Twelve Wells Coming Off Confidential List -- May 2, 2022

Retirement bill: winding its way through Congress. Link here. I've read somewhere that 15% of adults are still paying off student (education) loans. The number of adults paying off mortgages must be much, much higher. If some are eager to "forgive" student loans, why not forgive mortgages? Certainly the latter would gain a lot more votes than the former. And, then add in loans for EVs. It would all help the economy. Wouldn't it?

EVs, Barron's: combined, the three delivered about 18,000 vehicles in April. That's the worse monthly result since 2021 --  NIO, Li, xPeng. Link here. 

XOM / Iraq: sayonara. Exxon has quietly packed its bags and quit its last remaining asset in Kurdistan, Pirmam, without producing a single drop from any of the six blocks it picked up. With West Qurna-1 being quit, Exxon is close to exiting Iraq altogether. Link here.

Oil falls abruptly. 

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Back to the Bakken

Paddlefish: season begins. 

Economy: passenger traffic in March, 2022, at North Dakota's eight commercial service airports was up 35% from one year ago. Link here.

Active rigs:

$100.90	5/2/2022	05/02/2021	05/02/2020	05/02/2019	05/02/2018
Active Rigs	23	15	30	63	60

Monday, May 2, 2022: 8 for the month, 73 for the quarter, 233 for one year

• 37727, conf, Enerplus, Otter 151-94-33D-28H, Antelope-Sanish, nice well; first production, 11/21; t--; cum 70K 2/22;
• 37599, conf, Whiting, Littlefield 41-2HU, Sanish, nice well, first production, 11/21; t--; cum 100K 2/22;
• 30261, conf, Hess, EN-Madisyn-LE-154-94-0705H-3, Alkali Creek, no production data,

Sunday, May 1, 2022: 5 for the month, 70 for the quarter, 230 for one year

• 38135, conf, CLR, Flint Chips Federal 9-5H1, Cedar Coulee, no production data,
• 37915, conf, Oasis, Fraser Federal 5300 11-35 4BR, Willow Creek, nice well, first production, --; t--; cum 70K 2/22;
• 37477, conf, Liberty Resources, McGinnity E 159-95-31-30-1MBH, Northwest McGregor, nice well, first production, 11/21; t--; cum 100K 2/22;
• 36104, conf, CLR, Gordon Federal 4-5H1, nice well, first production, 11/21; t-- cum 120K 2/22;
• 30262, conf, Hess, EN-Madisyn-LE-154-94-0705H-4, Alkali Creek, no production data,

Saturday, April 30, 2022: 65 for the month, 65 for the quarter, 225 for one year

• 38136, conf, CLR, Dennis 9-8H1, Cedar Coulee, no production data,
• 37914, conf, Oasis, Fraser Federal 5300 11-35 3BR, Willow Creek, big well, first production, 10/21; t--; cum 140K 2/22;
• 37726, conf, Enerplus, Otter 151-94-33D-28H, Antelope-Sanish, big well; first production, 11/21; t--; cum 150K 2/22;
• 36523, conf, Hess, BB-State A-151-95-1615H-4, Blue Buttes, big well, first production, 10/21; t--; cum 110K 2/22;

RBN Energy: after a scary plunge in production and prices, the jet fuel market recovers and prices soar. 

The jet fuel market has been on a wild ride the past two-plus years. First, demand for the refined product took an unprecedented, COVID-induced nosedive in February and March 2020. By May 2020, Gulf Coast prices for jet fuel had plummeted to less than 50 cents/gal (from just under $2 at the start of that year) and refiners had slashed production to 505 Mb/d (from just under 1.9 MMb/d). It was a tough few months — the recovery from the market’s bottom was neither quick nor consistent. Domestic air travel is finally back, but with international travel slower to rebound, total jet fuel supply and demand are still off of their pre-pandemic levels. Jet fuel prices are taking off, though, last week hitting their highest mark since July 2008. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss the jet fuel market: how it’s rebounding, how it works and how it’s changing.

Jet fuel is produced from crude oil at refineries through atmospheric distillation, the most basic of refining processes, in which crude oil (after being pre-treated to remove salt and water) is heated to between 600 and 750 degrees Fahrenheit (°F) by piping it through a heater. The resulting hot liquids and vapors are discharged into a distillation tower, within which the liquids and vapors separate into fractions, according to their weight and boiling point. The lightest fractions (LPG and other NGL gases, light naphtha and heavy naphtha) vaporize and rise to the upper end of the tower, where they condense back to liquids. Middle distillates, including kerosene (jet fuel) and diesel, rise to the middle of the column, and heavier liquids, called atmospheric gas oils, separate lower down. The heaviest fractions with the highest boiling points, called atmospheric bottoms, settle at the bottom.