Market Movers -- Early Morning Trading -- December 12, 2022

On a day the Dow surges 500 points, TSLA is down over 6%; down over $11; and, trading at $168.

• I remember when folks said TSLA will never go below $200.
  

From CNBC:

 

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Covid-19

Link here.

PFE: up 0.7%. Trading at $52. Pays 3.15%.

The Next Big North Dakota Agricultural Story: The Yellow Pea -- December 12, 2022

From Minot Daily News, August 24, 2021, a little over a year ago: pea breeding facility opens in Minot.

Minot-area farmers could reap benefits from a new yellow pea breeding station in southeast Minot. Food and ag-tech company Benson Hill of St. Louis, Missouri, is working with a select group of area producers to optimize yellow pea genetics for the area’s growing conditions. Yellow pea is one of the fastest-growing sources of protein for plant-based meat alternatives, with a market that is forecasted to reach about $140 billion by 2029, according to industry sources. Despite this, yellow pea has traditionally received little genomic innovation, Benson Hill reported. 

Israeli startup Equinom raises $35 million to begin sales: yellow pea -- Bloomberg.

From FoodNavigator, December 3, 2021:

• Roquette unveils "world's largest pea protein plant"
• 200,000-square-foot-plant: Poortage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada
• first company too operate a major pea protein facilities on both sides of the Atlantic
• company made investment in Israeli startup company Equinom
• Other companies opening new yellow pea facilities:
• PURIS: recently opened a large plant in Dawson, MN
• Ingredio: recently opened a large plant in Nebraska
• ADM: recently opened a large plant in North Dakota; link here; and, here;
• Cosucra: recently opened a large plant in Denmark; expanding in Belgium
• several Chinese manufacturers expanding capacity

Link here, May 11, 2021:

ADM has announced plans to build North Dakota’s first-ever dedicated soybean crushing plant and refinery.

Based in Spiritwood, North Dakota, (near Jamestown) the approximately $350 million crush and refining complex will have the capacity to process 150,000 bushels of soybeans per day.

The facility is expected to be complete prior to the 2023 harvest.

From 2016: 

In America, the top five producers:

• Montana, North Dakota, Washington, Idaho, Oregon -- 2012

Back in 2009: 

Gov. John Hoeven today joined local officials and company representatives for the grand opening of United Pulse Trading Inc., a $7.5 million pea and lentil splitting facility in Williston, N.D.

The new facility is capable of cleaning, calibrating, peeling, splitting and color sorting 75,000 metric tons of peas and lentils, making it the largest lentil and pea splitting company in the Americas. Hoeven was joined for the ribbon cutting by president and CEO of Alliance Grain Traders, Murad Al-Katib, Williston Mayor Ward Koeser, and other local officials.

United Pulse began operating in 2007 while undergoing major expansions and renovations, and has since created 33 new jobs at the processing facility in Williston and five new jobs at its headquarters in Bismarck. The company, which has roots in Turkey, has moved five new Turkish families to North Dakota.

Rivian Steps Back From Partnership With Mercedes-Benz; Making America Great Again -- December 12, 2022

Market updates: in light of breaking story below, and with general market in the green, how are the EVs doing?

• RIVN: down 4%
• LCID: down 2%
• RIDE: flat today at $1.35; down 14% past five days

Original Post 

New tag: "BiMAGA."

How big is this story? It's the number one story over on CNBC right now.  

Investors.

EVs not for me.

Rivian - Mercedes-Benz: on hold. 

• agreement announced just three months ago;
• Rivian took lead to pause
• Rivian: pursuing “the best risk-adjusted returns” on its capital investments 

Some think this may have to do with price of energy in Germany.

But it maybe something else -- Biden making America great again -- BiMAGA:

Monday’s news comes at a time when the European Union has raised concerns about the United States’ Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed into law by President Joe Biden in August.

According to the Department of Energy, the IRA “represents a historic, $369 billion investment in the modernization of the American energy system.”

Among other things, the IRA contains a tax credit for electric vehicles whose final assembly takes place in North America, which could represent a big challenge to European carmakers in the years ahead.

Hyperbole Of The Day -- December 12, 2022

All the excitement over fusion energy. We won't see it in my investing lifetime, and I doubt Sophia will ever see it. But yet it will be the story of the day. Jennifer Granholm will be front and center today making it sound like our energy "problem" is solved. 

From December 17, 2020, only two years ago:

• Toyota CEO: "Electric vehicles are overhyped." WSJ.  Elon Musk himself said as recently as yesterday it's going to take alot more energy once we move to EVs. The good news: plenty of cars. The bad news: most Americans won't be able to afford them

A bigger story: the Southern Lights [Diluent] Pipeline: link here.

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China's Pivot On Covid-19

I'm surprised Peter Zeihan did not pick up on this. Very insightful.

It's hard to believe, but yes, China has a huge population problem, but not the one we all thought.

Link here.

The Road To New England; Price Of Natural Gas Surges Overnight - Up 10% -- December 12, 2022

Link here.

Monday morning; demand at upper end.

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Back to the Bakken

The Far Side: link here.

Active rigs: 43.

WTI: $70.67.

Natural gas: $6.857.

Tuesday, December 13, 2022: 30 or the month, 139 for the quarter,  683 for the year.
38486, conf, Hess, GO-Johnson-156-98-2635H-4,
38216, conf, WPX Energy, Two Shields Butte 13-21 11TFH,
38215, conf, WPX Energy, Two Shields Butte 13-21 9H
36898, conf, Bowline/Nine Point, Shaffer 155-102-27-22-13H,

Monday, December 12, 2022: 26 for the month, 135 for the quarter, 679 for the year.
38898, conf, CLR, Bonney 8-3H,
38411, conf, Whiting, Kannianen 11-5HU,
35528, conf, WPX Energy, Two Shields Butte 13-21-17-1H3U,

Sunday, December 11, 2022: 23 for the month, 132 for the quarter, 676 for the year.
38487, conf, Hess, GO-Johnson-156-98-2635H-5,

Saturday, December 10, 2022: 22 for the month, 131 for the quarter, 675 for the year.
38897, conf, CLR, Bonney 7-3HSL1, 

RBN Energy: are Canadian E&Ps struggling to meet the rising need for oil sands diluent? Archived.

Shipping Alberta’s fast-rising bitumen production to market through pipelines or on insulated rail cars depends on sufficient supplies of diluent, a variety of light hydrocarbons that, when blended with molasses-like bitumen, reduce the viscosity of the resulting mix. The problem is, in-region production of diluent — an economically favorable alternative to pipeline imports from the U.S. — has been growing more slowly than it was a few years ago, and increased demand for imported condensate could result in those pipelines being maxed out. In today’s RBN blog, we delve into what may be behind the slowing pace of Western Canadian diluent production and what the implications might be.

We have blogged many times about Alberta’s fast-rising production of oil sands bitumen, the blending ratios needed for “dilbit” —the diluent-bitumen blend used in pipelines — and for “railbit” — the blend used in insulated rail cars.

Before we go any further, we have to cover a few definitions. First, as alluded to earlier, diluent is any form of light liquid hydrocarbon that can be mixed with bitumen that reduce its viscosity and allow it to be transported by pipeline or in insulated rail cars. Diluent can take a number of forms such as a light crude oil, butane, or condensate. It’s that last word — condensate — that require some exact definitions since the U.S. and Canadian energy industry throw around the word a bit too loosely sometimes.

The Southern Lights [Diluent] Pipeline: link here.