Fifteen Wells Coming Off Confidential List Today -- Don't Expect Much Data -- May 26, 2020

Note: the other day I posted a lengthy note from a reader regarding a "loner" well that is taken off line -- how does that affect the lease. Here is the link. A new response -- regarding a different issue -- does a Madison well hold a Bakken well "lease"? A reader provides the answer at that same link.


Autos: about a month ago I received what looks like, in hindsight, the most prescient comment I've seen regarding the pandemic.

The writer suggested the Wuhan flu panic will lead to a surge in driving.

I've now seen three very different sources suggest the same thing: to get to work, the best method of social distancing is .... the automobile, preferably one's own automobile, but even Uber/Lyft are better than ... the subway.

So, we'll see. Whether it pans out or not,

The writer also noted that driving may be about the only "safe" entertainment for the family to do as a group. One wonders if RV rentals might show a bit of a surge this vacation season; most folks won't want to stay in motels overnight, and restaurants could be a challenge. RVs/ Gasoline is dirt cheap. 

I have to commend the writer for sending me that comment over a month ago. Wow. By the way: the most recent article in which I saw a writer suggest that automobiles will be seen as the best way for social distancing was in the article on the Hertz bankruptcy, reported this past Friday night.

NASCAR: I'm still blown away by five consecutive nights of live NASCAR racing. Who would have guessed? A quick google look at headlines:

• Fox's NASCAR race tops Sunday ratings; 'Little Big Shots' season finale dips (never even heard of it)
• Michael Jordan vs NASCAR? Racing at Darlington again dominated TV ratings Wednesday
• TV ratings: big numbers for NASCAR's return at Darlington
• NASCAR return scores 6.3 million viewers for FoX as live racing ends its pit stop (incredibly bad headline)
• Sunday Ratings: NASCAR leads Fox to modest victory [hey, a win's a win)
• and the list goes on

TCM, war movies over the weekend --

• the worst war movie ever; even the studio agreed, forcing the director to place a disclaimer at the end: The Battle of the Bulge, 1954
• most painful to watch (and I've seen it several times): The Great Escape

Safe haven: this is very, very interesting. Noted first at twitter but now I see the article: India considering state-owned crude oil storage in the US;

Safe haven: Saudi Arabia is already doing it -- but instead of storage tanks onshore, Saudi Arabia is floating upwards of twenty or more VLCCs/ULCCs off the coast of the US. 

Blood on his hands: and he admits it -- "we were all wrong." Some were, shall we say, less wrong than others?

Political pundit: Biden has limited his VP choices to three -- a former California  AG; a former Georgia congresswoman; and, a second term Florida congresswoman They all have three (or more) things in common. Klobuchar and Warren are off the list after his "you ain't black if you vote for Trump" comment.

Medical fallout several articles suggesting Wuhan flu has not been good for the health professions --

• hospitals empty and idle, including hospitals in the "hot zones"
• staff being laid off; not enough work
• "doctors face pay cuts, furloughs and supply shortages as corona virus pushes primary care to the bring" -- CNBC headline
• primary vaccinations for infants and children at all-time lows; link to panic over pandemic (thank you CDC)

Nurses and para-professional help: I do believe nurses and other allied health professionals have been hurt much, much more than physicians. 

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. 

Market futures: looking very, very good.

OPEC basket: apparently unchanged, at $28.43. This is such incredibly bad news for Saudi Arabia. I'm crying crocodile tears.

Social distancing with Sophia:

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Back to the Bakken

Active rigs:

$34.06	5/26/2020	05/26/2019	05/26/2018	05/26/2017	05/26/2016
Active Rigs	14	65	65	50	29

Fifteen wells coming off the confidential list over the long Memorial Day weekend, today --

Tuesday, May 26, 2020: 85 for the month; 135 for the quarter, 362 for the year:

• 37203, drl/drl, Crescent Point Energy, CPEUSC Tami 11-8-5-157N-99W-LL TFH,  Dublin, no production data, 
• 36962, drl/A, WPX, Meadowlark 6-34HA, Heart Butte, no production data,
• 36599, 2,304, Whiting, Erickson 14-23 2H, Glass Bluff, t12/19; cum 72K 3/20;
• 36129, A, Whiting, Evan TTT 41-4HU, Sanish, t--; cum 109K 3/20;

Monday, May 25, 2020: 81for the month; 131 for the quarter, 358 for the year:

• 36963, drl/drl, WPX, Meadowlark 6-34HW,
• 36211, drl/drl, XTO, FBIR Baker 34X-25G, 

Sunday, May 24, 2020: 79 for the month; 129 for the quarter, 356 for the year:

• 36964, drl/drl, WPX, Meadowlark 6-34HB, 
• 36792, drl/drl, Sinclair, Harris Federal 3-32H, Lone Butte, no production data,
• 36598, 2,376, Whiting, Erickson 14-23-3H, Glass Bluff, t12/19; cum 73K 3/20;
• 36358, drl/drl, Slawson, Gunslinger Federal 2-12-1H, Sand Creek, no production data,
• 34259, drl/drl, Crescent Point Energy, CPEUSC Tami 6-8-5-157N-99W-LL TFH, Lone Tree Lake, no production data,

Saturday, May 23, 2020: 74 for the month; 124 for the quarter, 351 for the year:

• 36597, 1,968, Whiting, Erickson 44-35HU, Glass Bluff, t12/19; cum 75K 3/20;
• 36357, drl/drl, Slawson, Gunslinger Federal 9-12-1TFH,
• 36132, 1,102, Whiting, Ed TTT Federal 43-4H, Sanish, t11/19; cum 111K 3/20; a 30K month;
• 34258, drl/drl, Crescent Point Energy, CPEUSC Tami 2-8-5-157N-99W MBH, Lone TreeLake, no production data,  

RBN Energy: Permian producers curtail production, bide their time amid COVID crisis. Archeved here.

Crude oil markets have been anything but dull lately. After imploding to unimaginable, negative values last month, prices have been on a tear since and are now sitting in the low $30s/bbl range.

That’s not great for producers, but kind of like social distancing flattens the curve, the current price level should keep production volumes in check and stave off the worst of the potential financial distress for most Permian producers, for now.

So, what has been driving the price rise? Similar to the pauses in economic and social activity that many cities have taken lately, many Permian producers have recently decided to take a wait-and-see approach on crude prices and throttle back output. Today, we provide an update on the always-dynamic Permian Basin crude oil market and how producer curtailments have materialized in May.