Every Day The Strait Becomes More Irrelevant -- August 24, 2026

Locator: 51538ARCHIVES. 

Iran: Announced today by one source, because no one cares (NOC). The strait has become irrelevant. The IRGA may like it but the "official" Iranian government knows this is not helping their country's situation. Trump must love Plan B: no war, no peace. And no nuclear weapon. 

The Mideast will become North Korea if they can't get this turned around. From today:

Yemen’s Houthi militant group targeted a Saudi Arabian supertanker sailing through the Red Sea today.

No one cares. 

Seriously, do you care? 

I stopped caring some weeks ago. 

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The Book Page

Wow, wow, wow.

If you haven't read it, rush out now and get it. Buy it, find it at the library, order of Amazon, but if you haven't read it, get it.

The Thinking Machine, Jensen Huang, Nvidia, and The World's Most Coveted Microchip, Stephen Witt, c. 2025.

The author has two previous books which also look like must-read books for those interested in the history of AI.  

Along the way, you will meet Stephen Witt and Sir Tim Berners-Lee.

I'll keep notes of Stephen Witt at this page. 

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SNL

"The Continental (SNL)." "The Making Of."  

Link here.  

It helps if you a) love anything Chrisopher Walkin does; and, b) you've seen "The Continental" on SNL. Otherwise, I can't recommend this to you. 

Amazon's "Project Tetromino" -- August 24, 2026

Locator: 51537AMZN. 

More on this later. 

USAF Update: F-15 Eagle Crest -- Another $130-Billion Upgrade Program -- August 24, 2026

Locator: 51536USAF. 

Wow, wow, wow! This was my primary a/c as far back as the 1980s. Just announced today:

This extends a most incredible triad: the F-15EX; the F-22; and the F35. We talked a little bit about this just a few days ago: link here.

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From The Air Force

Four New Permits; Four DUCs Reported as Completed -- August 24, 2026

Locator: 51535B. 

Canadian tariffs: the breakdown in negotiations has Doug Burgum's fingerprints all over it (based on Trump's tweets). Some months ago I suggested that Doug Burgum was the most important cabinet member Trump had. No one knows American-Canadian issues as well as Doug Burgum.

Canada: could easily lose 90,000 jobs over its "hate" of Trump. This (tariff talk) was a political decision led by the far left in Canada. 

US Supreme Court: sides with President Trump on mail-in ballots. 

Oil: agree completely with Hart Energy -- today's "oil shock" (and it's hardly a shock) could be tomorrow's glut. 

Of note and not a bit surprising:

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Back to the Bakken

WTI: $85.40. At 10:21 p.m. CT that's 37 cents higher than it was at the market close earlier this afternoon. One has to ask, "why is WTI increasing?"

Active rigs: 35. Another new recent high.

Four new permits, #43244 - #43248, inclusive, excepting #43246 --

• Operator: Phoenix Operating;
• Field: Charlie Bob (McKenzie)
• Comments:
• Phoenix Operating has permits for four Swenson Fed wells, NENE 31-146-98, 
• to be sited 523 / 524 FNL and 552 / 642 FEL.

Four producing wells (DUCs) reported as completed:

• 37224, n/d, XTO, Kulcyzk 43X-17H, Mountrail County;
• 42245, 1,614, CLR, Addyson 7-23H, Williams County;
• 42247, 2,318, CLR, Richmond 6-26H, Williams County;
• 42248, 2,524, CLR, Olmpia 6-27HSL, Williams County;

Tubi, Roku, Fox -- August 24, 2026

Locator: 51534TUBE. 

I was updating my understanding of NBC (Peacock); CBS (Paramount+): and ABC (Hulu, Disney) when Gemini reminded me not to forget about Fox (Tubi, Roku). There was a long discussion but the final paragraph:

My adult daughter loves Tubi. Our daughter is Millennial. 

MU Profit And The Book Page -- August 24, 2026

Locator: 51533MICRO. 

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The Book Page

Birthday gifts! Whoo-hoo!

I did not know about one of the two: The Thinking Machine, Jensen Huang, Nvidia, and The World's Most Coveted Microship, Stephen Witt, c. 2025. But what a great gift. Notes on this book will be posted here.

The second, I've mentioned on the blog. I had planned to eventually buy it myself but here it is, a birthday gift. Whoo-hoo!  

Other Minds: The Octopus, The Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness, Peter Godfrey-Smith, c. 2016. Godfrey-Smith is also the author of Metazoa which I've written about on the blog previously. Notes on this book will be posted here.

Notes on Metazoa will be posted here. 

 

Monday -- August 24, 2026

Locator: 51532B. 

Canada has now aligned itself with China, Pakistan, and Iran: link here. At The WSJ. And this is how Bloomberg -- no friend of Trump -- 

US President Donald Trump pledged on Monday to double the auto tariff on Canadian vehicles to 50% and put new tariffs on auto parts starting January 1, 2027, escalating the spiraling trade fight between the two economies. 

