Week 9: February 23, 2020 -- February 29, 2020

Note: the coronavirus story overshadows everything else. It's hard to even put together the top stories of the week with coronavirus affecting everything.

Note: a new "Intellectual Froglegs" episode has been posted.

Best graphic of the week:

Best political story of the week:

• Key California reservoir slated to be drained;

Top international non-energy story:

• Coronavirus.

Top international energy story:

• Saudi Arabia: all of a sudden, "it" is an existential issue;

Top national non-energy story:

• Coronavirus.
• Biden wins big in South Carolina.

Top national energy story:

• Apache ditches (writes-off) Alpine High in the Permian;
• WTI plunges.
• Record natural gas exports to Mexico; 
• Jet fuel supplied plummets;

Top North Dakota non-energy story:

Top North Dakota energy story:

Geoff Simon's top North Dakota stories:

• Land Board clarifies royalty repayment terms; "lookback period" may be shortened;
• DAPL expansion still pending in Illinois, Iowa;
• ONEOK to expand NGL pipeline and processing plant;

Wells of interest:

• The Hess Ortloff wells: an injectivity test;
• Several XTO Tobacco Garden wells off line;
• Esther USA in Reunion Bay, a rate of 100K in one month;

Operators:

• Kraken: looking to drill nearly 100 wells in one township; and, here;
• CLR 4Q19, full year financial results; 2020 guidance;
• CLR wants 20 wells in one drilling unit in Cedar Coulee; and, here;

Operations:

Natural gas:

• Surging in the Bakken; and, here;

Fracking:

Pipelines:

• Bakken's crude oil gathering systems, part 2 -- RBN Energy;
• Williams "cancels" the Pennsylvania-New York Constitution Pipeline;

Bakken economy:

Bakken 101:

Commentary: