Third Year Running: North Dakota Best-Run State -- 24/7 Wall Street -- December 4, 2014

Link here.

North Dakota is 24/7 Wall St.’s best-run state for a third consecutive year.

People have been flocking to North Dakota: more than 5% of the population in 2013 had migrated from another state or country since 2010.

One reason for this is the surging economy. Last year, the state's GDP rose by 9.7%, the most in the nation. Much of this growth came from the mining industry, which includes oil and gas extraction. In recent years, oil extraction in North Dakota has grown exponentially, driven by drilling in the Bakken formation. This has made the state the second largest oil producer behind Texas. Job growth has also been rapid. North Dakota’s 2.9% unemployment rate was the lowest in the nation last year.

The trick will be if North Dakota can be among the top three one year from now; it's going to be a tough year based on "reading the tea leaves."

Surprisingly, Minnesota is #5 and Texas is #8.

And before folks say it all has to do with energy, note that Pennsylvania is #36, worse than New York, Connecticut, and California:

Pennsylvania’s economy demonstrated little growth in 2013, as GDP grew by just 0.7%, or less than all but a few other states. This was despite the state's ongoing natural gas boom. Natural gas production in the state exceeded more than 3 trillion cubic feet last year. This was more than any other state except Texas. The state’s finances also contributed to its mediocre rank. Pennsylvania had a pension funded ratio of less than two-thirds of the present value of its liabilities as of 2013, worse than in the majority of states. Also, Moody’s recently downgraded Pennsylvania’s debt from Aa2 to Aa3, highlighting “the commonwealth's growing structural imbalance, exacerbated by the fiscal 2015 enacted budget that depends on non-recurring resources.”

With all that, it's hard to believe Pennsylvania makes the list as high as 36. I hate to think how the states "below" 36 are doing. By the way, Bakken crude oil "saved" one or two or three Pennsylvania refineries, I believe.

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Police Brutality Protests

Being tweeted across the nation right now: multiple "police brutality" protests in major cities across the nation.  -- 11:24 p.m. CT, December 4, 2014.

The Handbook For Mineral Rights Owners Is Now Available At Amazon.com

For quite some time The Mineral Rights Manual (Royalties Within Reach: A Handbook for Mineral Rights Owners) has been available as an eBook; it is linked at the sidebar at the right.

It's hard to believe, but it's now available as a softcover over at Amazon.com. At the site one can "take a peek inside."

Pretty exciting. It's already ranked pretty high among "Amazon best sellers."

Again, I have no relationship with the author. I have no hidden agenda posting this information. It's simply a service for readers who might be interested.

Six (6) New Permits, North Dakota -- December 4, 2014; Whiting Shareholders Overwhelmingly Approve Acquisition Of KOG

Whiting's acquisition of KOG is one step closer: Whiting's shareholders overwhelmingly approved the acquisition. The deal is slated to close next week. Bakken.com is reporting. Two data points:

• the $6 billion deal–expected to close next week–included $3.8 billion in stock and $2.2 billion in debt;
• this merger will make Whiting Petroleum the largest crude-oil producer in the Bakken shale region of the northern Great Plains

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Wells coming off the confidential list today were posted earlier; see sidebar at the right.

Wells coming off the confidential list Friday:

• 25585, drl, KOG, Moccasin Creek 14-33-28-3H, Moccasin Creek, no production data,
• 25996, 1,029, Whiting, Froehlich 11-13PH, Zenith, t6/14; cum 40K 10/14;
• 25997, 1,133, Whiting, Froehlich 41-13PH, Zenith, t6/14; cum 41K 10/14;
• 27611, drl, Hess, EN-Abrahamson-155-93-3019H-7, Alger, no production data,
• 27805, 413, CLR, Pamela Ann 1-34H1, Temple, t10/14; um 7K 10/14;
• 27926, drl, XTO, Gilbertson 11X-26FXG, Charlson, no production data,
• 28100, 673, WPX, Lucy Evans 29-32HA, Antelope, t10/14; cum 4K 10/14;
• 28111, drl, MRO, Susana 14-23TFH, Bailey, cum 8K 10/14 after first 16 days;
• 28299, drl, XTO, Omlid 41X-13H, Siverston, no production data,
• 28324, drl, Hess, EN-Freda-154-94-2635H-3, Alkali Creek no production data,
• 28352, drl, BR, CCU Pullman 1-8-7TFH, Corral Creek, no production data,

Six (6) new permits --

• Operators: CLR (6)
• Fields: Jim Creek (Dunn)
• Comments:

Active rigs as reported by the NDIC:

	12/4/2014	12/04/2013	12/04/2012	12/04/2011	12/04/2010
Active Rigs	191	192	181	199	164

Record Snow Cover In Northern Hemisphere -- The Washington Post; December 4, 2014

Northern Hemisphere sets record for most snow cover for this time of the year ever in recorded history, The Washington Post is reporting. In fairness, it must be remembered that the warmists predicted more precipitation, perhaps helping end the drought in California.

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How To Spend Your Money

It seems weekly or more often I read comments from analysts and others suggesting Apple needs to do more with their cash horde.

Sort of like what Microsoft did with theirs.

Business Insider is reporting how Microsoft turned $300 million into $116 million: 

Barnes and Noble and Microsoft have dissolved their joint venture, and Barnes and Noble is buying back all shares in the joint venture for $62 million in cash and stock worth about $54 million, according to a new SEC filing.

That leaves Microsoft with a loss of about $238 million on the deal. It also gives Barnes and Noble a cleaner exit if it wants to spin off the Nook business.

And then lots of spin.

New Facebook Bakken Community Group For Mineral Rights Owners

A reader wrote to tell me he had established a new Facebook community group for Bakken mineral owners. The individual shared a bit of his background with me; very legitimate.

This is the link: https://www.facebook.com/BakkenMineralOwners, which will also be posted at the sidebar at the right.