Friday, January 6, 2023

China And Pfizer In Talks -- January 6, 2023

Updates

January 7, 2023: China's new mRNA Covid vaccine targeting omnicron starts trial production

Chinese drugmaker CcanSino Biologics using technology using the mRNA technology that drove inoculation in the US and other countries. Folks that say the vaccine doesn't work don't understand the nature of vaccines and pandemics. I was skeptical early on, also, but no longer. I was never an anti-vaxxer but I was very, very skeptical of the initial vaccine, but I've had the primary series (two shots) and two boosters. 

January 7, 2023: despite Covid-19, Pfizer still won't make the "top ten" list.

Entrenched pharma giants Pfizer, Merck & Co. and Johnson & Johnson may continue to hold the top spots as the biggest drugmakers by sales in 2023.
But the list of companies on track to deliver the most growth is expected to look quite different.
Novo Nordisk, AstraZeneca and Eli Lilly will lead their biopharma peers with the biggest year-over-year revenue increases in 2023.
The three companies look to add a bit less than $3.5 billion, around $2.5 billion and just short of $2 billion, respectively, in additional sales this year.

January 7, 2023: Pfizer gained ground on Merck in high-stakes race for pneumococcal vaccine dominance. Link here

It's funny how a story can flip a switch in my brain. I used to get upset by the anti-vaxxers. No longer. With the pediatric deaths due to "season flu" I see over at the CDC site and what I see going on in China, I simply put the anti-vaxxers into the appropriate category when looking at the "haves" and the "have-nots." Huge psychological shift for me.

Original Post  

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.      

For investors.

I don't know if folks are paying attention to the Covid surge in Asia -- Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and South Korea. [Holy mackerel, I just checked the most recent numbers -- Japan is back up to 227,000 new cases (in one day) compared to the US with 30,000 new cases. And Japan's population is much smaller than that of the US.

It appears that the outbreak is even worse in China, and most folks feel that much of China's problem is the lack of a viable vaccine -- the Chinese refuse to purchase a western vaccine. 

I've been accumulating PFE with the thought that at some point in time ....

... but before I go there. Do folks remember this story? From December 21, 2022:

 So, that's where we were ... until ... three hours ago, and then this breaking story from Reuters:


From the linked article:

China is in talks with Pfizer Inc to secure a licence that will allow domestic drugmakers to manufacture and distribute a generic version of the U.S. firm's COVID-19 antiviral drug Paxlovid in China.
China's medical products regulator - the National Medical Products Administration - has been leading the talks with Pfizer since late last month.
Beijing is keen to finalise licensing deal terms before the Lunar New Year which begins on January 22.
Chinese hospitals are under intense pressure after the government abruptly abandoned its "zero-COVID" policy last month, sending infections soaring. The surging wave of infections across the country has overwhelmed hospitals, emptied pharmacies of medicines and caused international alarm.
So, we'll see. It's interesting that China hasn't turned to ivermectin.

I don't expect PFE's share price to change all that much but it's an interesting twist -- a twist that I expected to eventually see.

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.

Week 1: January 1, 2023 -- January 7, 2023

The single best story:

Top story:

  • Joe Biden is still president
  • US House of Representatives: GOP unable to elect Majority Leader -- GOP elects McCarthy on the 15th ballot. 

Top international non-energy story:

  • Russian-Ukraine war continues
    • NATO to supply Ukraine with armored, tracked vehicles
  • Covid-19 continues to surge in Asia
    • all the attention on China, but Japan, South Korea also experiencing surge

Top international energy story

  • Chevron starts shipping oil to the US from Venezuela.

Top national non-energy story:

  • US jobs report much, much better than expected
  • inflation moderating; down to 3.5% or thereabouts
  • Dow has 700-point rally today -- with inflation moderating, hope that JPow and Fed will pause
    • soft landing; shallow, short recession?

Top national energy story

  • crude oil inventories continue to fall, but products inventory increase
Javier Blas:

Focus on fracking: most recent edition.

Top North Dakota non-energy story:


Top North Dakota energy story:


Geoff Simon's top North Dakota energy stories:

Bakken economy:

Commentary:

Entertainment:

Six New Permits; Two New Operators In The Bakken -- January 6, 2023

Active rigs: link here. See below -- 44.

