Some Say, "Full Crypto Collapse Underway" -- January 20, 2022

 

So, Tell Me Again, Why Are We Releasing Oil From The SPR? Asking For That Same Friend -- Janaury 20, 2022

Link here.  

So, when does the price of gasoline plummet?

************************************
Earlier Today

Sempra's Cameron LNG Downsizes Expansion Plans -- January 20, 2022

Link here.

Cameron LNG, the subsidiary that owns and operates the Louisiana LNG export facility capable of producing roughly 12 million mt/year of LNG, asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in a January 18, 2022, filing to approve the amended plans. The amendment would let the company pursue a 6.75 million mt/year, single gas liquefaction train expansion, in place of an existing authorization for a two-train expansion that would have added a total 9.97 million mt/year of production capacity. FERC approved a permit for the two-train project in 2016.

The subsidiary estimated, in a project schedule included in the filing, that FERC could approve its permit amendment by January 2023 to facilitate the start of construction by April of that year. The developer said commercial service could begin in the third quarter of 2027, nearly three years later than the currently permitted time for completing the project.

Cameron LNG is a joint venture of Sempra Energy subsidiary Sempra LNG, TotalEnergies, Japan's Mitsui, and a company jointly owned by Mitsubishi and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha. Sempra indirectly holds 50.2% of the Cameron LNG export project.

List of US facilities here.

***************************
Seventh Wonder Of The Modern World?

Link here. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge - Tunnel.

Ken Fisher's Ten Dividend Stocks To Buy -- January 20, 2022

Earlier today I said I would get back to this if I didn't forget. Didn't forget. A lot of ads, so I will cut to the chase: in reverse order --

• ENI: oil, gas, power, pays 6%
• MNRL: oil, non-operator; NOG's business model; pays 6%
• ET: midstream, natural gas and propane, pays 6.5%
• EPD: midstream; in the news lately; recently entered the Permian, pays almost 8%
• BTI: cigarettes; pays 7% 
• APAM: investment management; pays over 9%
• NLY: a REIT, pays over 11%
• FS KKR: closed-end investment management, caller into "Mad Money" asked about this one tonight; Jim Cramer said, "avoid"; pays over 11%; with Cramer's track record lately, this might be a "buy" signal; LOL.
• BHP: mining, oil and gas; pays almost 11%
• VALE: manufactures, exports iron ore, pellets, manganese and iron alloys pays 14%

So, there you go. 

Good luck to all.

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site.  Do not make any investment, financial, job, career, travel, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here. 

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Lightning Strikes: 21st Century Golden Spike

Wow, what a development. This is incredible. 

Linking UNP, western half of the US, with CSX, the eastern half of the states. 

Story here. 

The partnership begins next January (2023).

It looks like BNSF (Warren Buffett) drove the necessity for this deal:
Schneider signaled that it was facing possible limitations in its western intermodal business. “One of our competitors has a preferential contractual arrangement with BNSF, which limits the market share and relative profitability of the services we provide through BNSF,” the company wrote in the report. “In certain markets and rail corridors, rail service is limited to a few railroads or even a single railroad due to the lack of competition.” 

Darren Field, the president of the intermodal division at J.B. Hunt, made reference to the possible shift on the company’s fourth quarter earnings call Tuesday. “We are aware of another channel that certainly left BNSF and went to Union Pacific, and certainly, that presents an opportunity, I mean, those lifts were occurring on BNSF, we are aligned with BNSF in a growth strategy, we have discussions with BNSF daily about our efforts to grow together and we have a lot of focus in that area in 2022,” Field said.

Based on what Schneider reported in its 10-K annual report for 2020, the deal with Union Pacific will mark a significant shift in its intermodal business. In that report, Schneider reported that its intermodal business’ “primary contracts” were with BNSF and CSX. Given that BNSF competes in the West with UP, the new arrangement is likely to be a hit to BNSF’s business.

J.B. Hunt following this Schneider / UNP development.  

What a great country. I better post this again:

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site.  Do not make any investment, financial, job, career, travel, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here.

