Cleaning Out The In-Box -- December 22, 2017

Updates

January 18, 2018: North Dakota department of tourism won't comment on proposed refinery in southwestern North Dakota.

Commerce Commissioner Jay Schuler, whose department includes both economic development and tourism, said Wednesday he supports the Davis Refinery and doesn’t believe the project will deter people from visiting the national park.

“We support the economic development. It’s up to the local officials, the zoning and it’s the health department as far as what they come up with,” Schuler said.

Don sent me the link. In an e-mail reply from me I wrote:

That's incredibly important for the refinery developers.

If the ND tourism board is not worried, my hunch is that will be the "cover" needed for the regulators to say "ok" to the refinery.

The regulators will probably mandate some stuff like planting a forest around the refinery to block the view of the refinery and turn off the lights when the park has a 4th of July fireworks display.

Original Post

Electricity (how's that renewable energy working out)?

• ISO-New England electricity: spiking to $150/MWh right now (5:45 p.m. ET)
• South Australia: only spiking to $115 later this afternoon
• looks like wind energy is not as free as one would think

Trump tax cuts.  Australia: afraid that their country won't be able to compete with the US following the Trump tax cuts.

Shale and BP CEO: justifies why his company is not going to join XOM, Shell, COP others in going after shale. If blocked by paywall, google: BP chief says shale will have limited effect on global oil market.

• November 28, 2017: Shell (RDS) embraces shale
• September 12, 2012: Shell acuires Permian acreage from Chesapeake. The acquisition covers 618,000 net acres in the Permian Basin in West Texas that currently produces some 26,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and has significant growth potential. 
• regular readers know the shell story vis-a-vis XOM and COP

Good eyesight: Davis refinery in Belfield, ND, area to begin construction in early 2018. The refinery is 3.5 miles from the nearest point to the national park. Environmentalists say they will be able to see the refinery from the park. Good eyesight.

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Back to the Bakken

Active rigs:

$58.35↑	12/22/2017	12/22/2016	12/22/2015	12/22/2014	12/22/2013
Active Rigs	53	41	65	174	191

Two new permits:

• Operator: MRO
• Field: Bailey (Dunn)
• Comments: 

Thirteen permits renewed:

• CLR (4): four Polk Federal permits in McKenzie County
• Thunderbird Resources (2): one Franks Creek Federal permit and one Lower Thirty Federal permit, both in Billings County
• Hunt (2): two Palermo MCNIC permits in Mountrail County
• Statoil (2): two Olson permits in Williams County
• EOG (2): two Parshall permits in Mountrail County
• Murex: one Sophia Drake permit in Mountrail County 

One producing well completed:

• 32888, 6,278, MRO, Forsman USA 44-22H, Antelope, Sanish, 45 stages; 15 million lbs, t12/17; cum --