Wednesday, September 2, 2026

Daily Activity Report -- September 2, 2026

Locator: 51632B.

Birth

Aurelius Lennon (often spelled Aurelis in initial social media announcements) was born on Tuesday, September 1, 2026. 
He is the first child of musician Sean Ono Lennon and his longtime partner, Charlotte Kemp Muhl. His birth marks a major milestone for the family, as he is the very first grandchild of the late Beatles legend John Lennon and Yoko Ono. 
The father, 50 years of age; the mother, 39. 


Military: there are many discussions right now with regard to the need for manned aircraft in this age of drones. It's navel-gazing. The conversations are incredibly interesting, but for an investor, we need to know the facts. With regard to this question, this is the only thing investors need to know: it will be a mix (drones; and manned and, eventually, unmanned aircraft [RPA / RPAS).

How do we know this?

  • drones: common sense; confirmed by the current conflict with Iran; and,
  • the USAF is continuing to procure manned a/c designed to fly for 30 - 40 years.

So, discuss this until the cows come home but common sense and facts on the ground provide the answer. Unless they are remotely controlled / fully autonomous a/c, "classical" drones will never be big enough to carry 30,000-lb bunker busters. 

Larak Island (Iran): one of many links regarding this island on YouTube. A much longer pro-US media site. Good but a little bit too hyper, pro-US.

Dog whistles: The use of "blitz" by The New York Times speaks volumes. The word blitz comes from the German noun Blitz, which means "lightning":

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Back to the Bakken

WTI: $90.98. That looks suspiciously close to $91.

Active rigs: 37.

Five new permits: #43281 - #43285, inclusive --

  • Operator: CLR
  • Field: Catwalk (Williams County)
  • Comments:
    • CLR has permits for two Maryland FIU wells and three Nashville wells; the Maryland wells, SWNE 16-154-100; 
      • these two will be sited 1963 FNL and 1375 FEL; and, 988 FSL and 1745 FEL: 
    • the Nashville wells, also SWSE 16-154-100,   
      • these three wells will be sited 892 / 956 FSL and 1745 FEL.

Four permits renewed:

  • MRO, permits Emma USA, Murray USA, and Stout USA, Four Bears oil field, McKenzie County.
  • Formentera Operations, Pacer, Ambrose oil field; Divide County; 

Five producing wells (DUCs) reported as completed:

  • 42053, 285, Petro-Hunt, Tinjum 159-91-31D-19-3H,
  • 42054, 547, Petro-Hunt, Tinjum 159-91-31D-19-2H,
  • 42219, 1241, CLR, Louisville Federal 7-7HSL,
  • 42430, 770, Oasis, Prestwick Federal 5602 12-34 4B,
  • 42668, 902, Oasis, Troon 5602 12-23 4B,

Other Headlines -- Part 2 -- September 2, 2026

Locator: 51631ARCHIVES.

Pageviews: currently in excess -- yes, in excess -- of 1,758,619 pageviews per 24 hours.  

Okay

Google wins: link here. Big win for both GOOG and BRK.

All of a sudden, they like fracking: Researchers and energy companies are using hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in Utah, to unlock clean geothermal energy.

Iran: both Trump and I are on same page.

Market recovers a bit today. Movers and shakers assume the Fed will raise rates in September. If the Fed does not, "Katie, bar the door." 

Putin, Ukraine: when a small problem becomes unsolvable, go bigger. NATO: watch out. Link here

Other Headlines -- Part 1 -- September 2, 2026

Locator: 51630ARCHIVES.

No fire! Breaking now -- on CNBC -- a scoop -- at the upcoming "fireside chat" with Secretary of Commerce the honorable Howard Lutnick, there will be no "fireplace." 

The Secretary of Commerce the honorable Howard Lutnick said this morning on CNBC that it will simply be two men in suits on two chairs in a room chatting. It was the mainstream media that dubbed it "a fireside chat." 
Good to get that cleared up. A real fire in a real fireplace in Washington, DC, in September, during a heat wave never did seem to be a good idea.

Moscow needs "the Golden Dome"


AAPL: futures -- AAPL just turned green. Whoo-hoo.


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Disclaimer

Briefly

  • I am inappropriately exuberant about the Bakken and I am often well out front of my headlights. I am often appropriately accused of hyperbole when it comes to the Bakken.
  • I am inappropriately exuberant about the US economy and the US market.
  • I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple.
  • See disclaimer. This is not an investment site. 
  • Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment, financial, job, career, travel, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here. All my posts are done quickly: there will be content and typographical errors. If something appears wrong, it probably is. Feel free to fact check everything.
  • If anything on any of my posts is important to you, go to the source. If/when I find typographical / content errors, I will correct them. 
  • Reminder: I am inappropriately exuberant about the Bakken, US economy, and the US market.
  • I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple. 
  • And now, Nvidia, also. I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Nvidia. Nvidia is a metonym for AI and/or the sixth industrial revolution. 
  • I've now added Broadcom to the disclaimer. I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Broadcom. Now, I've added Amazon. And QCOM.
  • Longer version here.
  • Wireless Issues -- September 2, 2026

    Locator: 51629WIRELESS.

