Short Notes -- June 17, 2017

ExxonMobil will close the XTO office in Denver, CO. The number of employees affected: 110.

In addition, ExxonMobil will move 1,600 jobs out of XTO's headquarters office in Fort Worth, TX, to the company's offices north of Houston between 2018 and 2020.

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Update On 2010 Deadly Explosion

Tesoro's Anacortes, Washington, Refinery

From PennEnergy: Judge vacates state fine in deadly Tesoro refinery blast.

A judge has overturned a workplace-safety fine levied against Tesoro following the 2010 deadly explosion at its Anacortes, Washington, refinery.

The proposed order by Judge Mark Jaffe with the state Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals on Thursday vacates nearly $2.4 million in penalties.

He said the Washington Department of Labor and Industries failed to show that Tesoro committed any of the alleged violations. 

The state wants "full board" ruling.

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Quick! 

How Are The Following Whisky/Whiskey Distilleries Related?

Jim Beam
Maker's Mark
Laphroaig
Ardmore
Glen Garioch
Bowmore
Auchentoshan
Teacher's (blended)

They're all owned by Suntory.

Whiskey Japan: The Essential Guide to the World's Most Exotic Whisky, Domonic Roskrow, c. 2016, page 12.

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The Katie Ledecky Page

Next on the agenda: Indianapolis, IN -- June 27, 2017 -- July 1, 2017.

Phillips 66 National Championships.

Predictions here.

Another Large Natural Gas Pipeline Project For North Dakota; To Provide Natural Gas To Bobcat's Largest Facility In The US -- June 17, 2017

Updates

September 23, 2017: agreement reached.

Original Post

 
From the newspaper that everyone in Williston follows, The Miami Herald: North Dakota regulators move a new natural gas project forward. Data points:

• MDU natural gas project will benefit two ND counties and one manufacturing facility in Gwinner, ND
• the project: a 12-inch, 21-mile long pipeline
• estimated cost: $14 million
• Ransom and Sargent Counties
• will initially provide natural gas to the Bobcat facility in Gwinner
• Gwinner's Bobcat manufacturing and product engineering complex: Bobcat's largest in the US
• project will have capacity to expand to other potential customers located along the proposed route
• it will not result in a rate increase for other MDU customers

Had the Bobcat facility been located in Minnesota, we would be reading about a $30 billion wind and solar project subsidized by the taxpayers.

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Edamame Treat

Morton's Coarse Kosher Salt is the secret.

What's Not To Like -- "We Can't Just Drill Our Way To Lower Gas Prices" -- June 17, 2017

What a doofus
What's not to like?

Texas:

Oklahoma:

The Science Is Settled: Global Warming Hits Alaska -- June 17, 2017

From this weekend’s WSJ Review, “The Charade of the Paris Treaty: Real Progress Will Require A Massive Investment In Green Energy.” Some data points:


• empty pledges are no way to deal with the climate threat 
• the Paris treaty risks wasting huge resources to do almost nothing to fix the climate problem while shortchanging approaches that promise the most transformative results 
• signatories will work to keep the rise in average global temperature “well below” 2 degrees Celsius and even suggests that the increase could be kept to 1.5 degrees. This is empty political rhetoric 
• based on current carbon dioxide emissions, achieving the target of 1.5 degrees would require the entire planet to abandon fossil fuels in four years 
• but the treaty has deeper problems 
• just 0.6% of the world’s energy needs are currently met by solar and wind by 2040
• even with the Paris treaty, solar and wind are expected to contribute less than 3% of world energy by 2040
• fossil fuel will go from 81% to 75% of global energy needs 

I forced myself to read to the end of the article to see if Bjorn Lomborg, president of the Copenhagen Consensus Center (“the science is settled”) and writer of the article had any solutions.

He did not.

Hold that thought. From cbc: global warming his Alaska with a vengeance --

The 25th-annual Kluane Chilkat International Bike Relay has been cancelled due to snow at the starting line, affecting about 1,300 riders who were set to begin the race Saturday morning.

This is the first time the race has been cancelled.

More:

"The race was cancelled because not only snow and slush in the upper elevations in the summit legs, but right here in Haines Junction at the start," said Mike Kramer, race coordinator.

"The road report is saying black ice and slushy sections; there is a travel advisory in effect for driving vehicles, so certainly in terms of riding bikes — especially racing bikes — it is totally out of the question."

Kramer said the race will be postponed until next year.

Assuming Alaska is warmer next year. LOL. 

Week 24 : June 11, 2017 -- June 17, 2017

The big story continues: OPEC's attempt to raise the price of oil has failed. Several reasons now dominate the news:

• the cut was not a cut at all; OPEC is producing more than they did before the surge;
• several countries were exempt from the cut and produced more than expected;
• Saudi failed to cut exports to the US; rather, Saudi simply flooded the US with oil from their storage tanks (Saudi production was down -- wink, wink -- but their exports were not); and,
• OPEC underestimated US shale producers' ability to ramp up production.

At the current rate of supply / consumption, "re-balancing" will take .... 63 weeks. 

Back in the US, the energy road to California is a harsh one. FERC is reporting that SoCal's summer electricity grid may come up short. Apparently intermittent energy is no replacement for nuclear energy and natural gas plants.

It appears we can, in fact, drill our way to lower gasoline prices; WTI drops below $45 following huge increase in US crude oil production (i.e., more drilling).

Perhaps the top story this past week regarding the Bakken: North Dakota crude oil production increased 2.4%, staying above 1 million bopd, surprising analysts. That story, led, of course, to the other big story carried in The WSJ as well as several other media outlets: the Bakken is back!

Operations
Active rigs jumped to 57 in North Dakota this past week, more than twice what it was one year ago
A most interesting CLR Hendrickson well
A most interesting Whiting/KOG Koala Wold well
Having not heard from Zavanna in a long time, the company has two new permits
Production in Squaw Creek (North Dakota Bakken) jumped 141% month-over-month
Production ranking in the Bakken at these posts: greatest increase month-over-month; top producing fields in the Bakken; top Bakken oil fields based on oil production / well

Fracking
Random update of fracking / completion solutions in the Bakken
Random look at re-fracks in the Bakken 

Pipeline
Judge orders additional environmental analysis of DAPL

Bakken 2.0
Triangle USA emerges from bankruptcy under a new name: Nine Point Energy    

Bakken economy
Williams County Public School District 8 breaks ground for new middle school
US beef could be back in China by the end of the summer
Legacy fund update