OKE earnings, forecase 36 cents: fourth-quarter 2014 net income
attributable to ONEOK of $94.5 million, or
45 cents per diluted share,
which includes income from discontinued operations of $0.8 million.
Fourth-quarter 2013 net income
attributable to ONEOK was $90.7 million, or 43 cents per diluted share,
which includes income from discontinued operations of $17.1 million, or 8
cents per diluted share.
Income from continuing
operations attributable to ONEOK was $93.7 million in the fourth quarter
2014, compared with $73.7 million in the fourth quarter 2013.
Active rigs:
| 2/23/2015 | 02/23/2014 | 02/23/2013 | 02/23/2012 | 02/23/2011 |
|---|
| Active Rigs | 126 | 187 | 181 | 204 | 168 |
Wells coming off confidential list were posted earlier; see sidebar at the right.
Wells coming off the confidential list Tuesday:
- 28016, drl, Petro-Hunt, USA 153-95-22D-15-5H, Charlson, no production data,
- 28412, drl, Hess, SC-JCB-154-98-1720H-2, Truax, no production data,
- 28777, drl, Slawson, Holst 2-33MLH, Big Bend, no production data,
- 29151, drl, Slawson, Rainmaker Federal 10-36-25TF2H, Big Bend, no production data,
Nine (9) new permits --
- Operators: BR (4), Whiting (3), EOG (2)
- Fields: Corral Creek (Dunn), Twin Valley (McKenzie), Parshall (Mountrail)
- Comments:
Oasis canceled six (6) permits:
- 27643 - 27645: Banks permits in Mountrail County
- 24971: Celia Horob in Williams County
- 24907: Jenny Vaughn in WIlliams County
- 26451: Ranger in McKenzie
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Water Project To Go Forward
Bakken.com is reporting:
An expected reduction in state oil tax revenues due to a global drop in oil prices could mean less money for the Northwest Area Water Supply project.
Gov. Jack Dalrymple’s budget included $18 million for NAWS, but the
Legislature is considering $10 million. However, there still should be
enough money to go ahead with a proposed $20 million expansion of the
city’s water treatment plant.
The $14 million remaining from the current two-year budget
and $10 million in new funding would bring the total to $24 million,
more than enough to pay for design and construction at the water plant.
The NAWS project is to bring Missouri River water to northwestern
North Dakota. Officials in Missouri and Canada have held up the project
in the courts for years over environmental concerns, but a federal judge
is allowing some construction work to proceed because the upgrades are
needed in the area that’s on the edge of the oil patch.
******************************
While producers are licking their wounds after a more than 50% oil
price crash, refiners have continued to enjoy healthy margins – even in
the face of the largest refinery strike since 1980. Strong refining
margins, supported by an ongoing boom in refined product exports,
continue to encourage high levels of refinery utilization in the Gulf
Coast region – home to more than 50% of U.S. refining capacity. Today we
look at how Gulf Coast refiners are faring after the oil price crash.
In Episode 1
of this two part series we noted an uptick in domestic U.S. demand for
gasoline and distillates during December 2014 and January 2015,
presumably spurred by lower prices following the crude price crash
during the latter half of 2014. That surge in demand goes against a
longer-term decline trend in the use of these fuels and it remains
unclear if it will be sustained in 2015.
What is clear from looking at
crack spreads for a typical Midwest refinery is that refiners are still
prospering in that region even as the upstream side of the hydrocarbons
business suffers after the crude price crash. Midwest refiners have been
used to making good margins over the past three years because of their
access to cheaper advantaged crude. Following the crude price crash the
spread between prices for inland and coastal crudes declined – removing
most of that advantage.
However, refiners still fared well by
benefitting from the lag between refined product prices (slower to fall)
and crude. Now the growing crude surplus being added to Cushing
inventories to take advantage of contango market storage will likely
keep the lid on Midwest crude prices to the benefit of refining margins.
In this second installment we take a closer look at how Gulf Coast
refineries are weathering the crude price crash.
The Gulf Coast region is home to more than 50% of U.S. refining
capacity (over 9 MMb/d) but has only in the past two years begun to take
full advantage of the shale era boom in U.S. domestic crude production.
While – as we described last time - Midwest refiners have enjoyed
access to low priced advantaged crude since 2011, Gulf Coast refiners
had to await the build out of pipeline and rail infrastructure to get
access to cheaper crude supplies. Nevertheless, as we detailed in a
two-part analysis last April, Gulf Coast refineries have enjoyed an
export led boom since 2012 - largely driven by increased demand for
diesel from Latin America.
And although some of that boom was driven by lower U.S. crude prices,
Gulf Coast refinery sophistication and lower fuel costs (using cheap
natural gas) were equally important ingredients for success. In the past
two years as infrastructure was built out, Gulf Coast refineries became
destination central for a flood of new domestic and Canadian production
looking for a market.
This year new pipelines such as the 300 Mb/d Magellan/Plains BridgeTex
from the Permian Basin and the Enbridge/Enterprise 450 Mb/d Seaway Twin
from the Midcontinent continue to increase crude flows to the Gulf Coast.
These new flows are competing with and gradually replacing imported
crude supplies. However, a mismatch between refineries configured to
process heavy crude and an incoming surplus of lighter crudes has kept
downward pressure on crude prices –leaving refiners in the cat bird seat
to pick and choose from among competing suppliers and make limited
capital investments to increase their throughput of lighter crudes.
Again, this article will be archived at the source.
*****************************
The Oscars
My wife loves the Academy Awards; it might be the only show for which she might skip my funeral. LOL. I very much enjoy watching it with her, but I doubt I would watch it alone. I was thrilled to see
The Grand Hotel Budapest won four Oscars, tying with
Birdman, for most Oscars, 2015:
The film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and garnered three more Golden Globe Award nominations, including Best Director for Anderson. It also garnered nine Academy Award nominations, the joint most for the ceremony, including Best Picture and Best Director. It won the Academy Awards for Best Production Design, Best Original Score, Best Costume Design and Best Makeup and Hairstyling.It tied with Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance) for the most wins (4) this year.
I love
GHB; when I get in the mood to see it again, I will watch it three or four or five times in succession over several days.
I did not see
Birdman. Some big name actors -- Naomi Watts, for example.
I haven't seen
American Sniper; something tells me the Academy was uncomfortable with it. The Academy is about 75% white male; median age about 62 years old.
I don't know how a show-opening joke about the white audience went over for the Oprah Winfrey crowd. But according to the critics it was a joke that had to be done. Sort of "check that box," "get that out of the way," and then get on with the show.
Best part of the evening for me:
GBH winning four Oscars early in the show. Best part of the evening for my wife: Eddie Redmayne, best actor, for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking. I can't argue. Absolutely incredible.
Biggest snub: not including Joan Rivers -- a two-second slide -- in the "memoriam" segment. The Academy said there was not enough time.
The show ran over by about 20 minutes.