This Is Simply The Best News Ever -- Teddy Roosevelt Coming Home -- Wow, What A Coup! January 20, 2022

Updates 

January 22, 2022: is it time for the Smithsonian and all other American natural history museums remove their "dinosaur" exhibits? Dinosaurs, without question, are the poster "reptiles" for fossil fuel. 

January 22, 2022: from The New York Sun, editorial. 

This is the week in which the statue of Theodore Roosevelt begins its journey to the Badlands from its pedestal in front of the American Museum of Natural History. Let us just say that New York’s loss will be North Dakota’s gain.

The statue had come under fire as “a racist work of public art,” as a mayoral advisory commission described it. It’s hardly a “Square Deal” for TR, who did more than most in his day for racial equality.

When the statue was unveiled in 1940, a New York Times editorial applauded Roosevelt’s taking “his place in enduring bronze among the monuments of this city that he loved.”

The Times predicted “few, passing the newly dedicated statue and noting the firm, up-tilted chin and the eyes fixed on a far distance, will doubt” TR “would have met present problems face-forward, with high courage and clear decision.”

Eighty years later, “present problems” have dictated a change of plans. The museum recently lumped the statue among other “powerful and hurtful symbols of systemic racism” subjected to scrutiny amid “the movement for racial justice that emerged after the murder of George Floyd.” Evicting Roosevelt is a symbol of “progress toward an inclusive and equitable community,” the museum claimed.

As of this week, the statue is on the way to the planned Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, population just north of 130. The journey parallels Roosevelt’s own trek to hunt bison in the Dakota Territory.

That was in 1883, when “he was a skinny, young, spectacled dude from New York,” as the National Park Service puts it. His stint in the Badlands was transformative for the future president.

Original Post 

This simply has to be the coolest thing ever.

Link here. 

Why Would We Be Selling Crude Oil From Our SPR To China? Asking For A Friend -- January 20, 2022

Is is just me or are others surprised that President Biden is releasing oil from the US to sell to China? 

Link here. See if you can spot "today's" data point. My hunch is it will take you longer than expected:

Pay Day: Samson Oil And Gas, Williston Basin Assets Up For Sale -- January 20, 2022

Link here.

Samson Oil and Gas USA Inc. retained BOK Financial Securities for the sale of producing properties in Montana and North Dakota in the Williston Basin. 

The company has retained BOK Financial Securities as its exclusive advisor in connection with the sale. 

The offering includes 49 producing wells targeting various conventional formations including the Ratcliffe, Mission Canyon, and Red River. 

From the blog, assuming its the same Samson Oil & Gas:

Samson Oil & Gas (SSN)

• $16.5 million for 51,000 acres in the Williston Basin, 720 bopd from 41 net producing wells; January 6, 2016
• sells two Rennerfeldt wells in Stockyard Creek; issues 227 million more shares at 37 cents/share; share price plummets from 46 cents/share to 38 cents/share -- April 17, 2014
• sells its Montana acreage to raise money to develop its Stockyard Creek prospect, June, 2013
• previously working interest only; becomes an operator in 1Q13
• first permits (as operator) issued January 18, 2013
• Stockyard Creek, north half
• 3,033 acres in Stockyard Creek, North Dakota Bakken (website, not updated)
• Up to 90,000 more acres in Williston Basin Bakken, Roosevelt County, Montana

Looks like a perfect "bolt-on" acquisition for CLR, Kraken, or Oasis. 

1,000 bopd x 20,000 = $20 million for a good starting offer. At 40,000 x flowing boepd, we get $40 million.

A Closer Look At Ovintiv's Ten New Permits -- January 20, 2022

Locator: 24200A.

From today's daily activity report:

Ten new permits, #38742 - #38751, inclusive:

• Operator: Ovintiv (Newfield)
• Field: Sand Creek (McKenzie County)
• Comments:
• Ovintiv has permits for ten Sorenson Federal wells to be placed on one pad in SWSE 9-153-96;
• the wells will be placed in two parallel "lines"; 
• five wells 340 FSL and between 2555 FEL and 2635 FEL; 
• the second parallel five wells will be sited 325 FSL and between 2315 FEL and 2395 FEL 

Graphics:

The two existing / producing Sorenson Federal wells running from north to south, sited in section 32-154-96:

