Ford, GM Offering Big Discounts On Trucks

The economic data points are troubling: mortgage rates back down to record lows; two consecutive months of hideous jobs data; and, now this:

Yahoo!Finance is reporting:

GM is running a national Presidents Day sale through February 28 at Chevrolet and Buick-GMC dealers that provides incentives of up to $7,092 on the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and up to $7,588 on the 2014 GMC Sierra. The more generous discounts are being implemented just eight months after the redesigned trucks hit the market last summer. 

Ford, whose full-size F-series pickup has been the best-selling U.S. truck for 37 years, is providing much lower incentives of up to $3,250 on its big trucks. The F-series is due for a major overhaul late this year.

But many Ford dealers are advertising much richer deals on the carryover 2014 F-Series, with discounts ranging up to $9,000.

Random Update On A Million-Bbl South Red River Well Drilled In 2006

The Bakken boom was about ready to take off, but not quite yet. It was 2006. A lot of wells were being drilled into the South Red River B back in 2005 and 2006. One can see a number of great South Red River B wells at the "monster wells" page. Here's one that has hit the million-bbl milestone and is still producing 4,000 bbls of oil monthly:

• 15907, 752, Denbury Onshore, CHSU 33C-10SH 16, Cedar Hills, South Red River B, t2/06; cum 1,118,440 bbls 12/13; unitized spacing; about 8,000 feet vertical depth; 18,000 feet total depth

Will France Soon Be Nuclear-Free Like Germany?

Argus Media is reporting:

French nuclear watchdog ASN is studying fuel rod casing corrosion problems at a number of nuclear units owned and operated by French state-controlled utility EdF. There is no immediate safety issue or impact on operations, ASN said.

The issue is understood to affect as many as 25 of EdF's 58 nuclear reactors and was brought to ASN's attention by EdF. ASN continues to investigate and expects to be able to provide more information next week.

Maybe we will see the Paris Basin fracked sooner than later.

Update On The MRO Powell Well Targeting The Tyler In Southwest North Dakota; Photos From A Reader

Updates

April 27, 2014: two of the MRO Tyler wildcat wells come off confidential list on Monday, April 28, 2014; currently no production data.

February 15, 2014: a reader tells me the Rundle Trust well now has four 400-bbl oil tanks and a separator on the pad. It is my understanding then, that the Rundle Trust pad to the north, and the Powell pad to the south each have four 400-bbl oil tanks and a separator on the pad.

Original Post

A reader was kind enough to send photos of the Powell pad.

I can never thank readers enough who send updates (and especially photos) -- it really helps a lot of folks who might be interested but have no way of getting out to the sites. Note: no pumper on site yet, so mixed signals.

• 26335, conf, MRO, Powell 31-27TFH, 27-135-99, about 6 1/2 miles south of the two MRO - Tyler - Rundle Trust wells right at the south edge of Rocky Ridge oil field in southwest North Dakota.

I track these four MRO -Tyler wells here. 

Note the heavy snow pack -- winter, 2014. This is not an atypical snow picture for North Dakota. "We" don't get as much snow as folks sometimes think. Certainly nothing like New England.

Target Logistics Completes Judson Lodge West Of Williston, US Highway 2

The Minot Daily News is reporting:

Williston Target Logistics, a workforce housing provider, has completed the development of its Judson Lodge along U.S. Highway 2 west of Williston.

The first phase opened in October 2012, and the second phase has just been completed - bringing the total number of available rooms to 100. Liberty Oilfield Services will be contracting all 100 rooms.

The factbox at the link reports that Target Logistics has 12 facilities in North Dakota:

• Tioga Lodge, 1,038 beds with 100 RV spots
• Bear Paw Lodge, 496 beds
• Williston North Lodge, 415 beds
• Williston Cabins, 124 beds
• Muddy River Lodge, 158 beds
• Williams County Lodge, 300 beds
• Judson Executive Lodge, 100 beds
• Dunn County Lodge, 596 beds
• Watford City Lodge, 334 beds
• Stanley Hotel, 338 beds
• Stanley Cabins, 96 beds
• Company #9 Mobile Crew Camp, 80 beds

Of the 16 Target Logistics properties in North America, 12 are in North Dakota.

This actually caught me by surprise; I was pretty much sure that new man-camps were a thing of the past in the Bakken, now that the boom is over (according to The Atlantic Monthly, in a story a year or so ago. I guess you can't believe everything you read).

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130 Million YouTube Views

I forget how I stumbled across this video for the first time some days ago.  Was it through Dragon Tattoo? I forget.

Summertime Sadness, Lana Del Rey