Maps -- July 23, 2017 -- A Whole Post WIth Nothing About The Bakken

Warning: folks coming to this blog for the Bakken may want to skip this blog for the next two weeks. I have no idea where the blog will take me this week, but something tells me the Bakken could be on the back burner. We'll see.

I'm in a great mood. Jordan Spieth won The Open and Kasey Kayne won the Indianapolis NASCAR race today, beating Keselowski in overtime.

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It's hard to believe. I have an entire Sunday afternoon free to myself. I may have one interruption but it will be minor. My wife is out of town; and all three granddaughters are out of town. I have no commitments for the next week or so. I will still get up at 5:00 a.m. but instead of surreptitiously listening to CNBC or Fox Business News I will turn the television on and watch it from my bed. (I can also listen to Rush Limbaugh at my leisure; my wife will not let me listen to Rush in her presence. Something about her blood pressure.)

I hope I get serious about reading again. Right now I'm reading Supreme City by Donald L. Miller, reviewed back in 2014 at The New York Times.

In the entirety of my life I have spent only a few hours in New York City (and only Manhattan); a long summer in a bedroom community across the Hudson River from NYC; and, that's about it. But because the "first" love of my life lived in that New Jersey suburb across from NYC, it will always occupy a bigger space in my heart than it might otherwise deserve.  

Supreme City must not have done well. It does not show up on the first page of Amazon hits when searching "Supreme City." To find it easily, one must search with both the title and the author.  

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Give Them Space To Destroy

From The Wall Street Journal:

Baltimore homicide rate has officials pointing fingers. Politicians, law enforcement assign blame for sustained violence that mirrors some other cities.

While Chicago gets more attention as being the center of urban crime in the U.S., Baltimore has long had a higher rate of homicide, and near-daily killings in 2017 have produced a nearly 20% increase in homicides from a year ago. With 193 homicides in a city of 615,000 people, Baltimore is on track for its highest per capita homicide rate on record and one of the highest in the U.S. in years.

As long as they are still pointing fingers, it sounds like no one really cares. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see "the next big thing."

Maps:

• Baltimore
• Chicago
• St Louis
• the Bakken 

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57 Channels And Nothing On TV

Sunday night, 57 channels, and nothing on TV. The British comedies will start in another hour or so. Thank goodness for YouTube. It's hard to believe that "Hee Haw" lasted only two years, 1969 - 1917 -- at least that's what Wiki says.

I was too busy those years to watch much of "Hee Haw" but what I saw I loved. YouTube now lets me watch those "episodes" I missed.

Don't worry. No clip. I don't want to lose 95% of my readers. LOL.

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"Remember Me"

See wiki. Surfing through the channels, I saw less than three seconds of this movie and immediately recognized this was Yorkshire, and specifically, this particularly scene was Whitby, Yorkshire.

Life is too short. 

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Yes, Sir, I Can Boogie Woogie All Night Long

Baccara

Amassing Acres In The Far West -- July 23, 2017

Pretty funny. I have a reader who suggests that Mark Zuckerberg's visit to the midwest was to look at opportunities to buy Montana, ND, and SD land at fire-sale prices. That may or may not be the reason for Zuckerberg's visit to DAPL-Ground-Zero. Be that as it may, there is already someone who has been there, done that.

From The Wall Street Journal, oilman Russell Gordy has a $96 million collection—of ranches He has amassed 155,000 acres of land for hunting, fishing and raising cattle. He sometimes loses track of how many ranches he owns.

From the article: “If we were to throw you out here, they’d never find you,” said Russell Gordy, as he piloted his helicopter over the Absaroka mountains, flying from his sprawling Montana ranch to his even bigger ranch in Wyoming.

Mr. Gordy, a 66-year-old Texan with a deadpan sense of humor who made his fortune in the oil-and-gas industry, has two private planes. But the helicopter comes in handy for short hops around his domain: 155,000 or so acres of mountains, rivers, buttes and forest spread patchwork across the West, amassed for his personal enjoyment at a cost of roughly $96 million.

“I’ve always liked land. Every time I sold an oil and gas property, I would take some of the money and buy ranches,” said Mr. Gordy, whose closets are full of camouflage clothing, grouped by season.

Of course, as usual, much more at the link. Be sure to view the video. Something tells me he is not worried about the sage grouse. LOL.

Disclaimer: this is not a real estate site. Do not make any real estate investment decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here. 

Well, Shoot, This Isn't Working -- July 23, 2017

From The Wall Street Journal: OPEC grapples with growing threats to oil deal. The deal intended to withhold about 2% of global oil supplies has failed to raise crude prices. LOL.

