TGIF -- February 27, 2026

Locator: 50073B.

Iran: VP JD Vance telegraphing next step in US-Iran negotiations?

Headlines: 

Headline: AP headline distorts story -- "Trump administration is detaining and questioning refugees already admitted to the US."

Hunter Hess: don't forget this loser. Link here.

Links:

• EVs: link here. 
• Dell: link here.
• LNG:
• link here;
• link here.
• Nvidia:
• link here;
• link here.

********************************
Back to the Bakken

WTI: $65.67.

New wells reporting: 

• Saturday, February 28, 2026: 72 for the month, 125 for the quarter, 125 for the year,
• 41933, conf, Phoenix Operating, Willer 28-33-6H-LL, 
• 41932, conf, Phoenix Operating, Willer 28-33 5H, 
• 41930, conf, Phoenix Operating, Willer 28-33 4H, 
• 41847, conf, BR, Rolla 6F, 
• 41785, conf, Enerplus, MHA Heeler 4994 12-23 3BU, 
• 41784, conf, Enerplus, MHA Mastiff 4994 12-23 2BU, 
• 41783, conf, Enerplus, MHA Collie 4994 12-23 1BU, 
• 41621, conf, BR, Sivertson 6C, 
• 41581, conf, XTO, HBU Marmon Federal 24X-13B, 
• 41580, conf, XTO, HBU Marmon Federal 24X-13F, 
• 41579, conf, XTO, HBU Marmon 24X-13C, 
• 41578, conf, XTO, HBU Marmon 24X-13H,
• 41577, conf, XTO, HBU Marmon 24X-13D, 
• 41372, conf, Hess, EN-Hanson A-LW-155-94-0618H-1, 
• 41369, conf, Hess, EN-Hanson A-155-94-0607H-6,
• Friday, February 27, 2026: 57 for the month, 110 for the quarter, 110 for the year,
• None.

RBN Energy: changes at Houston, Corpus Christi show how US crude exports are evolving. Link here. Archived.

Houston and Corpus Christi dominate U.S. crude oil exports, but the balance between the two hot spots is shifting, with Houston growing and closing in on Corpus Christi as export flows and terminal connectivity change. In Houston, Enterprise Products Partners could be set to extend its regional lead, and in Corpus Christi, Gibson Energy’s South Texas Gateway is fighting for the top spot after adding a connection to the Cactus II pipeline — critical for bringing more crude to the terminal. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll look at the shifts in crude flows and terminal activity in Houston, Corpus Christi and key overseas markets and how they have changed U.S. crude oil exports.

Gulf Coast crude oil exports can swing significantly from week to week, but the underlying trend is clear: Corpus Christi (dark-blue layer in Figure 1 below) has consistently loaded the largest volumes each week in recent years. Houston (aqua layer) has held steady in second place for some time but has been narrowing the gap. Houston’s crude exports have climbed steadily, increasing from 0.7 MMb/d in 2022 to 1.2 MMb/d in 2025, a gain of 71%, while Corpus Christi volumes rose from 1.9 MMb/d to 2.25 MMb/d over the same period, up 18%. The gap between the two ports has continued to narrow in early 2026, with Houston averaging 1.3 MMb/d and Corpus Christi at 2.2 MMb/d the past several weeks. Total U.S. crude exports, including Beaumont (orange layer) and Louisiana (pink layer) are averaging 3.8 MMb/d so far in 2026, according to our Crude Voyager Report.

Electricity Rates By State -- EIA -- Have Just Posted -- December, 2026, Data -- February 27, 2026

Locator: 50072ELECTRICITY. 

Link here. 

Tag: electricity states.

October, 2025, data was posted here back on December 29, 2025.

New data is for November, 2025.

In a long note like this, there will be content and typographical errors.  

Average price of electricity by state, November, 2025, data.

There are five "sectors": residential, commercial, industrial, transportation, and all sources. I generally ignore the fourth column (transportation). 

For the larger energy-using states, the most important sector is the last column, "all sectors." 

For tech-heavy states, most important is the third column, industrial.

For individual Americans, I suppose, the most important column is the first column, residential.

So, let's break it down, least expensive in each sector:

• residential:
• North Dakota: 11.02 (down from 11.93, October, 2025)
• Idaho: 11.87
• Nebraska: 11.57. 
• Missouri: 11.91 
• Arkansas: 12.33 
• South Dakota: 12.51 
• Iowa: 12.60 
• Louisiana: 12.56 
• Montana: 12.77 
• Nevada: 12.83
• Wyoming: 12.83 
• Utah: 12.99 
• by the way, these are the only states below 13 cents / kWh.

• commercial: 
• North Dakota: 7.28 
• Nevada: 8.95
• Idaho: 8.90 
• Nebraska: 8.28
• Oklahoma: 8.60
• by the way, these are the only states below 9 cents / kWh.

• industrial (all states below 7 cents / kWh):  
• New Mexico -- winner, winner, chicken dinner -- 5.13
• Louisiana: 5.96
• Oklahoma: 5.96
• Iowa: 6.40
• Idaho: 6.78
• Arkansas: 6.43
• Tennessee: 6.24
• Georgia: 6.83 (up from 6.31 last year)
• Texas: 6.67
• Nevada: 6.81 (way down from 7.55 last year)
• Montana: 6.34
• South Carolina: 6.71 (down from 6.75 last year)
• Kentucky: 6.98
• Washington state: 6.92

• Interestingly, North Dakota is not on that list -- 7.37

• Now, taking all those sectors together, the "average":
• North Dakota: 8.12
• New Mexico: 8.69
• Iowa: 8.94 
• Oklahoma: 8.99 
• these are the only states below 9 cents / kWh.

Comments: 

• in a state with incredibly "stable" / predictable weather, renewable energy "works": Iowa
• renewable energy does not work in Texas based on the way the state regulates the industry 
• I tend to ignore New Mexico
• Texas has relatively inexpensive electricity rates, but the industrial rate in Texas increased by 7% y/y

The state not listed above that interests me most: California:

• residential: 34.71 cents US, 17.24 
• throw out the outliers and the US average would be lower than 17.24; 
• California: almost twice the US average
• commercial: 26.92; again, California is almost twice the US average (13.63)
• industrial: California's rate is a whopping 19.86 cents vs US average of 8.53  -- again, about double the national average
• all sectors: California, 28.18 cents vs 13.73 cents; again, almost exactly twice the national average; but get this, California at 28.18 cents is almost in the same ballpark as Hawaii at 37.12 cents. throw out New England (25.15 cents; a real energy mess) and throw out the outliers, Hawaii and Alaska, and California compared to the rest of the nation is insane. 

Monthly Electricity -- Personal Usage -- Data For January, 2026 - Posted February 26, 2026

Locator: 50071ELECTRICITY. 

Tag: personal utility 

Our only utility bill is electricity, for a small one-bedroom-one-bath-one-den/office apartment in north Texas. We have no natural gas. This is our total energy bill for the apartment.

With all fees, taxes, etc., we're paying 20.0 cents / kWh.

Electricity rate by state. Link here.