Monday, December 1, 2025

Synopsys -- December 1, 2025

Locator: 49586SYNOPSYS.

From Reuter's today:

  • Nvidia takes $2 billion stake in Synopsys as AI deal spree accelerates.

What is Synopsys?


This is a huge deal.

See the blog's disclaimer. 

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The Book Page
 
If someone on your Christmas list enjoys reading, I would find it difficult to recommend any other book than Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World, by Malcolm Harris, c. 2023.

My notes, brief as they are, are posted at this link
 

 

 

Apple's C-Suite Changes -- Tea Leaves? What's Going On? December 1, 2025

Locator: 49585APPLE.

AI prompt:  I missed it. Apple's C-suite changes. AI chief Giannandrea retiring; his folks now report to Craig Federighi; AI folks moving elsewhere. What do the tea leaves say about these moves?

Google search

From CNBC:

Ticker AAPL after the announcement:

Phoenix Operating With Four New Permits -- Monday, December 1, 2025

Locator: 49584B.

Apple's AI chief John Giannandrea stepping down. Was this why AAPL was up today?  

Casinos: NYC to gain three mega-casinos. Wow. Huge 

Market: today, companies of interest that hit new 52-week highs --

  • Apple Inc
  • Cummins Inc
  • GM
  • Total Energies
  • Transocean
  • Walmart
SCCO: first time I've ever heard SCCO mentioned on "Fast Money" CNBC. Overall, the panel seems to favor the other one.

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Back to the Bakken 

WTI: $59.32.

Active rigs: 30.

Four new permits, #42520 - #42523, inclusive; Phoenix Operating with permits for six Stanley wells, NWNE 30-158-92, to be sited 430 FNL and 2161 / 2251 FEL:

  • 42520, conf/loc, Phoenix Operating, Stanley 30-31-6 1H, Kittleson Slough, 
  • 42521, conf/loc, Phoenix Operating, Stanley 30-31-6 2H, Kittleson Slough, 
  • 42522, conf/loc, Phoenix Operating, Stanley 30-31-6 3H, Kittleson Slough, 
  • 42523, conf/loc, Phoenix Operating, Stanley 30-31-6 4H, Kittleson Slough, 

Six permits renewed:

  • Six Foundation Energy Management permits: three McDonald permits and three Little MO Federal permits; the McDonald permits, SWSW 32-143-102; and, the Little MO Federal permits, NWNW 12-142-102. 

Technology -- December 1, 2025

Locator: 49583TECH.

Jargon: zero-legacy day. Could Apple tap into this? 

See blog's disclaimer

Mag 7:

  • both AMD and NVDA recovered a bit;
  • MU had a great day

Chart of the day: MU --

Most surprising ticker: GM. Maybe it should have been the chart of the day. 

From Reuter's today:

  • Nvidia takes $2 billion stake in Synopsys as AI deal spree accelerates.
  • Amazon and Google launch multi-cloud service for faster connectivity
  • US Cyber Monday spending to hit $14.2 billion (IIRC: Black Friday: $12 billion)

Beth:

Black Friday - Cyber Monday: link here.

  • total: $23.6 billion for the full four days (online)
    • up 9% from last year;
    • Friday: a record $11.8 billion (online)
    • Monday: $14.2 billion (online plus in-store?)
  • in-store shopping was weaker: dropping 5.3% for the weekend versus last year 
  • the media is making a lot out of the fact that it was the wealthy that "carried" the weekend"
  • in fact, that would be a given, wouldn't it? We've talked about this before.
  • the media seems fascinated / focused /obsessed on a truism of no significance
  • having said that, it's pretty remarkable that the media knows the income brackets of those spending money this past weekend. 

