Locator: 48408PEAKOIL.
US crude oil field production.
Since August, 2022, not one month less than 12 million bopd.
One year later, August 2023, hit 13 million bopd and never dropped below that 13-handle except for one month -- January, 2024.
Tuesday, August 13, 2024
Millennial Wealth -- An Update -- WSJ -- August 13, 2024
Locator: 48407MILLENNIALS.
Link to a post dated October 23, 2023.
Now this from The WSJ.
Their "wealth"? Their house. Phantom wealth.
But, wow, my post of 2022? Prescient. Incredible.
But the story is even bigger than this.
July 2, 2024, from CNBC:
Intel Sells Arm -- August 13, 2024
Locator: 48405INTC.
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The Book Page
Four links.
Uncle Tom's Cabin: a really, really good read. And, yes, I've ordered the book.
How Jacqueline Susann and Jackie Collins changed the face of publishing. Link here. A really, really good read.
Robert Louis Stevenson and Fanny, his wife. A good read.
Poetry used to be an actual Olympic sport. Not worth reading. I linked it only to answer a question my wife asked. Modern Olympics: 1896.
California Off-Shore Wind -- August 13, 2024
Locator: 48402CA_WIND.
Don't underestimate the Californians. Money is no object if they get a crazy idea. Exhibit A? The Bullet Train.
Headlines -- August 13, 2024
Locator: 48401ARCHIVES.
Headline tonight: Putin withdraws small number of troops from Ukraine to protect Mother Russia.
And, then this from Drudge Report:
I have no idea in what context Trump mentioned going to Venezuela. I did not click on the link. I assume it was tongue-in-cheek but I think a "Freud / Jung" would have much to say about that. It was probably a bridge too far, even for Trump, to say he would flee to Moscow if he lost the election.
Yahoo!News, link here:
Just thinking out loud:
- The 1920s.
- The 1960s.
- The 2020s.
Seven New Permits -- August 13, 2024
Locator: 48400B.
WTI: 478.79.
Active rigs: 38.
Seven new permits, #41018 - #41024, inclusive:
- Operators: CLR (6); WGO
- Fields: wildcat, Golden Valley; Crazy Man Creek (Williams);Patent Gate (McKenzie)
- Comments:
- WGO has a permit for a Koon Harkins well, NWSE 26-140-104,
- to be sited 2219 FSL and 1927 FEL;
- CLR has permits for three Bud wells, and two Alfsvaag Federal wells, NENE 31-153-153-99,
- to be sited between 285 FNL and 297 FNL and between 446 FEL and 318 FEL;
- and one Berlain well, lot 1, section 30-151-100,
- to be sited 335 FNL and 1155 FWL
Six permits renewed:
- Summit Carbon Storage permits, Mercer County and Oliver County
- BK Fischer 1, BK Fischer 2, KJ Hintz 1, Hintz 2, TB Leingang 1, TB Leingang 2
Two producing wells (DUCs) reported as completed:
- 39676, 458, Petro-Hunt, Burian 144-98-14B-23-2H,
- 39784, 1,435, CLR, Thorvald 8-6HSL,
Good, Bad, Indifferent -- Right Or Wrong -- This Is What Thinking Independents Are Reading -- August 13, 2024
Locator: 48399POLITICS.
With that, I'm off for the day. Will blog again later this evening. Good luck to all.
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Close
At the close, Tuesday, August 13, 2024:
Note:
- NASDAQ: up 407 points
- DJIA: up 409 points
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The Book Page
From One Cell: A Journey Into Life's Origins And The Future Of Medicine, Ben Stanger, 2023.
From pages 217 - 219.
By the end of the 20th century, US researchers had made great strides in stem cell research, using stem cells from mouse embryos. Researchers presumed that generating human stem cells would be relatively straightforward, believing that the heavy lifting had already been cone by earlier researchers. But translating stem cell protocols from mouse to human turned out to be more complicated. Human embryos were, for some reason, less cooperative, and it became obvious that research would require new approaches.
Stem cells (and stem research), remember, was the holy grail to cure cancer and to treat diseases.
But by the year 2000, an even bigger stumbling block emerged -- religious and ethical objections stemming from the fact that human stem cells came from human embryos. While there was not much outcry over using mouse embryos to make stem cells, destroying a human embryo was a different story. The very idea was unacceptable to millions of people, especially those who were unconditionally opposed to abortions. To them, it was irrelevant that the embryos -- tiny balls of a hundred calls or so -- were donated by couples who had undergone in vitro fertilization and no longer needed them.
