A Closer Look At A CLR Second Bench Three Forks Well-- October 10, 2019

The Bakken is simply incredible. The Carson Peak/Morris wells are tracked here. This page will not be updated.

On this 10-well Morris / Carson Peak pad:

• four will be Middle Bakken wells
• three will be first bench Three Forks wells
• three will be second bench Three Forks wells
• took CLR only seven days to drill the second bench well
• did the entire well with no unplanned trips
• early indications suggest the second bench could be a better formation than the middle Bakken in this area
• second bench appears to be about the same thickness as the middle Bakken; about 40 feet thick
• measuring depths at two miles beneath the surface to the near half foot (to the nearest inch?)  
• the frack was a relatively small frack; only 29 stages; less than 8 million lbs sand
• must have come in under budget

A closer look at this well:

• 35109, 956, CLR, Morris 7-26H2, Oakdale, t4/19; cum 96K 8/19; 

File report: 

• this was a second bench, Three Forks well
• relatively small frack: only 29 stages; 7.7 million lbs sand
• field/prospect: Oakdale / Rocket
• spud date: August 26, 2018
• TD date: September 2, 2018
• seven days, spud to TD
• drilling:
• began operations using H&P rig 535 on August 26, 2018
• initial KOP of 10,982 feet MD was lowered to 10,995 feet MD
• drilling of the curve was completed with a single drilling assembly
• kicked off late on afternoon of August 29th (so about three days to drill the vertical)
• build rates came back strongly in the TF2
• Bakken shale collapse issues have been encountered in this region, and angles of intercept and shale exposure footage (for the Bakken shale members) have become important data (something we've discussed before on the blog)
• great description of what CLR engineers learned at the file report
• no shale well collapse issues were encountered on the trip out of the hole or the casing run
• the rig drilled out of the shoe late on the night of August 31 (it should take only 12 - 18 hours to build the curve, so there appears to be some down time between the completion of the KOP and beginning lateral operations)
• and get this: the well was completed in a single run. Amazing.
• gas readings: even with the gas buster, gas readings sometimes reached 4,000 to 5,000 units; gas averaged 2,000 units overall
• depths
• target thickness (Three Forks second bench): 41 feet 
• a nice description of the first bench at the file report; intercepted at 11,289 feet TVD
• the internal 1 shale top of the Three Forks was intercepted at 11,332 feet TVD
• the second bench was entered at 11,347 feet TVD: dolomite siltstone similar to the first bench
• ideal target felt to be 15.5 feet thick; to begin 6.5 feet belwo the internal 1 shale base, and extend to 22 feet below the same reference point
• two miles down and they are measuring this thing to within six (6) inches
• spacing unit: 2560 acres: sections 23/26/35-147-96; and, section 2-146-96

Ten wells on this pad, running from west to east:

• 35108, producing, Carson Peak ... H1, t5/19; cum 168K 8/19b; huge well; 30+K production in five consecutive months;
• 35080, producing, Carson Peak ... H, t6/19; cum 82K 8/19; 41K in first full month of production;
• 35081, producing, Carson Peak .. H2, see graphic below -- almost 70K in first full month of production; the next two months, each with 50K+ production;
• 35109, confidential, Morris .. H2, see below;
• 35082, location only, Morris .. H1,
• 35083, location only, Carson Peak ... H,
• 35084, location only, Carson Peak ... H1,
• 35085, location only, Morris .... H,
• 35086, location only, Morris .. H2,
• 35087, location only, Morris .. H

Production for selected wells.

