Tuesday, May 15, 2018

OPEC output rises: well, technically yes, but, c'mon man, give me a break. The group's total crude output rose by 12,000 bopd in April. Total production:  31.9 million bopd.

• 12,000 / 31,900,000 = 12 / 31,900 = 0.000376 or 0.0376%
• I'm truly impressed by OPEC's discipline
• of course, Venezuela has helped immensely

Trade war. For those who say there is no need for taking on China's high tariffs, they may want to read this Quartz article. Yup, confirmed. China places a 25% tariff on American autos. Elon Musk says he can't compete with that. Elon Musk tried to "partner" with a Shanghai company to avoid the tariff but China did not allow that.

Not enough stuff. Looks like "no one" wants the Obama library in Jackson Park, Chicago.

A federal lawsuit filed by a Chicago nonprofit in an attempt to block the Obama Presidential Center from being built in Jackson Park accuses organizers of pulling an “institutional bait and switch” by shifting the center’s purpose away from being a true presidential library.

Comment: my hunch is that Obama wanted a proactive "library," focusing on the future, not the past
Comment: the article says that the Obama library would not have been a "traditional presidential library"

• my hunch: 90% of the reason may have had to do with a "forward-looking" facility, but I also strongly feel that Obama simply did not have enough "stuff" to fill a "presidential library
• except for ObamaCare, and taking out Obama bin Laden, not much accomplished; and, a Nobel Peace Prize
• on the other hand, in less than 18 months, Trump has already accomplished much of his agenda; passed a huge tax law; moved US embassy to Jerusalem (something several administrations had supported, never accomplished); North Korean - South Korean peace summit; major Iran initiative; all while under investigation by Mueller -- the latter alone will require a full wing of a presidential library; and, a US Senate that delayed confirmations and outright denied others

 
**********************************

Back to the Bakken

Active rigs:

$71.66↑↑	5/15/2018	05/15/2017	05/15/2016	05/15/2015	05/15/2014
Active Rigs	60	51	27	83	191

RBN Energy: gas flows shifting across Texas as new supply outpaces new demand.