Week 14: March 29, 2020 -- April 4, 2020

Top energy story of the week:

• Rosneft to cease operations in Venezuela;

Favorite video:

• Another Biden koan;

Best news all week:

• Not only does the couple formerly known as the Sussex Royals flee Canada, the US won't pay for their LA security;

Biggest non-story of the entire week:

• Tom Hanks and wife Rita safely back at home in LA having survived the "flu";

Top international non-energy story:

• Saudi in deep doo-doo; and, here;
• Wuhan flu
• German finance minister commits suicide over Wuhan flu;

Top international energy story:

• Rosneft to cease operations in Venezuela;
• Alberta, Canada, has had enough, invests even more in the Keystone XL; 

Top national non-energy story:

• Unemplyment in the US surges; and, here;
  Fox News: surge in viewership; MSNBC treading water; 
• Trump's approval higher than Obama's at same point in presidency; 
• Trump correct again: hydroxychloroquine; by the way, for those who wonder why an anti-malarial drug might work for a viral disease (one of my best posts ever);

Top national energy story:

• Gasoline demand plummets; 
• Record inventories;
• Gasoline goes under a buck/gallon in Oklahoma, Louisiana;

Top North Dakota non-energy story:

• Paddlefish season canceled this year;

Top North Dakota energy story:

Geoff Simon's top ND stories (this does not include stories posted elsewhere on this page):

• Governor wants roads to be built during downturn;
• TC Energy going ahead with Keystone XL Pipeline;
• ND gasoline prices about 15 cents below national average;
• ND has adequate hospital bed capacity; 171 deaths anticipated;

Operators:

• Whiting files for pre-packaged bankruptcy;

Operations:

• CLR's Brothers Gibb in Beaver Lodge; 
• MRO's Howard USA trending toward 600K;
• MRO reporting some huge DUCs;
• Whiting starting to report the Ogden wells;
• A CLR Sorenson well: from a jack to a king;
• A CLR Morris well just hit 500,000 bbls crude oil cumulative;
• A Slawson Muskrat well that just hit 500,000 bbls crude oil cumulative;
• EOG's Liberty "long reach" wells looking good;

Fracking:

• Halo effect still in play; 
• Completion strategies, Bakken 4.0, Whiting, WPX;

Pipelines:

• ND approves two pipelines;

Field:

• Beaver Lodge coming alive;

Commentary: