The Bakken -- Lookin' Good -- November 2, 2017 -- The Bakken "Stack"

A big "thank you" to a reader for alerting me to this article. Lots  of good info in it, from Lynn Helms. From The Dickinson Press, data points:

• crude oil inventories dropping rapidly in North Dakota
• expect to see $55 - $60 oil in 1Q18
• crude oil production in North Dakota higher than expected
• crude oil production could be up 11% from what was originally expected by the close of the biennium
• 31,545 producing wells right now
• enhanced oil recovery could even better maximize profit potential of the Bakken
• how long will the Bakken last? "our grandchildren's grandchildren will be affected by the Bakken
• at the link comments about specific counties, areas in North Dakota
• e.g., in Bowman County, the sage grouse holding things up
• and then this "bombshell":

Helms said his staff is studying other potential source rock beds in the state, saying that there were 14 others (in addition to the two in the Bakken and one in Spearfish) that need to be promoted.

"We anticipate the United States Geological Survey is coming back in 2020. We want all of the data to put in front of them," Helms said. "We have 17 unconventional resources. Not one, not two—17."

Stratigraphic map here.

Basic overview of the petroleum geology of the North Dakota Williston Basin. 

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Lights on the Hill, Slim Dusty

The Energy And Market Page, Page 2, T+285, November 2, 2017 -- Heavy Truck Orders Soar

Making America great again, link here:

Orders for heavy-duty commercial trucks in North America soared in October, reaching the highest level in nearly three years as carriers riding a strong freight market stepped up plans to upgrade or expand their fleets.

Trucking companies last month ordered 36,200 Class 8 trucks, the big rigs that haul much of the nation’s freight. That was up 60.4% from September, and a 160% gain from a year ago, when truck orders plummeted amid slack shipping demand and tepid manufacturing growth.

The orders came at the beginning of the season when trucking companies typically set their fleet plans for the coming year, and signaled robust confidence in shipping demand for 2018.

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Forty-Five Minutes Of ABBA Memories

ABBA ************************************************ Bulls-Eye   

After "Blade Runner 2049" I told my wife I was never going to go to another movie. LOL. But then I saw the trailer for "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri." After seeing the trailer, I told my wife that, depending on the reviews, I really want to see this movie.

Well, I've seen my first review and it looks like a winner. Can't wait to see it. In the WSJ: humor and sadness in the Ozarks. 

About 20 minutes into Martin McDonagh’s new film, Mildred, played by Frances McDormand, delivers a tongue-lashing soliloquy to the local priest. He has come by her house to warn her against taking on the powers-that-be in their small town. Her sudden rant, invoking the history of the Crips and the Bloods (don’t ask), tears the clergyman limb from limb—and leaves the audience in delight, if slightly uneasy.

For an Anglo-Irish playwright like Mr. McDonagh, it is no big stretch to take a swing at the Catholic Church. “That’s what it’s there for,” he says. “They’ve been doing it to us for years.”

That’s just one scene in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” however, and soon he’s moved on to something different. Like the movie’s marketing-unfriendly title—“I like its clunkiness”—he’s the opposite of pandering: This writer/director does what he wants.

When I first saw the trailer, I thought it was a Coen Bros production, but apparently not. But with Frances McDormand in it, one wonders.

The Energy And Market Page, T+285, November 2, 2017

If this stock closes above $300 today I will have lost all "trust" in "money managers" in the US.

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Belated "Happy Halloween"

Save this one for next year; lots of masks to choose from. By then the Obama masks (Barack and Michelle) should be "a dime a dozen."

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Wow, Stealth Rally

After a slow start, the Dow closes up over 80 points. Not too shabby. Of course, who does CNBC reach out to, to discuss the tax cuts? LOL. The one in red (fittingly) on the right (unfittingly). But I do like the cosmetic jewelry around the neck on the one on the left (fittingly).

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Wow, CNBC Got It Wrong On Apple -- And, Now, Trying To Save Face

Apple's earnings report is incredibly good. And yet, CNBC talking heads fairly neutral, trying to maintain their composure. Bottom line: CNBC blew it. Apple nailed it.

Later: this is almost hilarious -- the CNBC folks are so skeptical of the Apple results and yet, at the end of the day, everyone will agree, Apple blew away the forecasts. This is quite incredible on so many levels.

Yahoo!Finance has it right: blew past estimates.

Apple Inc's revenue forecast for the holiday shopping-quarter was largely above market expectations, helping allay investor concerns about production delays and supply constraints for the iPhone X, which it will start shipping from Nov. 3.

The forecast comes after Apple gauged demand for iPhone X with a pre-order process that kicked off online on Oct. 27. Many analysts have said the forecast will show how Apple tackles supply chain issues to make enough phones, for which it has reported "off the charts" demand.

The company forecast first-quarter revenue of $84 billion to $87 billion. Analysts on average were expecting $84.18 billion.

Apple said it sold 46.7 million iPhones in the fourth quarter ended Sept. 30, above analysts' estimates of 46.4 million.

The company's net income rose to $10.71 billion, or $2.07 per share, in the quarter, from $9.01 billion, or $1.67 per share, a year earlier.

The $28.85 billion revenue from iPhone sales accounted for nearly 55 percent of total revenue, which rose 12.2 percent to $52.58 billion.

Analysts on average were expecting total revenue of $50.70 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Fast Money says "Apple crushed earnings." And no one has mentioned that Apple's cash pile has increased 13% year-over-year.

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EOG Earnings

AP: EOG tops forecasts --

• 3Q17 net income: $100.5 million vs a loss one year earlier
• EPS: 17 cents/share; adjusted, 19 cents/share
• forecast: 10 cents/share
• revenue: $2.64 billion vs $2.58 billion forecast

From a press release, 3Q17 earnings:

• introduces 50,000 net acre Woodford Oil window play with 210 MMBoe estimated net resource potential and 260 net premium well locations 
• adds First Bone Spring play in Delaware Basin with 540 MMBoe estimated net resource potential and 540 remaining net premium well locations
• exceeds revised post-Harvey crude oil, NGL and natural gas production targets 
• delivers per-unit lease and well, transportation and DD&A expense rates below targets
• expects to grow 2017 U.S. oil production 20 percent within discretionary cash flow including dividends

Talk About A God-Awful 24 Hours -- First, Spectrum Internet Down; Now Verizon Down -- November 2, 2017

Spectrum cable/internet service went down about 9:30 p.m. last night (cable television was okay -- we saw THE GAME. Spectrum was down for the entire state of Texas until mid-morning, and it appears not all of Texas is yet back up.

And then Verizon went down overnight. 

My wife has Verizon. She's not a happy camper.

I have ATT. I'm a very, very happy camper. ATT never goes down. LOL. [Later: I just realized, I have Sprint (when I got my monthly bill), not ATT. Same difference. Whatever.]

Whatever.

Our internet provider interrupted service from 9:30 p.m. last night to 9:30 a.m. this morning. No explanation. No weather problems. Nothing. We simply lost service. But it's up now.

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Speaking Of God-Awful

So, "they" polled the millennials. Asking them who could be best described as "hero" for/of their country. Here's their list:

Who's missing?

Yup.

Less than a year out of office, and they've already forgotten "their" hero.

Pretty funny.

A huge "thank you" to Don.

But there's an even bigger story in that graph.

Take a minute. What is the bigger story?

The bigger story? Those who posted the poll were not sure Americans could identify who was an "American politician" or "other" -- so they color-coded it for those in the Ozarks.

When I asked that poll among friends and neighbors, the first thing they noted: President Obama was not on the list. At least they remembered him. The millennials completely forgot about him. 

Tesla Derangement Syndrome -- Yes, I Admit It -- I'm Obsessed With Tesla (I'm Also An Apple Fanboy) -- November 2, 2017

TSLA Update: Model 3 deliveries for October just reported: 145. Holy guacamole, Batman. What next?]. From an earlier post --

Wow, wow, wow -- in pre-market trading, TSLA just dropped below $300/share -- recovered a bit. Waiting for the opening bid: $301.55, down $19.53 from yesterday's close, down 6.08% from yesterday's close.

"Tesla watch" at this post: link here. One can never predict these things, but if a year from now TSLA is trading at $50, we might look back on November 2, 2017, as the day everything came to an end.

They are piling on at CNBC and this is the headline story above the fold on the second page of The WSJ today: "Tesla rolls back goal on sedan amid loss." I haven't read the story yet but it will be interesting if they even mention the huge cost of the new gigafactory planned for China.

And then this: Elon Musk clearly stated that profits and profit margins on the S and X were keeping Tesla afloat. Yesterday we learn that the lowly Chevrolet Bolt, this past month (October, 2017) outsold both S and X combined. On initial reports (when Elon Musk did report S and X deliveries) Tesla did not even report Model 3 deliveries for the month of October.

Tesla watch.

The numbers are all posted for Tesla:

• Models S and X had worse months ever this year (with some minor exceptions for Model X)
• look how far S/X fell month-over-month
• the "X" was Tesla's cash cow
• Tesla actually cut the price on the "X" because it was making so much money on that car (paraphrasing Musk Melon)
• don't even get me started on Model 3 -- goal was 5,000 / week by this time, or at leasing heading in this direction; I opined a couple weeks ago that if Musk Melon did not deliver even 500 cars in October it would be a disaster; one contributor at SeekingAlpha was right on -- suggesting that by mid-October, Tesla had not even delivered 100 cars
• as Cramer says, "bulls make money; bears make money; hogs get slaughtered." Hogs had a chance to see last week

WSJ article on Tesla with regard to earnings call; see 176 comments.

Scathing analysis over at InvestorVillage -- story from WSJ.

Tesla's quest to live up to sky-high expectations looks tougher than ever.

The company reported third-quarter sales of $3 billion and an adjusted loss of $2.92 a share on Wednesday, falling short of analyst estimates. This looks worse when one considers that profit estimates already had dropped steadily. The consensus analyst forecast for the third quarter called for a profit of 80 cents a share last June.

Tesla burned through a record amount of cash during the period, some $1.4 billion. That is disconcerting, but investors' emphasis has been on the future with this company. Developments during the quarter make CEO Elon Musk's vision look more like a pipe dream. For starters, Tesla said it would build 10% less Model S and X vehicles in the fourth quarter than the third quarter, a worrying sign on future demand for its more expensive, higher margin products.

The outlook is even worse for the Model 3, the mass-market model that Tesla has struggled to build. It now expects to produce 5,000 a week by the first quarter of next year, another slippage in its timeline. And Tesla seemed to hint that some equipment to produce more Model 3s hasn't been installed, noting "it has always been our intention to implement that capacity addition after we have achieved a 5,000 per week run rate." Its ultimate target is twice as many.

I don't know what the "worst" bad news for Tesla was in the past 48 hours. I think it might be the fact that Chevrolet Bolt (2,781) easily outsold Tesla S, X, and 3 (1,120, 850, 145, respectively = 2,115). Add, 1,362 Chevrolet Volts and the Chevy EV total is 4,143. Let's see, 4,143 - 2,115 = 2,028.

The "2,028-delta" is almost equal to the total Teslas delivered, which I suppose is another way of saying Chevy EVs doubled Tesla sales. Wow.