Bakken Oil Sold At Premium Compared to WTI; Could Affect 3Q12 Earnings

For investors, this is very, very interesting news and comment from SeekingAlpha.com. MDW has been reporting Bakken premium to WTI for quite some time now. It's not being reported elsewhere to any significant degree:

Since September 4, Bakken spot crude oil prices have traded above the price of West Texas Intermediate spot crude oil prices.

For most of 2012, Bakken spot crude oil prices traded at a discount to WTI prices and traded at a whopping $27.50 discount on February 9, 2012.

The new premium pricing is likely to last for a while, as detailed in the article Bakken Spot Crude Premium to West Texas Intermediate Could Last Into 2013 (previously linked).

This improved pricing environment for Bakken spot crude prices have still not been factored into the third and fourth quarter 2012 earnings estimates by many analysts. This could position some companies with a heavy concentration of revenue from Bakken crude oil prices to outperform their current revenue and earnings estimates for the third quarter.

So, we'll see.

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

Statoil To Divest About 230 Wells in Anadarko Basin, Oklahoma

Link to Wall Street Cheat Sheet:

Norway’s Statoil is said to be ready to divest some 230 onshore wells in the United States as it attempts to rid itself of gas producers after the sharp fall of North American natural gas prices. This number reportedly includes 180 onshore natural gas wells that the firm gained through its $4.4 billion purchase of Brigham Exploration (BEXP).

Rigzone provides more information:

Statoil will divest about 230 wells in the Anadarko basin in Oklahoma and along the Gulf Coast in Louisiana and Texas, said Ola Morten Aanestad, Statoil's vice president of communications. About 80% of the wells produce natural gas, Mr. Aanestad said.

Twenty-One (21) New Permits; Some Really Nice Wells Coming Off Confidential

Autumn: Favorite Time of The Year
Harvest Results

Sunflowers: looks like an outstanding year for sunflowers in North Dakota; tally not yet in

Energy Links

RBN Energy: first in another series on condensates, a "big" issue for the Bakken
Independent Stock Analysis: you thought the Bakken costs were high? Norway's projects soar in costs.

Bakken Operations

Active rigs: 193, huge jump from yesterday/this morning, but still steady in 190 range

Twenty-one (21) new permits

• Operators:  BR (5), KOG (4), ERF (3), G3 Operating (2), Oasis (2), True, XTO, Murex,  Gadeco, OXY USA,
• Fields: Strandahl (Williams), Stanley (Mountrail), South Fork (Dunn), Eagle Nest (McKenzie), Hebron (Williams), Heart Butte (Dunn), Red Wing Creek (McKenzie), Blue Buttes (McKenzie), North Fork (McKenzie), Epping (Williams), St Anthony (Dunn), Gros Ventre (Burke)

Comments: First OXY USA permit since Sept 27; no Newfield permit since Sept 27;

Wells coming off the confidential list on Friday:

• 20038, 625, EOG, Liberty LR 12-11H, Van Hook, t4/12; cum 74K 8/12;
• 20332, 647, EOG, West Clark 100-2413H, Clarks Creek, t9/12; cum --
• 20334, drl, EOG, West Clark 1-2413H, Clarks Creek,
• 20860, 540, Petro-Hunt, Hartman 144-97-5A-8-1H, Little Knife, t7/12; cum 12K 8/12;
• 21197, 1,100, Liberty Resources/Newfield, Jackman 156-100-18-19-1H, East Fork, t4/12; cum 72K 8/12;
• 21248, drl, CLR, Tande 3-23H, Lindahl,
• 22135, 746, CLR, Washburne 1-22H, Oliver, t8/12; cum 21K 8/12;
• 22292, 1,754, BEXP, Arvid Anderson 14-11 2TFH, Alger, t9/12; cum --
• 22478, 417, Hess, MC-Murphy 144-95-1102H-2, Murphy Creek, t8/12; cum 17K 8/12;
• 22672, drl, G3 Operating, Pederson 1-18-19H, Little Muddy,

Federal Agents Raid Gun Shop, Find Weapons

Okay.

I assume if they had raided a pet shop, they might have found puppies. Certainly tropical fish.

What can I say?

I will say this: I have to remember to visit the Montana Headlines blog site more often. Great observations; typical western dry humor. The stuff I grew up, but never got good at. The link will take you to the headline.

Montana Headlines is great for those wishing to follow events in Montana from someone who really seems to have the pulse of the state. I particularly enjoy his cultural miscellany, maybe more on that later. Most impressive, Brad Anderson seems to write on politics in a much less heavy-handed way than I do. I would think even those who he does not endorse or support would enjoy reading his notes.

I was surprised to see that the Billings Gazette endorsed Mr Romney.  I don't know why I'm surprised; I guess I just thought mainstream media would endorse the incumbent. It will be interesting to see which candidate the North Dakota regional newspapers endorse for president.

Way Off The Radar: Could Natural Gas Go To $5.00 This Winter?

Link here to Hellenic Shipping News:

US natural gas prices will rise to between $4 and $5/MMBtu this winter if, as expected, the country sees a return to normal temperatures, consultant ICF said.

At a winter fuels conference in Washington, ICF Vice President Bruce Henning said his company is forecasting an average US heating loads of 36.6 Bcf/d this winter, up from 30.3 Bcf last year, when much of the US experienced a mild winter. ....

... In addition, ICF said New England might see some natural gas price spikes this winter because "pipelines may not be able to serve all of the electric generation load requesting interruptible service," Henning said.

Also on Wednesday, the US The US Energy Information Administration predicted a 15% increase in home gas heating bills because of expected cooler weather this winter.

We'll see. I'm not holding my breath.

CNP hit a 52-week high today. (Note disclaimer: this is not an investment site; don't make any investment decisions on what you read here.)