WTI: $73.77.

Natural gas: $3.710

Six new permits, #39550 - #39555, inclusive:

  • Operators: Neptune Operating, LLC; Whiting (2); Five States Operating;
  • Fields: Painted Woods (Williams); Sanish (Mountrail); Rocky Hill (Stark)
  • Comments:
    • Five States Operating has a permit for a Rocky Hill well, SESW 5-138-99, 
      • to be sited 250 FSL and 1420 FWL; Stark County;
    • Whiting has permits for an S-Bar Joanna well and an S-Bar Devon well, both in NESE 1-153-93; 
      • to be sited 2079 FSL and one 415 FEL and the other 445 FEL;
    • Neptune has permits for thee Gibbins wells, NWNE 14-154-103; 
      • to be sited 337 FNL and between 2137 FEL and 2203 FEL

That was all.

These are the first permits in North Dakota for Neptune Operating.

  • website;
  • NEPTUNE OPERATING COMPANY LLC was registered on 06/14/2018 as a limited liability company type with the address 4402 13TH ST NW LOT 28 GARRISON, ND 58540-9422. The agent name for this entity is: KELSEY MITCHELL.

This is the first permit in North Dakota for Five States Operating.

Active rigs:

Rig

Operator

Well Name and Number

Current Location

County

File No

H & P 640

HUNT OIL COMPANY

ALEXANDRIA 161-100-22-15H 4

SESE 22-161N-100W

DIV

39327

PATTERSON 276

WPX ENERGY WILLISTON, LLC

SKUNK CREEK 13-18-16H3A

LOT4 18-148N-92W

DUN

36568

H & P 259

MARATHON OIL COMPANY

ELLIS USA 34-7TFH

NENE 18-146N-94W

DUN

38020

TRUE 39

ENERPLUS RESOURCES USA CORPORATION

Brydes 148-93-05D-06H

NESE 5-148N-93W

DUN

38096

NABORS B1

LIME ROCK RESOURCES III-A, L.P.

SCOTT 4-7-6H -143-95L

NWNW 17-143N-95W

DUN

38925

NABORS B17

MARATHON OIL COMPANY

DENNIS USA 44-5H

SWSW 4-148N-95W

DUN

39100

H & P 454

CONTINENTAL RESOURCES, INC.

Micahlucas 5-5H

SESW 5-145N-96W

DUN

39136

TRUE 40

ENERPLUS RESOURCES USA CORPORATION

LK Bice 147-96-6-31-1H

LOT7 6-147N-96W

DUN

39144

CYCLONE 38

CONTINENTAL RESOURCES, INC.

Micahlucas 11-5H

SESE 5-145N-96W

DUN

39162

H & P 456

CONTINENTAL RESOURCES, INC.

Skachenko FIU 4-31HSL

SESW 31-146N-95W

DUN

39238

H & P 429

MARATHON OIL COMPANY

LEAH 14-20TFH

NENW 29-146N-94W

DUN

39377

NOBLE 1

CONTINENTAL RESOURCES, INC.

Bice Federal 9-32H1

SWSW 32-146N-95W

DUN

39426

H & P 535

BURLINGTON RESOURCES OIL & GAS COMPANY LP

GLADSTONE 5-1-13TFH

NENW 13-153N-97W

MCK

31212

NABORS B6

BURLINGTON RESOURCES OIL & GAS COMPANY LP

Lillibridge 2A MBH

SESW 23-150N-96W

MCK

37898

NABORS B2

BURLINGTON RESOURCES OIL & GAS COMPANY LP

Boxer 2A TFH

LOT4 6-149N-96W

MCK

37924

PATTERSON 134

CONTINENTAL RESOURCES, INC.

Brangus Federal 9-11H1

NESW 14-153N-94W

MCK

37950

PATTERSON 286

CONTINENTAL RESOURCES, INC.

Brangus Federal 7-11H2

NESW 14-153N-94W

MCK

37952

NABORS X28

HESS BAKKEN INVESTMENTS II, LLC

BB-Olson- 150-95-09H-5

SESW 9-150N-95W

MCK

38273

TRUE 37

SINCLAIR OIL & GAS COMPANY

Grasslands Federal 14-15-2H

NESW 13-147N-98W

MCK

38633

H & P 118

OVINTIV USA INC.

CLEAR CREEK FEDERAL 152-97-36-25-5H

SESW 36-152N-97W

MCK

38690

H & P 516

OVINTIV USA INC.

CLEAR CREEK FEDERAL 152-97-36-25-7H

SESW 36-152N-97W

MCK

38752

PATTERSON 806

OASIS PETROLEUM NORTH AMERICA LLC

Dahl W Federal 5301 13-15 2B

NWNE 15-153N-101W

MCK

38755

NABORS B26

OASIS PETROLEUM NORTH AMERICA LLC

Bergem 5199 43-33 4B

SWSE 33-151N-99W

MCK

39051

NABORS B 13

GRAYSON MILL OPERATING, LLC

Reidle 6-3F 2H

LOT4 6-151N-104W

MCK

39230

H & P 515

PETRO-HUNT DAKOTA, LLC

Hot Rod 149-102-27C-26-3H

NWSW 27-149N-102W

MCK

39294

NABORS B3

GRAYSON MILL OPERATING, LLC

MARGARET 5-8 XW 1H

LOT4 5-150N-100W

MCK

39432

H & P 492

CONTINENTAL RESOURCES, INC.

Jersey FIU 15-6H

SENE 6-153N-93W

MTL

27898

NABORS B05

SLAWSON EXPLORATION COMPANY, INC.

Armada Federal 7-14-18H

SWSW 14-151N-92W

MTL

34525

NABORS x24

HESS BAKKEN INVESTMENTS II, LLC

EN-ABRAHAMSON- 155-93-3019H-9

SWSE 30-155N-93W

MTL

37451

UNIT 414

SLAWSON EXPLORATION COMPANY, INC.

Loon Federal 7-24-25TFH

NWNE 24-152N-92W

MTL

37852

NABORS X-10

HESS BAKKEN INVESTMENTS II, LLC

RS-Harstad- 155-91-0433H-8

NENE 9-155N-91W

MTL

38988

NABORS B18

WPX ENERGY WILLISTON, LLC

Pennington 16-15HB

SWSE 8-152N-92W

MTL

39168

T&S DRILLING 1

LIBERTY RESOURCES MANAGEMENT COMPANY, LLC

Alton N 158-93-16-14-1MBHX

SWNW 16-158N-93W

MTL

39171

STONEHAM 18

STEPHENS WILLISTON, LLC DBA SEG WILLISTON, LLC

Greenbrier 15591W-0211- 5H

SWSE 11-155N-91W

MTL

39257

BISON 15

BISON LAND & MINERALS, LLC

West Dry Creek 1H

SWNE 12-160N-85W

REN

39417

NABORS B23

LIBERTY RESOURCES MANAGEMENT COMPANY, LLC

Overdorf 158-96-1-12-4MBH

LOT1 1-158N-96W

WIL

39029

PATTERSON 811

GRAYSON MILL OPERATING, LLC

CHERREY 34-27 4H

SESW 34-155N-101W

WIL

39122

NABORS B21

CRESCENT POINT ENERGY U.S. CORP.

CPEUSC Claire Rose 3-31-30-159N-99W-MBH

SESW 31-159N-99W

WIL

39132

PATTERSON 901

CONTINENTAL RESOURCES, INC.

BOE STATE 6-16H

NWNW 16-155N-96W

WIL

39197

NABORS B 12

KRAKEN OPERATING, LLC

Sumner 1-36-25 #2H

SESW 1-158N-99W

WIL

39272

NABORS B27

CONTINENTAL RESOURCES, INC.

Smouse 6-28H

NENW 28-155N-96W

WIL

39284

NABORS X27

HESS BAKKEN INVESTMENTS II, LLC

SC-JW Hamilton- 153-99-1314H-7

SENE 13-153N-99W

WIL

39310

PATTERSON 808

OASIS PETROLEUM NORTH AMERICA LLC

Osprey 5401 44-23 4B

SESE 23-154N-101W

WIL

39322

T&S DRILLING 2

KRAKEN OPERATING, LLC

Orbit 24-13-12 #1H

NWNE 25-159N-99W

WIL

39438