The Market, Energy, And Political Page, Part 3, T+1 -- Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Top conventional wells to watch in 2018 -- WoodMac -- over at Rigzone:
A full list of the most anticipated conventional wells this year can be seen below:

• Pemex – Yaaxtaab-1
• Repsol – Bon Bini-1, Ivela
• Repsol & Shell - Boyuy, Jaguar
• Kosmos Energy – Anapai-1, Requin Tigre-1
• Statoil – Guanxuma, Aru Trough
• BP – Aspy, Peroba
• Eni – Santola-1, RD-1, 4118-4-1, Calypso-1, Cuttlefish
• Siccar Point Energy – Lyon
• Total – Tucano-1, Paddavissie-1, Tepat, Antelope South-1
• Far Limited – Samo-1
• Tullow Oil – Cormorant-1
• Statoil – Gjokasen
• Rosneft – Maria-1
• Gazprom – Bautinskaya-1
• Petro Matad – Takhi-1

 **********************************************

Global warming: this was in the Philadelphia Inquirer so it must be true --  it was the coldest April in 20 years across the United States, feds say.

Temperatures in the contiguous United States were 2.2 degrees below 20th century averages last month, making it the coldest April in 20 years, according to the government analysis released Tuesday.

Overall it was the ninth-chilliest April on record in Pennsylvania in records dating to 1895, said the National Center for Environmental Information.

In Philadelphia, 21 of the 30 days were cooler than normal, and coincidentally the official temperature at Philadelphia International Airport also finished 2.2 degrees below the 30-year average in a month that featured a significant snowfall.

Summer energy -- from Drudge Report today:

*********************************

The Literature Page

I'm still in my "China" phase. See also Zheng He.

These are the four books I have recently read:

• 1421, Gavin Menzies, c. 2008; softcover; Powell's in Portland, OR
• 1434, Gavin Menzies. c. 2009, softcover; Half-Price Bookstores;
• A New Literary History of Modern China, edited by David Der-Wei Wang, c. 2017
• The Opium Wars: The Addiction of One Empire and the Corruption of Another, W. Travis Hanes, c. 2004

I am now reading:

• Tai-Pan: The epic novel of the founding of Hong Kong, James Clavell, c. 1966 

And, I am ordering The Chinese Typewriter, from Amazon next week. Powell's had a hard copy for full price ($35) and one can get hard copy from Amazon for about $28 (free shipping) or a softcover for much less. 

After I mentioned that I was in my "China" phase and had just completed The Opium Wars, a reader highly recommended that I read James Clavell's Tai-Pan. I bought a copy today at Powell's in Portland, OR, and have started reading it. I am taking my time to read it; reading it very, very slowly. When I first read the subtitle ("The epic novel of the founding of Hong Kong") my hunch was that this was an "Ayn Rand novel set in China." Wow, having just read the first 15 pages, my hunch seems right on.

I was very fortunate to have read The Opium Wars first; this novel makes so much more sense knowing the background.

So, to the reader who recommended that I read Tai-Pan, thank you.