Locator: 48778F22.
I could watch this all day.
Friday, June 20, 2025
Nine New Permits; Nine Permits Renewed; Three Permits Canceled; One DUC Reported As Completed -- June 20, 2025
Locator: 48776B.
Perplexity and Apple: folks may want to take another look at this post -- link here. The bad news? It will wipe out Apple's cash hoard. Link here.
The best Apple deals ahead of Amazon Prime Day at The Verge. Link here. Direct to The Verge.
Amazon: now has three $100 billion businesses. I remember when I wrote the same thing about Apple, but it was $1 trillion for each of three Apple business sectors. That was awhile ago: iPhone, chips, services.
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Back to the Bakken
WTI: $73.84.
Active rigs: 30.
Nine new permits, #42036 - #42044, inclusive:
- Operators: Phoenix Operating (6); Rockport Energy (3);
- Fields: Big Stone (Divide County); Ranch Creek (McKenzie County)
- Comments:
- Rockport has permits for three Sophia wells, SWSE 16-146-98,
- to be sited 134 / 230 FSL and 2442 FEL;
- Phoenix Operating has permits for six Willow Gray wells, SESW 35-160-98,
- to be sited 410 FSL and 2157 / 2307 FWL.
Nine permits renewed:
- BR (7): Sequoiafill wells, Hawkey oil field; McKenzie County;
- MRO (2): a Sophia USA well, a wildcat; and, a Middleton well, Bailey oil field, both in Dunn County;
Three permits canceled:
- Koda Resources (2): two Stout wells, Divide County;
- BR: an Ole well, McKenzie County;
One producing well (a DUC) reported as completed:
- 41170, 2,016, CLR, Helen 2-8HSL,
Geoff Simon's Quick Connects -- June 20, 2025
Locator: 48775B.
• North Dakota challenge to energy resource plan put on pause -- Bloomberg Law
• Denbury reports 228 barrels of produced water spilled in Bowman County -- KX News
• PSC to hold public hearing on Bison Generation Station June 30 -- Williston Herald
• Data center developer considers plans within Bismarck city limits -- Bismarck Tribune
• Data center official says other states offer better incentives than SD -- South Dakota Searchlight
• PSC rejects challenge to power line decision but route still needs approval -- North Dakota Monitor
• Southwest ND biofuels plant, regional growth prompt study on water pipe capacity -- Bismarck Tribune
• New federal estimate of reserves could open more of southwest Wyoming to oil and gas -- WyoFile
• Group of state officials calls on Congress to end CO2 sequestration tax credits -- North Dakota Monitor
• ND Republican Party division apparent as new chair elected in split vote -- North Dakota Monitor
• Trump administration cancels $49 million CO2 capture project at Basin's Dry Fork plant -- WyoFile
• North Dakota's Garrison Dam awarded $24 million for infrastructure upgrade work -- Bismarck Tribune
• $1.8 billion Garrison Dam spillway project to be largest in US Army Corps' history -- Dickinson Press
• State removes lawmaker addresses from website in response to shooting -- North Dakota Monitor
• Twenty-third annual 100-mile rummage sale set in southwestern North Dakota -- Bismarck Tribune
• Minot city manager recommends Michael Frye as next police chief, City Council approves -- KFYR - TV
• Storm damage reports: Shops destroyed at Reeder, grain bins flattened at Hettinger -- Bismarck Tribune
• Tornado causes minor damage southwest of Dickinson, peak wind speed of 97 mph -- Bismarck Tribune
• North Dakota Ag Commissioner lauds resilience of Bakken area farmers -- McKenzie County Farmer
• An emblem of North Dakota pride, Medora Musical turns 60 with surprise visitors -- InForum
• Lawmakers eye improvements for crumbling roads in North Dakota's farm towns -- Minot Daily News
• Settlement reached over lawsuit impacting residents living near Atlas Power Data Center -- KFYR - TV
• Minot Public School District sees 137 student drop in 2024-2025 enrollment numbers -- KX News
• Wahpeton steps up for teachers: Raises despite North Dakota's 'F' for pay -- Wahpeton Daily News
• Current Hazen School Board members Nolan and Wallender reelected to their seats -- Hazen Star
