

The country was losing its appetite for war. In the end, it all came down to money.

On his way to Connecticut, Arnold stops at West Point, which he said he had never seen before.

He scouted West Point; saw its flaws.

Two things needed to happen: Clinton (Brit) had to return from Charleston, and Benedict Arnold needed to be appointed commander of West Point.

Clinton trusted Arnold: readied an army of 6,000 troops to attack Newport.

French Army arrives at Newport, but "too tired" to fight.

Washington could have panicked. His army was on the west side of the Hudson, starving and ill-equipped. This was in May after a harsh winter. The French were about to be attacked in Rhode Island, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Geo Washington's brilliant plan: cross the Hudson farther south (King's Ferry) and attack NYC from the south. Fewer Brits in NYC now and Clinton would have to abandon Newport and come to the aid of NYC.

By now, Arnold had staked everything on West Point.

Arnold raises an army and money from Congress; meets up with Washington on the west side of the Hudson, where Geo Washington is putting his troops across the Hudson at Verplanck's Point. July, 1779. 

Huge victory for Geo Washington at Stony Point, King's Ferry, Verplanck's Point -- July 31 - August, 1779.

Geo Washington gives Benedict Arnold command of West Point.

Why I Love To Blog -- Reason #56 -- October 24, 2016

I suppose this should be the #1 reason why I love to blog -- learning about things I had never heard of, but ... whatever.

A reader introduced me to Adsorbed Natural Gas domain, something I had never heard of. At the link, see the first comment.

For those unfamiliar with Adsorbed Natural Gas domain, this is probably as good an article as any: chemists find better way to pack natural gas into fuel tanks.

Until manufacturers can find a way to pack more methane into a tank at lower pressures and temperatures, allowing for a greater driving range and less hassle at the pump, passenger cars are unlikely to adopt natural gas as a fuel.

University of California, Berkeley, chemists have now developed a porous and flexible material - a so-called metal-organic framework (MOF) - for storing methane that addresses these problems.

The flexible MOF can be loaded with methane, the main ingredient of natural gas, at 35 to 65 times atmospheric pressure (500-900 psi), whereas compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles compress natural gas into an empty tank under 250 atmospheres (3,600 psi). Liquefied natural gas (LNG) vehicles operate at lower pressures but require significant insulation in the tank system to maintain the natural gas at minus-162 degrees Celsius (minus-260 degrees Fahrenheit) so that it remains liquid.

Much more at the link. 

First-World Problems In The Bakken -- October 24, 2016

The price of oil is an existential problem for Saudi Arabia.

I've said repeatedly that Saudi Arabia cannot survive on $50 oil.

At $50 oil, it won't last two years.

This is from a Saudi official: the country faces bankruptcy in three years --

Two Saudi Arabia’s senior officials have warned that further cuts are needed to the kingdom’s swollen public sector otherwise the country faces bankruptcy in three years.

Khaled Al Araj, the civil service minister, told a TV debate on Saudi TV network MBC that civil servants in the kingdom barely put in one hour a day in the office and have little incentive to work.

The kingdom’s public sector, which employs more than 70 percent of the workforce, is extremely unproductive and its employees have a poor work ethic.

The system is so badly run, he added, that wages were paid to government employees even if they had left their jobs.

Third-world problems in the Mideast.

By the way, it's been reported everywhere that Saudi Arabia set a record with its "mammoth $17.5 billion bond issue." It is being reported that a) this bond issue will "plug a third of Saudi's 2017 deficit"; and, b) Saudi Arabia could issue record bond of up to $17.5 billion again.

If Saudi Arabia issues another "mammoth" bond issue, it only shows how desperate the Saudis are -- a culture in which usury is proscribed by their state religion; and, will put pressure on bond issues by companies around the world. 

For another sobering view on Saudi Arabia: http://www.cityam.com/252009/saudi-arabias-gormless-cheerleaders-have-failed-spot?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter. 

