Random Update on EOG, ZaZa, and The Eaglebine; Connecting The Dots: Arizona, Napolitano, Ammo, Assault Vehicles

Update

May 4, 2013: this has to do with the note below the break: the buying of ammunition by the Department of Homeland Security is starting to make sense. Today there is a story that even with all the ammunition that DHS has bought, the department is looking at buying another 2 million rounds. 

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From SeekingAlpha:

EOG Resources is the unnamed company teaming with ZaZa Energy  to develop assets in Texas' Eaglebine trend, an SEC filing says. For acreage 100% owned by ZaZa, EOG will be the operator and earn a 75% working interest, while ZaZa will retain 25%; for acreage currently owned 75% by ZaZa and 25% by Range Resources, EOG will earn 50% while ZaZa and RRC each will retain 25%.

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Arizona, Napolitano, Ammo, Assault Vehicles

It's All Starting To Make Sense

On a completely different note, there have been several articles of the Department of Homeland Security buying excessive numbers of rounds of ammunition. It is being reported that DHS is not acknowledging the purchases, and is stonewalling Congress when asked about the purchases. I have posted the news items, noting them, but not really getting any feel for the story: whether there might be a reason or simply the government buying lots of ammunition for no particular reason.

Now, these photos, videos, and story from Infowars.com:

Footage of hundreds of armored trucks, similar to ones reportedly purchased recently by the Department Of Homeland Security has appeared online, raising more questions over their intended use.

The video was uploaded to YouTube last week by a user who stated that it was shot in the middle of the desert between Hackberry and Peach Springs, Arizona.

It shows hundreds of military style trucks loaded on to a train, presumably in the process of being delivered domestically for law enforcement or military purposes.

I think the dots are starting to connect.

• The director of Homeland Security is Janet Napolitano. She was the governor of Arizona from 2003 to 2009.

• The US federal bureaucracy moves very, very slowly. The decision to buy large amounts of ammunition and large number of assault vehicles for domestic use would have taken a fair amount of time from considering the issue to executing the plan.

• I don't know if folks remember what the big story in Arizona was between 2003 and 2009 that would relate to the subject at hand.

But here's a hint:

• This article was posted in 2009. I personally don't care for this type of "scare" article. I did not read the entire article, and it is linked here solely for demonstration, to help folks connect the dots.

• In the 2008 time period and into 2009, the US economy experienced a severe recession; the Mexican economy did not implode; and, there was no mass migration of Mexicans across the border. But I do recall the hysteria was pretty rampant, between 2003 and 2009, about the Mexican economy collapsing, and hordes of Mexicans streaming across the border. 

It wasn't until I saw the videos of the assault vehicles for domestic use that the dots started to connect.

The risk seems to have completely gone away; perhaps it has, perhaps it hasn't. But the bureaucracy moves slowly, and once the plan -- to buy weapons, ammunition, and assault vehicles -- was hatched some years ago, it would have taken a few years to execute.

It all fits very nicely. It doesn't bother me one way or the other. I don't think the arming of Immigration and Customs Enforcement is all that big a deal. I truly doubt arming the ICE is for the purpose of preventing armed revolt in the street by American citizens upset about losing their social security or having to pay for ObamaCare. The dots connect, and if arming the ICE is for the purpose suggested, it sounds more than appropriate. The whole plan seems a bit crazy, but I'm sure the government has done a lot crazier things over the years. But, wow, it sure makes sense. 

Janet Napolitano was governor of Arizona in 2003 - 2009, ground zero (time and place) for impending hordes of Mexicans flooding across the border. She probably lost sleep thinking about the very real possibility. If so, that fear never left her. Once in a job where she could do something about it, she acted with laser-like focus.

Thursday Links -- Wells Coming Off Confidential List Have Been Posted

Updates

March 25, 2013: Homeland Security buying another 360,000 rounds of ammunition; refuses to talk about it. Remember: the fall of Rome from fell within.

