The Million Dollar Way (The Bakken Oil Blog): 09/23/26

Wednesday, September 23, 2026

Indians Are Taking A Bigger Bite Of The Apple -- September 23, 2026

Locator: 51810APPLE.

Tag: Apple AAPL

Link here.

For Tomorrow Morning -- Posted September 23, 2026

Locator: 51809B.

WTI: $91.55 -- at close last night; overnight, at the open this morning -- $93.69. Okay.

New wells reporting:

Friday, September 25, 2026: 49 for the month, 129 for the quarter, 486 for the year,

41769, conf, Hess, EN-Will Trust A-157-94-2734H-5,
41533, conf, Devon Energy, Borsheim 33-28 4H,

Thursday, September 24, 2026: 47 for the month, 127 for the quarter, 484 for the year,

None.

RBN Energy: variations in crude oil quality make on-spec delivery critical for global refiners. Link here. Archived.

As anyone who has ever bought a used car knows, appearances can be deceiving. Two vehicles may look nearly identical from the outside, but what’s under the hood can make all the difference in performance, reliability and value. The same principle applies to crude oil, as barrels that meet the same basic specifications can still behave very differently once they reach a refinery. In today’s RBN blog, we conclude our look at crude quality by examining why maintaining consistent specifications has become more challenging as Permian production has grown, blending practices have evolved, and WTI Midland has become a cornerstone of global crude pricing.

As discussed in Part 1, crude oil is not a uniform commodity; each stream has a unique chemical composition that affects its value and how it performs throughout the supply chain. The two primary measures of crude quality are API gravity (density) and sulfur content. In general, crude oils above about 35 degrees (°) API are considered light (blue-shaded rows in Figure 1 below); those between roughly 25° and 35° API fall into the medium category (pink-shaded rows); and anything lower than 25° is heavy (green-shaded rows). Sweet crude has relatively little sulfur, typically less than about 0.5%, while sour crude contains more than that. Light, sweet crudes generally produce higher yields of valuable products like gasoline, diesel and jet fuel with less refining, while heavier or more sulfur-rich crudes require additional processing and involve higher costs. Other quality factors — including distillation characteristics, molecular composition, carbon residue, acidity, metals and mercaptans — also influence refinery efficiency, equipment reliability, catalyst performance and overall market value.

Daily Activity Report Posted At 6:17 P.M. -- September 23, 2026

Locator: 51808B.

Big Beef rumors today:

US ranchers have a beef with President Trump and the president may be listening;
rumor: President Trump may walk back earlier decision to import foreign beef to lower costs.
has anyone seem beef prices at the supermarket decrease this year? I don't know. I don't eat much beef. I'm a sushi kind of guy.

Big Oil rumors today: US government could impose a 90-day pause in diesel exports;

hard to find anyone in the US who would support this export ban, except perhaps truckers;
I could be wrong, but I would think that in the big scheme of things, the "use" of diesel in the US (and the world, for that matter) is fairly inelastic. See this link. Link here: https://share.google/aimode/FGAnv03fwM3SUh430.

Big news today: education.

Cornell University releases 238-page policy paper on higher education, with few actionable items;
Phil Knight, billionaire founder of Nike, makes largest donation ever to a flagship university
University of Oregon
new engineering school at that university
one billion dollars

Big news tomorrow:

Chinese leader's first full day in Washington, DC; state visit
arrives tonight with President Trump meeting him on the tarmac -- generally not done.

The US equity markets: down one-half to one and a half percent across all major indices.

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Back to the Bakken

WTI: $92.83. Up $2.31.

Active rigs: 31.

Four new oil and gas permits --

43329, SWD
43330, conf, CLR, Nielsen 2-24HSL, Wildrose, SESW 24-160-97, 500 FSL 1350 FWL
43331, conf, CLR, Nielsen 3-24H, Wildrose, SESW 24-160-97, 500 FSL 1382 FWL
43332, conf, CLR, Nielsen 4-24H, Wildrose, SESW 24-160-97, 500 FSL 1414 FWL
43333, conf, CLR, Nielsen 5-24H, Wildrose, SESW 24-160-97, 500 FSL 1446 FWL
43334, conf, Petro-Hunt, Kadrmas 143-98-10A SWD

A producing well (a DUC) reported as completed:

40057, 1,408, CLR, Brakken FIU 3-6H, McKenzie County; Catwalk oil field, no production data provided except as noted.

