Tuesday, June 7, 2022

Did Folks See The Size Of This Expansion? Maybe Something The Biden Administration Should Consider -- June 7, 2022

Re-posting:

LNG:

  • Qatar
  • XOM, Shell, TTE, COP will be awarded; link here.
  • North Field expansion will boost Qatar's LNG output by 64% by 2027
  • a $30-billion expansion
  • many bidders; XOM and Total winners, but Shell and Conoco will participate
  • it's quickly becoming USA, Qatar, and ... 

NOG: Williston Basin Bolt-On Acquisition; Increased 2022 Activity; Shareholder Return Update -- June 7, 2022

Link here for today's news.

NOG is tracked here.

Bolt-on acquisition:

  • $170 million "initial" purchase price from private party
    • seller may earn an additional $5 million in contingent payments in 2023 if WTI exceeds $92.50 on December 30, 2022
  • average production over next twelve months: 2,500 boepd, 2-stream; ~ 83% oil)
  • 17.5 net undeveloped locations
  • includes 2.6 net wells in process
  • 3,500 net acres
  • acquired assets in Dunn, McKenzie, and Williams counties
  • assets operated primarily by MRO, CLR, and COP
  • back-of-the-envelope:
    • flowing price:
    • $170  million / 2,500 boepd = $65,000 per flowing boepd
    • $170 million / 3,500 net acres = $50,000 / acre
  • unhedged cash flow, forward one year; around $75 million
  • strong free cash flow with about $25 million annual sustaining capital expenditures to maintain produciton
  • $6 million + to drill / complete a Bakken well; with inflation, maybe $8 million

On-going operations (2022):

  • spud wells to grow to 65 net wells, a 10-well increase compared to original forecast
  • average wellhead IRR expected to exceed 100%
  • annual production: 77K on high end, up from 76K on high end
  • total CAPEX: $470 million on high end, up from $415 million on high end
  • net wells turned-in-line: 56.5 on high end, up from 52 on high end

Shareholder returns:

  • purchasing preferred stock has reduced annualized dividend payments by $3.6 million per year

Slawson With Three New Permits; Twenty-One Permits Renewed By Various Operators -- June 7, 2022

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.

All my posts are done quickly
: there will be content and typographical errors. If anything on any of my posts is important to you, go to the source. If/when I find typographical / content errors, I will correct them

Tine to clear out the in-box: very few links, just quick notes --

  • Novavax: Covid vaccine; aimed at vaccine skeptics. overwhelmingly back by FDA panel; huge story; link here.
    • panel of outside experts: 21 - 0 in favor; one abstention;
    • for 18 years of age and older; looks like this might be my booster if meets criteria
    • four vaccines now available
    • huge thanks to Trump's Operation Warp Speed; Dems said it would never work; 
      • Dems now overwhelmingly in favor of the vaccines; Trump's supporters, not so much
    • timeline for final approval not provided
  • Pfizer: $120 million to expand / upgrade an existing Michigan factory to "drastically" increase production and supply of its oral Covid-19 treatment.
  • Abbott: re-starts baby formula plant; looks to have new product on shelves by June 20, 2022.
  • Target: lowers its operating margin outlook to around 2% from its prior estimate of 5.3%.
  • Apple: clobbered Affirm. Previously posted. Affirm: no moat; no deep pockets; no cult loyalty.
  • Texas grid: set to hit all-time record; ERCOT says it can handle the demand. Power demand in Texas broke the June record on Monday, June 6, 2022 (yesterday) and looks set to keep climbing. More on this later.
  • Rubbish: this is pretty cool. I said the same thing a daily earlier: these articles on "peak oil demand" are rubbish. Link here.
  • GS:

Goldman boosts 3Q22 Brent ol forecast to $140 from $125. That would push WTI to $135. It's been my impression GS has been "behind" on its forecasts for quite some time now.

  • Twain's Mustache

Over the last 20 years world governments have spent north of $5 trillion on "green" energy. That has taken fossil fuels share of primary energy from 86% to 84% and world oil consumption increased from 77 million barrels per day to 100 million barrels per day. Do you get it?

  • Flying: it is now generally accepted that it is more cost effective to drive than to fly.

CATL: the Chinese company that dominates the EV battery industry.

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Back to the Bakken

NOG: bolt-on acquisition.

Willston Energy Chaser: link here.

Mountrail-Williams Electric Cooperative: look at this -- this helps explain why these stories are important.

Rates won’t be going up for Mountrail-Williams Electric Cooperative customers as a result of the back-to-back blizzards in April. You can thank the new cryptocurrency plant located in northwestern North Dakota for that, according to reports heard at MWEC’s annual meeting Thursday night.

North Dakota's Miss America 2018: graduates from Harvard

WTI: just short of $120.

Active rigs in North Dakota: 41 or thereabouts.

Slawson is getting active again. A reader noted that Slawson has two rigs in the North Dakota Bakken now.

Three new permits, #39002 - #39004, inclusive:

  • Operator: Slawson
  • Field: Big Bend (Mountrail)
  • Comments:
    • Slawson has permits for two Lunker Federal wells and one Cannonball Federal well in NWNE / NENE 33-152-91; 
      • to be sited 250 FNL and between 1150 FEL and 1350 FEL

Twenty-one permits renewed:

  • CLR (11): six Sodbuster permits in Williams County; four Durham permits in McKenzie County; and one Cuskelly FIU permit in Dunn County;
  • Whting (6): an Armas permit; a Jeffrey permit and a Gayne permit, all in Mountrail County; a Kaldahl permit, a G Bergstrom permit, and a P Earl Rennerfeldt permit, all in Williams County;
  • Bowline (2): two Gibbins permits in Willams County;
  • BR: a Sequoiafill permit in McKenzie County;
  • Liberty Resources: a Sundhagen C permit in Williams County

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The Book Page

My goal is to read one new book each week. 

My third week, my third book.

The fourth book has been ordered from Amazon and will arrive tomorrow. It's about the cardiovascular system as described by the ancient Greeks, c. 2022.

The Market, Part 2 -- June 7, 2022

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.

All my posts are done quickly
: there will be content and typographical errors. If anything on any of my posts is important to you, go to the source. If/when I find typographical / content errors, I will correct them
.

The US equity market was insane today. 

I mean, for heaven's sake, even ELMS was up today and earlier this week it was reported that company will run out of cash this month if it can't find new suckers investors gamblers.

When you look at the market today, concentrating on oil, UNP, and GM, and ignore the tech and meme-stocks, one can only come to the following conclusions:

  • the gap between investors and non-investors will continue to widen;
  • investors like dividends:
  • investors are convinced that the Fed will be very, very careful when raising rates;
  • Americans can handle $10 gasoline; but, investors know gasoline will top out at $7 and fall back from there;
  • investors like what they see regarding the strength of America;
  • Congress will tread carefully before passing a windfall profits tax;
  • Target was an anomaly; doesn't reflect Walmart at the low end and Amazon at the high end;

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Apartment Life

Our rent went up significantly this past month, but it's a 15-month lease, and I have no concerns, at least not yet.

However, the silver lining in this cloud: a lot of twenty-somethings living on the margin won't be able to afford the rent and will move out. Taking their attitudes with them.

To be honest, and I always am, I have no idea how some of these twenty-somethings were able to afford this apartment complex before the increase in rent.

The Market -- Part 1 -- June 7, 2022

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.

All my posts are done quickly
: there will be content and typographical errors. If anything on any of my posts is important to you, go to the source. If/when I find typographical / content errors, I will correct them
.

Refineries: Big Oil releases a shot across the bow -- threatens to shut down a Houston refinery a year earlier than planned. LOL. No link. It's too precious to link. 

LNG:

  • Qatar
  • XOM, Shell, TTE, COP will be awarded; link here.
  • North Field expansion will boost Qatar's LNG output by 64% by 2027
  • a $30-billion expansion
  • many bidders; XOM and Total winners, but Shell and Conoco will participate
  • it's quickly becoming USA, Qatar, and ... 

Oil:

  • today: $120
  • tomorrow: $140

Oil:

  • Brent: up a bit; trading at $120.30;
  • WTI: up a bit; trading at $119.20;
  • natural gas: up a bit; trading at $9.35

Market:

  • CVX: up 2%; up $3.40; trading at $180+
  • OXY: up 2%; up  $1.33; tradng at $71
  • COP: up 3.2%; up $3.76; trading at $121+
  • MPC: up 2.7%; up $3; trading at $112+
  • MNRL: up 1.5%; up 49 cents; trading at $32.50

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The Book Page

Goal: reading one new book each week

  • two weeks ago: Cape Cod, 1910 - 1960
  • last week: Hollywood, 1960's, Brooke and Dennis
  • this week: Deep Sea scrolls, Edmund Wilson
  • next week: blood

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Oil

This is fascinating.

GS says oil will be trading at $140 by the end of the summer.

For now, traders have drawn the greed / fear line at $120

The Best Seventy-Two Seconds Of Video -- Ever -- June 7, 2022

Okay, a bit of hyperbole, but ...

... link here.

I am convinced millennials did not take science or math after eighth grade ... but their parents left them a lot of money which will now be used to buy gasoline. LOL.

Confirmed: Affirm KO'd -- AAPL BNPL -- June 7, 2022

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.