• 34329, 2,203, Ovintiv, Sorenson Federal 153-96-4-9-1H, Sand Creek, F, t4/18; cum 401K 11/21; big well; sporadic production, 3/20 - 5/21; then huge jump in production, 6/21; cum 445K 2/23; just coming back line, 2/23; still "F" (no pump);
  
• 34330, 3,184, Ovintiv, Sorenson Federal 153-96-4-9-2H, Sand Creek, AL, t4/18, 62 stages, 9.9 million lbs; cum 567K 11/21; big well; production has always been excellent; huge well; still producing 7,000 bbls, 11/21; cum 628K 2/23; just coming back line, 2/23;

The new permits:

• 38742, producing, F/A, Ovintiv, Sorenson Federal 153-96-9-4-10H, Sand Creek,
  
• 38743, producing, F/A, Ovintiv, Sorenson Federal 153-96-9-4-11H, Sand Creek,
  
• 38744, producing, F/A, Ovintiv, Sorenson Federal 153-96-9-4-3H, Sand Creek,
• 38745, producing, F/A, Ovintiv, Sorenson Federal 153-96-9-4-12H, Sand Creek,
• 38746, 1,007, Ovintiv, Sorenson Federal 153-96-9-4-4H,
• 38747, producing, F/A, Ovintiv, Sorenson Federal 153-96-9-4-3H, Sand Creek,
• 38748, 1,946, Ovintiv, Sorenson Federal 153-96-9-4-5H,
• 38749, producing, F/A, Ovintiv, Sorenson Federal 153-96-9-4-14H, Sand Creek,
• 38750, a section line well, 900, Ovintiv, Sorenson Federal 153-96-9-4-6HLW,
• 38751, a section line well, 20HLW, no data as of April 15, 2023
  

Pay attention to the chronologic numbers. We've talked about this before. Between #1 and #20, missing; 7; 8; 9; 15 - 19, inclusive. 

Updates

April 6, 2023: Five producing wells (DUCs) were reported as completed:

• 38743, 426 BOP, Ovintiv, Sorenson Federal 153-96-9-4-11H, from the file, date stimulated, 12/13/22; middle Bakken; 31 stages: 168,750 bbls proppant;
  
• 38744, 794 BOP, Ovintiv, Sorenson Federal 153-96-9-4-3H, from the file, date stimulated, 12/13/22; Three Forks first bench; 30 stages: 181,643 bbls proppant;
• 38745, 1,045 BOP, Ovintiv, Sorenson Federal 153-96-9-4-12H, from the file, date stimulated, 12/14/22; Three Forks first bench; 29 stages: 162,012 bbls proppant;
• 38747, 929 BOP, Ovintiv, Sorenson Federal 153-96-9-4-13H, API: 33-053-09820; FracFocus: no data yet; from the file report: stimulated 12/14/22; Three Forks First Bench; 30 stages; 174,003 bbls proppant; 
  
• 38749, 813 BOP, Ovintiv, Sorenson Federal 153-96-9-414H; from the file report: stimulated 12/14/22; Three Forks First Bench; 30 stages; 181,732 bbls proppant; 

Ovintiv With Ten New Permits; One DUC Reported As Completed; Twenty-Eight Active Rigs -- January 20, 2022

Is it just me, or are others getting the feeling that the whole "energy issue" is quickly coming to a head?

Is it just me, or do others get the feeling that a Russian incursion into Ukraine would not be a "minor" event?

Is it just me, or do others get the feeling that things might get a bit worse before they get better?

**********************************
Back to the Bakken

Active rigs: NDIC states 31 active rigs, but one rig is listed twice; one rig is CCS; and, one rig is a SWD rig.

$86.38	1/20/2022	01/20/2021	01/20/2020	01/20/2019	01/20/2018
Active Rigs	28	12	56	68	58

Ten new permits, #38742 - #38751, inclusive:

• Operator: Ovintiv (Newfield)
• Field: Sand Creek (McKenzie County)
• Comments:
• Ovintiv has permits for ten Sorenson Federal wells to be placed on one pad in SWSE 9-153-96;
• the wells will be placed in two parallel "lines"; 
• five wells 340 FSL and between 2555 FEL and 2635 FEL; 
• the second parallel five wells will be sited 325 FSL and between 2315 FEL and 2395 FEL
• we'll come back to these wells later; see this post.
  

