Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Once I get started, this should be a  pretty good day of blogging. I'm back from my short "vacation."

I have to take the Honda Civic in to have the oil changed. It's a 2012 model, bought in late 2011. So, when I drop it off, I will walk down to Starbucks and blog. Hopefully they let me use the restroom if I need to use it. The missing link in those Starbucks stories: I was unaware that one had to ask permission to use restrooms at Starbucks: it turns out that in some areas in the country, they lock the doors to restrooms and that was the case at Starbucks: apparently a "code" is needed to open the doors. It seems customers could easily help each other out in that regard. Whatever. I still think there must have been some "history" to the story that we're not being told. It would be interesting to know what business the businessmen were in.

Anyway, I digress.

More later. Have to take the car in. I'll be back on the net around 8:00 a.m. CDT.

Badlands NGLs, LLC -- Anyone Have Any Update? --- April 16, 2018

The Badlands NGLs, LLC, is tracked here. Last updated in 2016.

Blog Readers Are Ahead of The Curve -- April 16, 2018 -- The State Of Ohio Has Eleven (11) New Natural-Gas-Fired Power Plants -- Either New And On-Line, Or Under Construction Or Some Phase Of Planning

Wow, wow, wow.

Connecting the dots.

First, re-posting a comment a reader just sent me -- this comment was in response to an earlier post:

To put some context to supply/shortage/US NGL potential ...  feedstock supply is dwindling on the global stage. 

Right now, in the US, oversupply of ethane is resulting in about 600,000 barrels a day rejected back into the pipelines. 

That is, due to the current infrastructure shortage, ethane that could supply 6 large crackers is simply being burned along with methane. 

The US has a HUGE advantage on the world stage with rock bottom, ample supply of feedstocks along with cheap electricity to run the operations.

Now a screenshot of an article from Reuters:

This is quite coincidental. Don sent me an article earlier today. I did not post it because it looked like a lobbyist of the coal industry or the nuclear energy sector or wind/solar energy group had written it. But perhaps not. The writer suggested that there may be risk in the US putting all its eggs in one basket, or in this case, supporting the electricity grid with only natural gas.

To what extent electric vehicles will exacerbate the problem is also of interest.

Anyway, the article Don sent that I am now posting, from TimesReporter.com: are we becoming too reliant on natural gas? From OREGON, Ohio.

The past and present, at least in terms of how Ohio generates electricity, can be found within a few miles along the shores of Lake Erie.

Pressed up to the edge of the water is the Bay Shore Plant, a coal-fired power plant owned by a subsidiary of Akron-based FirstEnergy that rarely runs and is scheduled to be closed by 2020.

Sitting two miles inland is the Oregon Clean Energy Center, a natural-gas-fired power plant that opened last summer and is running most days. It’s owned by Clean Energy Future of Massachusetts, a company that focuses exclusively on building and operating these types of plants.

“We are the next iteration of technology,” said Peter Rigney, the plant manager, referring to how the gas plant takes up less space, has fewer employees and generates less waste than coal or nuclear plants.

Oregon Clean Energy is part of a building boom, one of 11 natural-gas plants built, under construction or in some phase of development in Ohio. Investors are spending billions of dollars on plants that will take advantage of the region’s inexpensive and plentiful natural gas.

People who manage the electricity grid are trying to figure out the risks of increasing reliance on natural gas as old coal and nuclear units are closing or likely to close. At the same time, the people behind this slate of projects tend to downplay the risks and say natural gas will remain plentiful and inexpensive.

I have never thought of Rick Perry as being the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he may be correct. There may be a reason to encourage clean coal technology, which he advocates.

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Speaking of Sharp Knives

I'm sure everyone has heard by now: London, a city with one of the world's strictest gun control laws, now has a murder rate that exceeds a city in which every citizen either already owns a gun or will own a gun eventually, namely, New York City.

So, how are these London murders being committed?

Knives.

Headline:

"After the murder rate passes that of NYC, London mayor Sadiq Khan calls for sharper knife control."

No pun intended, I'm sure. From USA Today.

Apparently Mayor Khan wants to ban knives in public.

"No excuses: there is never a reason to carry a knife," Khan tweeted. "Anyone who does will be caught, and they will feel the full force of the law."

"Never a reason to carry knife."

I'm not exactly sure how chefs will do what chefs normally do.

But our older daughter noted an even bigger problem: how does one bring home a kitchen knife after buying it at Walmart?

Oh, that's right. We can order knives from Amazon.

Why I Love To Blog -- I Learn So Much From Readers -- And Readers Seem Better Able To Put In Perspective What CNBC Cannot -- April 16, 2018

Reading the business news and all the new oil and gas projects and all the infrastructure going in, I was absolutely certain "we" were at risk of "over-building." Apparently not. This from a reader who knows the subject very, very well; it came in as a comment at another post:

To put some context to supply/shortage/US NGL potential ...  feedstock supply is dwindling on the global stage. 

Right now, in the US, oversupply of ethane is resulting in about 600,000 barrels a day rejected back into the pipelines. 

That is, due to the current infrastructure shortage, ethane that could supply 6 large crackers is simply being burned along with methane. 

The US has a HUGE advantage on the world stage with rock bottom, ample supply of feedstocks along with cheap electricity to run the operations.

See Houston Chronicle link at this post.

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Tesla Temporarily Shutting Down Model 3 Production. Again.

Second Time In Three Months

I'm only posting this because I find it absolutely fascinating.

The story is everywhere, but here is one link.

CLR Reports Two Completed DUCs -- One Completed With Resin-Coated Sand; One Without; WPX With Permits For A 4-Well Pad In Spotted Horn -- April 16, 2018

Active rigs:

$66.42↑	4/16/2018	04/16/2017	04/16/2016	04/16/2015	04/16/2014
Active Rigs	59	51	29	93	184

Four new permits:

• Operator: WPX
• Field: Spotted Horn (McKenzie)
• Comments: WPX has permits for a 4-well Sweet Grass Woman pad in Spotted Horn, section SESE 22-150-94

Two producing wells completed:

• 33095, 701, CLR, Monroe 13-2H1, Banks, 4 sections, Three Forks 1; 59 stages; 16.3 million lbs; mesh; large/ resin coated, t3/18; cum --
• 33096, 1,905, CLR, Monroe 12-2H1, Banks, 4 sections, Three Forks 1; 60 stages; 11.1 million lbs; mesh; large/medium, t3/18; cum --