• 35081, second bench Three Forks, production:

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	8-2019	31	40595	40640	15962	40748	33763	6632
BAKKEN	7-2019	31	55132	55164	22460	54834	47377	7043
BAKKEN	6-2019	30	50687	50909	22431	46191	34900	10757
BAKKEN	5-2019	31	69312	69333	33087	74737	66074	7832
BAKKEN	4-2019	15	44334	43755	17281	47768	41933	5379
BAKKEN	3-2019	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	2-2019	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	1-2019	5	1896	1896	3138	1424	0	1424

• 35109, second bench Three Forks, production:

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	8-2019	31	21292	21265	23917	25267	20936	4112
BAKKEN	7-2019	31	19825	19762	24852	21107	18237	2711
BAKKEN	6-2019	15	6985	7145	11568	6673	5042	1554
BAKKEN	5-2019	31	25563	25649	41586	27987	24743	2933
BAKKEN	4-2019	21	22378	22086	43744	22691	19919	2555
BAKKEN	3-2019	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	2-2019	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	1-2019	4	0	0	3161	0	0	0

The Bakken Is Simply Incredible -- It Just Never Quits -- October 10, 2019

The Bakken is simply incredible. The Carson Peak/Morris wells are tracked here. This page will not be updated.

Here's yet another incredible Carson Peak well in Oakdale:

• 35272, 3,376, CLR, Carson Peak 4-35HSL, Oakdale, t6/19; cum 134K 8/19;

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	8-2019	31	42880	42872	12029	40905	33894	6657
BAKKEN	7-2019	31	47953	47942	14890	47231	40808	6066
BAKKEN	6-2019	20	38293	38039	11625	32326	24424	7528
BAKKEN	5-2019	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	4-2019	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	3-2019	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	2-2019	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	1-2019	8	5037	5037	2851	2618	0	2618

and, here

• 35273, 2,405, CLR, Carson Peak 5-35H2, Oakdale, t6/19; cum 72K in less than two months;

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	8-2019	31	35136	35139	18503	34968	28974	5691
BAKKEN	7-2019	31	41100	41064	24099	40882	35322	5251
BAKKEN	6-2019	20	28751	28560	17753	24930	18836	5806
BAKKEN	5-2019	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

 and, another:

• 35082, 1,593, CLR, Morris 8-26H1, Oakdale, see this note; t4/19; cum 126K 7/19;

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	8-2019	31	24195	24183	14622	29577	24507	4814
BAKKEN	7-2019	31	25821	25852	15429	28660	24763	3681
BAKKEN	6-2019	30	26062	26185	18108	25808	19499	6010
BAKKEN	5-2019	31	36743	36924	23377	41250	36468	4323
BAKKEN	4-2019	21	36555	36078	23484	39928	35051	4496
BAKKEN	3-2019	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	2-2019	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

and, several more yet to go:

Where Were You 10/10/19?

XWA: twenty years from now, Williston folks will be asking their parents what they were doing 10/10/19? I have fond memories of Sloulin International Airport -- I remember watching the beacon when I was about two years old, sitting in my dad's lap, rocking on an old wooden rocking chair, until I fell asleep.

Toast: if this turns out to be true, Saudi Arabia is toast.

***************************************

Tanker Costs

Updates

October 11, 2019: record rates.

Original Post

If South Korea had Amazon Prime, would they get free shipping? A week ago it was $10 million, earlier this week, $12 million; now, Philips 66 books a supertanker to ship US crude to South Korea for record $14 million.  Link here. The question is, and I really don't know, who pays for the supertanker -- Phillips 66 "booked it" but do the South Koreans pay the transportation cost? One would assume. This all has to do with Trump-imposed sanctions. Trump meets with Chinese delegation tomorrow. Does this guy ever sleep? He's got a rally in Minneapolis tonight. 

Bezos -- Nothing About The Bakken -- For The Archives -- October 10, 2019

I'm sure everyone has seen this article. I'm placing it here simply for the archives. From the link:

Where in the pantheon of American commercial titans does Jeffrey Bezos belong? Andrew Carnegie’s hearths forged the steel that became the skeleton of the railroad and the city. John D. Rockefeller refined 90 percent of American oil, which supplied the pre-electric nation with light.

Bill Gates created a program that was considered a prerequisite for turning on a computer.