OPEC is worried that its plan to drain a global oil glut—and thereby raise crude prices—isn’t working.

A long-planned meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Monday to discuss the oil market with big producers outside the cartel has turned into a critical gathering. Over the weekend, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said, its ministers have held a series of “intensive consultations” about the challenges for an output-cutting deal the 14-nation cartel struck last year with Russia and other big producers.

The agreement was supposed to take almost 1.8 million barrels of crude oil off the global market and drain an oversupply that has weighed prices down for three years and sent a shock through the economies of oil-producing economies. But prices have remained stubbornly low as the glut persists. Brent, the international benchmark, fell 2.5%, to $48.06 on Friday because of doubts about OPEC’s ability to turn around the market.

And then this.

Libyan and Nigerian officials have signaled a willingness to limit their production once it stabilizes, but the details are being negotiated.

An OPEC official said Iraqi production would also be discussed, as the cartel member’s output has remained much higher than its agreed upon levels.

Compare that to what I posted just a few hours earlier: Saudi Arabia has an Iraqi problem. Nigeria and Libya are red herrings.

Meanwhile, oilprice.com weighs in on Libya's production.

Conflict-torn Libya, divided between rival factions in the east and the west, recently reached 1 million bpd of crude oil output—for the first time since 2013.

Bottom line: no matter how you spin it; no matter how many times OPEC has meetings, there is a huge global crude oil glut. Period. Dot. Every Arab for himself. And we're going to see exactly how cheap crude oil can go before US oil companies cry "uncle." 

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This Describes Our Granddaughters' Summer Schedule --- Including Language Summer Camp In Minnesota

Futures Don't Mean Squat -- July 23, 2017

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment, financial, travel, job, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or what you think you may have read here.

Futures mean squat. All three major indices hit all-time record highs this past week. Right now, futures are down slightly.

WTI? Remember that story earlier today that Saudi Arabia has turned off the tap for US imports of Saudi oil? It looks like traders are quaking. WTI futures are ... down. LOL. The traders have seen through Saudi shenanigans.

Random Look At Murex Angie Marie #16186 -- Re-Frack -- July 23, 2017

Link here. A mediocre well back in 2006 turns into a great well with a re-entry; new lateral; and, new frack. The Bakken is filled with tens of thousands of wells that are candidates for new work.

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NASCAR

Wow, wow, wow. With leaders, and one presumed to be the winner, Truax and Kyle Busch taking each other out in lap 110/111 of 160, the race is wide open. I was going to say that Danica Patrick is now in 12th place, but just as I was writing that, a huge wreck. Was Danica involved? Stay tuned. Lap 151 of 160; ten to go. They need to red flag this while clean up continues, otherwise they are going to waste laps with caution laps. Keselowski was waiting for this; needed a caution because he needed fuel. Question: was Keselowski involved? Inquiring minds want to know. Yup, good. Red flagged. Ten laps to go. Poor announcing; announcers need to tell us who was involved. Involved and out: Kurt Busch. Others? Clint Bowyer, Erik Jones. I think I see Danica's car still on the track in great shape. Still in: Kenseth; Trevor Bayne; Kasey Kahne; everyone else forced to pit for fuel, including Keselowski and Jimmy Johnson. Re-start; looks good; then another caution; red flag. Now "four to go" when they start again. Kasey Kahne will be in front with Keselowski on his bumper. It would not surprise me to see Keselowski to take Kahne out. Wow, that's too bad. With "two to go," Jimmy Johnson spins out. Keselowski and Kasey Kahne in dead heat for win before #48 came up quickly and get 3-wide with Keselowski and Kasey Kahne; and then #48, smoke coming out of back of car ("blowing up"); spins out; caution, and one more try to finish this race, I suppose. It looks like Kasey was slightly ahead of Keselowski when the caution came out, but it was close. Okay, here we go. Overtime. Kasey Kahne gets choice; takes outside. Keselowski on the inside. Here we go. Three to go. Overtime. Driving into the setting sun on turn one. Kahne, Keselowski, #11, two laps to go when they go. Caution already -- another wreck. Wow. The wreck happened within nanoseconds of the re-start. So we will try again. Why is is not surprising that Keselowski was in the "middle of this"?

2nd overtime. It looks like Keselowski will be given lead over Kahne. It matters little; simply determines who gets choice for inside/outside. Overtime rule: leader under green needs to get to "overtime finish line" on back stretch before any caution comes out. It's a 2.5 mile track, so we're talking about a one-mile sprint, minimum.

2nd overtime, still. No lights at Indianapolis; sun setting. They need to get this race started if they don't want race "called" because of darkness. Driving into the sun on the first turn. The sun sets at 9:06 local; they're still cleaning up the track; it's now 8:48 local. Keselowski leads; gets choice; it looks like he takes the outside.

