One Well Coming Off Confidential List -- September 29, 2020

First things first: last night's football game should end the debate regarding the two best quarterbacks in the NFL. But it won't. Link here. From what I've read, Kansas City Chiefs schooled the Ravens.

Later: watching the sports talk television this morning -- wow, it's fun to watch these guys -- I love the guy that says he's not a "Dak apologist" and then goes on to defend Dak. As I noted earlier, the Dallas Cowboys are 1 - 2 in the season but lucky they are not 0 - 3. They can argue all they want about Lamar Jackson (Ravens) and Patrick Mahomes II (Chiefs) but no amount of spin will change the game played last night. Dak apologist: if the Cowboys lose, it's the fault of the defense; if the Cowboys win, it's because of Dak. LOL. 

A day later: the day after the Kansas City / Baltimore game, the "Monday-morning sports shows -- and the re-running of the videos -- until today I had never seen Lamar Jackson in a post-game interview: is it just me or does he look incredibly effeminate? Reminds me of Michael Jackson. His hairstyle? Seems confused. I did not know this: he was the MVP of the league? Say what?

And then this: German inflation drops to a negative 0.4%; forecast: -0.1%. Inflation? Some call that deflation. Link here. Very, very interesting. Divergence between theory and actual?

Furniture: office? Herman Miller may need a new business plan.

• Manhattan offices are nearly empty -- WSJ link here.
• Herman Miller waits for employers to step up new furniture orders. Could be a long wait. WSJ link here.

Apple: surprised! Social media favors Apple over Fortnite in Epic battle. Link here. 

Cheniere: Blackstone closes $7 billion Cheniere sale. Link here.

California ban on gasoline-powered cars: EPA skeptical. WSJ link here.

OPEC basket, link here: $41.61. Down again.

New book review: The New Map, Daniel Yergin, 2020. Link here. Doesn't buy into renewable energy hype. I'm impressed.

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Back to the Bakken

Active rigs:

$40.38	9/29/2020	09/29/2019	09/29/2018	09/29/2017	09/29/2016
Active Rigs	11	57	67	58	34

Only one well coming off confidential list:

Tuesday, September 29, 2020: 146 for the month; 217 for the quarter, 663 for the year

• 34661, drl/A, Whiting, Wold Federal 44-1-1TFH, Sand Creek, t--; cum 82K 7/20; a 34K month;

RBN Energy: my favorite subject. US ethane exports rise with international steam cracker demand. Wow, I thought this was a dead subject. LOL. Archived here.

The run-up in U.S. production of natural gas liquids over the past 10 years spurred the development of a whole lot of infrastructure. More pipelines to transport mixed NGLs from production areas to NGL storage and fractionation hubs, especially Mont Belvieu, TX.

More fractionators to split y-grade into ethane, propane, and other “purity” products. And, specifically for ethane — the lightest, quirkiest, and most plentiful NGL — a number of ethane-only steam crackers were built along the Gulf Coast to take advantage of the new supply abundance, as were ethane-only pipelines, export terminals, and a whole new class of cryogenic ships — Very Large Ethane Carriers, or VLECs — to move the product to markets in Europe and Asia.

Today, we begin a new series on the unique nature of overseas ethane exports, including why most incremental export volumes are tied to long-term supply deals with a handful of global ethylene plants designed — or reconfigured — to “crack” ethane.