All my posts are done quickly: there will be content and typographical errors. If anything on any of my posts is important to you, go to the source. If/when I find typographical / content errors, I will correct them
.

Link here.


Add Polestar To The Never-Ending Story -- June 7, 2022

Disruptive:

Polestar: link here. And, here.

That's an SUV? Let's take another look. Here it is. Barron's got it wrong; The Verge got it right:

Well, That Was Easy -- Done For The Day -- June 7, 2022

There are three big stories today:

  • did the Saudis dis-invite Joe Biden? there are reports.
  • Target will bring the market down.
  • the price of gasoline: GS now see oil hitting $140 this summer.

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.

All my posts are done quickly: there will be content and typographical errors. If anything on any of my posts is important to you, go to the source. If/when I find typographical / content errors, I will correct them
.

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Target

I think I've blogged about this no less than three times in the past six months. Target logistics is pathetic. Link to The WSJ

It appears their folks were good at looking in the rear view mirror but not good at looking at "the future."

Target Corp. warned profits would drop because it needs to cancel orders or offer discounts to clear out unwanted goods, the latest sign of the sudden mismatch between supply and demand inside America’s stores. 

Big retailers benefited over the past two years from the pandemic rush to buy patio furniture, laptops and home décor, as shoppers were buoyed by savings and government stimulus checks. Now many of those same stores are grappling with a swift reversal of buying behavior with consumers spending less on goods in favor of services and necessities such as food and fuel. 

Two weeks after reporting lower-than-expected profits, Target said Tuesday it will further reduce some of its profit estimates for the year because it will more quickly unload excess inventory in the current quarter. Target said last month inventory rose 43% in the most recent quarter as demand for outdoor furniture, small appliances and some electronics declined faster than expected and supply-chain snarls delayed the arrival of many goods past the ideal selling window.

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Was He Banned?

Link here but I could find no supporting source. Having said that, his trip has been delayed at least until July. By July it will no longer matter. On the other hand, the visit may be tied to some huge diplomatic breath-through between Israel and Saudi Arabia.


*************
The Price of Gasoline

Link here.

Target Will Bring The Market Down Today -- June 7, 2022

There are three big stories today:

  • did the Saudis dis-invite Joe Biden? there are reports
  • Target will bring the market down
  • the price of gasoline: GS now see oil hitting $140 this summer

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.

All my posts are done quickly: there will be content and typographical errors. If anything on any of my posts is important to you, go to the source. If/when I find typographical / content errors, I will correct them
.

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Back to the Bakken

Far Side: link here.

WTI: $118.50

Active rigs in North Dakota: 39 or thereabouts

Tuesday, June 7, 2022: 8 for the month, 145 for the quarter, 305 for the year

  • 38131, conf,  CLR, Flint Chips FIU 7-5H1

RBN Energy: price skyrockets as supply/demand uncertainty looms for the lightest NGL.

That crazy little ethane molecule is at it again. Yesterday the price blasted to 67.875 c/gal, a level last seen on January 17, 2012. Petchem cracker margins are low. Production is up, but inventories are down. A big driver of the bedlam is the price of natural gas, trading in the $7-$9/MMBtu range for the past month. But as usual with ethane, there’s a lot more happening below the surface — including high domestic demand, growing export volumes, and significant developments in downstream petrochemical markets — all shaking things up. Looking ahead, uncertainty looms, with more export capacity, ever-changing ethane rejection economics, and uneven production growth. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll leap back into the ethane market to see what’s been going on, and where ethane is headed over the next few years.

The ethane market is in turmoil. Ethane prices are up, almost double since January and the highest in 10 years. Higher natural gas prices — also up 2x since January — are a primary driver; petchems have to pay enough for their ethane feedstock to keep their supply from being rejected and sold as natural gas. But the margin for running ethane through a steam cracker to make ethylene is down hard, from 31 c/lb of ethylene produced last year to only 11 c/lb over the past month. That’s not only low from an absolute perspective, but it is also low relative to other feedstocks, with propane and butane enjoying higher margins for much of the past month. You might think that would mean reduced ethane demand from the petchems, but so far it is just the opposite. Steam cracker demand is at record highs. 

Other strange things are happening too. According to EIA’s most recent stats, ethane production soared to an all-time high of 2.5 MMb/d in March, up 11% in just one month. Maybe that’s an outlier, but still, ethane production is up 22% over January 2020, just before the COVID meltdown. Even with production up, however, ethane inventories are low, at only 60% of the inventory max back in October 2020 and the lowest level for March since 2016, when there were far fewer ethane-only steam crackers online. More demand should signal a need for more inventories, but that’s not what we are seeing.