Cleaning Out The In-Box -- February 27, 2018

Biofuels. From oilprice.com: watch for biofuels policy changes. Trump not happy with bankrupt Pennsylvania refinery attributing its problems to biofuel rules. Iowa vs Pennsylvania. Electoral votes: Iowa (6) vs Pennsylvania (20). We've talked about this refinery before; it ranked first among refineries in use of Bakken oil. It reinvigorated the economy of Pennsylvania.

Tesla. From a contributor over at SeekingAlpha: folks plunking down $50,000+ for the Model 3 may be in for a shock when a "variant" of the same model is released for $35,000. Some folks doubt one will be able to tell the difference between the $50K model and the $35K model. This would be like Apple releasing a "variant" of the iPhone X for $500 vs the current price of $1,000, and making no discernible changes in the "variant" simply because the iPhone X ($1,000 model) was not selling well.

China coal. No links. Too many stories coming out right now about China's energy needs. Coal will be huge player.

US coal. It seems I posted this story or one similar to it; can't remember. The WSJ is reporting that US coal industry is seeing a resurgence in jobs, production. Due to exports to Europe -- how's that emphasis on renewable energy working out? So much for the Paris accords.

Fracking sand. In short supply but some reason for optimism. From the Emergent Group a few days ago (no link):

Life in the Permian, where some operators pump more than 5,000 tons of sand per well to help free trapped hydrocarbons, may not be as cutthroat as it was for characters of the fictional West Wing of the White House.

But tight supplies are causing some angst in the basin.

The 100-mesh sand appears to be the most desired. [Yes, it seems 100-mesh is part of the mix in almost every Bakken frack.]

Additional supplies are expected to come online with sand suppliers such as Badger Mining Corp., Emerge Energy Services, Hi-Crush Partners, Smart Sand, Unimin and U.S. Silica planning to add new capacity.

Peak oil. Asia set to lose three (3) milion bopd of oil production. Yes, the article is from that "peak oil" site, oilprice.com.

The right whale on verge of extinction. The right whale was saved by Rockefeller and "big oil." But time may be running out. The Boston Globe is reporting that "after a year of record deaths, right whales produced no new calves, which could be catastrophic."

GE: Jeff Immelt laughing all the way to the bank. Jack Welch, probably not. Reuters is reporting that GE will restate two years of earnings. Tick-tock. Jeff, you will recall, was the economic czar for President Obama.

GM on the move. Profits from GMC's hulking trucks support GM's longer-range bets on electric and autonomous cars, says The WSJ. The headline needed to add the word "China."

Beyond the pale. I've posted this previously, but it was still in the in-box. Clearing it out now.