At 55, Bezos has never dominated a major market as thoroughly as any of these forebears, and while he is presently the richest man on the planet, he has less wealth than Gates did at his zenith. Yet Rockefeller largely contented himself with oil wells, pump stations, and railcars; Gates’s fortune depended on an operating system.

The scope of the empire the founder and CEO of Amazon has built is wider. Indeed, it is without precedent in the long history of American capitalism.

Archived.

Later, why it's impossible to compete with Amazon: an hour or so after posting the note above, one of our "flood lights" in the dining/kitchen area "blew" out during an electrical storm. We had one spare bulb in the pantry. Light replaced. But I wanted to have two or four more bulbs on hand for the next time we need a new bulb. A quick trip to Lowe's down the street ... but if you recall a couple of weeks ago I went to Lowe's to find a replacement bulb but Lowe's did not have it, nor did Target. So I ordered from Amazon and had the replacement in two days. I mentioned at the time that it just didn't make sense to go to Lowe's or Target for these things -- so I didn't even give it a second thought. I simply ordered replacement flood lights through Amazon. 

Nine New Permits; Fifteen Permits Renewed; Five DUCs Reported As Completed -- October 10, 2019

Active rigs:

$53.71	10/10/2019	10/10/2018	10/10/2017	10/10/2016	10/10/2015
Active Rigs	56	67	57	32	68

Nine new permits, #37073 - #37081, inclusive:

• Operators: BR (5); MRO (3); Whiting
• Fields:  Croff (McKenzie),  Chimney Butte (Dunn), Sanish (Mountrail)
• Comments;
  
  BR has permits for a 5-well Cleofill pad in section 13-149-96, Croff oil field;
• MRO has permits for a 3-well Canon/Buxton/Mollie pad in section 10-146-95, Chimney Butte oil field;
• Whiting has a permit for an Oddie well in section 7-154-91, Sanish oil field;

Fifteen permits renewed:

• Oasis (7): four Borden Federal permits and three Fraser Federal permits, all in Williams County
• Slawson (3): three Armada Federeal permits in Mountrail County
• Whiting (2): two Niemitalo permits in Mountrail County
• Nine Point Energy (2): two Heen permits in Williams County
• Bruin: a WM Polar permit in Williams County

Five producing wells (DUCs) reported as completed:

• 35564, 1,421, CLR, Gjorven 11-21H1, Brooklyn, t9/19; cum --;
• 35565, 1,444, CLR, Gjorven 10-21H, Brooklyn, t9/19; cum --;
• 35566, 1,360, CLR, Gjorven 9021H1, Brooklyn, t9/19; cum --;
• 35758, 738, PetroShale, Helen 2TFH, Eagle Nest, t9/19; cum --;
• 35919, 1,534, PetroShale, Helen 1 MBH, Eagle Nest, t9/19; cum --;

A Reader Asked About The Murphy Creek Oil Field -- An Answer That Is Not Ready For Prime Time -- October 10, 2019

A reader asked me about the Voss well in Murphy Creek. The reader was curious if Marathon would be drilling more wells in this area. My reply below the graphic.

Disclaimer: the reply is not ready for prime time. It's a casual conversation that one might hear in the coffee shop on Main Street in Williston. In fact, I will disavow that what is written below the graphic is mine. I will say that I heard this in the coffee shop and paraphrased what I heard. LOL. Everyone has an opinion on the Bakken; everyone has a worldview (myth) of the Bakken. This is how someone (I know not whom) sees the Bakken on October 10, 2019 (below the graphic).
 
The graphic:

A reader asked: do you think this is a good area, where the Voss well is located? Do you think there will be more wells drilled in this area?

The reply, paraphrased, that I overheard:

I think the better question to ask is "how does this area compare to other areas in the Bakken or how does this area compare to the [best wells in the Bakken]?"