President George Bush struggled over this specific question, whether tax dollars should be used to fund research that used the products of destroyed embryos, even if those embryos were "leftovers" from fertility clinics, and were going to be destroyed anyway.
George Bush spoke to the nation from his ranch in Crawford, TX, on August 9, 2001 (just a month before the terrorist attacks on 9/11) on the issue and his decision. The Bush policy satisfied neither side and essentially put an end to federal government funding for stem cell research.
Remember, stem cells (and stem cell research) in the year 2000 was the holy grail to cure cancer and to treat diseases. And stem cell research used embryos that were being destroyed as a by-product of in vitro fertilization.
Ironically the story's denouement was completely unexpected, and entirely satisfying. Stem cell research "took off," becoming more successful than ever.
Flashback: The Apple Moat -- August 13, 2024
Locator: 48398APPLE.
Re-posting: link here to March 9, 2015.
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Apple
Apple
I am now just catching up on the Apple presentation today -- AppleWatch, MacBook, and Mac Air -- and I am really, really impressed. Pundits often refer to Apple innovations as revolutionary or evolutionary. Without question, pundits will call today's announcements "evolutionary" but in the big scheme of things, they continue to be revolutionary (and few, if any, will agree with me).
First, the Apple Watch. Investors were not impressed with the Apple Watch (presentation). Two quick points (I missed the presentation; haven't seen television, heard radio, or done much internet surfing yet today because I was out and about with the granddaughters all day, so I don't "know" much about the presentation or the investors today). Yahoo!Finance is reporting:
- the investors already knew "everything" about the Apple Watch before the presentation today (the price, the Sports Model, etc); Apple share price had already "baked" the Apple Watch in; the fact that Apple's share price did not fall was the big news
- the Apple Watch adds a new layer to the Apple ecosystem; mangling metaphors, it widens the moat
Tim Cook announced a new, 12-inch MacBook that weighs just 2 pounds. That's half a pound lighter than the current 11.6-inch MacBook Air.
The new laptop is very thin at 13.1 mm, and unlike the Air, it has a Retina display with a resolution of 2304x1440. Prices start at $1,299 for a machine with a 1.1-Ghz Core M processor, 256GB of SSD storage, and 8GB of RAM. It launches April 10.
Apple Watch could be Apple's first flop of the century. Fiscal Times is reporting:Apple's new laptop extends the company's tradition of jettisoning ports and drives that most people still use and like. The computer will have a single USB Type C port for both charging and handling wired connections. Many people will appreciate USB C because there's no wrong way to plug in the cable—the connector is symmetrical. More significant, perhaps, is that the connection allows for much faster data transfer.
By the way, all of these options [other Smart Watches] are significantly cheaper than the Apple Watch, which begins at a hefty $350. Snazzier versions will presumably cost more.
Sure, Apple has the brand, the audience, and the status, but is that enough to keep it off clearance shelves? Only time will tell.
Several comments:
- it may very well flop
- Apple is not expecting to sell very many; first production run is very thin; limited editions are limited
- money is no object for the Hollywood crowd
- the Apple Watch is not competing with watches; it's a fashion statement; as I said earlier, every mistress / kept woman in Hollywood will have a limited edition Apple Watch by Christmas
[Update, March 14, 2015: Holman Jenkins, Jr., who has been reporting most on Apple for the WSJ comes close to why Apple developed the Apple Watch -- he mistakenly calls it the iWatch.]
Cramer -- First Hour -- CNBC -- August 13, 2024
Locator: 48395CRAMER.
Second Hour: Sara Eisen
Starbucks: up 21%. Chipotle CEO for six years moves to Starbucks. Problems at Starbucks:
- slow service
- high prices
- quality issues
Starbucks: when it's easy to spend $9 on coffee and a pastry, it's easy to see why 20-somethings are gonig to Chipotle, where entrees start at about $9. Absolutely no comparison.
Chipotle: down almost 14% on the news. Interim CEO in place.
Nvidia: up almost 5%.
Holy mackerel! AAPL up nicely!
Tesla also having a great day.
First Hour: Cramer
Musk - Trump interview: a bust. Two hour mini-rally. First twenty minutes on assassination attempt. Nothing substantive.
Starbucks: most of first hour on Starbucks, new CEO. Starbucks hires Chipotle's CEO. This will be the subject all day, and will be the lead story for Cramer tonight on "Mad Money." Of no interest to me. Ticker: Starbucks up 17% pre-market. Chipotle down 10% at the open.