    Query:

    Technology. Home wi-fi. Routers. Modems. Laptops. Printers. We live in an up-scale apartment complex. Everyone is connected. We have had the same wi-fi provider for a dozen years or longer. Almost never have we ever had any wi-fi issues. Last night we had a devil of a time connecting with our wireless printer. Our laptops struggled with "finding" the printer. Over an hour or so, it came back to normal. Any idea what might have been the problem? Can neighborly set-ups interfer with our own setup (wireless)?

    Reply

    Query in response:

    That's incredibly interesting. We just had a new neighbor move in next to us and this would be the exact moment that he/she was probably installing their own wireless system. Very, very interesting. 

    Reply:

    Hegseth: Things Have Changed -- Wednesday, September 2, 2026

    Locator: 51628HEGSETH.

    Hegseth: I have no idea what's going on with regard to civilian control of the military and the general officers / flag officers in the US military and their relationship with Hegseth, but the takeaway for me is that things have changed. During my 30-year career, I always felt that a few -- a very few -- general officers / flag officers were bullet proof and some were more interested in golf than their career. All of a sudden, things have changed.

    The young journalists reporting on the military certainly have no military experience and no clue. But the young journalists at The New York Times certainly have an agenda. 

    Link here.  

    For Investors -- September 2, 2026

    Locator: 51627INVESTING.

    Pageviews: currently running at a 24-hour rate of 760,000 pageviews per 24 hours. This is not trivial. At this rate, the blog will easily do a million pageviews every couple of days. The run rate seems to be huge in the early morning and then tapers off considerably in the late afternoon. Or so it seems. 

    MONGODB: nothing makes sense any more. Mongodb reports stellar numbers with several firsts and the stock is down 13% after earnings reported. Mongodb's numbers were numbers most US companies would "kill" for.  

    John Ternus, new Apple CEO: way underpaid -- a $3 million salary. Are they serious? For a $4-trillion market cap company? Yes, I know. that's not the entire compensation package. Michael Dell's total compensation package runs about $4 million. Chevron's CEO: total compensation runs about $30 million (latest figure, 2025 -- about $26.8 million). 

    TSA canines:  

    The votes are in, and a German shorthaired pointer named Bolt is officially the winner of the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) Cutest Canine Contest for 2026. 
    The three-year-old pooch works at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) in Texas and is the third German shorthaired pointer to win the contest in the last four years. 
    The nationwide contest takes place on social media, where the traveling public can vote for the agency’s cutest dog. TSA canine handlers from across the country initially nominated 85 dogs before an initial round of employee voting, narrowed the field to the final four canines. 

    Chevron / Venezuela: the big story in oil and gas for the next several years? The numbers are staggering.

    Canada: it certainly appears Canada is more closely aligned with China than with the US.  

    Investors: September could turn into a really huge buying opportunity for investors. Traders could also do well. Mutual funds are starting to wrap up their years -- it's now "make it or break it" -- lots of competition from ETFs and mutual funds are feeling the pressure.

    BRK: CEO Greg Abel on at 5:30 a.m. ET (thirty minutes from now) on CNBC in an exclusive interview. Is BRK even relevant any more? Focus for BRK? Japan. Becky Quick can't seem to end her relationship with Warren Buffett. 

    WTI: continues to climb the wall of reality. 

    ******************************
    Fujairah 

    Query

    What is Fujairah with regard to oil and natural gas? Is it analagous to Henry Hub, SPR, Cushing, Oklahoma?

    Reply

    *********************************
    Disclaimer

    Briefly

  • I am inappropriately exuberant about the Bakken and I am often well out front of my headlights. I am often appropriately accused of hyperbole when it comes to the Bakken.
  • I am inappropriately exuberant about the US economy and the US market.
  • I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple.
  • See disclaimer. This is not an investment site. 
  • Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment, financial, job, career, travel, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here. All my posts are done quickly: there will be content and typographical errors. If something appears wrong, it probably is. Feel free to fact check everything.
  • If anything on any of my posts is important to you, go to the source. If/when I find typographical / content errors, I will correct them. 
  • Reminder: I am inappropriately exuberant about the Bakken, US economy, and the US market.
  • I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple. 
  • And now, Nvidia, also. I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Nvidia. Nvidia is a metonym for AI and/or the sixth industrial revolution. 
  • I've now added Broadcom to the disclaimer. I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Broadcom. Now, I've added Amazon. And QCOM.
  • Longer version here.
  • Chevron's Project Kilby -- September 2, 2026

    Locator: 51626TEXAS.

    Texas is certainly growing exponentially in AI, large data centers, national (not just regional) hub in Dallas, and a huge resurgence in oil and gas. 

    I could be wrong, but it certainly seems Chevron is having a great year, an incredibly great year. Exxon (XOM) -- I don't know. 

    Project Kilby:

    RBN Energy goes into great detail on Project Kilby. Link here. The most amazing thing: the size of these projects in terms of dollars. Truly amazing. 

    Project Kilby was named in honor of Texas Instruments engineer Jack Kilby, who famously invented the integrated circuit (the microchip) and the handheld calculator.

