Two Wells Coming Off The Confidential List -- September 24, 2020

OPEC basket, link here: stabilized at $41.40.  About half what Saudi needs.

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Back to the Bakken

Active rigs:

$39.78	9/24/2020	09/24/2019	09/24/2018	09/24/2017	09/24/2016
Active Rigs	11	57	64	57	33

Two wells coming off the confidential list:

Thursday, September 24, 2020: 138 for the month; 209 for the quarter, 655 for the year

• 37229, loc/NC,  Red Trail Energy, LLC, RTE 10, wildcat, AMSDEN pool, see this note; API: 33-089-00904; stratigraphic map at sidebar at the right; Amsden pool;
  
• 34915, SI/A, Wold Federal 44-1-3TFH, Sand Creek, t--; cum 70K 3 months; a 25Kmonth;

RBN Energy: California's plan to shift to renewables hits a snag; gas-fired power rebounds; archived; will be a stand-along post later.

There’s no doubt about it: California’s decade-long efforts to expand the use of solar, wind, and other renewable energy and improve energy efficiency have enabled the state to significantly reduce its consumption of natural gas for power generation. But the Golden State’s rapid shift to a greener, lower-carbon electricity sector — and its push to shut down gas-fired power plants — has come at a cost, namely an increased risk of rolling blackouts, especially during extended heat waves in the West when neighboring states have less “surplus” electricity to send California’s way. The main problem is that while solar facilities provide a big share of the state’s midday power needs, there’s sometimes barely enough capacity from gas plants and other conventional generation sources to take up the slack when the sun sinks in the late afternoon and early evening. Today, we discuss recent developments on the power front in the most populous state, and what they mean for natural gas consumption there.

The biggest news out of California these days, of course, is the wildfires that have devastated parts of the state and blanketed much of the region in an eerie orange haze. And there’s COVID-19 — no small matter. As if these weren’t enough, another leading concern of state officials, businesses, and individuals alike is the heightened potential for power interruptions. In the midst of a prolonged heat wave last month, the state’s electric grid operator, faced with sky-high power demand and insufficient power supply, ordered rolling blackouts for the first time since 2001. The impacts may not seem huge from the outside looking in — a few hundred thousand customers without electricity for an hour or two at a time — but tell that to the manager of an affected factory, Home Depot, or supermarket, or to parents wanting to prepare dinner on an electric range in their normally air-conditioned home when it’s 104° outside. More importantly, the rolling blackouts confirmed the fears of many that California’s plan to de-carbonize the power sector, while well-intentioned, may be too aggressive and may fail to adequately ensure grid reliability.