X-files

  • Nippon Steel to short two or three states for new US plant!
    • yet another Trump win! 
  • climate-change activists concerned they're no long attracting attention (i.e., money)
  • dividend stocks have a good year; 
    • some of the best; Barron's; story short on names; clickbait to some extent;
  • price targets were raised significantly over the weekend on most Mag 7 companies
  • Vanderbilt men's basketball: highest ranking since 2015 - 2016; 17th (AP); 16th (USA Today)
  • AAPL hit an all-time high; up 1%; up $2.68; trading at $281.54; 
    • when I get a chance, will post an incredibly interesting data point that came out over the weekend regarding Apple/AAPL;
  • Elon Musk's picks: NVID, GOOG

Global warming

Monday, December 1, 2025

Locator: 49582B.

WTI: $59.33. Up 1.33%; up 78 cents. Venezuela?

New wells reporting:

Tuesday, December 2, 2025: 1 for the month, 124 for the quarter, 708 for the year,
None.

Monday, December 1, 2025: 1 for the month, 124 for the quarter, 708 for the year,
41327, conf, Hess, EN-Rice-155-94-1102H-5, 

Sunday, November 30, 2025: 65 for the month, 123 for the quarter, 707 for the year,
41700, conf, Marlo Operating, TOSCO Branch 4, 
41663, conf, Petro-Hunt, Lee 158-4-15A-27-1HS, 
41328, conf, Hess, EN-Rice-155-94-1102H-4, 
41243, conf, Hess, GO-Vinger-156-98-2116H-7, 
41024, conf, CLR, Berlain 6-30H, 
40558, conf, Hess, GO-Bergstrom-156-98-2833H-6, 
36700, conf, BR, Muri 2A-MBH,

Saturday, November 29, 2025: 58 for the month, 116 for the quarter, 700 for the year,
41530, conf, CLR, Garfield Federal 8-5H, 

RBN Energy: Phillips 66's integratioin creates efficiencies at the Sweeny Complex. Archived

Phillips 66’s Sweeny Complex includes refining, midstream and petrochemical facilities, all located in and around Sweeny, TX, about 65 miles south of Houston. It serves as a model for how a well-designed and integrated facility can deliver operating and financial efficiencies. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll review the complex’s capabilities, examine how this important and interconnected asset performs within the Phillips 66 system, and consider how the organization’s refining expertise and the stellar performance of its four fractionators effectively negates the need for a fifth unit, the “Ghost Train” referenced in today’s headline.

We should note up front that while in European and Asian countries it’s common for refineries and petrochemical plants to be located within a single, interconnected complex — mostly due to their steam crackers‘ traditionally heavy dependence on refinery-sourced naphtha as a feedstock — that approach is far less typical in the U.S., in part because crackers in the Lower 48 more commonly use lower-cost ethane, propane and other NGLs (not naphtha) as their primary feedstocks. Therefore, the connectivity of Sweeny’s midstream assets (fractionators) is a notable competitive advantage.

Now, on to the Sweeny Complex. Its focal asset is the 265-Mb/d refining unit producing traditional transportation fuels from a slate of sweet and sour crudes. It also has four fractionators with a combined capacity of 550 Mb/d. (More on these later.) The associated and co-located chemical units — owned by Chevron Phillips Chemical (CPChem), a 50/50 joint venture with Chevron — produce ethylene, propylene, 1-hexene and polyethylene. There are also multiple inbound and outbound pipelines, aboveground tanks and subterranean storage, all of which support the site’s refining, fractionation and chemical activities.

Sweeny’s operational and logistical advantages arise from the combination of integrated refining, midstream and chemical facilities, pipelines and processing systems, all intersecting on the Texas Gulf Coast. We’ve touched on the refining, chemical and NGL aspects of this facility separately in other blogs, including Let’s Work Together.

Building a highly integrated hydrocarbon processing system does not happen by accident or overnight. It evolves strategically over time and in Sweeny’s case resides a unique origin story. As shown in Figure 1 below, the initial Sweeny refining unit was established by the U.S. government in 1942 as part of the war effort. The facility was located well inland (about 20 miles from the Gulf) to protect it from the risk of direct naval attack. The unit was operated by the government through the conclusion of World War II. Following the war, the unit was idled for a couple of years then acquired by a Philips 66 predecessor in 1947.