Wednesday, March 13, 2019 -- T+70, Part 2

A slow day but a great day.

WTI jumps (see earlier note). Those invested in oil are having a great day.

Oilprice: oil prices spike as EIA confirms inventory draw. Watch for gasoline prices to start going up -- now that we are approaching driving season ... and this:

Gasoline inventories, the EIA reported, fell by 4.6 million barrels in the seven days to March 8, which compared with a decline of 4.2 million barrels in the previous week. Distillate fuel inventories gained a modest 400,000 barrels, after falling by 2.4 million barrels in the last week of February.

In our neighborhood, somewhat on the expensive side, least expensive regular gasoline is going for $2.29/gallon, a significant jump from the $2.09 just a few weeks ago, or whatever it was. [Update: I just "filled up.' $2.49/gallon -- ouch.]

Oh, yes, I have to laugh. Yesterday or earlier this week or whenever it was, a lot of headlines were generated when it was reported that the EIA revised its estimates on US crude oil production for 2019. Headlines appeared to shout that US crude oil production was going to plummet (for any number of reasons). I didn't pay attention to the numbers. I don't think I even read the stories.

But at the linked oilprice article ... how far did the estimates plunge? Hold on to your hats. Here is the revision:

The EIA, in its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, said it expected this at a record-high although it revised downwards the actual figure for 2019 by 110,000 bpd to 12.3 million bpd. Next year, the EIA expects U.S. crude oil production to hit 13 million bpd.

You have got to be kidding. That was the downward revision that generated those headlines. Laughable.

False precision. 12 million bopd. 110,000 bopd. 0.9%. That much is sloshing around in a VLCC; a unit train, or a pipeline.

And just a year or so ago, the US was producing a paltry 10 million bopd.

Storms Never Last, Tompall Glaser, song by Jessi Colter
I may replace the video above with Jessi Colter's version later. We'll see.  I hope the angel that collects country western female singers also collects those who blog about the Bakken, all three of us.

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Crazy -- But Not Surprising

Off my radar scope, but apparently there is a fairly "severe" measles outbreak in White Plains, New York.  Link here.

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The Game Of Life

From The God Problem: How a Godless Cosmos Creates, Howar Bloom, c. 2015.

What's a game? A repetition of simple rules to achieve one of two well-defined outcomes. To beat  your opponent and to win by outsmarting, outfoxing, and outlucking her.

Or to lose.

But the rewards and punishments of games are not just human artificialities. They are built into our biology. Win a game and you get more than just two minutes of praise, envy, and attention. If you win, your biology rewards you. It perks you up and tunes your immune system to high. It gives you a dopamine rush, a testosterone boost, and an endorphin lift.

Lose too often and your biology goes into a slump. Your mind gets dazed and foggy and your immune system dials down a notch or two. You are slowed by stress hormones, glucocorticoids. And that's not all. Win and you become more attractive to others.

Lose, and you lose your popularity. So winning or losing is a bigger deal than most game critics think. -- p. 488.

Today, with the jump in the price of WTI, I must be experiencing a dopamine rush, a testosterone boost, and an endorphin lift. Maybe I will have a ahi tuna burger at Hopdoddy for lunch. Or as Don would call it: "bait on a bun." LOL.