    As noted by Fortune, the project was named after him because both of his inventions are “foundational technologies on the path to artificial intelligence.”

    **********************************
    Dallas: Turning Into A National Financial Hub

    Query

    Just how big is the story with regard to Dallas turning into not just a regional, but also a national, financial hub?

    Reply:  

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    DFW

    Query:

    Just how big is the story with regard to DFW as an international airport? It is now adding a sixth terminal that will be bigger than mos regional airports in the United States.

    Reply

    For The Archives -- September 2, 2026

    Locator: 51625ARCHIVES.

    The big, big, big story: how resilient IRAN had militarily become. 

    This had to have been an eye-opener for its neighbors, and can you imagine if IRAN had ballistic missile nuclear capability? I don't think a lot of folks get it. I don't understand Trump's "tit-for-tat" response. I guess Trump still holds how hope that the Iranian people will rise up, revolt, and result in regime change. Not gonna happen. 

    I learned a number of things yesterday / late last night.

    First, there are many, many hidden gems on MacOS -- it never ends.  

    Second, all chatbot threads have a URL. This is a big, big deal.

    Third, RBN Energy is, without question, most important energy (oil and gas) blog available. Period. Dot.

    Fourth, the US Energy Secretary is in Venezuela. 

    He's going to announce some major deals today. I think folks are going to be surprised how fast things move in Venezuela. And blue collar workers in Venezuela are going to be thrilled. Again, this is another big deal. If it goes as planned:
    Canada becomes less relevant to the US, as far as heavy oil goes; and,
    the Strait of Hormuz becomes incredibly irrelevant.

    Venezuela now produces about as much oil as the North Dakota Bakken does. I find that .... well, simply incredible.  

    My hunch: Venezuela has more potential than pundits are reporting. Oil companies can move swiftly when provided with the right incentives: like obtaining reserves at $3.22 / bbl. 

    Fifth, Amena Bakr, who I follow on x, is not reporting over at CNBC. I'm impressed. Link here.

    Sixth: never stop reading. 

    Chart Of The Day -- Apple Under Tim Cook -- September 6, 2026

    Locator: 51624APPLE.

    Apple is going to introduce not less than eight new products next week. Amazing. The busiest Apple has been in some time. I'm starting to see commercials on television regarding the M5 / M6 Mac Mini. This is a huge story. Quite unexpected.   

    Link here. This is truly amazing. Tim Cook's leadership cannot be overstated. The quickness with which John Ternus, the new CEO, made the decision to relabel Lake American on Safari maps was remarkable. I was quite impressed. 

    Chevron's Project Kilby -- Wednesday, September 2, 2026

    Locator: 51623KILBY.

    North Dakota continental divide: link here. A reader got me started (thank you). It's a fascinating story. It begins with this query:

    • Apparently the North Dakota DOT is placing signs on North Dakota highways referencing the North Dakota "continental divide." I had not heard of the North Dakota continental divide before.
    • By the way, all chatbot threads have a URL; that makes chatbots so much more interesting and helpful. See link above for example.

    9/11: 25th "anniversary." Lutnick's comments on this issue were spot on. CNBC interview, 6:00 a.m. CT, September 2, 2026.  

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    Back to the Bakken

    WTI: $90.27. This is quite interesting to say the least. Just a few days / weeks ago, CNBC talking heads were talking about collapsing oil prices. It appears "higher for longer" is quite apt.

    New wells reporting:

    • Thursday, September 3, 2026: 6 for the month, 104 for the quarter, 443 for the year,
      • 42333, conf, XTO, GBU Artemis 32X-13B-N,
      • 41882, conf, XTO, GBU Artemis 32X-13C-S, 
      • 40939, conf, Zavanna, Hereford 13-36 4TFH, 
    • Wednesday, September 2, 2026: 3 for the month, 101 for the quarter, 440 for the year,
      • 42332, conf, XTO, GBU Artemis 32X-13E-N,

    RBN Energy: how Chevron's Project Kilby aims to rewire the Permian Basin for the AI power era. Link here. Archived.

    Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the global energy landscape faster than any technological shift in recent memory, but electricity has become the defining constraint. Chevron’s Project Kilby, a natural‑gas‑fired, behind‑the‑meter (BTM) power plant built specifically to supply a Microsoft‑operated data center under a 20‑year agreement, represents a strategic pivot for Chevron into a new business vertical: supplying hyperscale AI computing with dedicated energy infrastructure. In today’s RBN blog, we explain how this venture is a potential blueprint for how natural gas, land, water and industrial engineering could be combined to meet the demands of the AI era.

    AI has strained the grid, interconnection queues stretch for years, renewable generation remains intermittent, and transmission buildout lags far behind demand. Hyperscalers need power now, at unprecedented scale, with reliability approaching that of mission‑critical industrial systems. In this environment, the companies that can deliver dedicated, dispatchable, high‑density electricity directly to compute infrastructure will define the next decade of digital growth. Oil supermajor Chevron is forging the path to a solution by partnering with Microsoft to construct and deliver reliable, dedicated power for next-generation AI infrastructure in West Texas.