Zip Codes -- Video Of The Week -- May 13, 2018

When I get this far behind and current events are moving this fast, I find myself unable to blog because I don't know where to begin.

Perhaps to get started, all I can do is a) look at what tomorrow will bring; and, b) clean out the in-box.

Tomorrow

Dow futures have been edging up all evening; currently up 81 points which is really quite remarkable considering how far the market has come so far in the past ten days.

I've been wanting to post this graphic for quite some time, but there never seemed a "right" place for it. It hardly matters any more but here it is:

It should come as no surprise that companies are increasing their dividends. Going back over the past ten days, the numbers of companies announcing increased dividends is simply staggering. A very, very short list of such companies, these were simply chosen because I once invested in these companies or still hold shares in them.

• CAH, from 0.4624 to 0.47630; Friday, May 11, 2018
• PSX, from 0.70 to 0.80; Thursday, May 10, 2018
• BAX, from 0.16 to 0.19; Wednesday, May 9, 2018
• AAPL, from 0.63 to 0.73; Wednesday, May 2, 2018
• XLNX, from 0.35 to 0.36; Monday, April 30, 2018
• XOM, from 0.77 to 0.85; Thursday, April 26, 2018
• PSXP, from 0.678 to 0.714, Thursday, April 19, 2018
• KMI, from 0.125 to 0.200, Thursday, April 19, 2018
• EPD, from 0.425 to 0.4275, Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Tesla: it's being reported that three more high-level Tesla executives have departed in the past ten days. First, April 26, 2018, it was being reported that Tesla lost its third autopilot executive in less than two years. Then on Friday, May 11, 2018, the WSJ reported that Tesla's top engineer overseeing vehicle development would be taking "a leave of absence from the company at a crucial moment when the electric-car maker is struggling to boost production of the Model 3 sedan. When I last checked there were 100 comments (exactly); I read about 30 of them; none of them were "positive." And now this, being reported yesterday, May 12, 2018, in the WSJ:

A senior Tesla Inc. executive, who was the company’s main technical contact with U.S. safety investigators, has left for rival Waymo LLC, according to people familiar the decision. Matthew Schwall, who had been the director of field performance engineering at Tesla, exited the company as the National Transportation Safety Board has been investigating multiple crashes involving the electric vehicle.

Tesla, from Fortune, link here:

Elon Musk has said the “short burn of the century” is coming soon to investors betting against Tesla. He’s rapidly losing top deputies to help him deliver on that prediction.

Doug Field, senior vice president of engineering, is taking time away from the company to recharge, according to a company spokesman. His sabbatical is significant: Musk has said he regards Field as “one the world’s most talented” engineering executives. He’s one of only four executive officers named in the company’s recent proxy statement.

Field’s break follows a broader exodus of top executives. Matthew Schwall, Tesla’s primary contact with U.S. regulators, just joined the safety team at Waymo, the self-driving-car company started by Google. Jim Keller, the head of the driver-assistance system Autopilot, left last month for Intel. In March, Tesla confirmed two of its top financial executives had parted ways, and in February, sales chief Jon McNeill defected to Lyft.

And we move on.
Ebola: a new Ebola outbreak hits the Congo. The last time this happened, President Obama embargoes the news. Let's see what happens this time.

Gold: there's gold in them thar hills. The Mitchell Republic is reporting that a Canadian firm hopes to mine gold in the Black Hills. The only question: who will destroy the environment first, the protestors or the mining company?

Clowns: meanwhile, pretty much in the same area as that gold in them thar hills, the Clown family wants to set the record straight regarding Crazy Horse. I can't make this stuff up. Link at The Dickinson Press. Must have been a slow news day. The Sarcasm family and Irony family can't be far behind.

Photo of the day (link here). One would think the homeless could visit for free.

Has anyone really thought about this? Ten times larger than Hiroshima. I can't provide the link because the "blogger" app blocks Fox News. I'm sure you can google "North Korea's nuclear blast ten times larger than Hiroshima" and find an article. The dots all connect. The only question: who opened the bigger bottle of champagne last week, the CIA or the NSA?

Nena was first on the scene:

99 Luftballons, Nena
Remember the 57 US states? I can't make this stuff up. A huge "thank you" to a reader. Link here.

Okay, we're going to quit here. If it gets too long the readers who sent me all the links won't read far enough down the post to see their links.

He's Back -- Art Berman -- What A Doofus -- May 13, 2018

Updates

December 20, 2021: Art Berman -- US shale operators "swimming in cash."

July 15, 2018: Art Berman famously declared back in 2017 that with the decline in production in the Bakken, it was "the beginning of the end of the Bakken." The Bakken his a boepd production record and another natural gas production record in April, 2018. In May, 2018, the Bakken hit a trifecta: setting all-time production records for a) crude oil; b) natural gas; and, c) boe. That same week oilprice.com suggested "peak oil" theory was alive and well -- it simply had to be re-defined a bit.

