IRS $600-Reporting Threshold — Update — IRS Update — December 23, 2023 -- First Posted January 23, 2023

Updates

January 29, 2023: tea leaves -- the $600 Form 1099-K is dead. 

January 24, 2023: Forbes weighs in. Adds nothing new to the conversation. For me, this is much ado about nothing. The IRS memo is very, very clear. Both CNN and Forbes have only added to the confusion; the IRS did not add to the confusion. On the other hand, taxpayeradvocate is very, very, clear.

Original Post 

In case you missed it: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-announces-delay-for-implementation-of-600-reporting-threshold-for-third-party-payment-platforms-forms-1099-k.

CNN’s interpretation here: https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/23/investing/irs-delays-threshold-increase-for-business-transactions/index.html.

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Personal Note For The Family

I am now fully vaxxed, with one exception. I still need a tetanus shot -- one of those shots recommended to be taken every ten years.

Covid: two primary and two boosters.

"Seasonal flu": yes. First time I've taken the "seasonal flu" shot since 2006, my last full year in the US Air Force. 

Shingles: this was the big one. It's a two-series primary series and I had put it off for almost ten years, but finally got it done. Second one last Friday. They say the second shingles shot is the "worst" of them all. The first is generally no problem but if one is going to have a problem with the shingles shot, it will be the second one. The pharmacist recommended drinking lots of water, to maintain normal amount of activity, and take "Tylenol" every four to six hours, all of which I did. I had a really sore / stiff arm for the first twelve hours and then generalized musculoskeletal discomfort for 36  hours but by 72 hours, completely pain-free, even at the site of injection.

Tetanus: that leaves only Tetanus. Probably in late February.

An Old BR CCU Gopher Well Taken Off Line After 500K Bbls Crude Oil Cumulative -- January 23, 2023

The well:

• 30780, 2,525, BR, CCU Gopher 2-2-15MBH, Corral Creek, t9/15; cum 308K 3/20; taken off line 3/20; remains off line 10/20; back on line 2/21; a huge well; cum 419K 9/21; cum 507K 9/22; off line 9/22;

Recent production, since 2019, with jump in production:

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	11-2022	1	0	25	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	10-2022	5	1240	1298	1007	2205	2031	72
BAKKEN	9-2022	22	4436	4377	4073	7520	6904	257
BAKKEN	8-2022	5	1107	1126	943	1788	1615	65
BAKKEN	7-2022	14	2681	2716	2209	4538	2607	1763
BAKKEN	6-2022	30	6129	6133	5295	10311	8590	1289
BAKKEN	5-2022	31	7179	7186	6022	12894	11891	507
BAKKEN	4-2022	28	6569	6574	6045	10481	10476	0
BAKKEN	3-2022	31	8141	8132	7245	12387	12302	79
BAKKEN	2-2022	28	7915	7942	7185	12076	11938	132
BAKKEN	1-2022	31	9179	9297	8340	15260	15252	0
BAKKEN	12-2021	31	10840	10687	10316	16717	16610	98
BAKKEN	11-2021	30	11008	11012	10394	15799	15784	9
BAKKEN	10-2021	31	11408	11429	11824	15427	15421	0
BAKKEN	9-2021	22	7397	7353	8350	5935	5722	208
BAKKEN	8-2021	26	7481	7498	9311	8533	8475	54
BAKKEN	7-2021	31	10410	10402	13761	13071	10825	2241
BAKKEN	6-2021	24	7893	7840	10753	9451	7702	1745
BAKKEN	5-2021	5	3038	3172	5346	3391	3328	62
BAKKEN	4-2021	30	24767	24820	37597	29574	29562	0
BAKKEN	3-2021	31	36792	36776	37948	45281	45257	0
BAKKEN	2-2021	10	13578	13393	7288	9197	9186	0
BAKKEN	1-2021	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	12-2020	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	11-2020	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	10-2020	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	9-2020	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	8-2020	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	7-2020	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	6-2020	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	5-2020	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	4-2020	1	0	30	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	3-2020	13	491	614	370	436	433	0
BAKKEN	2-2020	29	2053	2143	1282	415	412	0
BAKKEN	1-2020	31	2579	2530	1502	731	481	246
BAKKEN	12-2019	31	2587	2587	1874	648	566	79
BAKKEN	11-2019	30	2397	2368	1678	863	783	76

WTI Holds Near $82; Active Rigs At 45; Four New Permits; One DUC Reported As Completed; Oasis With Two Dry Hooles -- January 23, 2023

Active rigs: link here. 45.

• Bowline: 1    BR: 3    CLR: 9
• Crescent Point: 2    Enerplus: 3
• Grayson Mill: 2       Hess: 4
• Hunt: 1                Kraken: 2
• Liberty Resources   2            Lime Rock Resources: 1
• Marathon Oil: 3    Oasis: 2
• Ovintiv: 2            Petro-Hunt: 1
• Sinclair: 1            Slawson: 2
• Stephens Williston: 1    Whiting: 2
• WPX: 1

WTI: $81.62.

Natural gas: $3.447.

Four new permits, #39583 - #39586, inclusive:

• Operators: Whiting (3); WPX
• Field: Sanish (Mountrail); Van Hook (Mountrail)
• Comments:
• WPX has a permit for a Spotted Rabbit well, SWSW 23-150-92, 
• to be sited 237 FNNLL and 1020 FWL.
• Whiting has permits for three De Bud wells, SESE 32-154-92, 
• to be sited between 634 FSL and 694 FSL and 10019 FEL.

One producing well (a DUC) was reported as completed:
39076, 41, Wesco Operating, Hall Fed 21-12,

Two dry holes:

• 34747, dry, Oasis, Njos Federal 5602 44-12 5B, Tyrone,
  
• 28635, dry, Oasis, Chalmeers 5300 21-19 7T2, Baker,
  

Random Update Of An Older Slawson Machete Well In Big Bend -- January 23, 2023

New Slawson wells are starting to come off the confidential list. Older wells with halo effect? Here's one, subtle but definite:

The well:

• 18207, 1,215, Slawson, Machete 1-19H, Big Bend, t3/10; cum 425K 11/22;
  

Recent production:

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	11-2022	30	3047	3020	3533	2498	1544	804
BAKKEN	10-2022	30	3004	2948	4144	2493	2121	221
BAKKEN	9-2022	30	2496	2515	5427	2253	2015	88
BAKKEN	8-2022	5	109	0	1231	157	83	50
BAKKEN	7-2022	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	6-2022	29	4064	4154	3644	3539	2936	458
BAKKEN	5-2022	31	4390	4720	4436	3809	3644	11
BAKKEN	4-2022	26	3920	3643	3637	3421	2850	440
BAKKEN	3-2022	31	4294	4503	6211	3781	3176	450
BAKKEN	2-2022	13	1729	1255	2539	1437	1149	223
BAKKEN	1-2022	28	4227	5049	5583	5396	5051	205
BAKKEN	12-2021	31	5653	5085	6997	5169	4912	102
BAKKEN	11-2021	30	6584	7019	9130	6053	4982	921
BAKKEN	10-2021	31	7910	7603	15904	6973	5193	1625
BAKKEN	9-2021	3	875	524	1629	673	363	297
BAKKEN	8-2021	29	1545	1595	710	2986	2830	11
BAKKEN	7-2021	31	1929	1928	843	3137	2916	66
BAKKEN	6-2021	30	1701	1803	821	2514	2364	0
BAKKEN	5-2021	31	2293	2384	1111	3920	3765	0
BAKKEN	4-2021	29	2242	2274	924	2962	2638	179

This well has done this more than once:

BAKKEN	9-2014	30	5997	5739	2240	4860	4710	0
BAKKEN	8-2014	28	5719	5645	1973	4591	4451	0
BAKKEN	7-2014	31	9708	9570	4140	7934	7779	0
BAKKEN	6-2014	13	3653	3448	2914	1527	1462	0
BAKKEN	5-2014	13	769	1431	251	660	595	0
BAKKEN	4-2014	30	1775	1410	597	1512	1362	0
BAKKEN	3-2014	31	1891	1858	602	1774	1619	0
BAKKEN	2-2014	28	1753	1670	565	1382	1242	0
BAKKEN	1-2014	31	2395	2316	584	1594	1439	0
BAKKEN	12-2013	31	1467	1584	518	1640	1485	0
BAKKEN	11-2013	30	1929	2274	558	1661	1511	0
BAKKEN	10-2013	25	1669	1181	676	1382	1257	0
BAKKEN	9-2013	29	1805	2059	653	1848	1703	0

Microsoft Makes New Multi-Billion-Dollar Investment In ChatGPT-Creator Open AI -- January 23, 2023

Updates

Later, 7:30 p.m. CT, link to The WSJ: 

Microsoft Corp. said Monday it is making a multiyear, multibillion-dollar investment in OpenAI, substantially bolstering its relationship with the startup behind the viral ChatGPT chatbot as the software giant looks to expand the use of artificial intelligence in its products.

Microsoft said the latest partnership builds upon the company’s 2019 and 2021 investments in OpenAI.

The companies didn’t disclose the financial terms of the partnership. Microsoft had been discussing investing as much as $10 billion in OpenAI.

OpenAI was in talks this month to sell existing shares in a tender offer that would value the company at roughly $29 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported, making it one of the most valuable U.S. startups on paper despite generating little revenue.

The investment shows the tremendous resources Microsoft is devoting toward incorporating artificial-intelligence software into its suite of products, ranging from its design app Microsoft Designer to search app Bing. It also will help bankroll the computing power OpenAI needs to run its various products on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform.

Original Post
Yesterday I posted this, including the map. I couldn't have been much more direct. LOL.

Now, less than 24 hours later, this:

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The Book Page

The Age of Entanglement: When Quantum Physics Was Born, Louisa Gilder, c. 2008.   

This was Ms Gilder's first book. 

My first copy was loaned to me by my Hispanic brother-in-law. I returned it and then bought my own copy, which over the years was misplaced or given away. 

Having just read this book for the first time, I needed to re-read The Age of Entanglement, so I bought another copy. 

A Metric No One Else Tracks -- January 23, 2023

Permitting Per Year and Total Annual Production

Data for 2022: total annual production is accurate only through November, 2022; December data is yet to be provided but total annual production is estimated below.

The number of permits will not be completely accurate; close but not completely accurate, partly because of the way NDIC started a new procedure for numbering permits for SWD wells that was changed sometime in the past several years.

Starting in the mid- to late-teens, NDIC changed the maximum time that a spudded well could be completed without requiring a waiver; it went from one year to two years.

Once permitted, a well must be spud within a year, but it is inexpensive and easy to renew a permit on an annual basis.

The "initial" lease in North Dakota "is good for" five years. If the first well is not spud within five years of the lease being, the lease becomes null and voidl

Disclaimer: this is my shorthand (above) to remind me of some important dates / rules. They are not "exact." If this "stuff" is important to you, go to the source. In addition, there may be additional typographical and content errors.  

Past years, total number of oil and gas permits, followed by annual crude oil production -- and then production that year / permits issued that year. Permits do not mean the wells were drilled. In fact, the majority of wells drilled in any given year were permitted at least a year earlier.

• 2022: 793 --    393,520,643 bbls (estimate) --  496,243 bbls / new permit (estimate);
  
• 2021: 668 --    409,103,885 bbls -- 612,431 bbls / new permit;
  
• 2020: 747 --    438,546,730 bbls -- 587,077 bbls / new permit
  
• 2019: 1,397 -- 524,444,348 bbls -- 375,408 bbls / new permit;
  
• 2018: 1,466 -- 466,419,743 bbls -- 318,158 bbls / new permit;
• 2017: 1,189 -- 394,759,760 bbls -- 332,010 bbls / new permit;
• 2016: 818 --    380,372,587 bbls -- 465,003 bbls / new permit;
• 2015: 2,055 -- 432,526,847 bbls -- 210,475 bbls / new permit;
• 2014: 3,012 -- 397,209,473 bbls -- 131,875 bbls / new permit;
• 2013: 2,671 -- 314,043,664 bbls -- 117,575 bbls / new permit;
• 2012: 2,522 -- 243,363,503 bbls -- 96,496 bbls / new permit;
• 2011:1,916  -- 153,075,204 bbls -- 79,893 bbls / new permit;

Mostly For Investors -- Nothing About The Bakken -- January 23, 2023

Updates

Later, 2:27 p.m. CT: 

Original Post

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.    

Personal investing:

I'm keeping my same "new money" allocation the same as it has been for the past year, but I sold out one of my Big Pharma positions, to replace it with another Big Pharma position at a later date. However, taking the cash from that Big Pharma sale, I added a significant position in a semiconductor company. 

The top seven: link here.

• AAPL, NVDA, AMZN, BRK-B, DXCM, GOOG, COST

Dividend cuts: ten biggest in 2022 --

• ILPT; PPL, DEI, UG, DVN, SWZ, SLG, RIO, SBLK, NCMI

PFE: raised its dividend. 

"[Pfizer]will be increasing its periodic dividend on the 3rd of March to $0.41, which will be 2.5% higher than last year's comparable payment amount of $0.40. This will take the annual payment to 3.5% of the stock price, which is above what most companies in the industry pay.

CVX: likely to raise its dividend before next earnings release. Link here.

DVN: earnings forecast. Link here.

Digital wallet: link here. 

Major banks in the US are combining forces to take on Apple Pay. Zelle. This is a huge story. Coming on the heels of incredibly poor earnings being reported by some major banks. 

Apple is not a bank. This tells me how threatening the major banks see Apple. See this recent post, one of two big stories reported that week. 

Last year we started receiving information from our regional bank regarding their new service, Zelle. It appeared the Zelle was our only way to transfer money from our bank account to outside accounts where automatic withdrawal exists (other than paper checks). I don't think that's true but it felt that why. Whatever. The big problem: I don't trust my regional bank (transactions fees, etc) and I certainly don't trust an outside app with which I have no experience.

For me, Apple and "trust" are linked in the library.

See yesterday's note on CBDC, also.

Art: contemporary discoveries. Something a little different.

Life: best ten cities in the US in which to buy a home (not necessarily best place to raise a family). * = places we've lived. Not in same order as at the link:

• Texas: DFW area*
• Texas: San Antonio area*
• North Carolina: Raleigh
• South Carolina: Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin area
• South Carolina: North Charleston, South Charleston*
• Tennessee: Knoxville
• Florida: Jacksonville
• Arkansas / Missouri: Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers area
• Georgia: Atlanta area
• Alabama: Huntsville (*Montgomery, AL)
  

WTI At $82 -- January 23, 2023

BKR: earnings out. Missed on top and bottom line but shares holding in pre-market trading. In fact, now moving up.

Anticipation: CVX. 

Timely: Nvidia to win big from ChatGPT hype. NVDA already moved last Friday. My last big post yesterday.

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Back to the Bakken

The Far Side: link here.

Active rigs: link here.

WTI: $82.15. Up 0.6%; up 51 cents to start the week.

Natural gas: $3.440. Up 8.4%; up 27 cents.

Tuesday, January 24, 2023: 54 for the month; 54 for the quarter, 54 for the year
38999, conf, Hunt, Alexandria 161-100-24-13H-3,
38889, conf, Koda Resources, Stout 2918-3BH,
38888, conf, Koda Resources, Stout 2918-4BH,

Monday, January 23, 2023: 51 for the month; 51 for the quarter, 51 for the year
38998, conf, Hunt, Alexandria 161-100-24-13H-3,
38997, conf, Slawson, Blizzard Federal 1-13H,
38732, conf, Hess, EN-Neset-156-94-1819H-1,
31325, conf, Oasis, Slagle 5101 41-12 2B,

Sunday, January 22, 2023: 47 for the month; 47 for the quarter, 47 for the year
None.

Saturday, January 21, 2023: 47 for the month; 47 for the quarter, 47 for the year
39012, conf, Kraken, Wilhelm 16-21 5H,
30868, conf, Prima Exploration, Smokey Bear State 3H,
27898, conf, CLR, Jersey FIU 15-6H,

RBN Energy: US LNG, underground storage help save Europe from another tough winter. [But at wwhat expense? Deindustrialization?]

With the war in Ukraine ongoing and Europe largely cut off or quitting Russian natural gas imports, many feared that global gas prices would skyrocket this winter, but prices have fizzled out instead and are at their lowest level since September 2021. That’s not to say gas prices are low, as they are still well above historic norms and high enough to incentivize LNG imports and the development of future LNG capacity. But despite losing its largest gas supplier, and prices running up in the months ahead of this winter, Europe appears to be in much better shape than it was last winter and gas prices have been relatively calm and on the downswing. So why is that? The difference between this winter and last largely boils down to storage inventories and the ability to attract LNG cargoes. In today’s RBN blog, we look at the European gas market, the impact of U.S. LNG supplies, and what it all means for developing LNG projects.