Here we go. Kasey Kahne has won if they got to the "overtime" line before the caution came out. They got to the "overtime" line. Waiting for the official ruling. Celebrations begin. Kasey Kahne seems to have won. If not, they're going to have to come back to tomorrow to finish the race.

Kasey Kahne won. Great re-start. Even I could see that. Wow. He's in the playoffs.

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Relaxing

Sophia took a cross-country flight earlier today. Now, out in California, she's relaxing with an apple. Those cross-country flights really are exhausting. Later, next week, she will be flying from Los Angeles to Atlanta, GA, before returning to Dallas.

Wells Coming Off Confidential List This Week -- July 23, 2017

Friday, July 28, 2017

• 33046, SI/NC, BR, Veeder 4E MBH-ULW, Blue Buttes, no production data,

Thursday, July 27, 2017
None

Wednesday, July 26, 2017
None

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

• 27391, 998, EOG, Parshall 68-1820H, Parshall, 52 stages; 14.6 million lbs; all 100 mesh; t1/17; cum 73K 5/17;
• 28402, 428, EOG, Parshall 30-1820H, Parshall, 40 stages; 10.4 million lbs; all 100 mesh; t1/17; cum 86K 5/17;
• 28404, 1,399, EOG, Parshall 31-1820H, Parshall, 39 stages; 10.3 million lbs; all 100 mesh; t1/17; cum 74K 5/17;

Monday, July 24, 2017

• 31438, SI/NC, Slawson, Pike Federal 3-3-2H, Big Bend, no production data, 

Sunday, July 23, 2017

• 28306, 603, EOG, Parshall 70-19H, Parshall, one section, 24 stages, 6.7 million lbs, all 100 mesh, t1/17; cum 47K 5/17;

Saturday, July 22, 2017

• 24549, SI/NC, Petro-Hunt, Sabrosky 144-97-34D-27-1H, Little Knife, no production data,
• 32741, SI/NC, Hess, HA-Grimestad-152-95-3031H-7, Hawkeye, no production data,

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28306, see above EOG, Parshall 70-19H, Parshall:

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
5-2017	10768	6000
4-2017	11182	5583
3-2017	7447	1511
2-2017	12992	5736
1-2017	4058	4041

 28404, see above, EOG, Parshall 31-1820H, Parshall:

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
5-2017	11943	7258
4-2017	15255	684
3-2017	22419	14161
2-2017	16769	10763
1-2017	7718	4869

28402, see babove, EOG, Parshall 30-1820H, Parshall:

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
5-2017	19296	15558
4-2017	19571	12043
3-2017	24015	16445
2-2017	17115	10815
1-2017	5758	3657

27391, see above, EOG, Parshall 68-1820H, Parshall:

ate	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
5-2017	20846	16183
4-2017	18690	12403
3-2017	9183	3163
2-2017	18223	10815
1-2017	5406	3783

Nominee For The 2017 Geico Rock Award -- July 23, 2017

Updates

This banner appeared shortly after Senator Schumer made some of the most ridiculous comments ever made in the history of political interviews. I find it amazing that Americans do not thank the oil companies for doing what they do. (The arrow points out that US gasoline is at a 12-year low; six months into the Trump presidency.)

What a doofus
Original Post

Unless you've been under a rock for the past year, you know that US gasoline prices are at record lows. 

Apparently, at least one "celebrity" has been under the Geico Rock for at least the past year.

From grabiennews.com:

Even as gas prices have fallen to the lowest point in years under President Trump, Senate Minority Leader is claiming the price of petrol has only gone up.

The nationwide price for gas closed the week of July 17th at $2:39/gallon, down from $2.47/gallon when Trump took office.

Over the July 4th holiday weekend, gas prices were at their lowest point since 2005, according to the AAA.

"At $2.23, today’s average national gas price is the cheapest the country has seen all year," AAA reported. "On the week, gas prices fell in 46 states. Only Illinois, Oklahoma and Washington, D.C. saw prices increase, albeit by one cent each, while Hawaii and Maine remained flat. South Carolina continues to carry the cheapest gas in the country at $1.90. Today, consumers can find gas for $2.00 or less at one out of every four gas stations in the country."

Chuck Schumer, appearing on This Week with George Stephanopoulos, claimed Sunday the prices are only rising, thanks to "huge companies buying up other big companies."

"Gas prices are sticky -- you know, when the domestic price goes, uh, when the, uh, price for oil goes up on the markets, it goes right up but it never goes down.," Schumer said. "How the heck did we let Exxon and Mobil merge?"

Schumer also appeared confused over the "sticky prices" economic theory, as gasoline is cited by the Federal Reserve as an example of prices that aren't "sticky."

Can you imagine if Hillary were president with Maxine as vice-president; and, Schumer and Pelosi were in charge of Congress? Wow. 

Saudi Arabia's Iraqi Problem -- July 23, 207

This was the headline over at Bloomberg: Saudi Arabia turns off the US oil tap. The self-identified "gadfly" suggests that Saudi Arabia is finally doing what it will take to raise the price oil. Read the article.

Then look at the Saudi imports at this link. This is "old" data compared to the linked Bloomberg data but it gives you an idea of how much Saudi oil the US imports: about 1 million bopd. On a monthly basis, the US imports about 35 million bbls from Saudi Arabia, and it has remained fairly stable (except for one outlier in January, 2017).

Now look at Iraq. At the same database, the US imports from Iraq have jumped from 13 million bbls in November, 2016, to what-must-be-a-recent record 24 million bbls in the most recent month for which data is available.

The "gadfly" ends with this:

The Saudis have belatedly woken up to how oil traders react to a U.S. that's visibly awash with crude. It will amount to very little unless they deal with their Africa problem (Libya, Nigeria).

Libyan output is negligible compared to total OPEC output; Nigeria is significantly more but, in the big scheme of things, not much has changed in Nigeria.

To me, right now, Saudi has an Iraqi problem.

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Heavy Oil

Also at Bloomberg, an update on Venezuelan oil exports. From my perspective, Venezuelan heavy oil = Canadian heavy oil. Any loss in Venezuelan exports will be a win for Canada. Too bad the Keystone XL was never built.

Which begs the question: if Venezuela goes belly-up, would Trump have the opportunity to get that pipeline built? I'm sure the Canadians are watching closely.

I track Venezuela here. 

Coal Surge? Worth Reposting -- July 23, 2017

Speaking of Japanese Coal

Japan plans to build at least 45 new coal plants. From joannenova:

One of the world's largest economies with no land available for wind or solar farms; has also given up on nuclear power. I doubt South Korea has much land available for wind or solar farms. China would have the land, but the overwhelming need for electricity pretty much precludes any significant use of intermittent, undependable, non-dispatchable energy. I assume India is in the same energy boat.

Another Black Snake -- July 23, 2017

This is pretty funny. Yesterday, this post: Natural gas from the Bakken hitting all-time records; another pipeline necessary?

Today, this story. Perhaps not another natural gas pipeline (yet) but a new refined products pipeline. Data points from The Dickinson Press:

• Cenex Pipeline LLC, a subsidiary of CHS
• will build a 180-mile pipeline from Sidney, MT, to Minot, ND
• will carry refined products such as gasoline and diesel fuel
• would replace a portion of an existing pipeline and add additional capacity
• needed to meet increased demand for refined fuels in the region
• back-of-the-envelope: 180 x 1 million = $180 million; Cenex estimates: $160 million
• pipeline will cross the Missouri River in Montana
• in North Dakota, will cross the Little Muddy, White Earth, Little Knife
• once all permits obtained, it will take about 18 months to complete
• entire Cenex Pipeline: Laurel, MT, to Fargo, ND
• most of the article was devoted to discussing how officials will work with Native Americans on this project

Many, many story lines, starting with the Dickinson refinery and MDU.

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Flashback

This was taken from an October 12, 2011, post:

The Bakken is the largest industrial park in the US -- not just the county. The entire Bakken is being defined as one huge industrial park; it is the second largest industrial park in North America -- the Canadian oil sands are #1.

The Houston area would be a similarly huge industrial park but perhaps in total geographical area, the Bakken in the western one-third of North Dakota is hard to beat, in terms of area.

First Order Of Business -- A Shoutout To The Volunteer Rural Firemen Across North Dakota -- July 23, 2017

Suggested by a reader -- I was remiss not to bring this up sooner. I haven't been reporting on the severe drought in North Dakota, but it is very, very bad up there. Compounding the immense damage to the crops, the prairie fires are putting a huge toll on rural fire departments across the state. From The Bismarck Tribune:

At least 268 rural wildfires have been reported in North Dakota this year, raising concern about stress being placed on volunteer fire departments as drought conditions continue to exacerbate the fire risk.

State officials may consider the possibility of stipends for rural volunteer firefighters who are leaving their jobs to fight fires, sometimes responding to multiple incidents a day.

“We’re very concerned at the level of use that our volunteer departments are seeing, They’ve been outstanding so far, but having to respond to three, four and five a day is really tough.”

The North Dakota Department of Emergency Services recently asked fire districts to begin reporting local fires to help officials make decisions about deploying state resources.