BR Reports Completing A DUC -- Note The Halo Effect -- January 7, 2026

Locator: 49834BRDUC. 

From today's daily activity report:

One producing well (a DUC) reported as completed:

• 37665, 2,649, BR, Kellog Rach 1B MBH, McKenzie County; huge well;

Full production profile: 40,459 bbls over 16 days extrapolates to 75,860 bbls over 30 days.

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	11-2025	30	18552	18532	13144	71838	71212	544
BAKKEN	10-2025	31	17359	17389	11473	63014	62452	520
BAKKEN	9-2025	29	19395	19369	12617	62123	61509	584
BAKKEN	8-2025	28	17673	17670	16571	54465	53907	530
BAKKEN	7-2025	20	16549	16467	15304	47014	46500	492
BAKKEN	6-2025	0	0	145	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	5-2025	16	40459	40314	4496	123301	122032	1210
BAKKEN	4-2025	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	3-2025	0	0	0	6654	0	0	0

 Well of interest to the west:

• 29169, 905, CLR, Kellogg Ranch Federal 3-32H, Elidah, t9/15; cum 604K 11/25; look at the recent production, paying attention to the jump in production, 4/25 after being offline just prior:

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	11-2025	30	10473	10462	14852	40668	40263	0
BAKKEN	10-2025	31	10987	10944	14667	36863	36466	0
BAKKEN	9-2025	30	13873	13694	18374	45139	44734	0
BAKKEN	8-2025	31	18015	18273	21395	55761	55342	0
BAKKEN	7-2025	31	20299	20179	29933	63124	62705	0
BAKKEN	6-2025	30	15831	15743	44384	47290	46885	0
BAKKEN	5-2025	28	4631	4546	33204	10880	10536	0
BAKKEN	4-2025	30	12482	12548	18518	34559	34154	0
BAKKEN	3-2025	18	8256	7900	15458	22090	21853	0
BAKKEN	2-2025	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAKKEN	1-2025	15	955	1489	1499	4147	3988	0
BAKKEN	12-2024	31	2691	2419	2827	10981	10562	0
BAKKEN	11-2024	30	2884	2703	3630	10030	9625	0
BAKKEN	10-2024	31	2963	2906	3799	8139	7721	0
BAKKEN	9-2024	22	2308	2136	4515	5779	5495	0

Six New Permits -- January 7, 2026

Locator: 49833B. 

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Back to the Bakken

WTI:

Active rigs: 24. Record recent low.

Six new permits, #42616 - #42622, inclusive:

• Operator: Phoenix Operating (4); KODA Resources (2):
• Fields: Ranch Creek (McKenzie County); and, Daneville (Divide County)
• Comments:
• KODA Resources has permits for two Ale wells, SWSE 15-161-103, 
• to be sited 406 FSL and 1154 / 1189 FWL;
• Phoenix Operating has permits for four Mary wells, NWNE 25-14-99, 
• to be sited 298 FNL and 2263 / 2323 FEL. 

Six permits renewed:

• Whiting (4): four Jefferson Federal permits, Foreman Butte (McKenzie County);
• Slawson (2): two Magnum wells, Baker oil field (McKenzie County;

One producing well (a DUC) reported as completed:

• 37665, 2,649, BR, Kellog Ranch 1B MBH, McKenzie County; huge well; note the halo effect of a neighboring well to the west.

Upwards of 300 wells changing hands: from Zavanna, LLC, to Zavanna Energy Operating. Background noise.

Zavanna: website -- 

Seven wells transferred from Slawson to Enerplus: one Bonanza permit/well (#19572) and six Magnum permits/wells (#22247, #22249, #22731, #40318, #40395, and #40396). 

Micron -- Megafab -- New York -- Update -- January 7, 2026

Locator: 49832MICRON.

I really get a kick out of this. Six months ago CNBC started raising two issues with regard to AI and the sixth (fourth) industrial revolution:

• where will the power come from? And,
• the risk of circular financing.

CAT answered the first question. Link here. Is CAT now the biggest a/c engine manufacturer? 

Circular financing seems to be a concern that never evolved.

Today we lean that Micro is about to break ground on its $100 billion New York megafab on January 16, 2026.

Link here. 

I really don't get it. Is Shay Boloor going to break out as this year's best investor?

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The Worst Is Over

Link here. 

CAT: The Number One (#1) Dow Ticker For Calendar Year 2025 -- January 7, 2026

 Locator: 49831CAT.

I am not tuning into CNBC  for now. I am limiting myself to ten minutes a day, the first ten minutes of the 0800 hour with Cramer. Life has all of a sudden gotten really, really better. I'm blogging from the Bat Cave.  

AI prompt: has CAT become the largest natural gas turbine manufacturer in the world?

AI tries so hard to be politically correct. LOL.

Okay, let me ask it a different way, for the average retail mom-and-pop retail investor, what's the best way to play the natural gas turbine phenomenon? Here we go, LOL:

AI must drive Shay nuts.

 *********************************
If I Had All The Money In The World

I would be back in Yorkshire, 2004.

Link here. 

CPB, NPR, PBS -- January 7, 2026

Locator: 49830PBS.

AI prompt: Prior to their most recent announcement didn't The Corporation for Public Broadcasting say that it did not neet government funding to survive?

GM, F Sales, Calendar Year 2025, And 4Q25 -- Posted January 7, 2026

Locator: 49829AUTOSALES.

EVs sales slowing, link here? 

Link here: Ford.  

 

Link here: GM. 

 

How would you summarize GM and Ford's EV sales for calendar year 2025:

 

Wind Energy Storage Facility Apparently Approved -- But We're Not There Yet -- January 7, 2026

Locator: 49828NDENERGY.

The Bismarck Tribune has this story behind a paywall: North Dakota regulators on Wednesday approved the state's first energy storage facility. where will that storage facility be?

Google Gemini, no paywall:

• Key data points:

• key developer: NextEra Energy
• purpose: to store excess energy from nearby wind farms
• 140 megawatts; Bis-Man for four hours 
• ND's first energy storage facility
• Emmons County, 20 miles NE of Linto
• second facility planned
• Burke County, 10 miles south of Columbus 

How much energy could be stored, link here:

It would store up to 140 megawatts of power from a nearby wind farm in times of increased demand. As an example, that much power could keep the Bis-Man area and the Mandan refinery running up to four hours, according to the Public Service Commission.

How much would the Linton project cost: $180 million. 

 

Thank You Judge -- Cutting Off One's Nose To Spite One's Face -- January 7, 2026

Locator: 49827SAYONARA.

I do not know if this was Judge Boasberg.

Link here. 

The contract was over ten years old. Wow.

Just Checking To See Relationship Between US And Greenland -- January 7, 2026

Locator: 49826GREENLAND.

The NYT reports the story a little bit differently. Link here. 

 

Just Checking To See Who Has Responsibility For Protecting US Citizens In Minneapolis, MN -- January 7, 2026

Locator: 49825ICE.

 

Drones, Robots, And Autonomous Driving Vehicles -- They're Here -- January 7, 2026

Locator: 49824DRONES.
Locator: 49824WALMART.

Walmart Supercenter, Bedford / Euless, Texas. North Texas, Ft Worth suburb. 

Videos:

• link 1;

• link 2;

• link 3.

Thank You, Mr Trump -- Gasoline Is Now Below $2 In North Texas -- January 7, 2026

Locator: 49823GASOLINE.

Our local Walmart. North Texas. DFW suburb. 

My Favorite Chart -- Last Data Point For Calendar Year -- January 7, 2026

Locator: 49822MMF.

Link here. 

$7.73 trillion.

 ******************************
Gone Fishing

I took Sophia and her friend fishing yesterday where they met other kids their age fishing.

Sophia had a great day; we lost count of the fish she had caught after her fifth fish. 

Bait: nightcrawlers clearly the best bait.

Link here. 

Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Locator: 49821B.

Weather: holy mackerel, the weather is gorgeous here in north Texas, DFW. Clear, calm, and high will be 76°F. Right now, early morning? Light jacket at most. 

DOW, S&P: hit record highs. Again.

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Back to the Bakken

WTI: $56.66.

New wells reporting:

• Friday, January 9, 2026: 13 for the month, 13 for the quarter, 13 for the year,
• None.
• Thursday, January 8, 2026: 13 for the month, 13 for the quarter, 13 for the year, 
• None.
• Wednesday, January 7, 2026: 13 for the month, 13 for the quarter, 13 for the year,
• 40970, conf, Devon Energy, Costanza 24-13 7TFH, 

RBN Energy: Venezuela's oil industry could be poised for a rebound, but it will take time. Link here. Archived.

Venezuela took center stage over the weekend when U.S. forces removed President Nicolás Maduro from power, triggering a flood of speculation and market commentary about the country’s vast oil reserves and the potential for reviving its now-moribund upstream and refining sectors. Of course, there is a lot of uncertainty about how this might play out, but one thing seems clear: The upheaval could impact everything from crude oil flows and price differentials to refining slates and export economics. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll take a deep dive into the outlook for Venezuela’s oil and refined product sectors in the short, middle and long term.