Twelve (12) New Permits -- The WIlliston Basin, North Dakota, USA -- EOG Reports Several Huge Wells; Whiting, Murex, MRO All Report Nice Wells;

Disclaimer: I've been on the road for about 27 hours; still have 3 hours left. I assume there are typographical errors below. I did not double-check. I will double-check when I get to destination and get some sleep. 

Active rigs: 190

Twelve (12) new permits --

• Operators: HRC (4), WPX (3), Hess, Slawson, Petro-Hunt, SM Energy, Enduro
• Fields: Van Hook (Mountrail), Robinson Lake (Mountrail), Big Bend (Mountrail), Little Knife (Dunn), Eagle Nest (Dunn), Hay Draw (McKenzie)
• Comments: It looks like the HRC permits are for a 4-well pad

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

There were twelve (12) producing wells completed:

• 25275, 2,328, MRO, Betty Fettig 21-27H, Killdeer, t11/13; cum --
• 25344, 1,648, MRO, Orvin 31-13TFH, Reunion Bay, t11/13; cum --
• 24261, 2,837, BR, Glacier 24-9MBH, Clear Creek, 2 sections, t11/13; cum --
• 24260, 2,766, BR, Glacier 24-9TFH, Clear Creek, 2 sections, t12/13; cum --
• 23738, 2,899, BR, Bryce 24-8MBH, Westberg, 2 sections, t11/13; cum --
• 23737, 2,712, BR, Bryce 24-8TFH, Westberg, 2 sections, t12/13; cum --
• 25325, 1,625, XTO, Olson 34X-19D, Arnegard, t11/13; cum --
• 25710, 556, OXY USA, State Kary 3-19-18H-144-96, Murphy Creek, t11/13; cum --
• 24653, 600, OXY USA, Henry Kovash 4-7-6H-142-95, Manning, t11/13; cum --
• 25708, 711, OXY USA, State Kary 4-19-18H-144-96, Murphy Creek, t11/13; cum --
• 25284, 1,108, Hess, SC-Barney 154-98-1819H-3, Truax, t11/13; cum --
• 25936, 1,537, Whiting, Uran 12-24TFH, Sanish, t11/13; cum --

Wells coming off confidential list Tuesday:

• 23063, 1,418, EOG, Bear Den 100-2017H, Spotted Horn, t8/13; cum 84K 10/13; 
• 23267, 110, EOG, Bear Den 17-16H, Spotted Horn, t7/13; cum 56K 10/13;
• 24480, 83 (no typo), Murex, Lisa Marie 22-15H, Writing Rock, t8/13; cum 24K 10/13;
• 24551, 616, EOG, Garden Coulee 3-2734H, Ft Buford, t6/13; cum 43K 10/13;
• 24746, 280, SM Energy, Mosser 1-30HN, Colgan, t10/13; cum 8K 10/13;
• 24855, 1,981, EOG, Van Hook 130-2526H, Parshall, 35 stages; 11 million lbs, Three Forks, t7/13; cum 111K 10/13;
• 24867, 1,768, Whiting, Rovelstad 21-13-2H, Timber Creek, t6/13; cum 62K 10/13;
• 25462, drl, Hess, EN-Leo 154-94-2324H-1, Alkali Creek, no production data,
• 25483, 1,266, MRO, Kruger 24-24TFH, Bailey, t10/13; cum 17K 10/13;

*****************************
23063, see above, EOG, Bear Den 100-2017H, Spotted Horn:

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
10-2013	26186	24911
9-2013	30444	30596
8-2013	26497	1117

23267, see below, EOG, Bear Den 17-16H, Spotted Horn:

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
10-2013	14214	13789
9-2013	21083	0
8-2013	15096	2888
7-2013	4936	313

24480, see below, Murex, Lisa Marie 22-15H, Writing Rock:

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
10-2013	6668	0
9-2013	10734	0
8-2013	5249	0

24551, see above, EOG, Garden Coulee 3-2734H, Ft Buford:

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
10-2013	9970	0
9-2013	10058	985
8-2013	14431	1351
7-2013	5883	0
6-2013	2166	0

24855, see above, EOG, Van Hook 130-2526H, Parshall:

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
10-2013	26712	13467
9-2013	33204	16742
8-2013	30264	14100
7-2013	19696	8306

24867, see above, Whiting, Rovelstad 21-13-2H, Timber Creek:

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
10-2013	11204	5212
9-2013	7787	4296
8-2013	7270	215
7-2013	20574	730
6-2013	14849	3388

25483, see above, MRO, Kruger 24-24TFH, Bailey:

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
10-2013	13978	7651
9-2013	3257	345

Random Update On Some West Capa Wells Per Reader's Request

The following were done quickly because I am traveling. I think they are correct, but there could be errors. I will double-check later. 

20250, 1,944, XTO, Wayne 34X-34F,  West Capa, t3/13; cum 89K 10/13;

22514, 1,023, XTO, Thaxton 24X-35B,  West Capa, t6/12; cum 48K 10/13;
22515, 437, XTO, Thaxton 24X-35F,  West Capa, t9/13; cum 15K 10/13;
25368, 1,325, XTO, Thaxton 24X-35E,  West Capa, t9/13; cum 16K 10/13;
25369, 1,559, XTO, Thaxton 24X-35A,  West Capa, t9/13; cum 21K 10/13;

22325, 856, XTO, Wallace 21X-2B, West Capa, t5/12; cum 59K 10/13;
25149, conf, XTO, Wallace 21X-2F, West Capa,
25850, conf, XTO, Wallace 21X-2E, West Capa, 
25851, conf, XTO, Wallace 21X-2A, West Capa,

Monday: Light Sweet Crude Glut At The Coast; Hess Is Poised For An Interesting 2014; Three "Things" Weighing On The Market

Active rigs:

	12/16/2013	12/16/2012	12/16/2011	12/16/2010	12/16/2009
Active Rigs	191	181	199	165	77

RBN Energy: Light sweet crude glut at the Gulf Coast -- how it will affect pricing.

The bases are loaded for another 2 MMb/d of pipeline capacity to bring additional crude supplies to the Texas Gulf Coast by the end of 2014. The majority of that payload will likely be light sweet crude from tight oil formations, a.k.a., shale. As the flood of crude headed to Texas passed through the Midwest over the past two years, prices at Cushing and points north were heavily discounted versus coastal markets. Now the discount action has moved to the Gulf Coast where light sweet crude imports have been pushed out. Today we look at the impact of the changing supply position on crude price differentials.

The Wall Street Journal

Saudi says they were thrown under the bus by the Obama administration working behind the kingdom's back with regard to Iran. Okay.

Rare global warming snowfall snags the Mideast.

Three feet of snow in Jerusalem left the city in a siege-like state over the weekend, with roads blocked, residents confined to their homes and Israeli troops in the streets, as the worst winter storm in decades swept through the Middle East.

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment decisions based on anything you read here or think you may have read here.

Hess's stock is poised for an interesting 2014.

Hess could offer investors more in 2014. Superficially, it looks like Hess has surpassed its peers on valuation.

It began 2013 trading at just 8.3 times forward earnings, a one-third discount to the S&P 500. Today, Hess's multiple is 13.7 times, a discount of less than 10%.

But earnings metrics can be misleading in the capital-intensive oil business. For example, most of the third-quarter earnings miss that hit Hess's stock in October concerned accelerated depreciation on a Norwegian oil field, a noncash charge.

Cash flow is a better metric. Hess's enterprise value, including net debt, is 4.6 times earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization on a consensus basis—about average among its peers. restructuring offers a hedge for the stock at a time when the risk of weaker oil prices is rising.

Peers such as ConocoPhillips and Marathon have undergone radical change, splitting into more focused companies and paying more cash to shareholders. Both have roundly beaten the market and the sector over the past four years. If oil prices weigh on Hess's stock next year, expect Elliott and others to press for more change.

In-Play:

Whiting Petroleum announces results of exchange offer relating to outstanding, unregistered 5.750% Senior Notes due 2021: Co announces the results of its offer to exchange all of its outstanding, unregistered 5.750% Senior Notes due 2021 issued September 26, 2013, for new, registered 5.750% Senior Notes due 2021, which are an additional issuance of and will be fully fungible and form a single series voting together as one class with the $800 mln aggregate principal amount of its 5.750% Senior Notes due 2021 issued on September 12, 2013. 

Miscellaneous:

Gold-bugs:

Holdings in the 14 biggest ETPs plunged 31 percent to 1,813.7 metric tons since the start of January, the first annual decrease since the funds started trading in 2003, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Three things weighing on the market:

• Federal budget compromise -- not yet a done deal. Just political theater. It will be passed.
• could the Fed announce tapering this week? Nope.
• will ObamaCare's disarray have significant effect on the US economy in 2014? Yup. 

Wells Coming Off Confidential List Over Weekend, Monday; Some Big Wells -- Minimal Blogging Due To Traveling

Monday, December 16, 2013

• 24547, drl, Statoil, Greenstein 30-31 4H, Camp, no production data,
• 24801, drl, CLR, Rollefstad Federal 9-3H, Antelope, no production data,
• 25281, 653, Samson Resources, Strom 2536-1H, Ambrose, t10/13; cum 13K 10/13;
• 25302, drl, XTO, Louise 31X-9D,  North Tobacco Garden, very big well, 42K first 35 days;
• 25387, 2,664, BR, Cleo 21-1TFH, Croff, t9/13; cum 14K 10/13;
• 25503, 234, CRL, Strath 1-27H1, Juno, t10/13; cum 3K 10/13;

Sunday, December 15, 2013

• 22440, 1,113, Petro-Hunt, Wisness 152-96-28A-33-3H, Clear Creek, t8/13; cum 49K 10/13;
• 25277, 642, Samson Resources, Coronet 2413-1H, Ambrose, t9/13; cum 10K 10/13;
• 25349, drl, MRO, Kutcher 31-27H, Killdeer, no production data,
• 25359, 2,063, XTO, Lundeen 31X-9D,  Garden, t10/13; cum 7K 10/13;
• 25463, drl, Hess, EN-Freda 154-94-2635H-1, Alkali Creek, no production data,
• 25548, drl, Hess, EN-Ruud 154-93-2734H-2, Robinson Lake, no production data,

Saturday, December 14, 2013

• 23875, drl, CLR, Juneau 2-11H, Brooklyn, producing, 
• 24548, drl, Statoil, Greenstein 30-31 3TFH,  Camp, no production data,
• 24800, drl, CLR, Rollefstad Federal 8-3H-3,  Antelope, no production data,
• 25219, 1,277, WPX, Olson 1-12HW,  Van Hook, t9/13; cum 35K 10/13;
• 25267, 989, Hess, BW-Rolfson-151-98-2116H-4, Siverston,t11/13; cum 1K 10/13;
• 25606, drl, Abraxas, Lillibridge 20-17-5H,  Pershing, no production data,

Slowest Wi-Fi Connection Ever In A McDonald's -- Absolutely Nothing To Do With The Bakken

Updates

December 16, 2:22 p.m. Pacific Time. Palm Springs. I stopped at McDonald's in Kingman, Arizona, earlier today to post update. That McDonald's had NEITHER outlets nor wi-fi. My notes show that I had driven 1,088 miles when I arrived at Kingman; that was 11:00 a.m. this morning, Mountain Time. I left yesterday at 9:30 CT or 8:30 MT, so I had been on the road about 26 hours. I stopped roadside and slept on three different occasions during the night. Really good rests; had sleeping bag to keep warm. Felt refreshed all day. At Kingman, left the interstate and took the old meandering US Highway 66 -- "kicks on 66" -- all I needed was a Corvette covnertible -- oh, that's already been done ... never mind. Spent some time off the beaten track visiting Oatman, Arizona. Sent postcards. Will upload video later. Now, in the 29 Palms - Palms Spring area. Will rest here for an hour or so before continuing.

December 16, 2013, 5:59 a.m. Mountain Time: Winslow, Arizona. Cool, but not cold. Residual snow on ground off interstate. 

Later, Sunday, December 15, 2013, 8:43 local time, Albuquerque, or however it's spelled:  normally I start driving at night. If I had, I would have seen beautiful mountains of New Mexico during the day. As it was, I was in the mountains in the dark. I believe I saw a lot of white on the ground but none on the roads. It was tough driving not knowing if I was going uphill or downhill, but no precipitation, so it was fine. A lot of truck traffic, which I enjoy. Helps me stay alert. So, still wide awake. I enjoy driving from 6:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. the best. About 4:00 a.m. it is very difficult: diurnal cortisone will bottom out at 6:00 a.m. so I will be napping somewhere after 2:00 a.m. It's a bit cool here in Albuquerque, but otherwise nothing of note.

I have a lot of articles to post later, but nothing that can't wait.

Original Post

I am about 250 miles down the road from where I started at 9:30 a.m. earlier today. I guess at McDonald's you can get a) free wi-fi; or, b) an electrical outlet that works; but, not both. I have an electrical outlet (unusual for McDonald's) so I'm taking advantage of it. Obviously I have wi-fi, but it is so incredibly slow, the rest of the world may not know I have such access.

This post (assuming it actually moves to the ether) is to let family and friends know where I am: I am in Childress, Texas, a town of about 7,000 according to the highway marker. Surprisingly it has a McDonald's. As mentioned above, I'm about 250 miles down the road from where I started earlier today, about 9:30 a.m. central time. Wow, it takes a long time to get out of Texas. I'm not even to Amarillo yet.

I can't access the rest of the web -- I guess I can if I have twenty minutes to wait between webpages, so I will forgo with links at this time.

The high point of the trip (other than the fact that I'm actually back on the road again) was seeing all the oil activity around Electra, Texas. Hundreds of strip oil pumpers. Compared to the huge pumpers in the Bakken, these little pumpers looked like toys. It appears most of them, rusted out, have been there since the 50's; many were probably idle some years ago, but they are now pumping, almost all of them. There are some new pumpers, shiny black, and about three times the size of the toy pumpers, and maybe a third, at most, half the size of the pumpers in the Bakken.

While waiting for web pages to load, I continue to read Max Tegmark's Our Mathematic Universe. He's describing:

Consider the particular sequence of chess moves that have become known as the "immortal Game," where white spectaclarly sacrifices both rooks, a bishop, and the queen to check mate with the three remaining minor pieces as shown in the figure. Here on Earth, this game was first played in 1851 by Adolph Anderssen and Lionel Kieseritzky. However the same game is replayed annually in the town of Marostica, Italy, with live players dressed as chess pieces, and it's regularly repeated by countless chess enthusiasts around the world.

I can't wait to watch Arianna and Olivia play this sequence when I return to Grapevine to coach them through another game of chess. I'm less interested in watching who wins as I am in teaching them strategy. The seven-year-old, in two "games," learned how all the pieces move and can now play a very simple game. The ten-year-old pretty much taught herself to play (with most help from her dad, some help from me, and all the real help from the Apple iPad). She played chess on the iPad back and forth on the bus from her home in a suburb of Boston into the city when they lived there. Thirty minutes on the bus several times a week gave her quite an opportunity to play the iPad. 

Max's Mathematical Universe has clearly moved into the realm of the television series "The Big Bang Theory." More on that when I have time (and a good wi-fi connection). It's time to get back on the road.

Gasoline is $2.99 / gallon in this area of the country.