Following through on these tariffs could significantly disrupt the US-Canada supply chain that has become deeply integrated over the past few decades. 

The latest tariff threat comes after negotiations broke down on Friday, which led to a 50% levy on billions of dollars’ worth of Canadian goods including furniture, plastics, plywood and electrical equipment. 

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced plans to hit back with retaliatory duties, and on Monday emphasized reducing the country’s reliance on the US. 

Canadians wanted their prime minister to stand tough and not sign a bad trade deal with the US, but this intensification of the tariff war will come at a price. University of Calgary economics professor Trevor Tombe estimated that 90,000 jobs — about 0.4% of Canada’s labor force — may be lost if the new tariffs persist. 

Markets are responding, too: Canada’s loonie slipped against the US dollar on Monday. 

Canadians did not want a "bad" deal with Trump. Correction: Canadians did not "any" deal with Trump. 

Bessent pushing global economy to move to non-US dollar economy: huge win for Trump -- global economy will move money via Bitcoin. China, Pakistan, Canada, Iran will go to gold for transactions with each other.  

WTI keeps falling, despite no oil flowing through the strait. Irrelevant yet? 

EU's "green" agenda: link here.

A grand olde time: it looks like Melania is having a grand old time --

LDCs:

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Back to the Bakken 

WTI: $85.30. 

New wells reporting:

• Tuesday, August 25, 2026: 49 for the month, 90 for the quarter, 434 for the year,
• 42429, conf, Oasis, Prestwick Federal 5602 12-23 3B, 
• Monday, August 24, 2026: 48 for the month, 89 for the quarter, 433 for the year,
• 42430, conf, Oasis, Prestwick Federal 5602 12-23 4B, 
• 40936, conf, Zavanna Energy, Hereford 13-35 1H XW, 
• 40374, conf, Zavanna Energy, Rennerfeldt 13-36 1H, 
• Sunday, August 23, 2026: 45 for the month, 86 for the quarter, 430 for the year,
• 41972, conf,  Devon, Thunderbolt 10-12 3H, 
• 41313, conf, Whiting, Dobias 5203 44-32 3B,
• Saturday, August 22, 2026: 43 for the month, 84 for the quarter, 428 for the year,
• 41992, conf, Hess, EN-Edwards-157-94-2203H-2, 

RBN Energy: second wave of natural gas pipelines has the Permian cleared for takeoff. Link here. Archived.

The Permian Basin is poised to gain several new natural gas pipelines over the next year or two, finally easing its long-standing takeaway constraints. But the changes won’t stop there. A new wave of proposed projects could further reshape the basin beyond 2027 and into the 2030s. In today’s RBN blog, we look at the major, longer-horizon plans, what they could mean for the Permian, and the new challenges that could arise as this infrastructure comes online.

This is the second blog in our series on the outlook for major U.S. producing basins, starting with the largest: the Permian. A major topic at our upcoming School of Energy: Fundamentals, the Permian is the nation’s largest oil-producing basin and a key driver of U.S. gas growth. Its oil-focused wells also generate substantial and growing volumes of associated gas. But moving that gas out of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico has become one of the market’s biggest challenges and a constraint on further oil production. In our first blog, we covered the major pipeline projects expected to enter service this year and next, which will add about 5.3 Bcf/d of egress capacity from the Waha area. In the blogs ahead, we will examine the Permian’s major producers and the challenges still to come, including the implications of rising NGL production.

Today, we explore how the Permian’s gas takeaway picture could evolve beyond 2027 and into the early 2030s. Plans can change, of course, but our outlook is based on proposed projects and their current level of development.

The growing number of LNG export facilities planned along the Texas Gulf Coast is a major reason more natural gas pipeline capacity is needed. New and expanding LNG projects at Corpus Christi and Port Arthur will increase demand for gas in markets that Permian pipelines increasingly serve, including the Agua Dulce and Katy hubs and the broader Houston-area corridor. That means the takeaway challenge is no longer simply moving gas out of West Texas. It also involves ensuring sufficient downstream infrastructure to carry those volumes from Gulf Coast market hubs to LNG export facilities (more on that below).

As a refresher, Kinder Morgan’s Gulf Coast Express expansion (0.57 Bcf/d; aqua-blue line in Figure 1 below) is already flowing more gas to the Agua Dulce Hub in South Texas. This lifts the pipeline’s total capacity to 2.6 Bcf/d and has helped the Waha Hub recover from negative prices, though it has not fully resolved Permian takeaway constraints. Energy Transfer’s Hugh Brinson Pipeline (blue line) is starting to ramp up flows to Northeast Texas. It will eventually have a capacity of 2.2 Bcf/d. The Blackcomb Pipeline (dashed red line) is set to enter service later this year, providing an extra 2.5 Bcf/d of takeaway to Agua Dulce, and the planned 2.4-Bcf/d Traverse Pipeline (not shown) would provide onward access from Agua Dulce to Katy/Houston in 2027.