 

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First World Problems In The Bakken

Years ago, when I growing up in North Dakota, the county and the state routinely sprayed oil -- crude oil -- on gravel and dirt roads to keep the dust down. I don't know if that is still done. I do know a lot of crude oil by-products end up on the shoulders of highways under new construction as new asphalt is laid. I saw that as recently as one year ago on my trip back to North Dakota on road maintenance in northwestern South Dakota.

So, I had to chuckle when I saw this is in the file report for #27417:

A hydraulic hose broke on a trucking vehicle (not owned by the drilling company) as it arrived on location. The break "impacted" the well site and approximately one-quarter of a mile of constructed lease road (dripping oil/mist was about three inches wide).

Containment was placed under the truck to contain the release on the well pad / facility. Affected soil / gravel on the lease road was cleaned up and sent to disposal. Lease road affected area was inspected by MHA inspector. He indicated that no further action was necessary. 

I assume about three cups of crude oil was lost on that stretch of road. 

And so it goes. My hunch is that the out-of-staters at Standing Rock are causing a much bigger mess from cattle slaughter to human waste disposal than the "oil spill" noted above. But that's just a hunch.

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Could Not Have Said It Better Myself

In response to this article about MIT building a 650-acre solar farm in North Carolina:

I'm sure the PhDs at MIT know that solar power has a capacity factor less than 30%.

So how does MIT power its computers, lights, and HVAC at night?

No doubt the energy will come from reliable, affordable, fossil fuels. So government subsidies will prop up the renewables and redundant fossil generation will be required to backup the intermittent "green" power and keep the electric grid stable. MIT can feel all warm and fuzzy , but the cost of electricity goes up for all ratepayers.

The Number Of Active Rigs Rising Slowly In The Bakken -- October 24, 2016

If you haven't read Mike Filloon's most recent Bakken update, released just before midnight last night, go there now. By midnight there were no comments, but now there are enough comments to make the column even more interesting.

Huge story coming out of Oilprice today but nothing new for those who are paying attention. But we are seeing the numbers. Some data points:

• LNG is the big winner as countries around the world "leave" coal and warm to natural gas and green energy
• oil prices put the oil industry at a value of $1.7 trillion -- almost 3x larger than the $660 billion in revenues generated from all major metals and minerals combined
• for comparison: gold -- the largest raw metal market by dollar value -- one-tenth the size of Big Oil
• iron -- the second most popular mined and traded metal -- generates a piddly $115 billion (by comparison) in revenues for companies and governments
• oil is the most-valuable commodity on Earth after food and drugs
• transportation will drive further oil demand
• air passengers will double by 2035; and unlikely that fuel demand will decrease despite better fuel efficiency
• as much as environmentalists look "scornfully" upon oil, the Obama administration notes that oil produces roughly 20% less CO2 than burning coal (and it was coal that powered the industrial revolutions of the UK, the US, China, and India)
• India -- ah, yes, India -- 20% of India's population -- about 3/4th of the US population does not have access to electricity
• India's answer: coal
• and, eventually India will move from coal to natural gas
• Pakistan: LNG (see RBN Energy blog today -- linked below)
• globally: oil demand will continue to rise

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

Back to the Bakken

Active rigs:

	10/24/2016	10/24/2015	10/24/2014	10/24/2013	10/24/2012
Active Rigs	34	68	194	180	190

RBN Energy: low, stable LNG prices could help shrink global supply glut. This is quite an interesting article. The following caught my attention:

... and the widening gap between liquefaction capacity and LNG demand have spurred serious competition among LNG suppliers and prompted a number of countries and utilities that already import some LNG to import more, mostly for power generation. Other nations not yet importing LNG are taking a fresh look at the idea, now that the market promises to be flush with supply and that, with the liquefaction glut and increased competition among LNG suppliers, prices are likely to remain relatively low. Interest in LNG is also being boosted by national climate-change commitments ... 