One producing well (a DUC) reported as completed:

• 33575, 2,810, Grayson Mill Operating, Jennifer 26-35 3H,

The CLR Bice FIU And Bice Federal Wells

Locator: 10001BICE.

The Bice wells will be tracked here, at this post. Long-time readers and/or long-term followers of the Bakken will / might remember the significance of the Bice wells. I have a special place in my heart for the Bice wells.

The Dolezal wells are tracked here.

The wells: 

From the north, running south, the parent wells:

• 16943, 516, CLR, Bice 1-29H, Chimney Butte, t5/08; cum 203K 9/21; went off line 8/21; remains off line 11/21; has shown small jumps in production (halo effect) over the years; cum 227K 5/23;
• 17884, 147, CLR, Bice 2-29H, Chimney Butte, t1/10; cum 449K 9/21; went off line 9/21; remains off line 11/21; has shown small jumps in production (halo effect) over the years; cum 469K 6/23;

From the south, running north, subsequent generations: daughter wells and granddaughter wells:

• 24835, 1,473, CLR, Bice Federal 3-32H, Chimney Butte, t12/13; cum 303K 9/21; went off line 9/21; remains off line 11/21; cum 323K 5/23; off line 6/23;
• 24836, 416, CLR, Bice Federal 4-32H1, Chimney Butte, t12/13; cum 303K 10/21; went off line 11/21; back on line; cum 219K 5/23; off line 6/23;

• 39426, A, CLR, Bice Federal 9-32H1, 
• 39425, A, CLR, Bice Federal 8-32H,
• 39424, A, CLR, Bice Federal 7-32H1, 
• 38352, CLR, Bice, running north; drl/A, CLR, Bice FIU 10-32H, Chimney Butte, t--; cum 200K 6/23;
• 38353, CLR, Bice, running north; drl/A, CLR, Bice FIU 10-32HSL1, Chimney Butte, t--; cum 175K 6/23;
• 38354, conf, CLR, Dolezal FIU 11-5H, Chimney Butte, no update on scout ticket; 11/21;
• 38355, conf, CLR, Dolezal FIU 10-5H1, Chimney Butte, no update on scout ticket; 11/21;
• 38356, conf, CLR, Dolezal FIU 9-5H, Chimney Butte, no update on scout ticket; 11/21;
• 38357, conf, CLR, Dolezal FIU 8-5H1, Chimney Butte, no update on scout ticket; 11/21;
• 38358, conf, CLR, Dolezal FIU 7-5H, Chimney Butte, no update on scout ticket; 11/21;
• 31510, IA/760, CLR, Bice 65-32H, Chimney Butte, t8/16; cum 252K 3/23; AL; off line 3/23;
• 31509, 306, CLR, Bice 6-32H1, Chimney Butte, t8/16; cum 129K 6/23; F;

Breaking: Peloton Announces It Will Stop All Production -- January 20, 2022

Peloton: at $28.34, is down 11%; down $3.50.

Weekly EIA Petroleum Report -- January 20, 2022

Monthly EIA petroleum report: pending. Will be released at 10:00 a.m. CT.

• US crude oil inventories increased by a paltry 0.5 million bbls;
• US crude oil inventories now stand at 413.8 million bbls; 8% below the previous week; yawn;
• US imports averaged 6.7 million bbls per day last week, an increase of 0.7 million bbls per day from the previous week; over the past four weeks oil imports averaged about 6.4 million bbls per day; yawn;
• US refiners operating at 88.1% of their operable capacity; yawn, but the trend is going the wrong way (or the right way considering that US gasoline demand is dropping like a rock);
• distillate inventories decreased by 1.4 million bbls last week; about 16% below five-year average; ouch; farmers take note;
• jet fuel supplied was up 31.8% compared with same four-week period last year

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The Jolly Giant

See this post.

