Notes From All Over, Part 1 -- September 18, 2019

From twitter today.

Saudi crude inventories fell by 8 million bbls in July; confusing "m" and "k" again --

• high of 320 million bbls in late 2015
• steady fall since then
• now: 180 million bbls
• recent low: 140 million bbls back in 2003

Humberto: now a hurricane; second major hurricane this season; first one, Dorian, did not reach US landfall; this one won't even come close to the US but will get a lot of press.

When will Saudi "return to normal"?

Irrelevant. "Experts" are arguing over meaningless details. How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? Best way to follow this story: follow the price of oil. Some even argue that at 12 million bopd Saudi won't be up to full capacity; now it's getting weird.

Aramaco CEO: repairs will be complete by the end of the month. The one-line tweet didn't say which month.

How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? "What does normal mean? Does that mean they are a million bopd short, or two million bopd short?" Completely irrelevant. Wow, this gets tedious.

Travel warning: US State Department recommends "increased caution" while traveling to Saudi Arabia. State Department also reminded folks that the sun will appear to come up in the east tomorrow.

Project Tundra: North Dakota carbon capture program receives $10 million from DOE. Bismarck Tribune. Only a billion dollars but "California bullet train" flashed in front of my eyes while reading the article.

WTI: drops another $1.15. Now trading at $58.19 [September 18, 2019, 8:21 a.m.]