While the Department of Homeland Security continues to ignore members of Congress demanding to know why the federal agency is engaged in an apparent arms build-up, the DHS has just announced it plans to purchase another 360,000 rounds of hollow point ammunition to add to the roughly 2 billion bullets already bought over the past year.

March 11, 2013: Homeland Security buying another 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition. 

Original Post

Wells coming off the confidential list have been posted.

I missed the weather report, but I assume it will pop up again. I probably misheard, but I think there are some reports there could be as much as 3 feet of snow falling in some places in New England this Friday/Saturday. More sane/conservative estimates are 8" to 12" of snow for Boston.  Wow, this global warming is really playing havoc for the East Coast.

Again, another great article from RBN Energy. Today, a look at the explosive (pun intended) growth in US-exported liquid propane gas (LPG) -- leaving Texas/Louisiana to points south. I was surprised who the customers were. Be sure to read to the end of the article. I give OXY a lot of grief, but there's an interesting data point at the end of the article regarding OXY. And, now that I've brought up OXY, a reader sent me a note suggesting that OXY is moving by leaps and bounds out in California (think Monterey Shale). For investors, OXY has really trailed XOM and CVX share price appreciation over the past two years (according to Yahoo!Financial compare graphs).

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any decisions base on what you read at this site.

New link. A reader sent in a link to a new website. I've only looked at one graphic so can't say much about the site, but if this graphic is an indication is how good the site is, ChartsBin should be fun to explore. The site will be added to my "Data Links" page.

The Bakken on CNBC: A talking head on CNBC, about 6:45 a.m. talked for quite some time on the Bakken and rail, despite the fact that the segment was not expected to be centered on the Bakken. Don might be able to find the video for me later; if so, I will post it. --> Don found the video -- here it is.

WTI/Brent spread appears to be flirting with $21, according to the CNBC crawler. If so, this is the widest spread in quite some time. I follow the spread elsewhere. 

When others said the Boeing Dreamliner would be airborne soon after the initial grounding, I disagreed, suggesting this will be drawn out for quite some time. Now they are talking about "redesigning" the batteries or the battery reconfiguration. If so, this will not be overnight. Considering battery manufacturers have been working on "new" batteries for decades without a quantum leap for end-users, it's not good news when "they" start talking about battery re-design for a plane that was supposed to be flying by now. At the WSJ.

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[Update: February 17, 2013: this is just plain weird -- gun dealers report shortages of ammunition at USA Today;

Gun shops are running low on ammunition from a run by customers fearful of potential gun-control legislation, according to gun retailers and customers.

And DHS purchases 21.6 million more rounds of ammunition, February 7, 2013, infowars.com]

This is just plain weird ... or scary: DHS buying billions of rounds of ammo.

An approximation of how many rounds of ammunition the DHS has now secured over the last 10 months stands at around 1.625 billion. In March 2012, ATK announced that they had agreed to provide the DHS with a maximum of 450 million bullets over four years, a story that prompted questions about why the feds were buying ammunition in such large quantities.

To put that in perspective, during the height of active battle operations in Iraq, US soldiers used 5.5 million rounds of ammunition a month. Extrapolating the figures, the DHS has purchased enough bullets over the last 10 months to wage a full scale war for almost 30 years.

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Meanwhile, a reporter at the LA Times is recommending that the USPS solve its monetary problems by a) converting their post offices to Starbucks-like coffee shops; and, b) become the national provider of high-speed internet e-mail. I can't make this stuff up. 

Capitalize on the Postal Service's commitment to communication and have it spearhead efforts for universal access to high-speed Internet service. The Federal Communications Commission already has declared this a national priority, so let's put the Postal Service in the driver's seat. 

Meanwhile, let's overhaul our antiquated post offices.

Follow the Starbucks example. Convert them into coffee shops that allow people to go online whenever they please. Sure, you could still mail a package or buy stamps. But you could also get a decent cup of government-brewed java and kick back with your tablet or laptop.

And the LA Times is paying this columnist? Next time you visit your local post office, imagine the staff operating a Starbucks coffee shop and trouble-shooting high-speed internet.