Global Shale Reserves -- December 30, 2017; Another Win For Trump

From The Wall Street Journal, global shale reserves as estimated by the EIA:

One can see how conservative these estimates are. Some have suggested with 10% primary recovery (which now appears to be low) and 500 billion bbls original oil in place, the Bakken alone has 50 billion bbls recoverable shale oil. Yes, I know. Don't get me started.

Also: "The numbers from the rather dated US Energy Information Administration-commissioned study are estimates of technically recoverable RESOURCES, NOT RESERVES. One might expect a financial paper to know the difference.." -- Comment at the linked article.

The earliest the Russians will start seeing significant shale oil production is the mid-2020's according to the linked article, at which time it will account for about 2.5% of Russian crude oil production.

Bottom line: a story well ahead of its headlights.

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ObamaCare: Another Win For Trump

From The Wall Street Journal today:

A federal judge in Washington ruled the Trump administration can make sharp cuts to subsidies Medicare pays some hospitals for pharmaceuticals, a blow to the American Hospital Association and others fighting in court and Congress to halt the reductions.

The hospital association and two other health-care trade groups had filed a lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services in an attempt to stop the cuts. But U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras on Friday dismissed the case, saying the plaintiffs cannot sue before exhausting other avenues to challenge the cuts, as required by law. The other trade-group plaintiffs were the Association of American Medical Colleges and America’s Essential Hospitals.

Judge Contreras’s ruling means Medicare can proceed with the cuts, scheduled to start Jan. 1. The administration estimates the cuts will reduce annual drug spending by Medicare and beneficiaries—who pick up some of the cost of certain drugs—by about $1.6 billion.

“Flat out, this is a win for patients,” said Rena Conti, a University of Chicago associate professor who studies health policy.