I suggest asking the question that way because if Elizabeth Warren is elected president (or any of the current Democrats, for that matter), fracking in the US is dead. Seriously. They don't have to ban fracking outright. They can ban new pipelines; mandate huge EPA regulations shutting down flaring; etc, etc., and thus killing fracking. And they can do that on state land, not just federal land.

So, the better way to ask the question is, "how does the Voss area compare to other areas in the Bakken?"

1. The Murphy Creek oil field is a huge, huge oil field in central, west Dunn County.

2. The Voss area is surrounded by perhaps some of the best oil fields in the Bakken: Chimney Creek, the Cabernet, Jim Creek, and without question, one of the best of the best, the Bailey field.

3. So, you might ask, if the adjoining areas are so good, why is there so little drilling in this area of the Murphy Creek oil field. The operators, in this case, Marathon (MRO) manage their assets. They do this in an orderly fashion.

4. In the boom, the drilled every section they could as fast as they could to save (hold) the lease by production. They also drilled every section to find out what they had. In the early boom, the operators had no idea where the Bakken was good and/or how to frack it.

5. Now that they know all that stuff, they are drilling out the Bakken based on long-term strategic plans. They would prefer NOT to drill any more of the Bakken but, instead, spend their money on looking for new fields around the US, and the world, for that matter. They know what they have in the Bakken and they want to "manage" it for the long term. There are many, many factors regarding "management." Think of the Bakken as their savings account. Some operators are using the Bakken as their checking account or ATM to pay for drilling wells in the Permian (Oasis, for example).

6. MRO is an incredibly good operator. I think they have an entire division of the company dedicated to drilling out the Bailey. They are methodically going back into the Bailey and re-fracking every old well, and hardly putting in any new wells. For MRO, the Bailey is huge and will only get bigger.

7. The Cabernet, southwest of Murphy Creek is incredible. Some other blogger noticed that in 2010 and that's what got me exciting about blogging; I was able to see what he saw; I knew I was on the right track. The first operator in the Cabernet was Occidental (OXY) and they completely blew it; they did not know how to drill / complete a Bakken well. Someone else now owns all of OXY assets in the Bakken (not MRO) and doing a great job, but they are a smaller company, less capital so they cannot drill as fast.

8. Chimney Butte is an incredibly good field. I think CLR has some great wells there, but I forget.

9. Bottom line: MRO has a long-term strategic plan and it appears Murphy Creek is not yet on their radar scope. But when they do start drilling Murphy Creek, I think it will be on par with the [best wells in the Bakken].

10. But they might not get to Murphy Creek until your unborn grandchildren (if you have any) are teenagers. If the MRO Bailey division were to move west into Murphy Creek, it could happen a lot sooner. So a lot of folks will get bored watching this area, and a lot of folks will be tempted to sell their mineral rights, but if one has a long horizon, and the world still needs oil, this is going to be huge. [By the way, a rule of thumb that seems to work when I see what folks write me is that landmen generally offer one-fourth of what the mineral acres are likely to produce. From my perspective, that is not necessarily bad. We can discuss it some other day.]

11. If you look at the Voss / Murphy Creek inside the oval, you will see that there is only one horizontal well in every drilling unit (every two sections). There will eventually be 12 wells in each of those drilling units, and very likely many more.

12. CLR is drilling the heck out of the Bakken right now, but that's because CLR only has the Bakken and Oklahoma, and Oklahoma is not that great compared to the Bakken. The Bakken is making Harold Hamm/CLR a ton of money every month. I think he's a lot like my father. Harold Hamm is now in in his 70's and I think he wants to go out with a bang. I've never seen any operator in the Bakken drill like he's drilling now. My dad did the same thing as he got older, taking many more investment risks than he did when he was younger and raising a family. Harold Ham is 73 years old; one wonders if he set some kind of target for his 75th birthday?

13. On the other hand, MRO has very, very deep pockets and has many oil plays outside the Bakken. They split up their capital spending among the Bakken and their other plays. So they go slower and manage their assets differently.

