Apple Page -- April 28, 2015

AP is reporting:

Samsung Electronics Co. said its first-quarter net income has plunged 39 percent as the smartphone business saw its profit shrink to less than half from a year earlier.

The company reported Wednesday that its January-March income was 4.63 trillion won ($4.35 billion), compared with 7.49 trillion won one year earlier.

That was lower than analysts' consensus of 4.97 trillion won.

Sales fell 12 percent from a year earlier to 47.12 trillion won while operating income dropped 30 percent to 5.98 trillion won, in line with Samsung's earnings preview earlier this month.

The wider-than-expected drop in net profit was due to a big profit plunge in Samsung's mobile business. The maker of Galaxy smartphones said its mobile division generated 2.74 trillion won in quarterly profit, compared with 6.43 trillion won a year earlier.

Analysts estimate Samsung sold more smartphones than Apple during the quarter but the Korean firm lost its share in the high-end market to Apple after the maker of the iPhone began offering models with bigger screens last fall.

Compare to Apple which had a blowout quarter and stunning results. 

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

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Random Update Of Iraqi Production

For the archives. Bloomberg Business is reporting:

Iraq, OPEC’s second-biggest producer, will start exporting Basrah Heavy crude next month after offering discounts for the new grade in Europe, Asia and the Americas.

Iraq is offering Basrah Heavy after facing pressure from customers to split its main Basrah Light crude into two grades to preserve quality. The country, home to the world’s fifth-largest proven reserves, is rebuilding its energy industry after decades of conflict and sanctions. Iraq pumped 3.34 million barrels a day in March, state-run Oil Marketing Co. known as SOMO said April 16.

Crude exports from northern Iraq via SOMO will rise to 550,000 barrels a day in early May, 600,000 barrels a day in June and 625,000 barrels a day by August. Iraq pumped about 2.4 million barrels daily at the end of 2010 and plans to boost capacity to 6 million barrels by 2019. 

I'm probably misreading this but the delta between 3.34 million bopd production and 600,000 bopd in exports suggests most of Iraq's oil is necessary for internal consumption. I don't know.

Five (5) New Permits -- April 28, 2015; Seventeen (17) Producing Wells Completed; Thirteen (13) WIth High Initial Production

Active rigs:

	4/28/2015	04/28/2014	04/28/2013	04/28/2012	04/28/2011
Active Rigs	86	185	187	209	174

Five (5) new permits --

• Operator: Whiting
• Fields: Poe (McKenzie), Banks (McKenzie)
• Comments:

Seventeen (17) producing wells completed:

• 29071, 740, Whiting, Tiisto 43-7-2H, Sanish, t3/15; cum --
• 30121, 542, Whiting, Bartleson 11-19-2H, Sanish, t4/15; cum --
• 29435, 1,288, Slawson,  Vixen Federal 1 SLH, Big Bend t3/15; cum --
• 27899, 1,446, XTO, Van Dyke Federal 44X-19A, Bear Den, t3/15; cum --
• 26390, 1,272, BR, CCU North Coast 41-25TFH, Corral Creek, t3/15; cum --
• 28367, 2,886, BR, CCU Pullman 7-8-7MBH, Corral Creek, t3/15; cum --
• 21788, 1,593, Enerplus, BMX 148-93-23B-24H TF, South Fork, t4/15; cum --
• 28093, 504, Hess, GN-Earecen-159-98-2734H-1, Big Stone, t4/15; cum --
• 25079, 1,737, Statoil, Field Trust 7-6-5TFH, Todd, t3/15; cum --
• 25080, 2,593, Statoil, Field Trust 7-6-4H, Todd, t3/15; cum --
• 24451, 128, Crescent Point, CPEUSC Ruby 17-20-158N-100W, Winner, t3/15; cum 8K 3/15;
• 27915, 1,288, Slawson, Bootleg 7-14-15TFH, Stockyard Creek, t21/5; cum --
• 30510, 1,798, Whiting, Cherry State 31-16HU, Pleasant Hill, 2 sections, t4/15; cum --
• 30466, 1,889, Whiting, Cherry State 31-16-3H, Pleasant Hill, t4/15; cum --
• 28368, 2,004, BR, CCU Pullman 7-8-7TFH, Corral Creek, t3/15; cum --
• 28345, 2,880, BR, Copper Draw 41-27MBH-ULW, Croff, 4 sections, t4/15; cum --
• 28366, 1,403, BR, CCU Pullman 8-8-7TFH, Corral Creek, t3/15; cum --

Wells coming off the confidential list Wednesday:

• 27661, dry, XTO, Stara Federal 21X-14E2, Grinnell, this was a Three Forks B well according to the permit application; nothing in the file yet to explain when/why drilling stopped; I assume it happened early probably during casing;
• 28331, drl, CLR, Salers Federal 5-27H, Antelope, no production data,
• 28439, 1,191, Liberty Resources, Gohrick 158-95-17-8-4MBH, McGregor, t11/14; cum 25K 2/15;
• 28440, 1,061, Liberty Resources, Gohrick 158-95-17-8-5TFH, McGregor, t11/14; cum 13K 2/15;
• 28565, conf, CLR, Wiley 4-25H2, Pershing, no production data,
• 29109, conf, Hess, EN-URan A-154-93-2215H-6, Robinson Lake, no production data,

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28439, see above, Liberty Resources, Gohrick 158-95-17-8-4MBH, McGregor :

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
2-2015	11993	0
11-2014	11762	0
10-2014	1148	0

 28440, see below, Liberty Resources, Gohrick 158-95-17-8-5TFH, McGregor:

Date	Oil Runs	MCF Sold
11-2014	13065	0

Quick look at a baby pad in the Bakken:

The Moose Will Be Happy -- April 28, 2015

Heading north on US Highway 85 toward the Lewis and Clark Bridge across the Missouri River south of Williston.

This was a 2-lane highway for as long as I can remember, but then back in 2011 or thereabouts they widened the road to three or four lanes.

Now the road is back under construction, back to two lanes, and will be make a four-lane divided (I think) highway leading to the new bridge.

I didn't think they were going to start the new bridge until 2015 or 2016 based on earlier stories, but that recently changed. Local residents noted that one day there was no evidence of the new bridge being built, and then overnight, it seemed they were halfway across the river.



The moose will be happy. The Bismarck Tribune is reporting:

When Meriwether Lewis and William Clark crossed the Missouri River back in the day, they didn’t have to contend with the nearly 13,000 vehicles that cross it these days via the bridge named for the famed explorers.

But moose, deer and other wildlife do.

Part of the $300 million the North Dakota Department of Transportation has committed to upgrade U.S. Highway 85 between Williston and Watford City will include a first-of-its-kind wildlife underpass, or crossing. At least it’s the first of its kind in North Dakota.

Work on a portion of the project between Watford City and Alexander is already underway, but the bridge part of the job won’t be bid until sometime this spring.

An underpass is a better idea than simply putting up a moose sign inviting moose to cross the highway at designated points.

Solyndra Back In The News -- April 28, 2015

Fox News is reporting:

It’s official, the Energy Department’s green energy loan program is actually expected to lose money despite media reports that such loans would net the government a profit.

The Government Accountability Office says the DOE’s oft-touted $28 billion loan program will cost taxpayers $2.21 billion over the lifetime of the loans. Not only that, the costs to taxpayers for green loans has risen about $500 million as “the result of loan guarantee defaults” from companies like Solyndra and Abound Solar.

The “credit subsidy cost of the loans and loan guarantees in its portfolio” is expected “to be $2.21 billion, including $807 million for loans that have defaulted,” GAO reports. “The fees DOE has collected have not been sufficient to cover all of its administrative expenses for the program” because the “fees on the current loan guarantees were too low to cover ongoing monitoring costs.”

This stands in sharp contrast to media reports from last year suggesting the DOE’s green loan program would net taxpayers $5 billion. Last year, the Washington Post’s Wonkblog ran with the headline, “Remember Solyndra? Those loans are making money.”

The liberal news watchdog Media Matters exclaimed that “Solyndra Scandal-Mongering Hasn’t Stopped The Energy Dept’s Loan Program From Turning A Profit”

Such news stories came after a November 2014 DOE progress report saying it was on track to earn more than $5 billion in total interest payments. The DOE said it had earned $810 million in interest payments — outweighing the $780 million in estimated losses the loan program was expected to incur.

But for Obama, Solyndra accomplished what it was set up to do.

Small Country Road In The Bakken -- April 28, 2015

This is a short clip of the new bypass to the west of Alexander, North Dakota.