DUCs -- National Data -- April 22, 2018

From oilprice.com:

The big question is whether this along with a marked expansion in the volume of U.S. drilled but uncompleted wells (DUCs) and rig count, which in early April 2018 reached its highest point in three years, is enough to suppress prices.

The answer could surprise investors because fundamentals indicate that higher oil is here to stay, for as long as Saudi Arabia and Russia don’t aggressively unwind the production caps established in November 2016.

EIA data: DUCs. 

For newbies: note -- this data is DUC data only. It does not include producing wells that are temporarily inactive. In the Bakken the number of inactive wells may approximate the number of DUCs.

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Albuquerque

Quick! What is the etymology of the name of Albuquerque, NM?

It comes from Alburquerque, Extremadura, Spain. The Spanish "Alburquerque" is spelled with an extra "r." The Albuquerque in New Mexico is spelled with one less "r." Some say the "r" was dropped/removed to make the name easier to pronounce. Actually, I think I'm wrong on that. I think, Alburquerque comes from the explorer, Alfonso de Albuquerque (which wiki spells without the first "r," which, of course, means that comment about the city name removing the "r" to make it easier to pronounce cannot be correct. Whatever .So where was Alfonso, 1453 - 1515, born? Near Lisbon, Portugal. Multiple expeditions to India. Conquered Malacca. Reached China.

So, Albuquerque (NM) comes from Alburquerque (Spain/Portugal)? What, or better said, who else comes from Alburquerque, Spain (or at least the landlocked province of Extremadura)?

The conquistadors. The very same ones that "conquered" South, Central, and North America.

The conquistadors from landlocked Extremadura. (Christopher Columbus also has a connection to Extremadura.)

The conquistadors: Pizarro; Orellana; Balboa; and, de Soto.

Francisco Pizarro, born in Trujillo, conquered the Inca Empire, 1471 - 1541.

Francisco de Orellana, born in Trujillo, 1546 - completed the first known navigation of the entire length of the Amazon River; died, 1546, during second expedition of the Amazon.

Vasco Nunez de Balboa, 1475 - 1519; crossed the Isthmus of Panama, becoming the first European to lead an expedition to have seen or reached the Pacific from the New World. His father was a  hidalgo (nobleman); an exception to most of the conquistadors. Also born in landlocked Extremadura but in Jerez de los Cabelleros about 120 miles southwest of Trujillo. Albuquerque is about 80 miles west of Trujillo.

Hernando de Soto, 1495 - 1542, another conquistador; led the Spanish and European expedition deep into the territory of modern-day southeast America (Florida to Arkansas). Also born in Jerez de los Caballeros, Extremadura.

Hernan Cores, 1485 - 1547; caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of what is now mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile (Spain). Born in Medellin, forty miles south of Trujillo. 

I guess it was "just one of those things" that the early European explorers for North, Central, and South America all came from a small region of landlocked Spain near the eastern border of Portugal.

This area is considered so backward that it has become a subject of farce. In the Spanish version of the British comedy series Fawlty Towers (one of our favorite British comedies), Manuel, the idiotic waiter, hails from Extremadura.

The geography lesson and history lesson for today.