The Brakken FIU wells are tracked here.

Phil Knight -- Philanthropist News -- September 23, 2026

Locator: 51807EDUCATION.

Phil Knight: wiki.

co-founder and chairman emeritus of Nike
billionaire
b. 1938 (age 88 years old)
ties to Oregon
undergraduate: University of Oregon (Eugene, OR)
Stanford Graduate School of Business
has donated heavily to his two alma maters as well as Oregon Health & Science University

Today's announcement:

to University of Oregon
to create Knight College of Engineering
$1 billion

Look at these headlines:

Oregon needs 2,500 engineers a year
largest donation even known to a flagship university -- NY Times, link here.

This story has so many story lines.

I think it's agreed: the alignment between needs and supply, there is a huge misalignment in US graduate and post-graduate education.

quick fix: when Trump is out of office; very likely admissions from overseas, particularly Asia, will likely turn around
short-term fix: geographic expansion (satellite campuses) -- see Vanderbilt University with new campus in NYC
short-term fix: expand products -- more online opportunities for on-campus students
longer-term: consolidation -- that's a tough pill to swallow

From the linked article:

The unscheduled phone call turned out to be worth $1 billion.
University of Oregon leaders have long been accustomed to big checks from Phil Knight, a Nike co-founder whose surname is splashed on everything from the library to the law center. When Mr. Knight called Oregon’s president this year, though, he and his wife, Penny, had a greater gift in mind: the largest known contribution to a public flagship university in the United States.
Oregon announced the donation, which will go toward starting an engineering college, on Wednesday, bringing the Knight family’s known total giving to Oregon to more than $2 billion.
But the contribution underscores how even the biggest gifts rarely erase financial strains at places like Oregon, which is weighing millions of dollars in fresh budget cuts as enrollment ebbs. Declining birthrates suggest a darkening outlook for colleges in the coming years as the number of children drops, and the Trump administration is pursuing a vigorous campaign to overhaul — and reduce — federal research funding.

Cornell University, link here. The full 238-page report, a pdf at this link: https://provost.cornell.edu/_files/initiatives/future-of-the-american-university-full-report.pdf.

I think most agree: most current successful business leaders would have done this in a ten-page memo. President Trump would have done it with a series of social media tweets. I doubt Phil Knight will read this 238-page paper.

If I decide to come back to this issue, it will be at this link. Link here: https://share.google/aimode/uWoDs6msUKW5HiMRw.

Wednesday -- September 23, 2026

Locator: 51806CITIES.

AI Czar: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent?

Cornell: confronts a crisis. Link here. The college fix.

Cornell University maintains an enrollment of approximately 26,793 students alongside more than 2,900 faculty members. The institution also employs roughly 7,764 full-time administrative and support personnel.

Cities by GDP:

this is most interesting; posted by Schwab's Liz Ann Sonders;
of the 12 cities on the list, 8 went down in their ranking; some considerably; one stayed even (Dallas)

two American cities fell off the list; replaced by two Chinese cities

in addition to the ranking, look at the $$$ --

New York from $2.6 trillion to $6.4 trillion -- more than doubles, and we're talking trillions;

in 2050, Dallas is #8; greater than Houston; Houston won't even on the list in 2050;

what would the DFW metroplex be?

look at that: San Francisco is on the list, actually rising; and overtaking Chicago;
both Seoul and Paris almost drop off the list; Paris drops to last; Seoul second to last;
Washington, DC, drops off the list; it's hard to believe it is even on the list now

exactly what does Washington, DC, do that makes up the city's GDP? Money laundering?
Trump will be gone;
Pelosi is gone;

most amazing! Houston drops off the list.

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Back to the Bakken

WTI: $90.13.