Active Rigs In North Dakota Holding Steady At 64 -- January 8, 2019

Mexico: Pemex oil, natural gas production declines in November. Oil: 1.7 million bopd; lowest production level since 1980. 

Alberta: trying to find a solution. Is building a refinery the answer? -- Bloomberg. 

QEP: receives $2 billion takeover bid. 

QEP Resources has recently tried to develop itself into a pure-play Permian company by divesting its assets in the Williston and the Haynesville. Both deals are currently still pending closure.

... an approximate value of $21,000 per acre, but Stifel estimated the fair market value for QEP’s Permian assets to be between $30,000 and $40,000 per acre. Therefore, Stifel does not anticipate Elliott’s offer to be accepted.  

ISO New England: link here; winter storm on its way.

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Back to the Bakken

Only one well comes off the confidential today -- Tuesday, January 8, 2018:

• 33777, 998, Oasis, Kjorstad Federal 5300 14-27 11BX, 50 stages; 10 million lbs, Willow Creek; t7/18; cum 103K 11/18; see neighboring, parallel, older well, #21903, here;
  

Active rigs:

$49.14	1/8/2019	01/08/2018	01/08/2017	01/08/2016	01/08/2015
Active Rigs	64	54	39	58	165

RBN Energy: gas pipeline-constrained New England keeps lifelines to fuel oil and LNG.

It’s so ironic. New England is only a stone’s throw from the burgeoning Marcellus natural gas production area, but pipeline constraints during high-demand periods in the wintertime leave power generators in the six-state region gasping for more gas. Now, with only minimal expansions to New England’s gas pipeline network on the horizon, the region is doubling down on a long-term plan to rely on a combination of gas liquefaction, LNG storage, LNG imports and gas-to-oil fuel switching at dual-fuel power plants to help keep the heat and lights on through those inevitable cold snaps. Today, we discuss recent developments on the gas-supply front in “Patriots Nation.”

Well, like it or not, the New England Patriots (11-5) are champions of the AFC East (again) and are in the playoffs for the 10^th year in a row. Just as reliably, winter has come to Boston, Hartford, Providence and other big energy-consumption centers in the region. Nothing major yet in the way of snowstorms or frigid temperatures, but there’s been enough cold days and nights to serve as a reminder that while New England has sufficient gas pipeline capacity to meet the region’s needs for most of the year, its pipeline network can max out when the weather turns Siberian. When that happens, there typically isn’t enough pipeline gas available to power many of the gas-fired power-generation units.