Everything -- Except The Equity Market -- Holding Steady; Great Update On NGL Production -- RBN Energy -- March 7, 2018 -- Campaigns Matter -- Hillary Said She Would Put A Lot Of Miners Out Of Work; Trump Said He Would Create Jobs

Chevron: backs 2018 production rise, eyes share buybacks.

Disclaimer: as I've said 3, 564 times on the blog -- this is not an investment site.

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Back to the Bakken

"Arctic" rigs:

$62.33→	3/7/2018	03/07/2017	03/07/2016	03/07/2015	03/07/2014
Active Rigs	60	44	35	114	191

RBN Energy: record crude and gas production leads to record NGL production at just the right time.

In recent weeks, both crude oil and natural gas production have breached all-time records. So it should come as no surprise the same thing happened to NGLs — production blasted to over 4.0 MMb/d in the fourth quarter of 2017, and by our estimates will move considerably higher this year. This is a particularly big deal for the ethane market, which has spent the last eight years waiting patiently for a wave of new Gulf Coast ethane-only petrochemical plants — a.k.a. “steam crackers” — to come online in 2018.

Well, here we are in 2018 and new demand from the crackers is finally kicking in. The good news for petchems is that all of the incremental NGL production means the supply of ethane available to the market is growing too, right on cue. What do these developments mean for future NGL production, demand and prices? Today, we begin a new blog series discussing our updated NGL market forecasts, starting with that NGL product whose market is going through the most changes: ethane. 

Poll: and with the RBN Energy story this is as good a time as any to close out the poll in which we asked whether crude oil production should take precedence over ND's self-imposed cap on flaring?

• Yes, forget about caps on flaring; push for maximum crude oil production: 13%
• Ease the caps on flaring now that the market is improving but long term keep the caps as goals: 42%
• No, hold the industry accountable: maintain the caps and minimize waivers: 45% 

FWIW, I would have wavered between the 2nd and 3rd choices, and probably would have gone with a coin flip.

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A Political Note

Good Riddance? Ya Think?

Campaigns matter: a reader pointed out --

Go back and listen to what they said in their campaigns ... Obama said he would KILL coal; Hillary said she would put a lot of miners out of work;  Trump said he would create/protect USA jobs.