Dell: wow, wow, wow -- completely missed this -- I thought Dell was a Wall Street darling after comments by Nvidia's Huang Jensen -- if you thought Dell at $160 was great, you'll love Dell at $95. Fortunately I never bought into the hype (but, I have to admit ... I almost did). In fact, I called Dell nothing more than an "assembler." Ticker:
NVDA: up 4% pre-market.
Personal investing: big, big week for Sophia. Mag-7. Will add to positions to balance out across the seven. Amazon is most difficult to buy -- no dividend. With PPI coming in lower than expected today, is it time to add UNP, CAT? From July 20, 2024 -- link here:
OXY: down another 2% at the open.
Chevron technology: a break-through or hype? Link here.
The technological breakthrough represents the first time the industry has seen successful production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, where drillers encounter significant subsea pressure that has until now evaded new technology, according to Chevron.
The new high-pressure technology is capable of operating at 20,000 psi and can reach 34,000 feet below sea level.
Chevron’s Anchor FPU (semi-submersible floating production unit), which is offshore Louisiana, has a capacity of 75,000 barrels of oil per day and 28 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. Anchor has seven subsea wells, all connected to the FPU and could produce up to 440 million boe. By 2026, Chevron projects that Anchor will be producing 300,000 boepd, and is expected to produce for three decades.According to Chevron, the Anchor project has all-electric operations, including turning waste into heat, to minimize carbon emissions.
Chevron is the operator of the project with a 62.86% interest, while TotalEnergies E&P USA holds the remaining interest.
The 60/40 portfolio. Agree completely. Link here.
The folks recommending the 60/40 portfolio are the same folks that
recommend the traditional IRA over the Roth IRA using the same
rationale.
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Disclaimer Briefly
Disclaimer Briefly
Reminder
- I am inappropriately exuberant about the US economy and the US market,
- I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple.
- See disclaimer. This is not an investment site.
- 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.
- Reminder: I am inappropriately exuberant about the US economy and the US market,
- I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple.
Taiwan Energy -- Large Data Centers -- Advantage: US -- August 13, 2024
Locator: 48394TAIWAN.
Years ago, when I first started blogging, a recurrent theme was: the 21st century will be the century of energy, advantage, US. Europe would suffer most. Now Taiwan: peak energy?
Taiwan energy, link here.
PPI Comes In Lighter Than Expected -- August 13, 2024
Locator: 48391B.
Inflation watch: PPI -- producer price index -- a measure of wholesale prices --
- increased 0.1% last month (July, 2024)
- forecast: a gain of 0.2%
Heartland Hydrogen: TC Energy and Marathon Petroleum, out. Link here.
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Back to the Bakken
WTI: $79.79.
Wednesday, August 14, 2024: 31 for the month; 87 for the quarter, 413 for the year
40467, conf, Kraken, Milloy 10-3-34 2H,
40386, conf, WPX, Missouri River 25-26HIL,
40262, conf, Empire North Dakota, Whooping Crane 29-15 1H,
39253, conf, Hess, SC-4WX-153-98-3130H-5,
40468, conf, Kraken Operating, Milloy LE 10-3-34 11H,
39799, conf, Enerplus, Diamond 148-95-03A-10H,
39796, conf, Enerplus, Ruby 148-95-03B-10H,
24361, conf, Grayson Mill, Knight 35-26 3TFH,
RBN Energy: Permian production water posing challenges and offering opportunities.
Crude-oil-focused wells in the Permian generate massive volumes of produced water, and E&Ps have made tremendous strides in dealing with it. Most important, a growing share of that water is being recycled for use in new well completions. But challenges remain. Deep disposal wells — a popular option for handling produced water — can spur seismic events, and shallow disposal wells can do the same and also negatively impact oil well integrity. As we discuss in today’s RBN blog, Permian E&Ps are taking an increasingly comprehensive, holistic approach to produced water management.
Produced water — that is, the briny, minerals-packed water that emerges from Permian and other wells with crude oil and associated gas — has been a frequent blog topic. As we said in our Wipe Out! blog series a few years back, in the olden days (before the Shale Era), E&Ps often dealt with produced water from old-school vertical wells by simply pumping it back into the same formation that it came from. That approach made the water disposal problem go away, and sometimes it actually improved well performance –– that additional water increased pressure at the bottom of the well and drove more oil into the well bore and up to the surface, hence initiating some of the first enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques.