Four New Permits; Twenty Permits Renewed -- December 4, 2017

Active rigs:

$57.44↓	12/4/2017	12/04/2016	12/04/2015	12/04/2014	12/04/2013
Active Rigs	53	39	64	191	192

Four new permits:

• Operators: XTO
• Fields: Bear Den (McKenzie): Heart Butte (Dunn)
• Comments:

No producing wells (DUCs) reported as completed. With ten more DUCs reported this morning and no DUCs reported as completed in the daily activity report today (covering a 3-day period), it certainly seems like the number of DUCs could increase for the month of December when that data is presented next February, 2018

Twenty permits renewed:

• Oasis (14): two Harbour permits (Williams County); six Lars permits (Mountrail County); five Jensen permits (Williams County); one Barron permit (Burke County)
• CLR (4): four Lancaster permits (McKenzie County)
• WPX (2): two Good Voice permits (McKenzie County)

The Wonder(s) Of North Dakota -- An Aerial View -- Vern Whitten -- December 4, 2017

Updates

December 6, 2017: I've looked at the photos several times. Of the first 20, these are my favorite: #10, #12, #14, #17, and, #20., My hunch is that #20 will be my favorite of all 60 photographs.

Original Post

Wow -- readers are in for a real treat. Vern Whitten has sent a "package" of aerial views of North Dakota. Absolutely incredible views and photography. So much to say, but I can do that later. I want to get them posted now.

http://www.vernwhittenphotography.net/tournd/#/view/ID1074234

Vern Whitten would love hearing from you. Please send him a thank you note.


Vern Whitten Photography
www.vernwhittenphotography.com
(701) 261-7658

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Random Comments on the Photos

In general: one never thinks of North Dakota having this much water. As you go through the slides, look at all the water.

Look how "neat and clear" the farms are.

Most of the photos are east of the Missouri River and you will not see many rigs or oil pads.

#1: I can never see too many photos of combining; I always enjoy them for some reason.

#12: reminds me of Scotland.

#14 - #18: the Badlands are always amazing.

#20: surreal.

#21: wouldn't it have been a hoot had they names these two rivers the Lewis River and the Clark River? You might be able to spot a well or two -- this is in the heart of the Bakken.

#22: the heart of the Bakken -- note all the wells, all the flaring, all the oil activity.

#25 - 28: any photo taken near Watford City would be in the heart of the Bakken. Again, notice all the oil activity.

#29 - #35: lots of drilling under the lake.

#44: Lake Metigoshe -- where we went every summer for Boy Scout camping.

#45: would make a great jigsaw puzzle.

#46: incredible farm, isn't it?

#47 - #48: two lakes, almost dry 40 years ago.

#52: isn't it amazing what the homesteaders started? Absolutely incredible!

So, how many wells/rigs did you see? How many wind farms? 

The Political Page, T+317 -- December 4, 2017 -- Huge Win For Trump

Fake News

Immediately after the false report was made, Brian Ross was suspended four weeks without pay. Now, the president of ABC has said that Brian Ross will not report any story involving Trump. ABC has been getting a reputation of being a very, very questionable news outlet. It is very clear that the network does not want to become the second "fake news" network. The first "fake news" network is CNN. The president of ABC does not want ABC to become another CNN. Remember: ABC had Hillary Clinton winning the election by 15 points.

Updates

Later, 7:57 p.m. Central Time: it appears the travel ban story was hardly covered by mainstream media. I am thrilled with the US Supreme Court vote (7 -2) but I am incredibly depressed that it took a Supreme Court ruling to right a serious wrong.  

The reason the story is getting so little coverage: everybody knew that Trump was right to begin with. It's amazing that a non-lawyer, non-politician knows constitutional law better than Ruth and her lightweight co-justice Sonia.  

Everybody Knows, Leonard Cohen  

 

Original Post

Huge win for Trump. US Supreme Court agrees with Trump: his travel ban was legal. Period. Dot.

CNBC reporter seems shell-shocked. Unable to explain what this really means. LOL.

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GOP Tax Bill -- 2017

Updates

Later, 7:40 p.m. Central Time: it's called BEAT -- from SeekingAlpha --

• solar industry stocks are slammed in today's trade as the tax bill passed by the U.S. Senate contains provisions that could harm wind and solar energy investment and deployment
• the bill's Base Erosion Anti-Abuse Tax, or BEAT, provision is intended to make it more difficult for businesses to avoid taxes but it also could make tax credits such as the renewable energy Production Tax Credit for wind power and the Investment Tax Credit for solar projects harder to monetize
• "If these provisions are retained, they will result in broad instability and uncertainty for businesses and investors across many sectors, including the clean energy sector," says a statement signed by six groups including the American Council on Renewable Energy. 
• "The BEAT program, as currently drafted, would have a devastating impact on renewable-energy investment and deployment," says another letter signed by four groups including the Solar Energy Industries Association. 
•  FSLR -5.6%, SPWR -8.5%, CSIQ -9.2%, CAFD -4.6%, PEGI -3.6%, JKS -6.6%, DQ -14.6%.

Original Post

 

Well, we had to pay for the tax cuts somehow:

Financial Times link here.

Boomtown Back To Normal? -- December 4, 2017

Headline story in Boomtown today:

Either things are "back to normal" in Boomtown or it was an incredibly slow news day.

Walt's Market was an iconic store, perhaps best known for its custom-butchered beef, when we were growing up in  Williston.

The Energy And Market Page, T+317 -- December 4, 2017

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

The "market" is super-excited that shares of Bank of America are surging. BAC is up about $1/share, or about 4%. But nothing is being said about UNP surge. UNP shares are up almost $7/share, or about 5.5%.

Diamondback Continues To Impress WIth Better Production Per Well -- Filloon -- December 4, 2017

From SeekingAlpha:

• FANG continues to improve both oil and natural gas production per location
• well design changes in the Permian are providing significantly better results across all operators
• the Permian continues to have upside in both Midland and the Delaware as it continues to see the greatest activity
• FANG may have more upside than other larger Permian names as its Howard and Pecos acreage is less developed and will see additional gains as these areas are de-risked

But, again, another article on "changes in well designs," but no specifics. 

Wells I would be interested in -- note the "inflection" points:

Cars In The News -- December 4, 2017

Lamborghini: Lamborghini will produce a(n) SUV. Fox Business must be reading the blog. I just mentioned Lamborghini over the weekend.

Lamborghini: announced record sales in 2016. That explains all the Lamborghinis Sophia and I saw over the weekend in Southlake, TX.

Tesla: Elon Musk plans to open a Tesla showroom on the red planet (Mars) as soon as next year.

Tesla showrooms: There are no Tesla showrooms across the northern plains. A reader tells me that there are no Tesla showrooms in ND, SD, MT, WY, or ID. He had hoped to actually sit in a Tesla on his cross-country trip this winter -- yes, across the Rocky Mountains in the winter. But it appears Tesla will have a showroom on Mars before it has a showroom in several US states. By the way, on another note, when sitting in the Tesla in the Southlake, TX, it was noted that only 50% of Tesla parts/components are made in the US. Half of Tesla's components come from overseas. I'm thinking maybe the batteries.

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The Katie Ledecky Page

Katie Ledecky won a third female Olympic Athlete of the Year Award. Link here. I've not been able to find any link suggesting she drives a Tesla.

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How Hard Can It Be?

Earlier this morning I went to wiki to read about the Logan Act.

Later, I read The Washington Post story on the Logan Act. The writer got the original story wrong and The Washington Post had to correct the story. The information was easily available in the wiki entry. Wow, how hard can it be a) to be a Washington Post journalist; and/or b) check wiki?

Monday, December 4, 2017

Active rigs:

$57.62↓	12/4/2017	12/04/2016	12/04/2015	12/04/2014	12/04/2013
Active Rigs	53	39	64	191	192

RBN Energy: exporting U.S. crude oil by ship: vessels, chartering, loading, costs.

Eleven wells came off the confidential list today: ten were DUCs.

Saudi Arabia needs $70-oil to balance its foreign reserves account.

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Delivering Christmas Trees In Grapevine

Ten Of Eleven Wells Go To DUC Status In The North Dakota Bakken, Most Of These Wells Are In Great Fields -- December 4, 2017

Eleven (11) wells are coming off confidential list today. Only one has been completed. That's less than ten percent. 

Comments:

• it was reported earlier in the year that operators met their production quotas some months ago
• it is being reported that there may be a shortage of frack spreads in North Dakota
• some think it's too cold to frack in the winter
• it's cheaper to store oil in the ground today, knowing that oil is going to command a better price tomorrow

Monday, December 4, 2017: 18 for the month; 128 for the quarter

• 33066, SI/NC, XTO, Deep Creek Federal 44X-5C, Lost Bridge, no production data,
• 32903, SI/NC, BR, Lovaas 5-8-12 UTFH, Blue Buttes, no production data,
• 31612, SI/NC, BR, HE 3-8-20UTFH, Elidah, no production data,
• 31611, SI/NC, BR, HE 4-8-20MBH, Elida, no production data,
• 31433, SI/NC, Slawson, Osprey Federal 7-26-29TFH, Big Bend, no production data,

Sunday, December 3, 2017: 13 for the month; 123 for the quarter

• 32904, SI/NC, BR, Lovaas 6-8-12MBH, Blue Buttes, no production data,
• 31850, 1,191, Whiting, 3J Trust 24-8-2PH, Bell, 45 stages; 9.4 million lbs, t6/17; cum 76K 10/17; already shut in as of 10/17;
• 31613, SI/NC, BR, HE 2-8-20MBH, Elidah, no production data,

Saturday, December 2, 2017: 10 for the month; 120 for the quarter

• 33323, SI/NC, WPX, Mandaree South 25-36HZ, Spotted Horn, no production data,
• 33065, SI/NC, XTO, Deep Creek Federal 44X-5B, Lost Bridge, no production data,
• 31431, SI/NC, Slawson, Osprey Federal 6-26-29TFH, Big Bend, no production data,