Good Morning, North Dakota! January 20, 2022

Okay: today's offer. A free lifelong subscription to the blog to whomever sends me a photograph of the Green Giant Hamburgers restaurant in Williston, ND, back in the day. Or any verifiable information regarding same even if no photograph.  Later: wow, wow, wow -- less than an hour later a reader sent me this photo -- it was not the "Green Giant" but the "Jolly Giant." Fantastic, and the reader earns a lifelong subscription to the blog. Thank you so much. I can now die happy knowing another riddle has been solved. LOL.  

From the reader: It was the Jolly Giant and was the hangout for school kids. About a block away from the High School. We now own the building and I'd give almost anything to find the sign!

Legacy Fund: data should be released today. Link here. 

Monthly EIA petroleum report: pending. Will be released at 10:00 a.m. CT.

UNP  results coming up: whoo-hoo. UNP is up $5.61 in early morning trading. Up 2.4%. Trading at $245.

• 4% rise in quarterly profits;
• most profitable year ever;
• record year at all levels
• fifth consecutive year of margin improvement
• pricing environment should continue against really, really truck capacity:
• west coast ports: more trucks and more warehousing labor still needed
• port volumes at record level but international intermodal volume was down year/year; bottlenecks at ports
• domestic intermodal system: doing very, very well; recent partnership with Schneider (have to look this up; didn't know)
  
• but:
• carload volumes under pressure; supply change challenges
• inflation very much in focus
• strong pricing environment for UNP will likely continue through 2022
• rail theft in Los Angeles County 
• stopped vaccine mandates; will improve labor issues for UNP
  

F: handily outperforms all other auto makers in past twelve months, but will have worst week -- this week -- since 2020. This tells me more about the other auto makers than about Ford. If Ford is having a tough week, imagine all the others. "Since 2020." Wow. I remember when we used to say "worst week since 1929; now things are moving so quickly, we only go back one year. Millennials. The quicker picker uppers.

Good morning: wow, I'm in a great mood! Out school district is shut down -- completely -- except for soccer. The soccer tournament will go on as planned despite the district shut down completely -- 100% -- shut down -- it's like a snow day -- for a four-day weekend, but there's no snow. None. Nada. De nada. Covid hit a tipping point. Nothing else to do but shut down operations. Primary vaccinations didn't stop it. Boosters didn't stop it. Masks didn't stop it. Social distancing didn't stop it. Boris Johnson has it right.

Herd immunity: "we" were all wrong on this one. I completely missed it as did "everyone" else. The exception of course: my readers will all tell me they did not miss this. Smartest readers in the universe. Eighty percent immunity in this country does not reach "herd immunity" unless the entire world is at 80% herd immunity. The world isn't even close. The current variant, thankfully, may change all that.

Texas sports: I've always said Texans were serious about their sports and they are. The entire school district is shut down but the soccer tournament will go on as scheduled.

Biden: did incredibly well yesterday, by any standard. Seriously.

Investors: I have a page tabbed for investors. Just saying. This page is not meant for readers. This page is for my use only. I have a terrible memory and I'm hoping this page will help. But everything there is for my benefit. I'm asking readers not to bookmark that page or even visit it on a random basis. 

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site.  Do not make any investment, financial, job, career, travel, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here.

Housing inventories: in the US at an all-time low? I think that's what I heard. Sales going forward will drop as interest rates rise. 

Corky is a Suidae, a "swede, not a norske": a reader asked if any javelinas were invited to Corky's wine tasting event last night. Corky wants to remind folks that javelinas are not in her family. Corky was quite upset that someone thought javelinas were part of her family. She got up at midnight last night to remind me:

Javelina (pronounced have-a-LEEN-a) is the common name for the collared peccary. ... While peccaries resemble pigs, they are not pigs. Instead, they are part of the Tayassuidae family, while pigs belong to the family Suidae. Many physical characteristics distinguish the two families of animals.

"Tayas" is short for "looks like a..."

5G airlines = Y2K for millenials. There is a two-mile 5G buffer zone around all airports. This goes back to the Trump administration. Has nothing to do with Biden. Just the facts, ma'am. FTC / FAA / airlines / telecom weren't talking. Just in their own stovepipes. Remember "stovepipes?" Haven't used that word in decades. 

Oil: there are three things you need to know about oil -- link here --

• what we have in storage is running out fast;
• we aren't pumping enough to replace it;
• demand is going ballistic;
  

Takeaway? "Any dips will be temporary. Oil is going to all-time highs." I seriously doubt that. But I like the narrative. LOL. 

Saudi perspective: but having said that, look at this. Despite very high crude oil prices, Saudi doesn't have the crude oil available to take advantage of this windfall. They could sell a whole lot more if they had a whole lot more to sell -- releasing a lot more of their oil in storage on the market would drop the price of oil a bit but not much -- but yet Saudi doesn't have the oil to sell. 

Saudi crude oil in storage dropped again month/month. Currently, Saudi crude oil storage is less than half what it was in 2016. I don't know if folks remember, but Saudi flooded the market with oil, 2014 - 2016 -- their trillion-dollar mistake -- and has never recovered. What were they thinking? Whatever. 

By the way, all things being equal, Saudi's oil in storage will continue to drop. Saudi is now refining more and more oil:

• first, of all: Saudi is now building heating oil inventories in anticipation of a very, very hot summer (this is true every year):
• second, Saudi now has a huge refinery in Poland; this was a big, big story; under-reported here in the states. As usual.

The EPD Page? Two CLR Bice Wells Coming Off Confidential List; WTI Drops Ever So Slightly -- January 20, 2022

Ukraine: "we can live with a minor incursion." -- Biden over at social media.

Chesapeake Energy: another acquisition. Nears $2.4 billion deal to buy Chief Oil & Gas. 

EPD: The Motley Fool.

Ken Fisher: ten dividend stocks. A lot of ads to navigate but worth a look.

UNP: jumps. Whoo-hoo.

Baker Hughes: 4Q21 and FKY21 earnings. 

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Back to the Bakken

Active rigs:

$86.70	1/20/2022	01/20/2021	01/20/2020	01/20/2019	01/20/2018
Active Rigs	28	12	56	68	58

Friday, January 21, 2022: 35 for the month, 35 for the quarter, 35 for the year

• 37336, conf, Whiting, Miller 44-10TFHU, Sanish, nice well, but not all that great for the Sanish; first production, 8/21; t--; cum 30K 11/21;

Thursday, January 20, 2022: 34 for the month, 34 for the quarter, 34 for the year

• 38353, conf, CLR, Bice FIU 11-32HSL1, Chimney Butte, scout ticket no updated, 11/21;
• 38352, conf, CLR, Bice FIU 10-32H, Chimney Butte, scout ticket not updated, 11/21;

RBN Energy: Enterprise expands into midland gas processing with Navitas deal, part 3. Archived.

The energy market dislocations of the COVID era have accelerated consolidation in the midstream sector as oil and gas gatherers — and gas processors — in the Permian and other basins seek greater scale, improved reliability, and the potential to direct more hydrocarbons through their takeaway pipelines. New evidence of this trend came just last week, when Enterprise Products Partners announced it has agreed to acquire privately held Navitas Midstream Partners, a fast-growing gas gatherer and processor in the Permian’s Midland Basin, for $3.25 billion. As we discuss in today’s RBN blog, the acquisition will give Enterprise its first gas gathering and processing assets in the heart of the Midland and may boost volumes on its residue-gas and NGL pipelines there.

As we said in part one of this blog series, there has been a flurry of large-scale M&A activity in the midstream sector since the start of the pandemic — and the collapse and subsequent recovery of oil and gas markets — back in 2020. There has been a common theme among these deals, namely that midstreamers were scaling back capital spending and instead focusing on improving the efficiency of existing operations by teaming with others that held adjoining, complementary assets — or that gave the acquiring firm a strong foothold in a highly desirable production area.

We also discussed the plan by Crestwood Equity Partners to acquire Oasis Midstream, a combination that will give Crestwood more scale and sway in both the Bakken and the Permian’s Delaware Basin. In Part 2, we looked at the planned merger of Altus Midstream and BCP Raptor Holdco LP, the corporate parent of EagleClaw Midstream. That deal, which like the Crestwood-Oasis Midstream combination is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022, will form the largest integrated midstream company in the Delaware Basin, with an extensive network of crude, gas, and produced water gathering systems, about 2 Bcf/d of gas processing capacity, and ownership interests in four recently completed takeaway pipelines.