A number of new, land-based LNG import terminals are being built, existing import terminals are being expanded, and floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs)––vessels that, as their name suggests, can receive LNG and convert it back to gaseous methane––are under development on just about every continent. Pakistan, India and a few other Asian nations are building land-based LNG import terminals and/or FSRUs; Indonesia alone is planning a number of FSRUs ... In Latin America, a joint venture of Golar LNG and GenPower Participacoes SA is planning a 1,500-MW power plant ...

Even Africa is getting into the act, because while the continent as a whole produces more gas than it consumes, Africa’s gas reserves are concentrated in only a few countries; most of the rest have little or no native gas.

Again, most of [Africa's] planned LNG imports are tied to power generation. For example, a consortium led by French LNG giant Total has been working with Ivory Coast officials on a plan to establish (as soon as mid-2018) an FSRU that would feed a new gas-fired power plant. South Africa, meanwhile, is looking to import enough LNG to power several new power plants (starting with two plants totaling more than 3,000 MW) to help reduce its dependence on coal.

Wall Street's 15 favorite energy stocks as oil prices rebound. Link here. Iraq says it won't go along with the cut. That's just posturing / negotiating -- Iraq may or may not go along with the "grand compromise," but to get them involved in the discussion they want some concessions.

As a reminder, a reader provided an interesting commentary and some nice links regarding the rig count and the DUC situation.

The WSJ seems to be forecasting something that's already happening ... aggregate DUCS over the 4 oil basins (ie the Bakken, Niobrara, Permian, and Eagle Ford) have now been lower in each of the last 6 months, as oil well completions started picking up when oil prices first started rising in the spring, while the DUC count in the natural gas regions (the Marcellus, Utica, and the Haynesville) has generally slowly declined since December 2013, as new natural gas drilling fell to record low levels...

• http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=27932
• http://www.eia.gov/petroleum/drilling/
• graphs here: http://www.eia.gov/petroleum/drilling/pdf/duc_supplement.pdf

Sounds like sour grapes. From The Wall Street Journal today: how zombie companies are killing the oil rally.

Their owners may be bankrupt, but the sprawling mines of Wyoming’s Powder River Basin are still churning out coal. It is the same story in oil fields along the Gulf Coast and with shale-gas wells in the Rocky Mountains.

Energy investors have long hoped that falling prices would solve themselves by driving producers into bankruptcy and stanching the flood of excess supply. It turns out that while bankruptcy filings are up, they have barely impacted fossil-fuel markets.

About 70 U.S. oil and gas companies filed for bankruptcy in 2015 and 2016. They now produce the equivalent of about 1 million barrels a day, about the same as before they declared bankruptcy, according to Wood Mackenzie. That represents about 5% of U.S. oil-and-gas output.

Comments that I have made many, many times:

• I have no idea why folks want $5.00 gasoline
• the sweet sport for WTI is $46 to $52 for American consumers, the economy, and the oil sector
• Peak Oil, as a relevant theory, is dead
• bankruptcies that "save" these companies ensure that many folks still have jobs, and those folks are paying taxes, are paying into Social Security, are eating at restaurants across the country; and, are keeping unemployment numbers from being worse than they otherwise would be
• can you imagine Williston's economy if companies were not allowed to go through this process?

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 The Market

Already we're seeing stories that the ATT - Time Warner deal is doomed. It is.

T-Mobile's revenue jumps almost 20%; added 2 million customers (generally, the numbers range from 500,000 to 1 million for these telecoms, it seems). Shares up almost 4% in pre-market trading. T-Mobile said it benefited from the launch of the iPhone 7 in 3Q16. Earned 27 cents/share vs 22 cents forecast. But look at this: revenue of 42 cents/share vs 15 cents/share a year earlier.  

Meanwhile, TD Ameritrade and Toronto-Dominioin buy Scottrade for $4 billion.

Dick's Sporting Goods appears to have won a bankruptcy auction for Golfsmith.

Mid-day trading: yup, WTI dropped below $50. 

Futures: up a whopping 87 93 102 points. WTI could drop below $50 today.

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Chart Of The Week

From the linked Oilprice article above.