Friday, June 9, 2023

Lego Batman Shadow Box -- Available Now -- June 9, 2023

Locator: 44894LEGO.

Became available yesterday.

Link here.

Week 23: June 5, 2023 -- June 11, 2023

Locator: 44893B.

Top story:

  • Former President criminally indicted; first in history.

Top international non-energy story:

  • Russian-Ukraine war continues.
    • Critical dam hit.

Top international energy story:

  • Saudi frustrated with price of oil. Says US could pay "huge price."

Top national non-energy story:

  • "Movement": continues to target Bud, Target; 
  • Walmart, Chick-fil-A appear "safe”
  • Investing: officially a bull market now
  • Generative AI all the rage
  • One step closer to universal EV charger; huge disruptor
    • Tesla, Ford, GM partner

Top national energy story

  • WTI holds at $70
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

Back To The Bakken -- Daily Report And Dashboards -- Most Comprehensive Free Bakken Blog Still On The Net -- June 9, 2023

Locator: 44892B.

EIA dashboards:

 For the third consecutive month, only the Bakken has "up" arrows and the arrows are "up" for both oil and natural gas. Compare the average Bakken well (oil and gas) with the average Permian well. For oil, 1,700 vs 1,000 and for natural gas, 2,500 vs 2,000.


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The NDIC Daily Report

Active rigs: 38.

WTI: $70.17.

Natural gas: $2.254.

Five new permits, #39964 - #39968, inclusive:

  • Operator: Petroshale
  • Field: Antelope (McKenzie)
  • Comments:
    • PetroShale has permits for five Primus wells, NWNW 17-152-94, 
      • to be sited 185 FNL and between 490 FWL and 610 FWL.

Seven permits renewed:

  • BR (5): Muri and Sanmuri, Elidah, McKenzie;
  • Hess (2): RS-State, Parshall, Mountrail

One producing well completed:

  • 38797, 1,015, MRO, Skinner 21-28TFH,

CHIPS, Chips, TSM, Samsung, And Texas — June 9, 2023

Locator44891CHIPS.

CNBC certainly does not have the gravitas of The WSJ but more reporting like this and that may change.


This is definitely a must-read for those following this industry. 

From the linked article:
Samsung is building a $17 billion chip fabrication plant, or fab, in Taylor, Texas, where it’s promised to start the first U.S. production of advanced chips next year. 
In February, applications opened for companies like Samsung to get their cut of the $52.7 billion CHIPS and Science Act, passed by lawmakers last year with the aim of bringing chip manufacturing to the U.S. after 30 years of market share losses to Asia.
Taylor, Texas: 29 miles northeast of Austin, TX, with about the same size population as Jamestown, ND.

Again, the Biden CHIPS Act MAGA.

3M -- Earplug Lawsuit -- Update -- June 9, 2023

Locator: 448903M. 

Link here.

Texas Boom Continues -- June 9, 2023

Locator: 44889TEXAS.   

Texas boom continues.

In our backyard, just west of DFW.




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The Soccer Page

This six-year-old, or thereabouts, went on to be a captain of her high school girls soccer team -- as a junior -- and take the team to their first-ever state championship -- 2023.

Saudi Price Cut -- Good Luck -- June 9, 2023

Locator: 44888SAUDI.  

From Rigzone

From the link:

Saudi Arabia’s plan to slash oil production by around 10% may hit its finances hard.

Sunday’s decision, which will see the kingdom lower crude output to 9 million barrels a day next month and perhaps beyond, has failed to boost prices much. Oil futures have risen less than 1% since Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman announced the unilateral cut after an OPEC+ meeting.

The prince, speaking in Vienna, described it as a “lollipop” for other members of the producers’ cartel.

The kingdom’s fiscal outlook was worsening even before this weekend. The budget was in deficit for the past two quarters as oil dipped, while spending on salaries and massive tourism and infrastructure projects soared.

Riyadh will need an oil price of almost $81 a barrel to balance its books this year, which is above Brent’s current level of around $77.

The situation is starker when Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s giga-projects such as the new city of Neom are taken into account. The IMF mostly excludes those because they’re largely funded by the sovereign wealth fund and other state entities, rather than directly from the government’s budget.

If those are included, Saudi Arabia’s breakeven oil price rises to $95 a barrel.

The Saudi government is more optimistic and expects to post an annual fiscal surplus of $4.3 billion for this year. The kingdom was the fastest-growing economy in the Group of 20 last year, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine roiled energy markets and pushed oil above $125 a barrel. It also pumped an average of 10.5 million barrels a day, an annual record.

Much more at the link. 

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Putin's War

I've lost the bubble on this, so I may be wrong. I don't follow the Tucker Carlson story very closely (actually at all), but it's my understanding that Tucker Carlson and GOP MAGA politicos are on the side of Putin on this one: wanting the US to stop supporting Zelensky. I honestly don't know. I've lost the bubble on this one. Briefly fact-checking Fox News suggests I'm not far off.

Link here.

From my perspective, if accurate, many times worse than Jane Fonda. 

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Stickley


 

For The Archives -- Investing -- June 9, 2023

Locator: 44887MKT. 

The bull market is back (not sure it ever left).

So much for "sell in May ...." though having said that --- the August doldrums are just around the corner. LOL.


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Investing Note To Reader

In response to a reader's note on investing philosophy. Not-ready-for-prime time.

Until about four, five, six years ago, I didn't pay much attention to investing, simply doing the same thing I had done when I started investing 30 years ago. Hard to change bad habits, LOL, but I learned a lot. Mostly because of the blog and comments from readers.

Amazing, what one can do when paying attention.

My entire portfolio is based on a rolling 30-year horizon, 100% investing (not a trader).

There are times I think about a new Schwab account purely for trading, not investing. But I'm not nimble enough nor do I have skin thick enough to accept huge short-term losses.

Could have added: in 1984 or thereabouts I paid $100 for a Forbes investing course. 

Most important lessons:

  • don't live beyond your means
  • pay yourself first
    • I don't think I ever missed one month since 1984 that I didn't invest at least something, always paying myself first

But I had no overall plan for investing. Simply invested.

Now, I actually have a plan and it's made investing so much more interesting.

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

Again, all my posts are done quickly. There will be typographical and content errors in all my posts. If any of my posts are important to you, go to the source.  

Just Released -- Russia's Foreign Exchange Reserves -- May, 2023

Locator: 44886OIL.

Russia Foreign Exchange Reserves.

Link here

See this note to explain the jump in late 2022 -- January 18, 2023 --  it was Putin simply moving money from one pocket to another pocket, in this case, converting the country's pension fund (held/paid in rubles) into foreign exchange reserves (generally western currency).

For those still confused: Putin doesn't pay his pensioners their social security in dollars.

The chart was re-set in October 2022 when Putin began having trouble financing his war.

Netflix To Surge Today -- JPM Forecast This Earlier This Week -- June 9, 2023

Locator: 44885SW.

Flashback:

From September 1, 2020:

Today: Netflix leads the S&P 500.

  • currently: 200 million subscribers
  • 2030, projection: 500 million subscribers, link here;

At the sidebar at the right, I have a link to "The Next Big Thing."

The original post is dated March 21, 2013. The series began with my interest in Netflix.

Flashback.  


Fast forward
: June 9, 2023.

I can't recall when I last watched a movie on Netflix. My wife "more than occasionally" uses our daughter's password to watch Netflix.

My wife will now be subscribing to Netflix. 

LOL. 

Just one of the millions. And Netflix is so inexpensive, it's a no-brainer.

There was a great tweet on twitter some time ago; I forgot to post it. Some middle-aged dad was complaining that he would now have to buy a subscription to Netflix for each of his two adult sons. LOL.

I assume when that guy takes his family to the movies, he wants to buy one ticket and then argue to get the rest of his family in for free. When he buys a book at Barnes and Noble he asks for a second book free to give to his wife. 

The sense of entitlement remains rampant. When I go to Starbucks with my wife, I ask for a free second cup of coffee for my wife. Not.

 Good for Netlfix.

The Bull Market Is Back -- June 9, 2023

Locator: 44884AAPL.

Later, 5:55 p.m. CDT: Yahoo!Finance research

Original Post

A reader alerted me to this. Thank you.

How big was the exclusive MLS - Apple deal announced a year or so ago? Pretty big.

Previously posted:

 

Three Wells Coming Off Confidential List; Thirteenth Day Of 101 Days Off Summer -- June 9, 2023

Locator: 44883B.

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Bull Market Is Back

Look at TSLA today. And AAPL.

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101 Days Of Summer

Day 13.

Beautiful biking weather. On a scale of 1 - 10, a twelve (12).

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Back to the Bakken

Active rig: 38.

WTI: $71.46.

Natural gas: $2.284.

Peter Zeihan newsletter.

Sunday, June 11, 2023: 25 for the month; 133 for the quarter, 388 for the year
39300, conf, CLR, Skachenko FIU 8-31H1,

Saturday, June 10, 2023: 24 for the month; 132 for the quarter, 387 for the year
39258, conf, Stephens Williston LLC DBA SEG Williston, Greenbrier 15591W-0211-6H,

Friday, June 9, 2023: 23 for the month; 131 for the quarter, 386 for the year
39417, conf, Bison Land & Minerals, West Dry Creek 1H,
39257, conf, Stephens Williston LLC DBA SEG Williston, Greenbrier 15591W-0211-5H,
33904, conf, Slawson, Mole 5-20TFH,

RBN Energy: AltaGas, Vopak look to expand propane expoorts from Canada's west coast.

Canada has been exporting propane from marine terminals in British Columbia (BC) to Asian markets since May 2019 and, despite modest propane production volumes, it has become an integral part of the global market — Japan, for example, depends on Canada for one-ninth of its LPG. Now, the companies that co-own the larger of BC’s two LPG export terminals are planning yet another facility next door that would enable Canadian propane exports to Asia to double over the next few years. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss the AltaGas/Royal Vopak plan and its implications for Canadian producers and LPG consumers in Canada, the U.S. and Asia.