12. Anyway, someone else's worldview. I'm just paraphrasing.

Disclaimer: those espousing the opinions above are obviously inappropriately exuberant about the Bakken and their comments should be taken with a grain of salt. But it does make entertaining reading. 

Notes From All Over, Part 2 -- October 10, 2019

Jobless claims, link here:

• prior: 219K
• revised: 220K 
• consensus: 219K
• actual: 210K -- coming in almost 20K below consensus

Dow: up 133 points. All those folks working, paying taxes, and consuming Starbucks coffee.

Natural gas fill rate:

The road to California, literally is lined with $4.00 / unleaded gasoline signs (plus they have a state income tax):

First Commercial Aircraft Scheduled For New Airport Delayed -- October 10, 2019

The first commercial aircraft scheduled to arrive at Williston's new airport today has been delayed five hours. UA 4643 will be arriving around 4:00 p.m. this afternoon.

I thought UA's delay might be due to issues at XWA but flight information for Delta Airlines suggests that flight is on schedule. DL 3120 departed Denver this morning on time for Minneapolis; that aircraft has landed, and now folks are boarding DL 4007 (9:43 a.m. CT) in Minneapolis for an XWA arrival at 11:53 a.m.

Notes From All Over, Part 1 -- October 10, 2019

The market:

AAPL continues to surge, I guess one might say, but has not overtaken MSFT's market cap: $1.031 trillion vs $1.08 trillion.

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site.  Do not make any investment, financial, career, travel, job, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here.

Early trading: wow, I guess Sophia will get new shoes today. The Dow is up 165 points. China trade deal? The Turkey-Syria-Kurd war appears to be a non-story for Wall Street.

AAPL: surges; up another 1%; up almost $3; expect some profit taking before the week is over; now trading at nearly $230 which is an all-time high (split adjusted, of course).

WIthout Question, The Biggest -- And Most Under-Reported -- Story Of The Week -- October 10, 2019

Updates

October 10, 2019: see first comment. Now it's personal generators that are causing forest fires.

Original Post 

With regard to energy, is California now a third-world country, or an emerging country? In this day and age it is simply impossible to reconcile what is going on in California compared to what is going on in Texas.

Did I hear on the radio just now (8:24 a.m. CT) that the blackout is scheduled for five days?

From yesterday over at twitter:

Link here.

The unprecedented power shutdown by California’s PG&E Corp. has spread deeper into densely populated cities near San Francisco, ensnaring millions of people and raising the prospect that much of a major metropolitan area could go without electricity for days.

The bankrupt utility said late Wednesday that it had begun a second round of power cuts that will bring the number of customers blacked out to around 750,000 homes and businesses in in cities including Berkeley and Oakland. The additional 243,000 customers in the latest advisory is part of the biggest blackout ever orchestrated to prevent strong winds from knocking down electrical lines and igniting fires. The utility is still considering a third round.

My hunch is that 99% of Californians do not understand how this all happened. And mainstream media will do its best to cover up the story.

Apparently there are already fires west of Oakland, CA, despite these precautions. 

PG&E Corporation (PCG) shares are down an incredible 30% in pre-market trading. A year ago this stock was trading at $50; today, under $8. No dividend. And they used to say utilities were for conservative investors.

More on this later. I'm on my way to start my Uber-granddaughter driving. Good luck to all. 

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site.  Do not make any investment, financial, career, travel, job, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here.

Hess Midstream Update Over At SeekingAlpha -- October 10, 2019

Nice update of Hess Midstream over at SeekingAlpha.

A reader sent me the link -- suggesting I connect the dots -- this story and the petrochemical talk in western North Dakota. 

Contributions over at SeekingAlpha often end up behind a paywall. If it's important to you, you may want to archive it.

******************************

Other Notes

Telling it like it is, link here.

Chevron Corp. may be based in California, but Chief Executive Officer Mike Wirth had little praise for the state as he lauded the Texas business environment during an event in Houston on Wednesday.