Inappropriate Exuberance -- January 20, 2022

I just spent the last thirty minutes or so looking at some incredible wells around Killdeer, ND, and my inappropriate exuberance has just gotten worse -- if that makes sense, and if that's possible. 

The Bakken, simply, never ceases to amaze me. But I'm burned out looking at all these wells. I will come back to them tomorrow if I can find the time. I've posted the wells and their full production elsewhere but not at the blog. Not ready for prime time.

I will be taking care of Sophia, seven years old, for the next two days -- we have a full school schedule. Her school district just closed all schools in the school district -- multiple elementary schools, two middle schools, and two high schools. The number of students and staff testing positive is now reached "critical mass." Most are asymptomatic; those that are symptomatic are ill for eighteen hours. There are exceptions.

Sophia's sister felt fatigued and congested three nights ago (MLK Monday); went to bed early; felt "back to normal" the following afternoon. Covid test today came back positive -- seventy-two hours after it was taken and when she was back to normal. But with a positive test she can't participate in soccer tournament this weekend though it will be five days and she feels completely normal now. But she says she has so much schoolwork she welcomes the break. 

The students are loving it. Ninety-nine percent are asymptomatic including the ones that are testing positive -- if symptomatic, lasting less than 24 hours. There are exceptions, of course. 

But I'm really impressed with the school district. The administration and the teachers have not missed a beat. E-mails update us daily. The administration just as a calm, matter-of-fact, decided to close the school for two days (and the weekend, for a four-day weekend) so that everyone can take a breather. I'm really impressed with the school. "Everyone" is vaccinated; taking everything in stride. Masking has sort of become optional. Some families/students are very, very serious about masking; others not so much. No one seems to judge anyone; my wife and I wear our masks everywhere. My wife wears her mask because she is seriously concerned about the disease. I wear the mask to show my "support" for her and the teachers, even the teachers that don't wear masks. I don't know what the guidelines are any more. I don't care. 

Tonight at the wine tasting put on by the apartment complex manager, well attended, no one wore masks, not even me. I guess deciding to wear a mask is sort of "what are the others doing?"

Sophia and her two sisters are vaccinated. All adults in the extended family are vaccinated and with a booster shot. The dad had a fairly severe case about a year ago. My wife and I have probably had it but never tested. Based on symptoms over the past two years, my wife has probably had it twice; I've had it three times based on symptoms and contacts. Never tested. 

And so it goes. 

While all this was going on, several members of my extended family have tested positive in Tucson, AZ. That story is even more interesting than our story here in Texas.

And then my sister and her husband and their grandchildren who live in Williston, ND, flew out to Hawaii for their annual winter vacation. The retired sister / brother-in-law go to the "big island" for a month or so every winter; the grandchildren join them for a week -- they arrived this time just as the Tonga tsunami warning hit. I missed the whole story because I was fielding calls on all the family members with Covid but apparently my sister almost drowned off the dock in Hawaii trying to save the $8-flip-flips she had just bought at the ABC Store. But her high school senior grandson saved her. 

And so it goes. 

And, then of course, the family members on Flathead Lake, one of whom also had Covid. 

Mind you, all these calls and updates were coming in tonight. I was on the cell phone with one family member (Sophia's mom); my wife was on her phone with another (California); and I was on a FaceTime call with yet another (Flathead Lake, MT) on the 27-inch desktop iMac. 

And finally, the four-member family in Portland, OR, with that son-in-law with a fairly severe chest cold due to Covid but not hospitalized and the twins ill for three days. Our Portland, OR, daughter did not become ill. Again, all vaccinated, boosters, masks, minimal time away from home. 

And so it goes. 

All this in the last week; most of it tonight.  

None of the above is hyperbole, but they are my observations. I'm sure other family members would describe things differently. 

I just posted this the other night but I enjoy it so much, I'm going to post it again, come on, Eileen,

Come On Eileen, Sugarland and Sara Bareilles

What's WTI doing? I see it has slipped just under $87, at $86.90. I wonder if Nancy Pelosi is enjoying her ice cream tonight?