• Beulah teachers to receive 2% salary increase, $500 experience pay in new contract -- The Beacon
• Job Corps partnership with Minot Public Schools on hold; program's future uncertain -- KX News
• Big beautiful coal will be here for many more years despite "green" demonization -- Daily Caller
• Trump administration proposes to open 82% of Alaskan reserve for oil and gas leasing -- Reuters
• US Senate bill would raise value of tax credit to use captured CO2 to produce more oil -- Reuters
• The US Senate can do this one thing to ensure domestic energy dominance -- RealClearEnergy
• Senate Republicans propose $1B tax break for oil and gas producers in fiscal package -- World Oil
• US lacks a coherent and continuing energy plan in race against China for AI supremacy -- Forbes
• Water and power utilities across the US prepare for Iran cyberattacks as conflict widens -- E&E News
• US oil production is shielding global markets from Middle East chaos says API CEO -- Fox Business
• Trump administration plans to finance $120M rare earth mining in Greenland -- Legal Insurrection
• Biden's "gold bars" went to politically-connected orgs over red flags, watchdog finds -- Daily Caller
• EPA gets moving on its push for energy deregulation, plan is coming together -- Manhattan Contrarian
• Physics demonstrates increasing greenhouse gases can't cause dangerous warming -- CO2 Coalition
• What if the basis of the catastrophic global warming scare was a calculated lie? -- Issues and Insights
Situation Room -- June 20, 2025
Locator: 48774WAR.
Twelve key figures in the situation room:
- VP: JD Vance
- SecState: Rubio
- CIA Director: John Ratcliffe
- Chairman, JCOS: General Dan Caine
- Military planning: General Erik Kurilla, Commander, US Central Command, since 2022 (CENTCOM)
- SecDef: Pete Hegseth
- Director, National Intel: Tulsi Gabbard -- present, but influence reportedly diminished
- Special Envoy to the Middle East: Steve Witkoff; made name for himself inside and outside of government; area of expertise: Mideast
- Principal Deputy National Security Advisor: Alex Wong; made name for himself inside and outside of government; area of expertise: North Korea
- NSC Chief of Staff: Brian McCormack; bureaucrat with long history inside previous administrations; loyal to a fault to Trump
- Mike Waltz: National Security Advisor
- John Ratcliffe: already listed above; Director of CIA / National Intelligence
Weakest link: Tulsi Gabbard. At odds with the president on Iran's nuclear program. On her way out?
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The Book Page
Tamba: one of the six ancient pottery-making centers known as Japan's "Six Kilns," along with Seto, Tokoname, Shigaraki, Bizen, and Echizen. Tachikui Pottery Village, located at the hub of Tambayaki potter production, has a brick-built "climbing kiln" (Heiseigama) built on the slope of a mountain.
For over 800 years, this area has been producing pottery, with a history deeply intertwined with daily life and evolving alongside changing lifestyles.
At Amazon: Japanese Porcelain 1800 - 1950 (A Schiffer Book for Collectors), Nancy Schiffer, illustrated, October 8, 1999.
The spiral periodic table, Christopher Benfey, 2009; a historical narrative of deriving the table in 1964. Link here. [https://acshist.scs.illinois.edu/bulletin_open_access/v34-2/v34-2%20p141-145.pdf]
Silly Putty.
Carbon.
Silicon.
SoftBank Floats $1-Trillion Arizona AI Hub / Partnership With NVDA
Locator: 48773B.
Tariffs: US Supreme court refuses to take up "toy-company-urgent" request.
SCOTUS will let the various suits play out in lower courts. So, in last two days, two big SCOTUS wins for Trump: vs Newsom in Califonia and now at least a temporary win for his tariffs, which, by the day, become less important.
One gets the feeling that Trump, like Obama (and "Biden") know that SCOTUS has limited interest / limited time to take on new cases. Presidents need to pick their fights carefully.
Another Trump-TikTok-Timetable: Trump has delayed a decision on TikTok three times, each delay another 90 days; now we have the two-week "take-out Tehran" delay. But, two weeks from now -- July 4th -- typically a big day for fireworks.
Back to CNBC: it's still all about rate cuts.
Wow, it gets tedious. Last rate cut was a tiny 25 basis points back in December, 2024. Since then, nothing. They're arguing over another 25 basis points. This is not an economic / fiscal policy / monetary policy issue. It's a political issue, 1000%. No way will Jay Powell bow to President Trump. No way does 25 basis points mean anything (except for political nerds).
Powell will try to run out the clock; he may or may not be successful, but at most we're talking 50 basis points. Ho-hum. At one time Jay Powell said the tariff issue was a "theoretical issue" and, he said, the Fed only deals with data, not "what-ifs."
Most recently Jay Powell said we've been on pause for six months; we can pause another two months. Paraphrased. Maybe Powell didn't say that; maybe an analyst said that. Whatever.
So, far, the tariff story has been less than noteworthy; across the board, maybe it has resulted in a global 10% tariff.
Next year is an election year, albeit meaningless midterms. One hundred basis points in cuts in 2024, under Biden; no rate cuts since Trump has become president. Tell me again, the Fed is not political. LOL.
Tesla-Austin rollout: muted response today? Texas lawmakers have asked Tesla to delay rollout.
Air India 171: curious, isn't is? Link here.
Biggest air crash in decades (?) and no one seems concerned about cause of the crash; two engines fail simultaneously; ho-hum. Planes keep flying; no safety checks; no groundings; no nothing; at least not publicized.
YouTube experts now have nothing new to say.
US college grads: lots of talk about college grads having trouble finding jobs this year. How bad is it?
Right now, US college grads with unemployment rate of 7%; before Covid-19, it was 5%. Okay.
SoftBank: floats $1-trillion Arizona AI hub; to partner with TSMC; huge blow to Intel (INTC); link here.
- the proposed scheme follows a series of big investment announcements SoftBank has made this year.
- in March, it announced it would acquire U.S. semiconductor design company Ampere for $6.5 billion; and,
- in April, it said it would underwrite up to $40 billion of new investment in OpenAI, of which up to $10 billion would be syndicated to other investors.
- this week SoftBank raised $4.8 billion from a sale of shares in T-Mobil
- a commitment of $1 trillion would be double that of the $500 billion “Stargate” project, which seeks to build out data centre capacity across the U.S., with funding from SoftBank, OpenAI, and Oracle.
- it's easy to forget that "Stargate" is based in Abilene, TX.
- flashback:
Audi: floats $4-billion auto manufacturing plant in some southern US state to"placate" Trump.
CVX: enters lithium race with purchase of major Arkansas-Texas acquisition. Joins XOM; pretty much same general location. Link here.
Silver: for the archives -- silver prices surge. Link here. Ho-hum.
What do these two stories have in common?
- the two stories:
- global warming?
- Iran's nuclear bomb?
- what they have in common:
- both have been imminent for the past fifty years.
- in fact, Iran has been two weeks away from a nuclear warhead for the past ten years.
Speaking of which: what drove the transgender story?
- the transgender issue is a "less than a 1% story" that has become an all-or-none story
- I've always wondered what put the transgender story on the radar scope; we now know
- it goes back to Obergefell, 2015
- another follow-the-money story.
- Americans fell for it, hook-line-and-sinker
- ChatGPT, Google Gemini still being played
- quick: other than surgery on minors what other LGBQT+ stories are out (no pun intended) there right now; oh, yeah, that's right -- men in women's sports.
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Back to the Bakken
WTI: $75.03. Drops back a bit at Iran-Israel return to same pattern of tit-for-tat, and Trump takes time to decide.
New wells:
Sunday, June 22, 2025: 49 for the month, 202 for the quarter, 416 for the year,
40508, conf, Hess, EN-McKenna-157-93-3328H-5,
Saturday, June 21, 2025: 48 for the month, 201 for the quarter, 415 for the year,
41286, conf, CLR, Peterson 8-29H,
None.
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