The Chevron boss hailed Texas’s resource base, its skilled workforce and overall business environment while criticizing policies back in the Golden State in a wide-ranging fireside chat at a gathering organized by the Greater Houston Partnership.

He also committed Chevron to reducing flaring and methane emissions in the Permian Basin and vowed to increase diversity among the company’s senior leaders.

“The policies in California have become pretty restrictive on a lot of business fronts, not just the environment,” Wirth said. “I don’t know there’s a better place in the world for us to do business than” Texas and the Gulf Coast.

One wonders when Chevron will move out of California. Was Chevron/Wirth firing a shot across the bow / telegraphing the company's intentions? One can only hope.

WPX: I normally don't post links to stories like this, but there's a nice update of WPX -- a story line I've discussed before -- at this link. I don't hold shares in WPX but it's a big operator in the Bakken.

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site.  Do not make any investment, financial, job, travel, career, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here.

Incredible Wells Reported In The Past Ten Days -- October 9, 2019

This page will not be updated.

I was going to post a much longer note, but there's just note enough time. Things are simply moving too fast; way too much energy news.

For those who have not been paying attention, the wells in the Bakken -- across the board -- this past year have been simply incredible. Here's a partial list. Look at the test date (the first date after the oil field) and the the cumulative (total) production as of 8/19 -- most recent data available from the NDIC. Wells with first full month of production in May, 2019, are reporting total production numbers of upwards of 150,000 bbls by the end of August, 2019 -- 150,000 bbls in four months.

Definition of an ideal well: a well that pays for itself in six months and then goes on to provide free cash flow for the operator for 35 years.


The wells:

• 34968, 1,905, CLR, Rader 10-24H, Avoca, t7/19; cum 64K 8/19;
• 35347, 1,974, CLR, Sorenson 10-16H1, Alkali Creek, t4/19; cum 122K 8/19; 
• 34759, 2,401, Whiting, Berger 24-20-1H, Tyrone, t4/19; cum 126K 8/19;
• 31809, 2,581, EOG, Riverview 21-3032H, Antelope-Sanish, t8/19; cum 29K over 14 days; extrapolates to 61K over 30 days;
• 34439, 627, Enerplus, Daffy 148-93-20A-29H, McGregory Buttes, t4/19; cum 149K 8/19;
• 34438, 619, Enerplus, Muscovy 148-93-20A-29H-TF, McGregory Buttes, t4/19; cum 143K 8/19;
• 34437, 927, Enerplus, Canvasback 148-93-20B-29H, McGregory Buttes, t4/19; cum 136K 8/19;

Three Wells Coming Off The Confidential List Today -- October 10, 2019

First things first: Trump rally tonight somewhere in Minnesota. This will be huge. And then, next week (?), Dallas? I think so.

Saudi: if this is accurate, this is staggering, barely over 9 million bopd? The US is moving toward 12 million bopd, I assume.

India: how huge is India's energy demand? This huge: despite sanctions, India will resume oil imports from Venezuela. Tells me all I need to know about the oil market.

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site.  Do not make any investment, financial, job, travel, career, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here. 

*********************************

Back to the Bakken

Three wells coming off the confidential list today -- Thursday, October 10, 2019: 30 for the month; 30 for the quarter:

• 35109, conf, CLR, Morris 7-26H2, 
• 34890, conf, Bruin E&P, Fort Berthold 148-94-35D-26-14H, 
• 34435, conf, Enerplus, Scrooge 148-93-20B_29H-TF,

Active rigs:

$52.70	10/10/2019	10/10/2018	10/10/2017	10/10/2016	10/10/2015
Active Rigs	56	67	57	32	68

RBN Energy: Easton Energy's storage and pipe projects, part 3.

New fractionation plants, steam crackers and export facilities are being built along the Gulf Coast, all spurred by rising U.S. production of natural gas liquids. This incremental NGL output and these new projects are putting serious pressure on existing NGL pipeline and storage infrastructure, and prodding the development of new salt-cavern storage capacity for mixed NGLs, NGL purity products, and ethylene and other olefins.

Also, new, expanded and repurposed pipelines to enhance NGL-related flows throughout the region are in the works.

Today, we continue our series on NGL storage facilities along the Gulf Coast with a look at Easton Energy Services’ plans for more underground storage capacity in Markham, TX, and new NGL and olefin pipelines.

NGL storage capacity and the ability to quickly move mixed NGLs (also known as y-grade), purity products (ethane, propane, normal butane, isobutane and natural gasoline) and olefins like ethylene and propylene to where they need to be are critically important to those whose assets rely on a steady stream of these commodities for operations, production, transport, fractionation and export.

The most economical and practical way to transport and store these commodities is in their liquid state, which necessitates that the transport and storage occur under high pressure. And the most cost-effective way to provide large volumes of storage capacity at high pressure is to develop underground storage caverns within salt dome formations.

There is currently about 260 MMbbl of NGL-related storage capacity in place at the NGL hub in Mont Belvieu, TX, and more than 100 MMbbl at salt cavern facilities elsewhere along the Texas coast.

So much at the RBN Energy site. Again, it's a must read. Making America great. Some data points on this storage:

• Phillips 66: will add 6 million bbls of capacity at its 9-million-bbl Clemens Caverns facility near Brazoria, TX
• Cliche Development Partners' Coastal Caverns, Beaumont, TX: has already added a 5-million-bbl cavern for storing ethylene and is in the process of adding another 8-million-bbl storage site.

I won't be able to find it now, but yesterday someone had a great graphic showing how much NGL is being produced in the Bakken relative to other shale plays. NGL production in the Bakken exceeds (barely) that of the Permian Delaware and one of the other plays in the Permian. Don't take that out of context: overall the Permian produces much more NGL than the Bakken. See EIA report here. Look at the huge growth in NGL production in the Bakken, 2017 over 2012. Amazing.

Idle Rambling Before The Market Opens -- October 10, 2019

Airport:  Before we get started, first things first: United Airlines is scheduled to be first commercial airline to touchdown at the new Williston Basin International Airport this morning. It might be interesting to follow the flight on FlightRadar24. It should be United Airlines flight 4643. It's scheduled to depart Denver at 7:55 a.m. MT this morning, which I guess is 8:55 a.m. CT and land at XWA at 10:50 a.m. An hour later, Delta will land at the airport.

It's hard to believe this was a $275 million project for "little old Williston." As Joe Biden might say, this is a freaking big deal. Almost $300 million and most of it from out of state, I presume. What a great country.

Because of time constraints, I have really cut back posting news from outside the Bakken. In the big scheme of things that's probably fine but there will be exceptions.

This is one exception. The US Supreme Court will take up a pipeline case. From  Bloomberg via Rigzone:

The U.S. Supreme Court will consider jump-starting Dominion Energy Inc.’s proposed $7.5 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline, agreeing to rule on a key permit that would let the natural-gas line cross under the Appalachian Trail.

The market: didn't the market have some kind of correction in September? Nope, I just checked, it was between September 30, 2019, and October 2, 2019, when the Dow dropped from 27,000 to 26,000 (in round numbers). I ask because my quarterly financial statements looked surprisingly good.

EW: I haven't looked at individual stocks in the past week or so. I avoid looking at EW for several reasons (I personally don't hold any EW -- it was another company I missed) but I was curious. So overnight I took a look. Wow. Already doing very, very well this year, it jumped almost $7/share yesterday, up over 3% and now trading at around $225. A high-flyer, as they say.

Dominion Energy (D) was up a bit yesterday. One assumes it was just part of the overall market move, but one wonders if the above news about US Supreme Court getting involved had any effect. I still find it interesting that SCOTUS would get involved in something like this, a pipeline case.

Closer to home, MDU seems to be having a relatively good year. I don't hold MDU either -- I did at one time but haven't held MDU in years.

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I was way, way late to the game with AAPL but overall no complaints. I see it had a great day yesterday and futures this morning (5:55 a.m. CT) suggest AAPL could have another good day.

I'm fully invested -- that simply means I'm broke -- I don't have any cash -- so I will have to start saving Starbucks money to prepare for the next market correction.

Oil? With war breaking out in Syria all over again, let's see what WTI is doing. $52.55. Saudi Arabia can't survive on $58.18-Brent oil.

I see that gasoline in north Texas is trending toward $2.00 / gallon (again). This morning, on the way into work, I see the local service station (Exxon) is selling unleaded regular for $2.19, down from $2.39 just a few weeks ago.

Dividends: there are a gazillion financial sites out there. I keep looking for a good "dividend"site. If you're still looking for a good site, I suggest MarketChameleon. And the people said, "Amen."

Hey, speaking of dividends, did you see this one? EPD increased its quarterly cash distribution. LOL. Here's part of the note from the press release:

.....declared an increase in the quarterly cash distribution paid to limited partners with respect to the third quarter of 2019 to $0.4425 per common unit, or $1.77 per unit on an annualized basis.

The quarterly distribution will be paid Tuesday, November 12, 2019, to unitholders of record as of the close of business Thursday, October 31, 2019. This distribution, which represents a 2.3 percent increase over the distribution declared with respect to the third quarter of 2018, is the partnership’s 61^st consecutive quarterly distribution increase.

It's always a hoot to see these "....umpteenth consecutive distribution increase" announcements. The increase went from $0.4400/share to $0.4425 per share, quarter-over-quarter. Really? A year ago, the distribution was $0.4325. So, we're not talking about huge increases here, but it is paying over 6%.  

Meanwhile, Zack's:

Wall Street will be looking for positivity from EPD as it approaches its next earnings report date. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.53, up 3.92% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $8.80 billion, down 8.17% from the prior-year quarter.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $2.18 per share and revenue of $34.93 billion, which would represent changes of +14.14% and -4.4%, respectively, from the prior year.

From one of those commenting at this news: "If the dividend is going up, why is the stock price going down?" Must be new to investing. LOL. I can list a dozen reasons. Well, maybe not a dozen, more like three or four.

And, by the way, not for the faint-hearted, but EPD and Energy Transfer Partners (ET) are locked in an epic battle now at the Texas Supreme Court.

"Legal experts say it is the most important business partnership dispute to be decided by the Texas Supreme Court since Pennzoil v. Texaco in the 1980s."

Unfortunately the story is behind a paywall but if you still have access:

For one side it was a partnership; for the other, it was simply “a feasibility study.”

But Tuesday’s collision between Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners and Houston-headquartered Enterprise Products Partners in the Supreme Court of Texas lived up to its billing as a case that involves more than a failed joint venture and a $535 million jury verdict.

It’s a Hobson’s choice for the state’s highest court: a choice between the statutory law that defines a business partnership in Texas and the four corners of a contract – long regarded by SCOTX as marking sacred ground.

Legal experts say it is the most important business partnership dispute to be decided by the Texas Supreme Court since Pennzoil v. Texaco in the 1980s.

Their argument is over an Oklahoma-Texas pipeline project and the level of commitment that existed between the two midstream behemoths before Enterprise (EPD) jilted ETP (ET) to form a joint venture with a Canadian firm. The Enterprise desertion was deemed a breach of fiduciary duty by a Dallas jury in 2014, which ruled that Texas law does provide for a business version of common law marriage.

That verdict was unanimously overturned in 2017 by the Dallas-based Fifth Court of Appeals.

I was "hugely" affected by the Texaco-Pennzoil case in the 1980s and came out doing very, very well -- I think I've talked about that on the blog -- so I'm hoping for a similar result with the EPD-ET case or I often mistakenly write, EPD-ETP, case.