Later, 5:27 p.m. CDT: see two first comments. I'm not sure what to make of Berman. My biggest problem: tells investors to short the oil market and then says he will keep his holdings.

Original Post 

From December 8, 2017: "... the beginning of the end of the Bakken." -- Art Berman (or Arthur Berman). A peak oil proponent. "Energy specialist & keynote speaker". Writes for Forbes, I believe. "Shale is not a revolution -- it's a retirement party. Shale plays were not some great new idea. They became important only as more attractive plays were exhausted."

[I've linked articles to Art Berman fairly often. Google "berman" on the blog. I think I've always referred to him as "Art" as he does on his web page, but he often is referred to by "Arthur," so don't do an "Arthur Berman" search. But I degress.]

He's back. [A huge "thank you" to a reader for alerting me to this story.]

And as humorous as ever.

It's over at Rigzone of all places, and a Bloomberg story. Apparently he gave a speech; no one hung around for the Q & A. That speaks volumes. The entire article is worth keeping but I can only post a bit of it. I will archive the rest.

He tells everyone to "short the Permian," but he's keeping his inherited EOG stock. Wow.

The lede:

The geologist who earned the wrath of shale drillers a decade ago with forecasts that natural gas was about to run out is now warning that the Permian Basin has just seven years of proven oil reserves left.

Arthur Berman, a former Amoco scientist who now works as an industry consultant near Houston, said the Permian region of Texas and New Mexico that currently pumps more oil than any other North American field won’t last for long. And the Eagle Ford shale about 350 miles (560 kilometers) away in South Texas isn’t looking good either.

Berman’s grim outlook, based on analyses of reserves and production data from more than a dozen prominent shale drillers, flies in the face predictions from the U.S. Energy Department, Chevron Corp. and others that the Permian is becoming one of the dominant forces in global crude markets.

Bloomberg noted:

Permian output already exceeds that of three-fourths of OPEC members.

One of the problems: Berman talks in generalities, or at least the media only reports in generalities. Specifically, what does Berman see as peak production in the Permian over the next five years?

Disclaimer: Art Berman will eventually be correct on perhaps a point or two, but so far, he has been incredibly wrong, especially his opinion on technology. And yet he says he's an energy specialist. Whatever. Hubbert's peak oil theory, of course, has been disproved. Remember, a theory falls apart as soon as one finds one exception. Having said that, this is not an investment site. Do not make any financial, investment, travel, job, or relationship decisions based on anything you read at this blog, or think you may have read at this blog. This blog is for educational and entertainment purposes. Art Berman falls under the latter category.

Wells Coming Off Confidential List This Next Week -- May 13, 2018

Wednesday, May 16, 2018:
34161, SI/NC, XTO, Pelton Federal 11X-35G2, Bear Creek, no production data,
32972, SI/NC, MRO, Lamarr USA 13-23TFH, Reunion Bay, no production data,

Tuesday, May 15, 2018:
34162, SI/NC, XTO, Pelton Federal 11X-35BXC, Bear Creek, no production data,
34016, SI/NC, XTO, Pelton Federal 11X-35F, Bear Creek, no production data,
33815, 937, Petroshale, Horse Camp 4-11H, Mandaree, 25 stages; 9.8 million lbs, t2/18; cum 34K in 47 days;
33757, drl, Crescent Point, CPEUSC Njos 7-26-35-157N-100W TFH, Marmon, no production data,
32971, SI/NC, MRO, Whitebody USA 14-23H, Reunion Bay, no production data,

Monday, May 14, 2018:
32913, 109, Oasis, White 5198 13-6 15T, Siverston, Three Forks, 50 stages; mesh, large white, medium white, medium ceramic, t11/17; cum 112K 3/18;

Sunday, May 13, 2018:
33817, SI/NC, Petro-Hunt, USA 153-95-23D-14-1HS, Charlson, no production data, 
33758, SI/NC, Crescent Point, CPEUSC Njos 3-26-35-157N-100W MBH, Marmon, no production data,
33713, 1,038, Kraken Operating, LLC, Feller-Redfield LE 22-15 1H, Lone Tree Lake, 50 stages; 15.3 million lbs, t12/17; cum 70K 3/18; 
33440, 683, Oasis, Spratley 5494 14-13 14B, Alkali Creek, 50 stages; 10 million lbs, mesh, large white, large ceramic, t11/17; cum 105K 3/18; ; 
32970, SI/NC, MRO, Loren USA 14-23TFH, Antelope, no production data, 
32701, SI/NC, Peregrine Petroleum Partners, LTD, Burlington Fee 9-16-1H, Hay Draw, no production data, see this post;

Saturday, May 12, 2018:
33980, SI/NC, MRO, Michelle USA 14-14TFH, Reunion Bay, no production data;