EVs: The Scorecards Evolve. Amazon Partners With Stellantis; Mercedes F1-Derived Battery Vs ONE Startup -- January 5, 2021

Amazon partners with Stellantis, January 5, 2022. 

Amazon.com Inc and Stellantis NV said Wednesday (January 5, 2022) they will collaborate to develop cars and trucks with Amazon software in the dashboards, and deploy electric vans made by Stellantis on Amazon's delivery network.

The agreements expand Amazon's efforts to get a bigger foothold in the transportation industry, and could help Stellantis close the gap with Tesla Inc in developing vehicles with sophisticated, software-powered infotainment features that are connected to the data processing cloud.Stellantis shares were up more than 3% in Milan.

The agreements between Stellantis and Amazon, the online retailer and cloud computing power, announced in conjunction with the CES technology conference, are wide ranging, involving software and hardware.Amazon and Stellantis said they will work together to develop software for the "digital cockpit" infotainment systems of Stellantis vehicles that will start launching in 2024.

Stellantis said it will use Amazon's Alexa technology for voice controlled features, "navigation, vehicle maintenance, ecommerce marketplaces, and payment services." Big ecommerce delivery fleet operators such as Amazon will be key to determining winners and losers as established automakers compete with startups to electrify the world's package delivery system.

Mercedes F1 battery, January 5, 2022.

An electric car's driving range is a big frickin' deal. It's why Mercedes-Benz was so pleased when it leveraged F1-derived battery and wind-tunnel technology to create the Vision EQXX Concept with a massive 620 miles of range. 

That's not sarcasm. 

If accurate, 620 miles is huge--even in a relative concept car, given that it actually works and is road legal. Michigan battery startup Our Next Energy (ONE), however, has reportedly gone a step further, squeezing 752 miles from a single charge without stopping to recharge. 

According to ONE, it swapped a Tesla Model S's battery for one of its own design -- a patented technology called Gemini -- then it ran a bunch of tests to prove the range possible. 

ONE's founder and CEO, Mujeeb Ijaz (formerly the senior director of energy storage at Apple) told The Drive the following in regards to its findings: 

"We conducted two tests, the first on public roads in a trip that spanned Detroit Michigan to Michigan's Upper Peninsula and back," said Ijaz. "We recorded 752.2 miles one this run at an average speed of 55 mph and in average ambient temperature conditions below freezing. The second test was conducted indoors on a vehicle dynamometer at 73.4° F temperature at 55 mph and we achieved 882 miles during this test."

Thirty-Four Active Rigs; Hess With Four New Permits; Two DUCs Reported As Completed; And Another Beautiful Day In The Bakken -- January 5, 2022

Active rigs: 34 active oil and gas rigs according to the NDIC

$77.31	1/5/2022	01/05/2021	01/05/2020	01/05/2019	01/05/2018
Active Rigs	34	13	55	63	54

Five new permits, #38731 - #38735, inclusive:

• Operator: Hess
• Field: Big Butte (Mountrail), Manitou (Mountrail), Manitou (Mountrail)
  
• Comments:
• Hess has permits for two EN-Neset wells and three EN-Anderson wells in SESW 7-156-94; the wells will be sited 705 FSL and between 1714 FWL and 1846 FWL;

One permit renewed:

• 37205, Grayson Mill, Larsen 10-2 XE 1H, Williams County; scout ticket still shows it as an Equinor well; not sure what this is all about, in the daily activity report this name (Larsen 10-2 XE 1H) but on the NDIC map it is still carried as "Larsen 3-10 XE1 #1TFH." This is on a pad that was originally permitted for ten wells but six have been canceled; two are completed/producing (#20842 and #20013); two are still confidential (#37205 and #37206).
• 20013, Lucy Hanson 15-22 1-H, AB, t8/11; cum 352K 6/19;
• 20842, Larsen 3-10 #2H, AB, t7/11; cum 298K 6/19;
  

Two producing wells (DUCs) reported as completed:

• 36783, 3,082, Grayson Mill Operating, Marcia 3-10 7H, the scout ticket still shows it as an Equinor well;
  
• 37885, 516, Crescent Point Energy CPEUSC Sylven 3-11-2-158N-100W-MBH,

Bad Hair Day -- January 5, 2022

In honor of National Bird Day (a few days ago):

Levi: here, hold my birdseed --

Lesson learned: do not stick finger in electrical outlet.

How Global Leaders Think About The Future Of Energy -- January 5, 2022

Strategically:

• Mexico will begin to phase out crude oil and refined exports this year and end all such exports in 2023;
• China is likely to halve their fuel export quota; keep more at home.
• US will mandate that more be kept in the ground (forever); and release reserves from the SPR to sell to China and India.

My hunch: the Brandon team is using the "heating water on the stove / frog on a log" theory to gradually raise price of gasoline in California to expedite transition to EVs.

This seems to be a huge win - win for investors. 

*************************
UNP

Wow. From Zacks.

And after all that, Zacks still rates UNP as a "hold." What am I missing? Waiting for a pullback to buy on the dip?

Permian's Pioneer Goes Naked -- January 5, 2022

From social media or go direct to the Bloomberg paywall or direct to MSN with no paywall.